In a holiday season swept of its customs, one tradition is still bringing light to this dark winter.
As a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was TV only, Radio City’s “Christmas Spectacular” has been canceled and the New Year’s Eve ball drop is set to be virtual, but the Chinese lantern festival LuminoCity is returning to Randalls Island, bringing a bit of illumination to the void in NYC’s Christmastime calendar.
The 10-acre entirely outdoor festival features all-new installations separated into five fantastical lands primed to offer a brief, bright escape from the year. There’s the lushly colored Mysterious Forest, desert-themed Dangerous Dunes, ethereal Mystical Moon Land and more. All have extensive backstories pegged to the child-friendly narrative of Lumi, a sentient light bulb, whose innocent narrative is told through the 30 to 45 minute experience as well as the event’s interactive website.
“It explores the delicate relationship between humans and nature, and will hopefully provoke a deeper consideration of the world around us,” said Xiaoyi Chen, the festival’s founder, adding that while the “heartwarming,” original story does have some current relevance, its main intention is escapist beauty. “We want to create a brief and wondrous escape from reality.”
This year’s new fleet of light sculptures includes 12 famous cat and dog influencers reimagined as the zodiac constellations and a 26-foot tall Christmas tree, all composed of handmade lanterns constructed by artisans in China and shipped to NYC.
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