By Casey Phillips

cphillips@timesfreepress.com

For homeowners, the first post-holiday electric bill can be cringe-worthy. Imagine how much worse it must be with a decorating plan like the million-bulb display at Enchanted Garden of Lights at Rock City.

Tonight, the garden of lights begins its 15th year. The goal is to make this year’s festival better for guest, budget and environment alike by beginning a three-year transition to an all LED-light display and putting the focus on the gardens’ natural beauty, said Rock City president Andrew Keane.

“The light scenes are great, and the process of the transition from incandescent bulbs to LEDs is meaningful, but really what we’re putting on display is the features of the gardens,” Keane said. “That’s a focus that we’re sharpening this year, both from the geologic standpoint as well as a botanical standpoint.”

The LED bulbs will power about a third of the 20 holiday scenes this year. Also, new paths have been opened and six new scenes will be on display, Keane said.

Although they’re more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs, LEDs are also brighter, with more vivid colors, so the gardens should be brighter than ever for the 50,000 guests expected to attend during the next six weeks, said Jeff Raabe, Rock City’s director of operations.

“They almost give you a 3-D effect in the darkness,” Raabe said. “The experienice to the eye for a guest is much enhanced from a typical bulb.”

In addition to the lighting extravaganza, the garden of lights will feature a host of other activities, including face painting, gingerbread cookie decorating, holiday concessions and nightly entertainment at Rock City Pavilion.

As always, the Enchanted Garden of Lights will live up to its name, even if guests don’t realize that all the fun this year is coming at a lower cost to the environment and the electric meter, Keane said.

“(It’s) enchanting, magical,” he said. “It’s unlike any other place in the area.”

IF YOU GO

* What: Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights.

* When: 6-9 p.m. daily through Jan. 2 (closed Christmas Eve).

* Where: Rock City Gardens, 1400 Patten Road, Lookout Mountain, Ga.

* Admission: $16.95 adults, $8.95 ages 3-12.

* Phone: 706-820-2531.

* Web site: www.seerockcity.com.

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE

Here’s the schedule for entertainment at the Enchanted Garden of Lights for the next week. (A full schedule is available at www.seerockcity.com.)

* Today: Ladies of Lee

* Saturday: UTC Jazz Band & Chattanooga Singers

* Sunday: Chattanooga State Concert Choir

* Monday: Marshall Ferrell

* Tuesday: New Hope Elementary Chorus

* Wednesday: John Lathim and Company

* Thursday: Butch Ross Mountain Dulcimer

DID YOU KNOW?

* A team of eight to 12 assembles the Enchanted Garden of Lights, starting in early October.

* During the off season, the materials for the garden fill a 2,160-square-foot warehouse.