Asian Lantern Festival Opens At Cleveland Zoo On June 20

CLEVELAND — The Asian Lantern Festival will return to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on June 20.

Zoo officials have said this year's festival will be "bigger" than last year's event, and will feature more live performances, more food options and new displays. Set up for the festival began five weeks ago and required 20 semi-trucks to transport the metal interiors of the lanterns.

The largest display at this year's Asian Lantern Festival is a Chinese pagoda that stretches 50 feet into the air. The pagoda is composed of 19,000 mugs, 7,400 plates, 7,000 spoons and 1,300 bowls. A crane was needed to build the pagoda.

Other highlights of this year's festival include a 100-foot long shark tunnel, a 30-foot-tall giant panda (made of 20,000 ping pong balls) and an all-new interactive zone, with moon swings, stepping stones and more.

Live performances will be held each night of the festival, with performers showing of their foot juggling, contortion and martial arts skills. There will also be an Asian craft market and a variety of local Asian food options, including Li Wah, King Wah and Thai Thai. Craft beer from Market Garden Brewery will be available for purchase.

The Asian Lantern Festival is a limited time event, running from Thursday to Sunday evenings starting June 20 and continuing through July 28. The Festival will start at 6:30 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m. each night.

Advance tickets are $18.50 for non-Zoo members and $15.50 for members. Four-packs can be purchased for $50. Tickets can be bought on the day of the event for $20.50 each or $60 for four. Children under 2 are free.

The 2018 Asian Lantern Festival broke U.S. attendance records for lighting events.