Cactus Garden’s holiday trimmings a desert delight

Dan Kulin

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | 1:59 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Nov. 23, 2002

Santa Claus and more than a quarter million lights will brighten a piece of the desert in Henderson through the holiday season.

For the ninth year, the Ethel M Chocolates Botanical Cactus Garden is illuminated with Christmas lights.

This year, more than 250,000 colored lights hang on and around the cactus and other plants in the garden. The lights will be turned on from sundown to 10 p.m. until Jan. 5.

Also, Santa Claus will be at the garden every Saturday from today through Dec. 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

"The thousands of lights at the Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden are something everyone can enjoy because it brings the spirit of the holiday season alive," Mercedes Warrick, vice president of Ethel M Chocolates, said in a prepared statement.

"Residents and tourists alike come out and take pictures of what decorating for the holidays can mean in the desert," Warrick said.

Admission to the holiday display is free.

The Ethel M Chocolates Factory and Cactus Garden are located at 2 Cactus Garden Dr., near Sunset Road and Mountain Vista Street, in Henderson.

The garden opens at 8:30 a.m. and has more than 350 species of plants.

Factory tours are free. For tour information call (888) 627-0990.

Ethel M Chocolates has stores in Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Honolulu and McLean, Va.

Ethel M Chocolates, which was founded in 1981 by Forrest Mars Sr., is the premium gift chocolate division of Masterfoods USA, a Mars Inc. company.