Tourism Blog

Winter Wonderland: The making of a magical holiday tradition in the Brainerd Lakes Area

Sertoma presents Winter Wonderland at the Northland Arboretum grew from a single point of light – an idea developed by a handful of people – into a magical holiday lighting experience in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

Now celebrating its fourth season, Winter Wonderland provides another reason why visitors seek out the Brainerd Lakes Area as a regional destination during the holidays. But Winter Wonderland didn’t magically come to be. It was carefully created by a dedicated core of Sertoma Club volunteers.

Creating the magic – The early concept develops

Steve Mau, owner of Brainerd General Rental, and Steve “Gus” Augustinack, representative of LAKES Media Collaborative, both Sertomans, wanted to create a magnificent holiday attraction to draw families to the Brainerd Lakes Area.

“We want people to come through and be awed by the experience,” Mau said of the creation of Winter Wonderland.

Mau and Augustinack discussed how the Northland Arboretum was identified as the perfect partner in this endeavor – as the physical location to annually host Winter Wonderland, which runs from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. The Sertoma Club wanted to create an opportunity for the two nonprofit organizations to partner in such a way that both organizations could benefit and give back to the community.

Nestled in the heart of Brainerd and Baxter, the Northland Arboretum, 14250 Conservation Drive, is an outdoor nature conservatory with more than 500 acres.

“It worked out really well, it’s secluded but yet we’re right in the heart of town – right between Brainerd, Baxter and Nisswa,” Augustinack said of the Northland Arboretum location.
The work was just beginning in the creation of Winter Wonderland but now a big hurdle – finding a location – had been cleared.