"When the lights come on, it's breathtaking:" 'China Lights' to illuminate Boerner Botanical Gardens Oct. 1-30
HALES CORNERS -- Pandas and people, birds and butterflies. Larger-than-life flowers and creatures that only live in stories. They’re all on display, illuminating the grounds at the Boerner Botanical Gardens.
“It’s really out of this world," said Shirley Walczak, the director of Boerner Botanical Gardens.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
This magical menagerie is called China Lights, and it's bringing some of the wonder of Chinese lantern festivals to the Midwest.
The exhibition will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays October 1-30.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
“It’s spectacular. This is an amazing exhibit during the day, but at night -- when the lights come on -- it’s breathtaking," Walczak said.
"Chinese lantern festivals have a history of over 3,000 years. The lantern festival usually falls on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year," said Huiyuan Liu, the exhibition's Beijing-based manager.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
28 artisans from China started work at the Gardens on September 1. They spent the last month assembling around 1,000 individual pieces that make up about 40 separate installations around the grounds.
"They worked day and night to have these lanterns built and set up," said Liu.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
"It’s just an amazing process," added Walczak, who watched the entire production come together over the last few weeks. "It’s welders, electricians, artists that paint, ladies who do the detailing -– the gluing of all the silk fabric onto the frames."
More amazing still, most of the workers come from one area of China -- a country of more than 1.3 billion people.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
"All of our artisans come from Zigong, in Sichuan Province. More than 90% of the lanterns of the world come from this city because they have a real long history of lantern-making there," said Liu.
For the Boerner Botanical Gardens, the month-long event is the culmination of years of planning.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
“I am just ecstatic that this is here in Milwaukee, and just ecstatic that we at the gardens can show this to everyone in the area. It’s a dream come true to have it all here," Walczak said.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens
If you're interested in visiting China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens, you can purchase tickets by CLICKING HERE. You can also take a look at photos of these beautiful lantern displays from other festivals around the country.
China Lights at Boerner Botanical Gardens