Calgary zoo to bring new light to its days and nights

  • 2014-02-25
This fall, the Calgary zoo will play host to a festival using light and color in a celebration of Chinese culture and Asian wildlife.

In an announcement made on the first day of Chinese New Year, zoo representatives let the public know about their ideas. They are planning to hold a one of a kind Chinese lantern and garden festival.

This fall, the zoo gardens and Eurasian marsh are will be decorated with colorful lanterns made in China from glass, porcelain and rayon. Lit by LED lights, they will be bright and sparking day or night. Skilled craftsman will assemble them in creative displays on site.

Lantern festivals are a tradition in China, and have taken place there for at least the past 800 years. This will be the only festival of its kind in Western Canada. It will celebrate traditional Chinese culture, and also the arrival of two giant pandas that are scheduled to arrive at the zoo in 2014.

Exact dates for the festival have yet to be announced, but it is hoped that it will draw in the public. People can stroll through the zoo to see the animals then relax and enjoy the quiet while they view the lights.

Attending a display such as this can be a once in a lifetime experience. Postcard printing companies can create mementos of the event for people to display or keep in a scrapbook. These also allow those who were lucky enough to attend the festival in person to share it with their friends and family far away.