1-mile walk through Grand Rapids Lantern Festival is sure to bring goosebumps

Ever wonder what it would be like to breathe underwater? Or experience the wonder of bioluminescence up close and personal? Or get completely lost (at least figuratively) in otherworldly Asian-inspired tunnels of giant light-up plants, animals and everything else you can imagine?

Your opportunity for this type of sensory brain tickle is happening during the Grand Rapids Lantern Festival, held at the John Ball Zoo every Wednesday through Sunday from now until June 16, from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The 1-mile walk through the zoo is sure to give you goosebumps, seeing the three-dimensional attention to detail to lantern art and light that gives life to all types of plants and creatures. Among the oohs and aahs from visitors of all ages, one child proclaimed it was the “best night ever” as she traversed a bridge with a canopy of lanterns.

John Ball Zoo promotions and events director Darci Mitchell and her team, along with a number of sponsors, collaborated with lantern and light festival service provider Tianyu Arts and Culture Inc. to bring the festival to Grand Rapids. Mitchell first saw Tianyu's work in Louisville on a 2022 scouting trip.

“I knew then we had to bring this show to Michigan,” Mitchell said. Their first Grand Rapids show was in 2023. “I think it’s just something really fun and fresh for people, and (Tianyu) makes it really fun and interactive. It’s a really memorable experience, and it looks great in photographs, so it’s definitely a very social media-worthy event.”

One of the best parts for guiding a theme for the exhibit to Mitchell and Tianyu is merging lessons in Asian culture while highlighting conservation. Some lanterns promote the zoo’s conservation initiatives, or future shows like the upcoming Dino Adventures: Explore The Jurassic Forest, from July 15 to Nov. 10.

Children’s responses become a large part of the experience-landscape while they observe the lanterns (at least for those not responding to being up past their bedtimes) and interactive displays around them that include bubbles, a shark’s mouth photo opportunity, plastic Djembe drums and storybook animals that are bigger than life. The event is stroller- and wheelchair-accessible, and the venue recommends purchasing tickets online, in advance. For more information, go to jbzoo.org

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Grand Rapids Lantern Festival at John Ball Zoo: What to know