PICTURING THE PANDA
Boerner Botanical Gardens at Whitnall Park will be transformed into welllighted Panda habitats beginning Friday through Oct. 21 with the return of the China Lights lantern festival.
This year's festival theme is PandaMania and organizers say there will be more than 40 new lantern sculptures along a path extending three-fourths of a mile. The lone returning lantern display from last year is the 200-foot-long dragon and its companion, a phoenix.
Panda-shaped lantern sculptures of all sizes take center stage throughout the 9-acre gardens, where several displays will be animated. A few others will be interactive and designed for children either to step on discs to light a path or swing on suspended moons.
The 2016 and 2017 festivals each drew more than 100,000 visitors and this year's run could be extended one week if needed to accommodate public demand, promoter Ralph Garrity said.
After this weekend, the festival will be open Tuesday through Sunday each week from 5:30 to 10 p.m. until Oct. 21.
Here's what you need to know:
1. Advance tickets
Tickets bought in advance are valid any night of the festival. Ticket prices: $20 for adults, ages 18 to 59; $12 for seniors; and $12 for children, ages 5 to 17. Tickets can be purchased online at
www.chinalights.org. Tickets also will be sold at the Boerner visitor's center, Milwaukee County Parks main office at 9840 Watertown Plank Road, Mitchell Park Domes and several county golf courses.
2. Free parking
Parking will be provided at 10 lighted lots. Signs at park entrances will have information on available parking. Park rangers will direct traffic to the lots.
Complimentary shuttles will serve visitors parking at four outer lots #7, #8, #9 and #10.
Limited parking is available near the China Lights entrance for people with disabilities who have state-issued disabled or disabled veteran license plates, or the state-issued disabled parking identification card.
3. What you can expect to see
The first lantern visitors will see is a giant Panda sculpture covered with thousands of pingpong balls outside the entrance.
Nearly three dozen artisans from China have assembled the 45 lantern sculptures by welding metal frames, lighting the frames from within using strings of LED lights, covering the framework in brightly colored fabric and hand-painting designs if needed.
Visitors to the 2018 festival will walk inside a 65-foot-long shark sculpture to get a close-up look at the internal frames and lighting of a lantern.
4. Folk art and entertainment
A schedule of each evening's stage performances of Chinese folk art and cultural entertainment will be posted at the Welcome Gate. Performances of acrobats, martial artists and folk dancers begin at 6:30 p.m.
Acrobatic acts include foot juggling, plate spinning, diabolo (Chinese yoyo), contortion and mask-changing. In the ancient Chinese art of mask changing, performers wear multiple thin masks, which they change with the passing of a hand fan.
At a separate marketplace, artisans will create traditional handicrafts for sale. Craft demonstrations include inner-bottle painting with a bent brush, rock engraving and embroidery.
5. Food and beverages will be sold
There will be two concession areas with picnic table seating served by seven vendors.
Vendors this year include MILWOK-EE, Gift of Wings Grill, Heavenly Roasted Nuts, T. Best Kettle Corn Co., Tanpopo/Greenfish and Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds. Sake, beer, sodas and hot beverages will be sold.