SANFORD, Fla. (November 20, 2023) — The holidays are officially here in Central Florida. The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ highly anticipated Asian Lantern Festival: Into the Wild, presented by Publix, is now open.
Guests can stroll around a 3/4-mile loop around the Zoo as they enjoy dazzling, larger-than-life handcrafted lanterns illuminated in the night by thousands of LED lights. With all-new lanterns and interactive elements, the event will delight visitors with an incredible display of color, light and sound celebrating traditional Asian lantern festivals.
The event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. on 44 select nights through Jan. 14, 2024. Guests can purchase timed entry tickets here or visit https://www.centralfloridazoo.org/lanterns/ for more information. Entry times are 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8 p.m. each evening. Guests are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to ensure entry, as the event has limited capacity and will likely sell out many nights.
This year’s event includes a section featuring dinosaur lanterns, so even those who have attended in the past will have a whole new experience. The festival will be open every day the week of Thanksgiving except Thanksgiving night, as well as most nights before and after Christmas and New Year’s. It will be open special hours of 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
“We’re thrilled to offer those in Central Florida the opportunity to enjoy this spectacular event for a fourth time. Almost every lantern is new again this year,” said CEO Richard E. Glover, Jr. “This is a cornerstone event for us at the Central Florida Zoo, and it truly is a community event. Collaborating with Publix again makes this year’s event even more special.”
The festival started in 2019 and was not held in 2020. This is the second year Publix will serve as the presenting sponsor.
“It’s exciting to return as the presenting sponsor for the Asian Lantern Festival at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens,” said Hannah Herring, Publix media relations manager. “We love being part of this holiday tradition with our customers, associates and the community.”
The festival is presented in partnership with Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc.
