Corrupt Corporate City Officials Privatizing GG Botanical Gardens For Disney Aesthetic

Without letting the people of San Francisco know about their plans, the CEO of San Francisco Golden Gate Parks Stephanie Linder. She previously worked at the private corrupt non-profit San Francisco Parks Alliance as Director of Philanthropy San Francisco Parks Alliance. Millions went missing which the director Phil Ginsburg covered up. This corruption and illegal financial shenanigans went on for years. The Lurie controlled board of Supervisors has supported this privatization of public resources and refuse to protect public spaces since they are funded by the billionaires who pay their campaign budgets.

The District Attorney Brook Jenkins and the City Attorney also have refused to prosecute these crooks to get the money back and hold them accountable.

Now Linder along with her cohort Sarah Marsh who is chief experience officer for the gardens have wrecked the garden for several months in their latest profiteering scheme. While they can't hire gardeners or pay union wages and benefits to the workers at the Botanical Gardens, they have millions of dollars for more high paid executives that are working to have more events to commodify the park for more profits.

Sarah PR talks about her great business instincts.

For two decades, Sarah has helped visionary brands to incubate and implement experiences that have become new business paradigms, engaging people in innovative ways while delivering real economic value. In 2025, she joined the Gardens of Golden Gate Park as Chief Experience Officer and guides multi-disciplinary teams to cultivate and use an ecosystem of content, data, programs, and experiences to bring people together from all walks of life through the shared value of the natural world.

Sarah is focused on maximizing consumer relationships to deliver deeper engagement, meaningful recognition, and specific insights that help power the next stage of growth. As a strategic and operating business leader, she devised and launched the first domestic revenue-managed airline loyalty program at Virgin America, launched a loyalty program for kids across a network of more than 20 international locations with KidZania, and led the scale up of omnichannel experiences for a Top 3 global apparel retailer. Through loyalty programs and increasingly through programmatic experiences, Sarah builds systems and teams that translate consumer affinities and valuable brand equity into new revenue streams.

Their PR for the "Lightscape" says nothing about how this spectacle is defoiling the park for the public during the day and also preventing residents from visiting in the evening and those who can't afford $28 for a ticket. They have sold more than 100,000 tickets and collected more than $3 million with more coming. Getting the information on this profiteering has been made very difficult by the privatizers who are running this operations. PG&E is "The lead sponsor for Lightscape" operation but can't seem to keep the lights on for the hundreds of thousands of residents.

Here is their PR

Opening Winter 2025, Lightscape brings to life an otherworldly journey after-dark in San Francisco Botanical Garden, highlighting the beauty of plants and nature with color, lighting, art and music. Lightscape will transform the 55-acre Botanical Garden from November 21, 2025 through January 4, 2026.

The enchanting illuminated light trail will span one mile and feature show-stopping displays from international artists plus water features and dazzling sculptures that come alive at night with color, imagination, and sound.

“We are excited to bring this world-renowned show to shine a new light on our beloved Botanical Garden," said Gardens of Golden Gate Park CEO, Stephanie Linder "Visitors to the Garden will thoroughly enjoy this immersive experience, unlike anything San Francisco venues have offered before. Following sold-out shows in cities around the world, we look forward to transforming the Garden into an enchanting, festive, after-dark spectacle where family and friends celebrate and make memories. We are thrilled to launch and welcome locals and visitors to experience the wonder of Lightscape.”

Since 2012, Lightscape has partnered with some of the world’s leading botanical gardens in the UK, Europe, US, and Australia as well as UNESCO World Heritage Sites to deliver large-scale, high-quality events to more than 12 million people. Lightscape has been dazzling the world’s biggest cities for more than a decade including sold-out runs in London, Chicago, Melbourne, and New York. This year, Lightscape plans to equally establish itself as a celebrated holiday tradition in San Francisco. Set along a beautifully illuminated walking trail custom-designed for San Francisco, Lightscape ticketholders will walk a one-mile-long path with suspended strands and tunnels of light, lantern trees and artistic installations, while savoring delicious treats and drinking hot chocolate and other seasonal beverages along the trail.

This one-of-a-kind, immersive experience at the Botanical Garden will guide visitors through a festive world of wonder with more than one million twinkling lights in various attractions from the Cathedral of Light to the Singing Tree and the Meadow of Light. San Francisco Botanical
Garden is producing Lightscape in association with Sony Music, which amazes millions of people year after year with similar shows in multiple locations across the world, including the U.K. and Australia. Additionally, Lightscape is creatively produced by Culture Creative.

“We are thrilled to work with the team at the Gardens of Golden Gate Park to bring this magical holiday event to San Francisco. This is exactly what our city and what our world needs right now—opportunities to come together to celebrate the season in this beautiful garden,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “I’m excited for visitors to enjoy the Botanical Garden after hours at night!”

Lightscape at the San Francisco Botanical Garden opens to the public on Friday, November 21 for a 33-night run through Sunday, January 4, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., including Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Year’s Day with closure dates on November 24, 25, 27, December 1-3, 8-10, 15, 16, 24. Tickets start at $32 for adults, $20 for children ages 5-17, and free for ages 4 and under. Prices vary by date. Discounted tickets are also available for Gardens of Golden Gate Park Members. Entry times are every 15 minutes

Stephanie Linder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gardens of Golden Gate Park, a public-private partnership managing the San Francisco Botanical Garden, Conservatory of Flowers, and Japanese Tea Garden, a role she started in July 2022 after serving as Executive Director of the SF Botanical Garden since 2018. With extensive experience in non-profits and conservation, she leads efforts for these key city gardens, focusing on visitor experience, fundraising, and strategic growth, including major events like "Lightscape”.