ART & CULTURAL (Nashville) — Zoolumination, the country’s largest Chinese lantern festival, is coming to the grounds of the Nashville Zoo in November and tickets go on sale beginning September 4. Most weekend nights are expected to sell out quickly and those interested are encouraged to buy tickets early.

Organizers will spread over 500 custom-made silk lanterns across the 60 acre footprint that makes up the zoo, creating elaborate displays, holiday-themed scenes, and even a 200-foot-long dragon.

The Zoo will feature the event from November 15 through February 2 and will close on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The lantern festival looks to be a one-of-a-kind event with some lanterns stretching the size of a four-story building and a dragon the length of a football field. Chinese artists also hand-created zoo animals such as elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and others for the display for the display.

Artists and welders will travel to Tennessee at the end of September to begin construction of the display. Onsite construction is slated to take over two months and require large construction cranes to set many of the 500 plus lanterns in place. The lanterns will require more than 70 tons of steel, 50,000 feet of silk, 21,000 LED lights, and more than 50,00 feet of cable.

In addition to the lanterns, the event features a 110-foot tall zip line and carousel. Chinese acrobats and entertainers will also travel from Zigong, China for nightly performances.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here. •

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