Part One: The Lanterns
Holiday Magic: Festival of Lights is the brainchild of Event Show Management CEO, Steve Pichichero, founder of ESM. Mr. Pichichero wanted to bring a historical new twist to the traditional Christmas festival by creating an “East Meets West” theme…combining the rich history of Asian traditions with American holiday celebrations. This means that the Festival of Lights management team had to go East to find their attractions!
This large illuminated display (lantern) can be seen at the Holiday Magic: Festival of Lights at Retama Park in Selma, TX.
The large illuminated displays (lanterns) are hand crafted by artisans across Asia. Made using the same techniques spanning hundreds of years, these lanterns are authentically Asian and display the incredible craftsmanship of culture and advancements in technology. These modern lanterns start as simple etchings and designs, then steel is cut and welded to form the basic frame of each piece in a scene.
Artist preparing steel for the frames of our large illuminated Christmas displays.
Once the frame is complete several layers of paper and fabric are added to create the shapes. Once the frame is fitted with its “skin”, artists arrive to paint the fabric using specialty dyes that allow light to pass through the fabric. This creates a beautiful mosaic of colors and shapes that illuminate the night sky. The lantern scenes vary in size and some pieces can reach 30 feet tall!
You can see these amazing illuminations at Holiday Magic: Festival of Lights at Retama Park in Selma, TX this December. Click here for more information.
