The Chinese Lantern Festival is back with significant changes and improvements! Utilizing the pond area of the Pomona Fairplex, they’ve added 3 significant displays on your way to the exit. The initial areas up the hill and on the ground level also featured mainly new themes and displays. If there were any remnants of last year, it is because they either fit the theme or it’s part of the grounds.
Branded as a “Holiday Light Spectacular”, there was a centralized theme announced: “Blooming Seasons”. After noticing the theme name, it started to make sense as there were extravagant displays of flower lights and “Rose Parade” sized floats. However, if we were to take a guess, it would have been something with “animals” as we were able to spot animal displays from all walks of life. Basically, it felt like it was a habitat just blooming and growing into its beauty; perfect if you like the zoo.
As you walk through the trails, you can expect to encounter different parts of the”habitat” with different animals and plants. It’s what a jungle or garden might look like if everything was made with lanterns! The best displays were saved for last on your way out. As long as you follow the “exit” sign, you will be able to see them. We know that we spent the most amount of time in this section which boasted some “Rose Parade” sized floats with a magnificent display of new life to welcome us all into the spring and new year. That’s not including the giant electric blue dragon that stood maybe 20 plus feet tall with smoke coming out of its mouth! The “Rose Parade” sized float is worth a good look so be sure to do a walk-around and take in all the details. Then allot some time for the electric blue dragon. Make sure you go close to look at all the details and how it is made. The display was created and put together with thousands of pieces of ceramics tied together in a consistent pattern to form a super long dragon! This was perhaps the most impressive display object we’ve ever seen! Just the admission alone was worth it if all you could see was the exit area. We were in awe and we couldn’t believe how this display was put together. There had to be some architectural expert behind this display!
Be sure the catch the shows as they are worth the wait. You can catch the Chinese folk concert where 5 ladies utilize traditional instruments to play a mixture of classic Chinese music and some urban American pop hits. That show runs daily at 6PM and 7:45PM. On the big stage, is the traditional dance show. This show incorporates Asian dance from various cultures and backgrounds and kicks off with a beautiful orchestral taiko drum sequence. The show runs at 7PM and 8:45PM. We love that neither showtimes from both the shows conflict with each other so that you can plan accordingly.
There’s plenty of food and snacks available for purchase as well. If you miss the outdoor cafe with the giant “Chinese Take Out Box” facade which serves Chinese food among other snacks and desserts; there’s mini donuts, hand-dipped ice cream bars, and popcorn along the way to the other displays up the hill. Be sure to bring comfy shoes as this does contain walking up and down hills with dirt pathways. This is a great family event or night out to jump start the new year and head into Chinese/Lunar New Year; actually kinda perfect for those with Christmas light withdrawals.
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For more info, visit: https://www.chineselanternfestival.com/
