The Asian Lantern Festival takes place at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo with colorful lit displays, delicious food in an Asian Food Market as well as other decadent options, acrobatic entertainment and more.
2023 DATES:
July 7-9, 2023
July 12, 14-16, 2023
July 19-22, 2023
July 26-29, 2023
August 2, 5-6, 2023
August 9-13, 2023
August 16-20, 2023
August 23-27, 2023
August 30 – September 3, 2023
September 6-10, 2023
September 13-16, 2023
Location: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
3900 Wildlife Way
Cleveland, OH 44109
Website: https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/zoo/programs-events/2023/special-events/asian-lantern-festival-presented-by-meijer
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This post documents my experience on September 10, 2021.
After normal business hours, many ticket-bearing guests came to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo…
…where they passed through an illuminated wisteria tunnel…
…and entered a world of illuminated color and fantasy…
…at the Asian Lantern Festival.
Upon entering the festival, guests were greeted by the pleasant vision of Jack Frost Donuts…
…a face painting booth…
…and a food market…
…with a decent selection of Asian dishes and snacks (Cleveland Asian Food/Li Wah).
To the left of the entrance was a lantern-lined passageway…
…where there were great performances…
…and plenty of photo-ops…
…inside a dragon’s mouth.
But, eventually, all attendees would need to head right of the entrance, pass the food…
…and follow a trail filled with beautifully lit displays…
…of such things as butterflies…
…musicians…
…signs of the Chinese zodiac…
…real animals found at the zoo…
…creatures found in Chinese legend…
…and even the Taj Mahal.
Along the trail, festival goers could enjoy a snack (808)…
…shop the market…
…for all sorts of treasures…
…and try to catch a glimpse of a zoo resident.
I admit that I was absolutely thrilled to catch a glimpse of a tiger walking about…
…but it was only a bonus to the amazement brought to me through all the festival’s fantastic displays.