If the idea of a 100-foot long dragon alone isn’t enough incentive for people who are unsure about going and visiting, Marshall said you just have to visit and see for yourself.CLEVELAND - If you haven't gotten a chance to visit Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Asian Lantern Festival this year, or were hoping to see it again, you're in luck. “Walking through this would definitely make for a really cool date night activity,” Liberto said. Liberto visited with a few friends, but said she would love to bring her boyfriend back. “It’s neat how there’s more than just animals, it’s also nature and just art.”Īccording to Marshall, the festival targets all demographics and has attracted families, older couples and college students alike. “You just stare at this butterfly tree and watch all of the different colors and how each of their wings move, you just can’t take your eyes off it,” Liberto said. While the majority are animal themed - featuring pandas, elephants and giraffes - there are also flower lanterns, decorative archways, tunnels and even a butterfly tree. 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. 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. Allan 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.
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