Sixth annual China Lights festival shines bright in Hales Corners on opening night

HALES CORNERS, Wis. (CBS 58) — Tucked away in Hales Corners is a glimpse into a different world.

Shining brightly inside of Boerner’s Botanical Gardens are hundreds of lanterns.

But they’re not your typical ones — they light up and some even move.

The lanterns are shaped anywhere from sea creatures like pufferfish and turtles, to insects and jungle animals like parrots and armadillos.

Welcome to China Lights Wisconsin — an annual festival that attracts hundreds of thousands each year.

This year’s theme? Nature’s Glow.

“It has a lot of animals and it’s really beautiful,” said eight-year-old Declan of Milwaukee.

Nearly all of the dozens of larger-than-life-sized lanterns are new.

This year, there’s a 20-foot-long octopus with moving eyes, a massive T-Rex tunnel you can walk through, and of course, their iconic Chinese dragon.

Organizers tell CBS 58 they hope the festival inspires the community and educates them about Chinese and Asian cultures.

“Having this as a representative and such influence across the entire community, not just the Asian community, is fantastic, it’s great,” said Jiaqi Li, who moved from China eight years ago. “This could inspire kids that don’t have Asian backgrounds, to start to get interested in the culture and eventually learn more and grow up and become the bridge between the different cultures and so I think it’s very important.”

Li, who brought his young son to the fest, said it was special to be able to expose his child to things he’d experienced growing up in China.

“It’s great to have this culture here so far away from home,” Li said.

The lanterns are placed on a three-quarter-mile long trail through the gardens.

For Laura Jorgensen, who is permanently in a wheelchair, the accessibility of the festival’s path is key.

“I love to be able to do something because you find in a wheelchair, there’s a lot of things you can’t do,” Jorgensen said.

She and Jack Jorgensen actually toured the gardens before the festival officially opened, to make sure she could get around.

“This is a lot of fun, we’ve been looking forward to this for some time and got the tickets days ago and just all been amped up about it,” Jorgensen said. “It’s wow!”

The event runs through Oct. 29 on Tuesday’s through Sunday’s.

For tickets and more information, click here.