Gardens of Light selling tickets in advance to avoid overcrowding

You could say the annual Gardens of Light event at Space for Life is a victim of its own success.

This year, the eye-catching festival that showcases Chinese, Japanese, and First Nations cultural gardens, has started selling tickets in advance.

The director of Space for Life, Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, says the event was so popular that at times there were 2,000 people trying to attend at once more than double the recommended number of people.

He said it was becoming a safety concern.

"We had to do something. It was getting really too crowded," said Brunelle. "[The people] want to take pictures, there's children."

The event has been running for 26 years, and last year, 325,000 people walked through the exhibition of lights and nature.

This year, people can buy fixed-time tickets to ensure a reasonable number of people in the Gardens of Light at any particular time.The path is 2.5 kilometres long and takes an hour and a half to stroll through.

"It's to allow the public to have a better experience because this event has been growing steadily for the last couple of years," said Brunelle.

People interested in attending the event are invited to reserve specific times online.

"That assures everybody will have a good experience," said Brunelle.

Gardens of Light runs from Sept. 7 to Oct.31. Tickets can be purchased on the Space for Life web page.