It is back this year but in a new location… Birmingham Botanical Gardens. And it is even better than last year with more lanterns, dual culture, vibrant colours and artistic sculptures than ever before. Be prepared to enter a magical experience and discover life sized and larger then life, lanterns is all shapes and forms.
The festival is open Thursdays to Sundays each week and then open every day during the school Christmas holidays from Friday 21st December.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham,
Dates: From Thursday 23rd November 2018 to 1st January 2019, 5pm – 10pm with last entry at 9pm.
Price: Children under 3 are FREE (and do not require a ticket), Adults £12.50, Children £8.50, Concessions £10.50, Family Ticket £38, for tickets booked in advance online. On the door prices are more. Book your tickets here
On Thursday night we headed over to Birmingham Botanical Gardens for the Press Review of the Magical Lantern Festival before its grand opening on Friday.
With it being pre opening night, not all of the stands were open and Father Christmas hadn’t stopped by in his grotto (yes, there’s a grotto). But we were lucky enough to get to see all of the lanterns and chat to James Wheeler, the CEO and Curator of Birmingham Botanical Gardens who was a pleasure to talk with, a true asset to the Gardens.
After meeting with the people running Magical Lantern and chatting to James Wheeler we headed off to follow the trail around the gardens, looking at all of the fabulous lanterns. There were Christmassy themed lanterns including Father Christmas with a robin, Reindeer, a gingerbread House and of course, Father Christmas on his sleigh. Perfect for getting you in the mood for Christmas.
The girls are huge animal fans so loved seeing a large number of the lanterns that were animals. The main lawn of the gardens had been transformed into a safari park with animals, including an elephant, giraffe, monkeys, lions and many more. There’s no photo on here of this as I didn’t want to spoil the full surprise for you.
The penguin scene with the polar bears was one of my personal favourites. The picture doesn’t quite show how big this display was.
Matildas favourite lanterns were the panda bears, this one in particular. As she thought he was a baby and she liked his colourful belly.
Jemima was a fan of the fairy. Whose wings were motorised and moved up and down. It seemed to be a big favourite for lots of visitors as they would stop here for a good period of time.
Right by one of the hot drink stalls is a teapot perfect for reminding you that a nice hot drink would be perfect about now.
The girls loved walking around, pointing at all of the different lanterns that they could find. Mesmerised by the beautiful colours, shapes and sizes.
Growing up in Streetly, we would often go to Walsall Illuminations (do people still remember these?) and the Magical Lantern Festival reminds me of a more upmarket version of Walsall Illuminations with more lanterns and street food. Churros anyone?
If I could add anything to the event, it would be some fair rides for the children. There are none this year and I feel even a little carousel would be a welcome addition to this event.
It is a great festive evening out and with it being on until January 1st, there’s plenty of dates you could book your tickets in for. But be quick, rumour has it that they may sell out quite quickly. And wrap up warm; vest, jumpers, coats, scarves and gloves DEFINITELY recommended.
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the Press Night to give our views on the event. We have done that with an honest review.