Annual lantern festival gives Zoo Atlanta a 'holiday glow'

ATLANTA - There are many signs that the holiday season has arrived, but one of our favorites involves the appearance of hundreds of colorful lanterns throughout Zoo Atlanta.

IllumiNights at the Zoo: A Chinese Lantern Festival is the zoo’s annual holiday lights show, and it’s back for a third year now through Jan. 14. We’ve featured the festival the past two years here on Good Day Atlanta, and we couldn’t pass up another chance to stroll through the attraction after dark, discovering the hand-painted lanterns while sipping on some hot chocolate. 

In case you’ve missed it on Good Day Atlanta or haven’t been able to attend in the past, IllumiNights features more than a hundred lanterns designed by Chinese company Hanart Culture. The lanterns are constructed out of steel frames which are covered in silk and hand-painted or airbrushed; the light from within comes from LED lights. While many of the lanterns represent animals featured at Zoo Atlanta, others bring mythical creatures like Pegasus and the Griffin to life. 

Along with the glowing lanterns, another holiday experience available during IllumiNights this year is Elf Power, Inc. the VR Theatre Experience. The virtual reality experience takes place in the zoo’s Gorilla Trek VR Theatre, and transforms patrons into elves in search of a child in need of some holiday spirit.

Hours for this year’s IllumiNights at the Zoo: A Chinese Lantern Festival are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. nightly, and general admission tickets range from $20.99 to $24.99 for adults and $17.99 to $19.99 for children ages 3 to 11. For more information on the event, click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our evening adventure in this unique Atlanta winter wonderland!