CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A plantation site long known for attracting tourists to the Charleston area of South Carolina is introducing something new: a Chinese lantern festival.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is often known for its moss-draped oaks and camellias. Now, the Post and Courier reports , it also will be adorned with cherry blossom trees, a sprawling dragon display and mythical creatures called qilins.
The festival is running during what are typically the slower months of the year for Magnolia, mid-November through mid-March.
The exhibit is called “Lights of Magnolia: Reflections of a Cultural Exchange.” It will be the first in a three-year partnership between Magnolia and the Zigong Lantern Group, a China-based company that has designed and created lantern displays in more than 200 cities around the world.
For the 23 lantern displays being created and installed at Magnolia, some 220,000 square feet (20,400 square meters) of silk, 30 tons (27 metric tons) of steel and 20,000 LED bulbs will be used.
The amount of power required to light the displays is enough to run a small neighborhood, said Magnolia’s executive director, Tom Johnson.
It’s going to cost Magnolia about $25,000 a month just for the generators, he said.
But officials are optimistic the show will boost attendance.
Employees at Zigong’s North America-based office approached Magnolia more than a year ago after researching botanical gardens in the Southern states that could accommodate a large-scale lantern show.
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