2019 Boerner Botanical Gardens China Lights Festival: Your Guide

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WI — Organizers of China Lights, the popular Chinese lantern festival held during the fall at the Boerner Botanical Gardens, says that tickets to China Lights: Treasures of China go will on sale Aug. 8, at 10:08 a.m. at chinalights.org and at various Parks locations.

"With new lantern displays, interactive exhibits and more, this year China Lights is sure to bring Milwaukee’s legacy of public art and iconic public parks onto the world stage in a way it never has before," Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said.

The glow of 40 larger-than-life sculptural lantern displays will illuminate the nine-acre Boerner Botanical Gardens, located in Whitnall Park at 9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners.

The event runs from Sept. 13 to Oct. 20, Tuesday through Sunday, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., with a 5 p.m. opening for people who purchase a VIP ticket package. The festival will be closed Mondays.

Lantern Displays

Organizers say along the three-quarter-mile walking route through the Botanical Gardens, lantern displays of cultural treasures will be featured. The 25-foot-tall Temple of Heaven will fill the area in front of the Education and Visitor Center, The Great Wall of China will meander through the Rotary Garden and offer numerous beacon towers for photo ops, and the Terra Cotta Warriors will be displayed as if in the original archaeological dig site.

The only returning display at China Lights will be the highly-popular Moon Swings in the interactive area. Designed with children in mind, the interactive area will feature a display of animated dinosaurs, in a nod to China’s recent recognition by Smithsonian Magazine as “the new epicenter of paleontology.”

Weekend Themes

• Sept. 13–15, Opening Weekend
• Sept. 20–22, Treasures Weekend,
• Sept. 27–29, Asian Cuisine/Chicago Weekend
• Oct. 4–6, Moon Festival Weekend
• Oct. 11–13, Cultural Weekend
• Oct 18–20, Closing Weekend

Live Performances

Each night at about 6:15 p.m., entertainment staff, dressed as a lion, will lead a procession through the audience in the Shrub Mall of the Botanical Gardens. The parade will conclude at the main stage in time for the first performance of the night.

Stage shows will highlight folk arts and culture, with professional acrobats and face-changing performers from China. Entertainment will vary nightly, and bonus shows will be added Fridays through Sundays. Schedules for the two performance stages will be posted at the Welcome Gate.

Refreshments

Throughout the festival a wide variety of Asian and Western food and beverage selections will be available, from Sweet and Sour Chicken with egg rolls to Klement’s hot dogs, and from sake to Miller Lite.

Visitors may choose from a variety of areas to dine. The new Zhou’s Garden Café will offer an intimate feeling, with small-table seating and garden string lights overhead. Ralph’s Wine and Sake Bar will return with tables for two, and two areas will have picnic-table seating near the performance stages.

Parking

New this year will be the Dragon Reserve Lot with paved, paid reserved parking nearest the China Lights entrance. Tickets for this lot may be purchased online only. In addition, first-come, first-served, complimentary parking will be available at nine fully-lighted parking lots.

Complimentary shuttle service, with an introduction to the show, will serve the four outer lots. Additional street parking will be available where marked.

The Dragon Reserve Lot will also be available on a first-come, first-served basis to people with disabilities who have state-issued disabled parking or disabled Veteran parking license plates, or the state-issued disabled parking identification card.

Designated drop-off areas for authorized taxis/uber and motor coaches will also be located near the China Lights entrance. Motor coach operators must make advance arrangements.

Admission and Fees

China Lights admission tickets will be valid any night of the regular 2019 schedule. Ticket prices are the following:

• Child, age 5-17, $12
• Adult, age 18-59, $20
• Senior, age 60+, $12
• One-visit individual VIP package, $30 The VIP package includes early entry (5 p.m.), a souvenir, a tour (5:15 p.m.), participation in the Illumination Parade (6:15 p.m.), VIP show seating, and the mobile guide.
• Unlimited-visit individual Season Pass, $50.

Advance tickets may be purchased on-line at chinalights.org. Tickets may also be purchased in person at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee County Parks Public Services Office (9480 Watertown Plank Road), and major Parks golf courses. Same-night tickets will be available on-site at the outdoor ticket office starting at 4 p.m.