Asian Lantern Festival

Last weekend we kicked off Spring Break with a trip to the Asian Lantern Festival at Reid Park Zoo. I had been wanting to go since hearing about it just after Christmas. It was the second to last weekend of the event, so we decided to give it a shot. Tickets were a little on the pricey side, but we found the admission was well worth it!

We were greeted by a dragon when we got to the ticket line, just after 6pm. It was starting to get crowded, but the line moved fast and we got a taste of the lanterns while waiting outside. This dragon arch was huge and looked awesome!

Once inside, we walked between rows of the Chinese zodiac. I am a Monkey, my daughter a Pig, my son a Rabbit and my husband a Dragon. Those born in the year of the Monkey are highly intelligent, creative and driven by emotions. Kinda seems to fit me to a tee!

While we waited for it to get dark, we enjoyed the lion dancers and stood beside this huge dragon! Loki got a handful of fortune cookies that the dancers were tossing into the crowd. 

We started our walk through the zoo, amazed at all the different displays and the beautiful colors. There were way more lantern displays that we expected. There was a group of panda bear lanterns, camels, walruses, a huge parrot, vultures, zebras, lots of flowers and other animals as well. We learned that all these lanterns were made by hand in China, imported to the US, brought to the zoo and then carefully assembled by hand. It was a process that took months. 

At the Lantern Festival, the zoo café had snacks and Asian cuisine. We had filled up on Greek food just before arriving, so we stuck to cold drinks. They had a booth selling beer and wine and mixed drinks. Of course we had a have something to sip on to finish our walk around. 

The next performance of the evening was the acrobats. It was fun to watch how flexible and strong they were. The crowd had grown a bit over the time we had arrived, but it still was very enjoyable. 

There were other things to see and do that evening. There was a huge blow up planetarium where we got to sit and hear stories about the constellations. It made me want to be outside looking at the stars. There was a lady making trainer chop sticks for kids. My son proudly stated that he only needed a regular pair since he knew how to use them. Another lady held a bearded dragon for everyone to encounter and ask about. There was also a table to Japanese calligraphy where you could have something custom written or buy a pre made card or print. At home in our hall, we already have a dragon with our names written next to it, so we skipped buying more calligraphy. 

If you're looking for something to do over Spring Break, definitely check out the Asian Lantern Festival at Reid Park Zoo! You'll be amazed at the lantern displays and all the care that went into crafting these beautiful displays of light!