Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival

I love the Columbus Zoo Wildlights. It’s been a family tradition my entire life. I may still try to drag the crew up there later this week, just to really shove the Christmas spirit down our throats. 

I however, was not upset about an alternative to Wildlights this year, mainly due to the crowds. If you pick the coldest night of the month to attend, as we did, there are no crowds. Winning but freezing!

The Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival was the perfect alternative to our typical Zoo trip.

The Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival boasts 39 beautiful lantern displays ranging from a 200 foot long, illuminated dragon to glowing tulip-lined walk ways. The lanterns are created by hand, using silk fabric, steel frames and tens of thousand of LED lights.

I loved it immediately upon arrival. The light displays are beyond cool and captivated our entire group, ranging from an almost 4 year-old to the Grandparents.

Lighting up the Natural Resources Park at the Ohio Expo Center, the hand crafted displays are crafted by Chinese artisans hailing from Zigong, Sichuan, China’s cultural capital for the ancient art of lantern-making.

As I mentioned we attended on the coldest night of the year thus far, and it had just snowed. Seeing the lights set against the white, clean backdrop really made their neon colors pop.

It is also probably the only place you are going to see giraffe, tigers, zebra and flamingo frolicking in snow!

Each night, artists showcase traditional Chinese crafts, which are also for sale. Crafts include palm leaves weaving, sugar painting and Shu embroidery. 

Every evening there are nightly performances, done by Chinese performers with decades of experience, that offer a first hand glimpse into Chinese stage culture. Some of the traditional Chinese acts apart of the daily performances include, jar balancing, Chinese face-changing, martial arts and umbrella juggling.

My Mom and I implementing the body warmth method.

Cold with rosy cheeks but Happy.

I have to give Evelyn credit, she did really well in the four degree weather. It was the real kind of cold that night. She didn’t really complain and loved watching the show and seeing the different displays, especially the Santa and Nemo ones!

The intricate details that make up this celebration of Chinese culture is definitely worth checking out. I actually loved the authentic music that blares through out the park, I found it a wonderful alternative to the typical Christmas Carols. 

Bah-hum-bug!