Location: Exhibit Staging Center, Production Greenhouses and the Serpentine Room at Phipps Conservatory in OaklandFeatured guest: Jordyn Melino, associate director of exhibits at Phipps Conservatory3 things that surprised me:1. Jordyn used her Phipps fob to get us into the Exhibit Staging Center. The structure was originally built in the 1960s and used as a City of Pittsburgh public works building. In 2019, the team at Phipps converted it into a space where they could fabricate and store props and decor for their many seasonal shows. Inside the building, Jordyn walked us past pieces of shows past and future: animatronic sharks, topiary unicorns and many, many train cars.2. Several of the pieces that Jordyn’s team crafted for this year’s holiday show are made from plant material. Jordyn pointed out a pair of massive reindeer made of — appropriately — reindeer moss, which grows primarily in the alpine tundra. The antlers of the reindeer were sourced more locally, though. They’re made of the palm fruit bunches that grew in Phipps’ Palm Court. Jordyn also showed us a living wall that’s made of moss, preserved ferns and shelf mushrooms that’s the perfect spot for a selfie.3. There are 25 evergreen trees that are part of this season’s holiday show. The trees are wrapped with lights in the Exhibit Staging Center before being moved to their final resting spots where they will be decorated. We also saw a massive music box — custom-built on-site — that will spin one of the trees.One thing that didn’t make the final cut: One of my favorite displays at Phipps is their Garden Railroad, which comes back with a new theme every year. This year’s theme is “Movie Magic,” and each corner of the display pays homage to a different film genre – there’s a western town, a swashbuckling pirate scene and monster movie in which Phippszilla battles a giant spotted lanternfly. If you look closely at that last scene, you might see a small familiar face sticking out of a news van. It’s me! They created a tiny Boaz in the display and you can even hear my voice coming out of one of the houses as I report on the disastrous happenings.Additional info: You can learn more about Phipps’ holiday show and buy tickets on their website.Want more Yinzer Backstage Pass? Check out our visit to the archives at Contemporary Craft, where we uncovered a 6-foot-long sneaker.The post Behind the scenes of Phipps’ holiday spectacular appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.