Dream Glow Festival lights up Wild Rivers with lanterns
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Irvine’s Wild Rivers has turned its water park into a brilliantly lit Chinese cultural experience blended with Christmas themes as part of the new Dream Glow Festival.
Launched earlier this month, the Lantern Festival houses more than 1,000 light displays across three themed areas: Christmas Wonderland, Realm of the Dragon and Under the Sea. It runs from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and from 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, through Dec. 31.
“I believe art is a universal language,” said Dream Glow Festival creator Woody Wu. “So I just combined the traditional art craft in a new performance, in a new visual element. I just want to introduce the Chinese traditional arts in a way that everybody would appreciate. And from there, hopefully there will be a bridge built to help Western countries understand the Chinese art craft.”
The lanterns at the festival are handmade by artists from Zigong, China, a city known for its lantern-making. The festival uses them to show Chinese stories, symbols and folklore through glowing pieces of art.
Christmas Wonderland is full of Western holiday traditions like snowmen, Christmas trees, candy canes and of course a scene featuring Santa Claus on his sleigh, pulled through the sky by his reindeer. The Realm of the Dragon really does embody these mythical creatures — including a gigantic, roaring dragon head with eyes lit up and opening its sharp-toothed mouth while breathing smoke out of its nostrils. Under the Sea has its own bright characters such as mermaids, fish, dolphins and other ocean life.
“A lot of things to see, a lot of things to play with,” Wu said.
The Infinity Mirror Room is illuminated by jelly fish lights extending from the floor and ceiling. Wu said there’s an interactive dance floor that changes color when stepped on, and laser lights that look almost like a time portal taking guests into a different world.
Wu said they also have some themed nights when they invite guests to dress up.
“Especially the kids, who can dress up as a dragon, and on the second night as sea creatures like mermaids, the third would be ugly sweater night.”
Wu, who has a background in the art industry, has been putting on a similar event for the past five years with his team in New York and wanted to bring a similar theme to Southern California.
“After I moved to San Diego, I came to really like SoCal, and saw that there isn’t anything like that here,” he said.
Susan Kruizinga, director of sales and marketing for Wild Rivers, said once the water park shut down its summer activities, Wu and his team has been at work, putting this together.
“Seeing the joy on the little kids’ faces especially, I think this is going to be a winner,” she said. “I think every year, people are going to see something more and more and more with this lantern festival.”
