Lantern artisans start intricate work
Ticket sales begin for China Lights festival at botanical gardens
While people anticipate the return of the China Lights lantern festival at the Boerner Botanical Gardens on Sept. 22, the artisans from the Chinese town of Zigong City have arrived to begin building the 50 larger-than-life sculpture displays spanning 10 acres.
Forty-eight of the 50 displays will be new, but many are made from the same steel and fabric that made up the last festival as well as material from other displays from similar festivals around the world.
“Right now, they are rebuilding the steel frames and tearing the fabric from older displays to build the new ones,” said Huiyuan Lui, event manager at Tianyu Arts and Culture, the group that puts together the festivals.
Artisans, who arrived in Milwaukee and began working a few days ago, have two months to complete the project, and their tasks range from welding metal frames to hand-painting the finishing touches.
Perhaps the most interesting task is “puzzling” together fine china dinnerware, by tying decorative knots, to create a Pagoda Palace made of 60,000 plates, cups and spoons.
Once the plates are knotted together, the public can watch the palace take form in front of the Education and Visitor Center in the weeks leading up to the festival.
“It will be over 40 feet tall, and they all have to be tied by hand,” said Boerner Botanical Gardens Director Shirley Walczak. “It will be like a big wind chime.”
Displays are made up of more than 1,000 components that include the welded metal frames wrapped with lights and the brightly colored fabric that surrounds them.
Not only will 95% of the show be new, with only the two most popular displays returning, but the festival will also be more expansive than last year.
“We are going to expand all the way down through the perennial garden and add more lanterns in the peony garden,” Walczak said.
Tickets are on sale for the festival, which runs Sept. 22 through Oct. 22. Hours are 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Tickets are $15 for adult general admission, and there will be special themes and giveaways on the weekends.
For more information and to buy tickets, go to www.chinalights.org.