The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Chinese lanterns light up CNY
he New York State Chinese Lantern Festival will be held May 25through July 1at the New York State Fairgrounds.
The New York State Chinese Lantern Festival will be held May 25 through July 1 at the New York State Fairgrounds.
The Lantern Festival will feature three live performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Gates will open at 6 p.m. each evening and the magic begins at sunset when the lanterns begin to glow.
This year’s event will have an indoor and outdoor component. The performances will be held in the International Building and the State Park at the Fair. “This is a feast of lights and color at a time when the weather in Upstate New York begins to change,” said Annette Peters, vice president of marketing, Advance Media New York. “It’s a perfect addition to the cultural fabric of our community.”
The Lantern Festival will be open every day but Mondays and includes 30-minute entertainment shows focusing on Chinese culture, featuring Chinese dancers, acrobats, face changers and musicians. These performers have decades of experience and offer a glimpse of Chinese stage culture. Some traditional Chinese performances include: jar balancing, kicking bowls on a rolling board, facechanging, martial arts, and diabolo.
Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc. is the American branch of industrial design company Sichuan Tianyu headquartered in Zigong, China, perhaps most familiar to Americans as the design team behind several set pieces for the James Bond film Skyfall. Tianyu Arts & Culture produce and organize lantern shows in China, Europe, Australia and the United States.
The sculptural components will be created onsite by more than 20 artists from China. Welded metal frames covered in fabric will emerge as flowers, peacocks, cranes, butterflies,
archways. The sculptures are LED-lit-from-within lanterns.
“Visitors will explore both the ancient culture of China while learning about the Chinese traditions of today by taking a walking interactive tour of breathtaking displays,” organizers said.
Festival hours will be Tuesdays through Thursdays, 6-10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 6-11 p.m.; Sundays, 6-10 p.m.; and closed Mondays.
General admissions is $15.50 online, $16 at the gate; senior citizens $14 online, $14.50 at the gate; children 5-16 $12.50 online, $13 at the gate; children under 5 years old are free
Formore information, or to purchase tickets, visit: www.lanternfestnys.com or call 315-470-0000.