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wbjournal.com | December 6, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 7 Happy Holidays We're signage design and production experts. From vehicle wraps, retail displays, exterior signage and even pop-up events. We can design, fabricate and install any graphic project. And we'll bee ready for your next graphic need. Contact Us Today: BeeReadyGraphics.com 7 Coppage Drive, Worcester, MA / 774.317.3450 Tower Hill attendance Before the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut down briefly in 2020 and ate into its attendance figures, Tower Hill Botanic Garden was seeing steady growth in its annual attendance. Year Attendance Source: Worcester County Horticultural Society other botanical gardens who installed a children's garden saw a 40% increase in visitation. Attendance growth Tower Hill has already seen tremen- dous growth over the last several years, so much so the organization had to create a new master plan in 2016 to adjust, said Elton. In 2019, the 170-acre gardens had a total of 167,606 visitors, which was more than double its 2012 visitation. While guests have been plentiful, Elton said the organization is pushing for a more diverse group. "Our typical audience is people who already feel comfortable in a garden," she said, listing retirees and garden club members. "Calling it a children's garden really attracts families in a different way than calling it a botanical garden." Tower Hill has been working with a community advisory committee to collaborate with leaders from varying communities and understand how to engage different groups. Elton said a common critique is the lack of transportation to the gardens, especially for groups coming from Worcester. Tower Hill has worked with the Worcester Refugee Assistance Proj- ect to co-write grants for youth to take field trips to the gardens. e Ramble unofficially opened on the first day of Night Lights, which Elton said had already sold well over half of its 60,000 tickets in mid-Novem- ber. e ceremonial ribbon cutting will happen April 22. W 83,073 92,029 102,673 125,757 137,663 119,754 151,317 167,606 75,663 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Tower Hill's new children's garden is designed for interactive play with the environment.