MENDON, Mass. - Emma Soderberg is taking in the colorful lights at Southwick’s Zoo.

“It’s cool," Soderberg said. 

What You Need To Know

  • The festival of Illumination runs until January 2022

  • More than 20 artists traveled from China to make lanterns 

  • The project was delayed a year because of the pandemic

  • The zoo says it’s a way to educate people about the world

More than 20 artists traveled from China to make these lantern displays.

Each sculpture is made of steel and silk and is hand-painted. The Festival of Illumination is one of the biggest lantern displays in New England.

“We’ve never done anything like this and it’s very exciting to be doing it," the CFO of Southwick’s Zoo, Cindy Lavoie, said. 

Frequent visitors, like the Malinconico family, are excited about the lanterns, too. Many of the designs are animals. 

“It’s incredible. Like we were saying, this is one our favorite places to come. Our daughter loves the zoo,” Sarah Malinconico said. “To see it lit up like this is awesome.”

Staff says they’ve been working with Zigong Lantern Group for the past three years to bring this idea to life.

The pandemic pushed back the project a year and shipping issues delayed this year’s start by a few weeks. Now, the zoo is expecting about 100,000 people to come see the lights.

“There were a lot of hurdles, there was a lot of adversity to overcome, but we finally made it," Lavoie said. 

And like many businesses, the zoo took a hit in 2020.

Lavoie says being able to stay open longer helps to cover winter operational costs and its a chance to keep educating visitors about different parts of the world.

“So many people don’t travel, and they would never experience this," Lavoie said. 

People can continue to walk through the lights until Thanksgiving. After that, the display will become a holiday themed drive though event that runs until January.