Merry & Bright at Poplar Grove is a holiday-lights outing at 10200 U.S. Highway 17 in Scotts Hill. The organizer’s 2026 page lists 5-9 p.m. on November 27-29, December 4-6, December 11-13 and December 18-22. It does not run every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Choose the date first, then count paying guests. A $35 family pass is not automatically cheaper: the organizer also admits children age 2 and younger free.
Calculate the ticket for your actual ages
Posted prices checked October 5 are $10 per paying guest, $35 for two adults and two children ages 2-11, and $100 for that family’s season pass. Children 2 and younger are free. The age-2 overlap in the family-pass description makes the individual-ticket comparison essential.
| Group | Standard admission total | $35 family pass comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Two adults, two children ages 3-11 | $40 | Saves $5 |
| Two adults, one age-2 child and one age-3-to-11 child | $30 | Costs $5 more |
| Two adults, two children age 2 or younger | $20 | Costs $15 more |
| Two adults and older teens | $40 | Posted child-age eligibility does not match |
Standard tickets versus the $35 family pass
Shared scale: 0 to $40
These are base-price calculations, not checkout quotes. Fees, discounts and any separate purchases need checking in the organizer-linked FareHarbor checkout. Do not describe an old promotional banner as a guaranteed live discount without seeing it applied.
For a qualifying four-paying-person family, three $35 visits total $105, so the $100 season pass saves $5 by the third visit. For a family whose ordinary admission is $30, three visits total $90; the season pass instead becomes cheaper at the fourth visit, if the family meets its eligibility terms. Ask how the season pass is redeemed and whether reservations are needed for each visit.
Plan around the Santa-line cutoff
The organizer lists lights, Santa, outdoor movies, campfires, games and food vendors. Santa starts at 5 p.m., with 8:30 p.m. the last call to enter the line and closing at 9. Those times do not guarantee how long a queue will take or that every activity runs continuously.
A Merry & Bright evening
- 5 p.m.
Opening time on operating dates.
- 8:30 p.m.
Last call for the Santa line.
- 9 p.m.
Festival closes.
Decide which activity matters most before arriving. If Santa is essential, leave margin for the line instead of aiming for its final minute. Food purchases and the drive are separate budget items. Supervise children around installations and fires and follow staff instructions rather than assuming advertised family activities are suitable without assistance.
Access and weather questions to settle before buying
This is an outdoor outing on historic grounds. If someone uses a wheelchair, walker or stroller, ask about the actual route surface, steps, lighting, toilets and accessible parking. A grounds description does not establish those details. Call 910-398-5673 if access, gate sales, refunds, weather cancellation or parking costs determine your visit; the checked event page does not settle all those terms.
The advertised pet allowance is leashed, well-behaved pets on Sunday nights only. Do not extend that to other nights. Confirm service-animal arrangements separately if needed.
Use the actual address in navigation from your lodging and check current traffic. This guide does not promise a half-hour journey from every part of Wilmington. Leave room for an uncertain parking and arrival process instead of booking another fixed appointment immediately after the lights.
Compare the shape of the evening
Our Enchanted Airlie guide covers a separate timed garden-light visit. Compare both current checkout totals for your actual group: carload and per-person tickets do not mean the same thing, and children admitted free can change the result.
Choose Merry & Bright when the advertised range of activities fits your group and one of its open dates works. If a precise accessible route or refund term is essential and still unconfirmed, settle it before committing. The ticket arithmetic helps avoid paying more for the same eligible group; it is not a claim that one event is universally better.
The historic site behind the lights
Poplar Grove is a museum on a former plantation, interpreting the lives of enslaved people and later communities as well as the house. A seasonal lights admission should not be assumed to include the full ordinary museum tour. Check that program separately if learning the site’s history is part of your trip.
Pick an open night, price the actual ages, and leave enough time for the activity your group wants most. For other outings, see our free and cheap Wilmington guide.
