Twenty acres of greenhouses in Milner served as Lawrence Jansen鈥檚 playground when he was growing up. Now, the CEO of Darvonda Nurseries has converted two acres of greenhouse space into a giant playground of sorts, and has invited thousands to come and explore.

Darvonda, which operated Milner Village Garden Centre on 216th Street, has opened up about two acres of their greenhouses 鈥� starting today 鈥� for a new event called Harvest Glow.

Overwhelming reaction to last year鈥檚 Christmas Glow light show and festival inside the Milner nursery prompted its creators to expand on the concept this year, including the addition of this new fall show.

There was some initial thought about hosting an Easter event, but fall seemed more suited to the nursery鈥檚 production schedule, said Jansen.

So, he and his Darvonda team went to work back in spring designing, buying, planning, and building for Harvest Glow. And this week, they鈥檝e been working almost round the clock putting the finishing touches on the event 鈥� in anticipation of Thursday鈥檚 launch.

A team of about 50 part-time staff have been hired to work the event and everyone is now bracing for what is expected to be a deluge of guests, literally thousands forecast to attend between now and Halloween.

Families can easily spend two hours or more enjoying all the activities and displays found inside the greenhouses, he said.

With still a few last minute tweaks being applied to the site, Harvest Glow will ultimately feature a two-acre indoor pumpkin patch, a mini corn maze, numerous animated light sculptures, harvest-themed decorations, farm stables complete with pony rides (by donation to charity), a train (offering rides to kids of all ages), a mini golf pitch and putt, a glow swing, a pirate ship play park castle, a harvest market with some 25 local artisans, farms, and boutiques, a site-wide liquor licence, food trucks, and a myriad of other autumn-themed displays and activities, Jansen said.

鈥淓verything we鈥檝e designed this year has families and community at the heart of it,鈥� he said.

Speaking to that, there鈥檚 no need for families to get wet and muddy when searching for that perfect pumpkin, Jansen added, noting that Heppells Potato Farms in Cloverdale is bringing in at least 25,000 pumpkins (more if needed), that were grown specifically for this year鈥檚 new Harvest Glow. And for the $5 fee for the pumpkin, families are even encouraged to carve them on site, leave the mess behind and possibly even enter into a carving contest.

The Jansens introduced Christmas Glow last year, and saw more than 100,000 visitors in just over a month of being opened.

That event, which had a fundraising component, saw $25,000 donated to local charities including a portion to 91原创 Hospice and the 91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation.

With Harvest Glow, Jansen said there will be a charity component. This time, with an event targeted more at younger families, they鈥檝e opted to partner with the four Lower Mainland charities: 91原创 School District Foundation, Surrey Cares Community Foundation, Breakfast Club of Canada, and Compassion. A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to the organizations.

The new fall show runs Thursdays, Fridays, (4 to 9 p.m.) and Saturdays (1 to 9 p.m.) until Oct. 20, at which time the event goes daily until Oct. 31 (except the Sunday).

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Christmas expands, too

For this year鈥檚 Christmas event, they鈥檝e not only changed out all the light sculptures and expanded the light tunnel in the Christmas event, but they鈥檙e adding more lights and holiday festivities in 91原创.

Admittedly, while Jansen expected Glow to be popular, he never expected the 鈥渋ncredible鈥� reception their event garnered in 2017.

It went so well, that they鈥檙e not only doing it again, but they鈥檙e expanding the concept to Edmonton, Alta. and Barrie, Ont. where they鈥檙e partnering with fellow greenhouse operators to host similar shows.

If those go well, too, Glow could expand further for 2019, possibly into Winnipeg and Saskatoon 鈥� where having a family-fun venue out of the elements is even more critical, Jansen said.

This year, Edmonton will have all the lights and decorations used last year in 91原创, and the 91原创 show will be 100 per cent new, he emphasized, explaining that the plan would be to move the displays around and always ensure returning guests had a new and different experience.

Christmas Glow in Milner this year, for instance, will have an Around the World theme, taking visitors on a country to country tour as they follow Santa on his annual journey.

Taking up even more greenhouse space for the Christmas event (about 4,000 square metres), that event will run Nov. 22 to Jan. 19.