We are celebrating our 20th anniversary in November this year.
In the lead-up to our anniversary in November, we'll be looking back at where it all started, the early years of producing local events in and around Northumberland, and the first time we were invited to meet the team at Kew. We'll also be spotlighting some of our favourite events that we have worked on over the years; and the incredible artists, venues, and creatives who work with us and make it happen.
Queen of Culture
To kick off our blog, here's a great round-up, summed up by Caroline Clift talking to Zoe in Stand Out Magazine.
As our 20th year comes to a close, we are hard at work delivering our busiest winter season yet, with 24 events currently live in the US, Europe and the UK until January 2026. Including:
A new LIGHTSCAPE trail in San Francisco Botanical Garden
A sparkly pealit Christmas in the Garden in Fort Worth, Texas
Our first ever large-scale touring show NEVERLAND created in partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and RG Live. Recently named 'best trail for Fairytale magic in the UK' by the Daily Express.
A return to Illumina as guest curators of Austria's largest light garden
11 Christmas trails around the UK - seven of which are listed as 'the best UK Christmas light trails of 2025' in The Times.
Our inhouse design and props team has also created:
The Palace of Oz a five star, new indoor experience at Blenheim Palace based on The Wizard of Oz story
A Storybook Adventure that brings the tales of the Tower of London to life
A fun indoor and outdoor Christmas NutcrackerTrail at Cliveden
A Snow Queen experience inside the magnificent rooms at Wentworth Woodhouse
A Santa Grotto at Marwell Zoo
A Festive Window display for shoppers to enjoy in Sunderland's busy Keel Square. All this, follows on from a bumper Halloween season when the team created and ran seven trails across the UK. In addition to curating part of GLOW in Maymont Virginia; and delivering four light trails in Australia. These included our award-winning Lightscape trail in Melbourne, which won gold in the Major Festivals and Events category at this year's Victorian Tourism Awards. This is the second year in a row Lightscape in Melbourne has won this prestigious award, cementing it as one of Victoria's standout events.
2025 has been a milestone year for the company and incredibly busy. Only made possible with an outstanding team.
Culture Creative began as a small events company with offices in Alnwick. At the start, we worked closely with Northumberland Council and One North East but, very quickly, we started to grow, and in partnership with other organisations began producing our own events.
The pivotal moment for Culture Creative came in 2013, when the first ever Christmas at Kew opened. This event, which has been running for over 12 years, spearheaded the creation of our other light trails in Botanic Gardens across the world, including Chicago Botanic Garden and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in Melbourne.
Christmas at Kew continues to trailblaze our festive season in the UK, with all our other trails opening within a few days of our flagship event in Kew Gardens.
At the heart of the trail has always been the iconic Palm House show.
Here’s a snapshot of how it has developed each year.
Kew 2013-2024 Photo credits Rikard Osterlund, Geraint Lewis, Sony Music
This year’s Christmas at Kew dates are 14 November to 4 January 2026. This year, in preparation for the Palm House’s refurbishment which starts in 2027, the Palm House will play a supporting role, with all eyes and lights turned towards the Museum No 1 at the opposite end of the Palm House Pond. There we will celebrate the story of Christmas using images of festive plants, herbs, spices, and fruits chosen from Kew’s world-renowned collection. All of which play a special part in everyone's Christmas.
