#Asian lantern festival full

Liberto said she was particularly amazed by the different kinds of lanterns. “We just had to walk right down the hill to get to see it happening.” “Usually once a day, tried to go down and ask, ‘What are they working on today?’” Hunter said. According to Hunter, the anticipation and excitement for the festival was felt by the zoo workers themselves as they watched the process of it being built from the very beginning. “Then they had artisans attach the silk around the frame, it’s all from scratch.”įor Pittsburgh Zoo’s Public Relations and Media Manager Ian Hunter, watching them build the lanterns was a new surprise every day. “The dragon is a classic example, they built that from scratch, just pieces of steel and they bent it and shaped it and welded it all together,” Marshall said. According to Marshall, some of the lanterns were even built directly on zoo grounds. “They have a few places that they do in North America, Europe and various other places as well, and they brought a team of people from China to come out,” Marshall said.Įach lantern is completely handmade from scratch, using no instructions or guidance. Marshall added that they’re popular around Chinese New Year, and have only recently started doing international festivals like the one in Pittsburgh. The company that the Pittsburgh Zoo worked with to bring this festival to life, Tianyu, exclusively creates lanterns for different festivals.

“They just don’t really know what it is until they walk in and then they see a 100-foot long dragon lit up at night,” Marshall said. Marshall said people hear about the festival, but can’t really visualize what exactly the lantern festival entails without being there. “You think you’re coming to see little lantern animals, but they’re huge and so detailed. When Elena Liberto, a senior psychology major at Pitt, visited the zoo over the weekend, she was amazed at the detail of each lantern. The zoo has been teaming up with the Pittsburgh group to bring their lion dance team, drumming team and martial arts team to the zoo. Intended for all ages, the festival also features live performances and entertainment on certain nights, including dancing, music and food representing parts of Asian heritage.Įntertainment is all by local groups and artists, like the Organization of Chinese Americans. At each lantern display, there is a small plaque that details the lantern’s artistic meaning and Chinese roots. The lanterns themselves capture a different part of Chinese culture. “We’re making sure that people know what we’re doing about conservation and show them what the natural world is all about.” “We wanted to just try and find something else that’s unique and unusual, so when this came up, we looked at that as an option to throw our mission out there,” Marshall said. Other zoos such as the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio have featured a similar lantern festival in the past. Learn more or plan a visit at Marshall, vice president of internal relations at the zoo, said the zoo is always looking to bring something different in, and he had heard about the festival in previous years. Masks are required for ages 2 and up for general admission and all in-Zoo experiences. Zoo Atlanta is open daily with protocols and procedures in place to promote wellness, including timed ticketing hand-sanitizing stations throughout grounds and signage and other aids to encourage social distancing.

#Asian lantern festival full

Stay tuned to for updates and full details. Zoo Atlanta Members will have access to exclusive preview opportunities from November 18 through November 21. Tickets will be available starting October 1, 2021.

“We hope the Chinese Lantern Festival will be just the beginning of a new tradition that sparks the imagination, celebrates the year-round beauty of our grounds, and fully inhabits the important place the Zoo holds in the hearts and minds of people of all ages.” “We are thrilled to partner with Hanart Culture on a winter experience unlike any other our Members and guests have previously expected from Zoo Atlanta,” said Raymond B.