Chinese Artisans prepare for opening weekend for Twin Cities Lantern Light Festival
After traveling over 7,000 miles, a team of thirty artisans from has arrived in the Twin Cities from Zigong Tengda Lantern Art & Culture in China. After successful runs in Miami and Memphis, using a craft handed down from family to family for over 2,000 years, these skilled lantern-makers will transform Canterbury Park into a nighttime spectacular of light and color over the next month.
The first of its kind in the Twin Cities, the Lantern Light Festival is a six-week production featuring massive lanterns, inspiring performances, and a variety of food.
All of the lanterns are handmade, starting with full-size sketches. Steel rods are cut, bent and welded to create the frames, which are filled with LED lights, and then covered with brilliantly colored silk-like fabric. The need three months to complete our hand-crafted lanterns, which are made from sculpted steel frames and hundreds of pieces of silky cloth.
Hundreds of lanterns will illuminate the night, featuring a 400-foot-long Dragon, a 30-foot-tall Panda, lantern tunnels, giant guitars, flowers, dolphins, and more. The festival will also feature Minnesota themed lanterns such as, a Prince tribute, Paul Bunyan, and more!
