STOCKTON, Calif. — Larger than life art installations are taking over Stockton this holiday season as the Stockton Lantern Festival takes over the Banner Island Ballpark with thousands of LED sculptures.
“It is beautiful,” said Andrea Chicchon-Canton, attended the festival with family and friend. “I was not expecting this at all. I feel like it is like a magical fairy tale.”
The multi-colored lanterns are handcrafted displaying tens of thousands of LED lights. It is the first year for the festival, with a storyline focusing on Koda’s Journey to the Magical Forest.
“They are going to see a journey into Koda's magic forest, which is the rainforest in Peru. Everything that he saw when he was in the rain forest and went back to his hotel room, he can't sleep. He is just amazed by what he saw. He sketches it out. So, you see his hand drawings at every installation of over 600 lanterns here behind us,” said Jason Perry, General Manager of ASM Global Stockton.
Perry says it was a two year-long process to bring the story to life via lights and they don't expect to do it only this year.
“This is not a one year and done thing,” said Perry “It is all about building new traditions for the Central Valley and for people far and wide to come out and enjoy.”
The festival also includes traditional Chinese performances, interactive displays, games and more.
“They got more stuff for the kids to do instead of just walking through and seeing the lights,” said one attendee.
With every turn, a new discovery stopped in Stockton just in time for the holiday season.
Event organizers say the tallest sculpture is 50 feet high and the longest is nearly 100 feet wide, with over 20,000 LED bulbs and over 82,000 feet of light rope and 11,500 feet of fabric used throughout the entire display. The displays were made by Tianyu Arts & Culture Inc., the biggest lantern festival producer in the U.S., according to organizers.
“It is super great to have something family oriented here in Stockton, we can just drive 5-10 minutes to come and have a good family time,” said Jonathan Canton, who attended with his family and friends.
The festival will run through Jan. 14 and doors open at 5 pm. Tickets start at $19 for children and at $23 for adults. For more information, click HERE.
