Milwaukee County's 2023 China Lights will have volcano, new dragon

Tickets went on sale Tuesday for the 2023 China Lights lantern festival at Boerner Botanical Gardens.

From Sept. 15 to Oct. 29, visitors can see the “Nature’s Glow” exhibit, filled with blow-up dragons and even an erupting volcano.

“The festival is one of Milwaukee County’s most successful events, attracting over 100,000 visitors not only from the Milwaukee region, but the entire globe,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement.

During an Aug. 8 press conference at Boerner Botanical Gardens, 9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners, event manager Huiyuan Liu said she was eager for people to see the new elements of this year’s China Lights. Nearly all of the lantern displays will be new.

“People will see something different at every turn as they work through the garden,” Liu said. “We have a completely new dragon this year — it will be something different for people who have been through before.”

Patrons actually will be able to walk through the dragon display in this year’s China Lights.

County Parks Director Guy Smith believes the "Nature’s Glow" theme will “really draw a lot of people in.”

Smith notes that an important feature of the event and venue is its accessibility.

“Whether you’re in a wheelchair, have strollers, things like that, it’s really easy to get around,” Smith said.

The three-quarter-mile walking route through the botanical gardens will include a giant 20-foot-tall octopus, an animated crab that “bubbles,” a 20-foot-long Tyrannosaurus Rex walk-through tunnel and a series of illuminated bugs that shine lights on the biodiversity of the insect world.

Asian folk culture also will be celebrated at the festival with live performances and professional entertainers.

Tickets are sold online at chinalights.org at varying costs for a specific date and time. There will be three time slots for tickets each night of the event — 5:30, 7 and 8:30 p.m. There also will be a limited number of walk-up tickets available at the box office upon festival entry.

For weekdays, online tickets are $22, $14 for kids ages 3 to 11 and free for children younger than 3. For weekend slots, online tickets are $25, $16 for kids 3 to 11, and free for children younger than 3. There's a $5 to $10 surcharge for walk-up tickets; family packs and early-entry tickets are also available.

After being canceled for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, China Lights returned to Boerner in the fall of 2022. In its first four years in Milwaukee, the attraction drew about 400,000 visitors. Each year, China Lights has a different theme and mostly new light displays; in 2022, it had an "Alice in Wonderland" flavor.

China Lights is presented by the Tri-City Bank and in partnership with Milwaukee County Parks and Tianyu Arts & Culture.