Tag Archives: asian lantern festival

Sep16

Cleveland Zoo Asian Lantern Festival

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Cleveland Zoo Asian Lantern Festival

Hello! Every summer the Cleveland and Columbus Zoo host the most wonderful Asian Lantern Festivals. It is a spectacular event that features light up and motorized displays, traditional music, and amazing performances. During a recent trip to the Cleveland Zoo, I was able to see a lot of the different displays but it was during the day time and when the sun goes down is when the magic happens. This past week, I was lucky enough to go to the drive through Lantern Festival with my beloved downstairs neighbor. It was the very last night to be able to do so and we had an absolutely fabulous time. The day turned to night as soon as we arrived at the zoo and we got to experience this stunning feat of artistry before our very eyes. Check it out and be sure to keep peeping my TikTok for a video tour soon!

^^^ How cool is that?!?!

This was my first drive through Asian Lantern Festival and I am so appreciative to the Cleveland Zoo for making this event accessible to everyone. As my neighbor does not get around the best, this was the way to go and I feel so happy that I got to be with him for his very first time seeing the big show. He booked us an eight PM time slot and our almost hour drive to Cleveland was spent chattering away about how excited we were. And, minus a few hiccups, we were downright giddy by the time we got to zoo.

We both kind of expected to be able to get right into the zoo upon our arrival and that was SO not the case lol. Traffic was completely flooded with festival goers and it took us a solid forty minutes to reach the zoo’s entrance. Then, it was at least another fifteen for the bottleneck we found ourselves in to break up so we could proceed with the tour. Note to self: It is NOT a good idea to drink an entire bottle of water during the drive to the zoo. I had to pee SO bad and bathroom breaks were not an option SMH. -_-

Blessedly, once we started being able to drive through the zoo at a steady clip my bathroom woes subsided because holy wow. It was even better than I could have imagined! During my last evening Asian Lantern Festival outing, it was still quite light out and we missed the majesty of the lights on a pitch black night. That is exactly how you should experience the fest because it literally felt like being thrown into a fairy tale. The lights, music, motion, and the cool breeze with the windows down was intoxicating. We could even see some of the animals in their exhibits when we reached traffic jams and that was an awesome bonus.

The displays at the festival included flowers, foliage, and regular zoo animals but also featured a heavy dose of the mythical. There were fairies and dragons as well as the creatures traditional to Asian legend. I loved the different fairies the best and also adored the undersea displays. The tunnel with the canopy of fish swimming in a swirling ocean was breathtaking. At my summer day trip to the Cleveland Zoo, I walked through that tunnel trying to visualize how it came to life at night. It was even more beautiful than my daydreams!

The Asian Lantern Festival has now drawn to a close at the Cleveland Zoo and all I can say is: Bring on the next one. The festival is completely different every year and I cannot wait to see how the zoo is transformed next!

What is your favorite yearly event in your neck of the woods? What is your favorite animal real or otherwise? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep5

Columbus Zoo Lantern Festival

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Columbus Zoo Lantern Festival

Hello! A few weekends ago I went to the Columbus Zoo with my big bro and Johnny as an end of summer hurrah. We had the best time exploring the gorgeous park and made so many fantastic memories together. Not only did we see beaucoup animals but we were also treated to walking through the Lantern Festival. Every year, the Cleveland and Columbus Zoo creates a glorious display of different animals, mythical creatures, and flowers that all light up at night. While the Columbus Zoo beats out Akron and Cleveland as the best zoo by a long shot, I actually thought the Cleveland Zoo Lantern Fest was better. Check out some pics as well as an adorable shot of a Red Panda for good measure and let’s discuss:

The Columbus Zoo is a vast property and we easily walked over six miles during our visit. Due to its size, the exhibits at this zoo are absolutely gigantic and that is a great thing! However, it leaves little room for features like landscaping, pavilions to rest or have some lunch, and the Lantern Festival displays. In comparison, the Cleveland Zoo has many areas where exhibits aren’t possible and landscaping is the focal point. At the Cleveland Zoo, sprawling displays for the Lantern Fest were achieved simply because they could. Different displays seemed to stretch endlessly and it was marvelous to explore.

This is not to say that the Columbus Zoo Lantern Fest wasn’t good but it definitely didn’t live up to my expectations because it’s such a staple day trip in Ohio. Sans the stunning sea dragon that was the entire length of one of the ponds, all of the other displays were scattered and small as opposed to a full walk through experience. Of course, they made excellent use of the space they did have but it didn’t invoke the larger than life vibes of the displays at the Cleveland Zoo. It made me really thankful that I got to experience the wonders of the Cleveland Zoo Lantern Fest because it was like stepping into another world rather than an afterthought.

While the Columbus Zoo is the best one I have ever been to, it made me proud that little old Cleveland bested them at the Lantern Fest. Attending the nighttime walk through with my entire family, nieces and nephew included, is one of my favorite memories. It was like entering a fairy tale with the twinkling lights, displays that moved, and wonderful performances of music and acrobats. Hell yeah, Cleveland, because you did real good! 😀

Although the Lantern Fest at the Columbus Zoo wasn’t anything to write home about, it was still a fabulous day and one of my favorite summer outings!

Does your zoo host a lantern festival? What is your favorite zoo? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul20

Cleveland Zoo Adventure

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Cleveland Zoo Adventure

Howdy! This past week, I enjoyed a wonderful day trip to the Cleveland Zoo and had a ball. Not only were a lot of the animals very active, but the whole zoo was decorated for their spectacular Asian Lantern Festival. After talking about it for years, my family finally went last year and it was awe inspiring. I assumed that a lot of the decorations and displays would be reused and I was dead wrong. Everything about this Festival was different and it is so cool to me that you will never experience the same Asian Lantern Festival twice! Take a look at some pics and be sure to follow me on TikTok for videos from this adventure:

^^^ Look at that lil face! ❤

The Cleveland Zoo is an amazing staple in my neck of the woods and is a joy to visit. It’s a sprawling, beautiful park that boasts six different areas and a seventh soon when their rain forest is done being remodeled. There is the African Savanna, Wilderness Trek, Australian Adventure, African Elephant Crossing, Waterfowl Lake, and a section of Primates, Cats, and Aquatics. Every exhibit is a sight to see and there were plenty that I simply couldn’t tear myself away from!

While the entire Cleveland Zoo outing was fabulous fun, there were some definite highlights. My top favorite has got to be in the Australian Adventure at the Kangaroo exhibit. I was able to see a tiny baby Joey outside of its mom’s pouch and that was something I had never seen before. I joked that I didn’t realize they had legs because you usually only see the top half of them lol! It was SO incredibly cute and I could have watched the mama/Joey duo all day. Speaking of babies, the Koala at the zoo recently had a little one and you could just make it out while they relaxed in their tree. The Australian Adventure was bursting with new babies and that was really cool to see.

Bear Hollow was also an exciting place to visit as the bears were all up and moving. We saw them snacking, one climbed to a high up net in the exhibit and was hanging out there, and the Grizzly Bears were play fighting in the water. One of them totally bitch slapped the other! And, last but not least, I absolutely adored being able to feed the giraffes some romaine lettuce (Just like my bunnies!). So much so, that I did it twice! Hey, when at the Cleveland Zoo amiright? 😀

Sans the decor of the Asian Lantern Festival, the Cleveland Zoo is a very scenic park. However, it transforms into somewhere magical when the Festival is in full swing. The decorations were astounding and it felt like walking in a fairy tale. I was mesmerized by the colors, the artistry, and the enormity of each and every display and felt so lucky that I could see a second Festival as I now know that it’s totally different each year. If you thought the pictures alone were jaw dropping, just wait for when you see the displays at nighttime. They light up and a lot of them have motions too. It is an absolute MUST if you find yourselves in good ol’ Cleveland, Ohio during the summer!

From start to finish, my day at the Cleveland Zoo was the best. I cannot wait to see their remodeled rain forest because construction was underway and it is HUGE!!

What is your favorite zoo to visit? What’s your favorite animal? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul26

On The Loose In Chartreuse OOTD

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On The Loose In Chartreuse OOTD

Hello!! I had the most wonderful time at the Asian Lantern Festival at the Cleveland Zoo this past weekend. It was simply enchanting from start to finish and it was a blast to explore the completely transformed zoo with my entire family. The festival was a celebration and I wanted to wear something bright and fun to match the vibes. I had just the outfit in mind to accommodate and I am loving how this look turned out! Let’s get to it:

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Who? What? Wear?

Handkerchief Top: Rachel Zoe, TJMaxx

Skort: Almost Famous, TJMaxx

Heeled Mules: Betsey Johnson, TJMaxx

The turquoise earrings were a gift from my mom!

I recently purchased my chartreuse handkerchief top by Rachel Zoe during a TJMaxx shopping trip to spend a birthday gift card. I have been so eager to wear it and thought it would be perfect for the Asian Lantern Festival – if this top isn’t bright and fun, then I truly don’t know what is. The color is divine and I am living for those orange and yellow gemstone straps. What an adorable and unique touch! Speaking of the color, Johnny told me how happy he was that I was wearing such a stand out shade while we were on our way home. Every time I wandered off to snap pics, he was able to find me immediately. 🙂

With the top already pre-selected, the rest of this OOTD essentially styled itself. I have been so bored with wearing plain old shorts so I paired the handkerchief top with a skort by Almost Famous, instead. This skort is old AF but it continues to serve me well every time I wear it. They are insanely soft and comfortable and gives that extra dose of visual interest that a pair of jean shorts can’t do. It was also a fantastic pairing with my little chartreuse number because the skort hit on my waist right where the top ended. This gave a sweet midriff peek-a-boo without feeling too exposed and still being appropriate for an outing with my whole family.

Next, it was onto shoes and accessories. Since this OOTD was colorblocked, I could introduce a pattern with the shoes. I went with a darling pair of heeled mules by Betsey Johnson. These are one of my favorite pairs and I adore the black and white striped heels. The embroidered flowers were an almost spot on match to my top and they also have jeweled brooches on them for a bonus pop of bling. For jewelry, I kept things simple with a delicate pair of dangly turquoise teardrops and I was ready to hit the festival!

I have been dying to wear my new handkerchief top and my On The Loose In Chartreuse OOTD did not disappoint. I was getting compliments left and right and felt like a total star! 😀

How do you incorporate quirky colors into your outfits? What is your favorite gemstone? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul23

Asian Lantern Festival

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Asian Lantern Festival

Hello!!! This past Friday evening was an absolutely magical one because my entire family went to the Asian Lantern Festival at the Cleveland Zoo. This is an extremely popular event that happens every summer and we have wanted to go for years. We finally made it with all of my siblings, nieces, and nephew in tow and that alone made it worth the wait. During our time at the zoo we saw the most incredible inflatable and light displays, acrobatic performances, and of course some animals too. Everything was glorious and I couldn’t stop taking pictures if my life depended on it lol. I wanted all of my darling readers to be able to see everything and even this massive photo dump doesn’t cover it all. Check it out:

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I knew we were all in for a huge treat on Friday based on all of the pictures I have seen from other attendees on social media. However, after experiencing the Asian Lantern Festival for myself, I can say that pictures don’t do it any justice. From the moment we walked into the zoo there were spectacular wonders at every turn. From glowing gems in the trees to delicate light up flowers, the displays big and small were beautiful and even the most camera-happy guest (Like me!) couldn’t capture all of it. Every single fixture filled me with delight to the point that it was kid on Christmas Day level. Each moment was joyous and being with my whole family made it even more so. Cameras capture images, but not necessarily the atmosphere of the event and I wish I could bottle it up. The zoo was completely buzzing with families, friends, and partners making their own special memories too.

While every display was gorgeous, I definitely still had my favorites. I loved the unicorn and dragon, the gemstone trees, and the pagoda surrounded by cherry blossoms. Strolling through the light up tunnels also harbored a sense of adventure because you didn’t know what beautiful sight was there to greet you on the other side. Some of the displays like the dragon in the egg, butterflies, and monkeys surrounding the Tree of Life even moved! This was way cool because there were wands that the kiddos could wave to activate the motions – kind of like at Harry Potter world at Universal Studios. These surprises made the night even more magical and I will never, ever forget it!

By the time we were leaving the zoo it was getting fully dark out and my niece claimed that the displays looked even better at night night time lol. She was so right, but we were exhausted after our big evening out and ready to head home all happy as can be!

Does the zoo in your area host events like this? What is a yearly event that happens in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah