On the heels of Melissa’s last post sharing a few free things to do in the coming weeks, I thought I’d share a new package that offers an incredible deal for experiencing Columbus in the coming months.

The Columbus Lights & Sights Gift Getaway includes $700 worth of things to see and do for only $259.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• Two nights accommodations (Drury Inn & Suites is the preferred hotel)

• Four tickets to Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

• Four tickets to the Columbus Museum of Art , including the Chihuly Illuminated exhibit

• Four tickets to the Franklin Park Conservatory , including the Chihuly Reimagined exhibit and holiday displays

• Four tickets to COSI , including the Joys of Toys

• Two free kids’ meals at Max & Erma’s

To repeat: all that stuff up there is a total of $259. It really is that inexpensive.

Have more than four people? No problem - you can book for more and pricing will be adjusted accordingly.

For more details or to book a Lights & Sights Gift Getaway, click here .

And stay tuned for more Columbus holiday ideas, coming from Kelly next week.

Dale Chihuly
Mille Fiori, 2008
de Young Museum, San Franciso
Photo by Teresa Nouri Rishel

If you haven’t been to the Columbus Museum of Art lately, now is the time to visit. Chihuly Illuminated is one of their current exhibitions and includes six large installations and various other pieces. You’ll also get a behind the scenes peek at Dale Chihuly’s studio and life.

With pieces never before seen in Columbus, the exhibit focuses on light and glass. A couple of the pieces even incorporate neon in the glass to make it glow.

My favorite was Mille Fiori, which is the biggest and most colorful in the exhibit. From the moment you turn the corner you are hit with so many bright, vibrant colors and shapes. The piece is very reminiscent of a garden with plants, flowers and animals all made of beautiful glass. It is quite breathtaking to stand back and try and take everything in.

Chihuly Illuminated isn’t the only place in Columbus you’ll find the works of Dale Chihuly; different Chihuly exhibits are running at the Franklin Park Conservatory (check out Cathe’s blog post about that here ), and also at Hawk Galleries. For more details on these and other glass exhibits throughout the year, visit GlassArt365.com .

July 4 marks the beginning of an entire year’s worth of glass art exhibitions in Columbus. Seven organizations are hosting glass art programs - three featuring the works of Dale Chihuly, and many at the same time:

• Franklin Park Conservatory: Chihuly Reimagined (July 4-March 28)

• OSU Urban Arts Space and Hawk Galleries: BIGG: Breakthrough Ideas in Global Glass (July 10-Oct. 10)

• Upper Arlington’s Concourse Gallery: Melting Pot (July 22-Aug. 21)

• Columbus Museum of Art: Chihuly Illuminated (Sept. 25-July 4)

• Hawk Galleries: Chihuly XIV (Oct. 2-Jan. 31)

• The King Arts Complex: African Art: Tradition and Influence (Nov. 12-Dec. 15)

• Glass Axis : glass workshops (ongoing)

This weekend, the anticipated Chihuly Reimagined opens at the Franklin Park Conservatory . The Conservatory’s entire collection of Chihuly glasswork is on display throughout the facility, along with three brand new installations.

I was lucky enough to preview the exhibit and it definitely lives up to the hype. The contrast of the bold Chihuly glass among lush foliage is spectacular. My two favorites were the hundreds of blue reeds in the courtyard and a rowboat upstairs in the showhouse that is filled with gorgeous purple and blue glass.

Chihuly’s Blue Reeds
at Franklin Park Conservatory

Although most pieces have been on display at the Conservatory before, some of the work has been positioned differently, changing the light and bringing a fresh perspective. For instance, the Persian Ceiling is now in the Himalayan zone. It’s in two sections that are much closer to eye level, so you can see parts you never noticed before.

Next week, the OSU Urban Arts Space in the old Lazarus building and Hawk Galleries (a few blocks away at the corner of Main and Fourth streets) open a really intriguing exhibit of international glass artists entitled BIGG: Breakthrough Ideas in Global Glass . This is juried exhibition of master-level artists (or the equivalent in their country) and really represents the future of glass art.

On July 22, Melting Pot opens at the Concourse Gallery, followed by the rest . . .

For details on each exhibition and photos, visit GlassArt365.com .

Photo: Franklin Park Conservatory

If you’re looking for an all-ages activity, consider a visit to Blooms & Butterflies , open through September 7 at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

The annual exhibit features a daily release of dozens of butterflies in the Conservatory’s Pacific Island Water Garden - a place that really is as relaxing as it sounds.

It’s an affordable outing, and you have the option of attending just the Blooms & Butterflies exhibit or touring the entire Franklin Park Conservatory .

For the little ones, the bright colors of the flowers and movement of the butterflies offer much to watch. My 9-month-old daughter was fascinated by the brightly colored butterflies flying about and was working hard at tracking them as they flitted around the Pacific Island Water Garden. The biggest hit, however, was the koi pond, which was filled with enormous Japanese koi of various colors. The constant movement of the fish swimming around floating Chihuly glass pieces kept my daughter transfixed for quite awhile.

Blooms & Butterflies easily makes me feel as though I am off on a tropical island somewhere. With exotic flowers, trickling water, lush green foliage and butterflies it’s easy to feel transported. I felt more and more relaxed as we lazily wandered the exhibit.

I can’t wait to bring my daughter back to the Conservatory for Chihuly Reimagined , which opens July 4th. I’m sure she will enjoy the bright colors of this exhibit as well, while I admire the artistry.