Lantern Light Festival

Last weekend, Saturday night, January 19th, my husband Frank and I went to the light Lantern Light Festival at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in our neighboring town of Pleasanton. CA. A "Do The Bay" review described the event as follows:

A tradition that started over 2,000 years ago, the lantern festival is China’s most important celebration, marking the return of spring, with the lighting of Chinese lanterns being symbolic of illuminating the future and the reunion of family. ... Each Chinese lantern is custom-built by Chinese artisans and typically takes four weeks and a team of seven to complete. The lanterns appear to be three-dimensional stained glass and are handmade from hundreds of pieces of silky cloth. ... a rare opportunity to witness the majestic skill of the world’s best lantern-makers. 

The lanterns are all mounted to the ground and do not go air-born as in the scene from the Disney movie Tangled. For information about floating lantern festivals check out the Disney Examiner Site about floating lantern festivals. But being stationary did not detract from their allure. 

The event was outdoor at night so Frank and I dressed warmly. We did not need to. The weather was almost balmy and our coats and scarfs were something to carry rather than wear. A slight inconvenience was that with the recent rains the lawn area of the fairgrounds was somewhat muddy. Any real soggy areas though were covered over with straw. We had to clean our shoes when we got home but we did not sink in anywhere or have the discomfort of wet feet. Here is a tour of what we saw. To give a sense of scale, Frank is silhouetted standing under the entrance arch. Far behind him in the background is the 400 foot long dragon. 

After we entered, off to the right was an esplanade that paralleled the 400 foot long dragon and was lined with blue dolphins. In the far distance, a long, arched walkway was filled with glowing orange silk lanterns. They did not drift off to the sky but gave the impression of doing so. I thought the soft muted light made it romantic as we passed beneath later in our tour of the grounds.

We decided to work our way around the perimeter of the displays in a counter-clockwise direction with the entrance defined as the 6 o'clock position. Over Frank's shoulder in the distance at about the 3 o'clock perimeter location is a collection of soldiers and Christmas trees. When we grew closer as we walked around we noted a sign stating that these soldiers would rather listen to music than fight.

The first lantern collection we came upon to view close up was the flower fairies. These were located at about the 5 o'clock location.

Although Chinese tradition asserts that there are eight flower fairies, only four were represented in the exhibit – and even fewer in the photo.

The centerpiece of the show was that 400 foot long dragon and we had glimpses of him from all angles.

Along the back fence of the festival was an array of animals located along the 2 o'clock through 10 o'clock locations. The pandas were cute and had been created in playful poses.

As I stand near one, his human scale size is discernible based on my silhouette.

Next up was a series of birds (at roughly 1 o'clock). I admired the colors and feather detail on the mallard duck.

A herd of antelope (at about 12 o'clock) were gracefully posed.

A trio of zebras stood amongst the green grasses (at approximately 11 o'clock). The sign by them informed that zebra mascots are used in China to raise public awareness of road safety.  Pedestrians are reminded to use the striped cross walk, i.e., "zebra crossings" to avoid traffic incidents. 

As we neared the farthest point from the entrance, I captured a view from the tail end of that 400-foot long dragon.

Teddy bears were captured with the skill of the lantern artisans. They are chubby, friendly creatures, per my perspective. The Chinese give them multiple symbolic meanings.

When I googled the symbolic meaning of bear in the Chinese culture, I learned its relevance in Feng Shui.

The bear is important to the concepts of feng shui, the Chinese art of harmonizing humans with their environments. According to this philosophy, a bear represents masculine energies, and placing a figure of a bear in the home -- particularly the main entrance -- helps to protect the house and its inhabitants. Also, placing a bear's image in the part of the home where children might reside helps parents to give birth to strong, healthy baby boys.

Next up, but a bit more inboard from the perimeter, was this abstract lantern collection of brightly lit bouquets of hands with spirals within. I asked Frank what he thought they meant and he quipped, "Well, handsprings of course!" Somersaults, anyone?

This next overview photo was taken at the 9 o'clock position looking back toward the entrance. The impressive length of that dragon lantern can be appreciated. The ambience was relaxed and folks seemed to have a good time strolling about on the balmy evening. We had arrived shortly after 6 PM and stayed until after 9 PM. The grassy expanse was a bit uneven, nevertheless it was easier on the feet than hard pavement. It was especially squishier because of the recent rains. We had dinner at the festival – Mexican. I had a quesadilla and Frank had soft tacos. On our way in we'd had a snack of beignets from the French crepe booth.

There did not seem to be an over-riding theme to the event. Not only the food was eclectic. We walked through a shark tunnel entering through the mouth beneath its long white teeth of silk. Off to the left in the background is a white and blue ming vase. How do these go together? I do not know... perhaps because they are both blue?

Keeping up with eclectic vibe, we came across a Statue of Liberty. Her base was approximately eight feet high at least, several feet taller than Frank's 6"4". Certainly this event had much more than a Chinese-only bent.

We also came upon a castle, inboard of 2 o'clock, with two archways to pass under. It reminded me of It's A Small World at Disneyland. Lots of little girls ran around it, pretending they were princesses. What does a clown have to do with it? Maybe he is the court jester. But wait. If you look closely he is holding a Samurai sword. Maybe he is the protectorate of the castle. Why is he wearing such a big grin, then? These comments are not meant as criticisms, just as points to ponder.

Off to the left side of the castle, at 3 o'clock, was an amusement area with animatronic dinosaurs that kids could ride and a labyrinth guests could explore. Frank and I found it mildly challenging to find our way through the maze, but we most certainly did not have an overwhelming amount of difficulty. As best I could remember, I mapped the displays we saw on a clock face as way of summary.

As we made our way out, we took a few close-up photos with the dragon. First me at his front to show a sense of scale ...

... and then me up close and personal next to his front claw.

Finally, this is the view we saw of the backside of the welcoming arch on our way exiting. Note from left to right the cosmopolitan choice of subjects for the lanterns: the Eiffel tower, a British(?) government building of some sort, a giant panda, a pagoda, and the leaning tower of Pisa.

From the front, the lantern arch was equally impressive. We enjoyed our evening there: the right amount of walking for a good length of time, mild comfortable weather in which to view a wealth  and variety of items, reasonable – though unexpected – choices for food, and the great companionship of each other as co-visitors for the event.