Magical atmosphere at lantern-only night, Thursday at Auckland Domain

The Auckland Lantern Festival’s lantern-only night, and larger venue, provides a great opportunity for festival-goers to experience the magic of the event while avoiding the larger weekend crowds. 

The 17^th annual Auckland Lantern Festival takes place in its new location of Auckland Domain from Thursday 18 February to Sunday 21 February. 

A magical night of light, Thursday 18 February

Thursday is the festival’s ‘lantern-only night’, when all the lanterns are lit for viewing, without performances or stalls operating. It runs from 7pm – 10.30pm. 

The full festival programme, with roaming and main stage performances as well as food and craft stalls, runs from 5pm – 10.30pm Friday–Sunday, culminating in a fireworks finale on site at 10.15pm on Sunday. 

New venue, new layout

The festival is produced by Auckland Events, Tourism and Economic Development (ATEED), in partnership with Asia New Zealand Foundation. 

ATEED Lantern Festival producer Eric Ngan says festival-goers who have been daunted by large crowds will find the new festival layout makes for a new festival experience. 

“In recent years, crowd density was the one thing some festival-goers have mentioned as a factor which dampened their enjoyment of the festival,” says Eric Ngan. 

A quieter night for families to enjoy

“We initiated the lantern-only night to provide the chance for people to experience the magic of the lanterns in a less crowded setting. It proved popular with people not so keen on the crowds, families with younger or older members, people with limited mobility and those navigating the park with prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs. 

“This year we not only have the lantern-only night on Thursday, but our new Auckland Domain location means the full festival is spread over an area 25 per cent larger than ever before.” 

A festival of music, dance, magic and more 

The Auckland Lantern Festival features more than 800 lanterns installed in Auckland’s oldest park, from Thursday 18 – Sunday 22 February. From Friday–Sunday, the festival also features music, dance, acrobatics, magic and puppetry performances, martial arts demonstrations, food and craft stalls, and a fireworks finale on site at the Domain. 

Festival-goers also have the chance to cast their wishes on principal Lantern Festival sponsor ASB’s digital wishing tree, get a photo with Air New Zealand’s Boeing 737 cockpit, get free souvenirs and photos and win prizes from the festival sponsors, including a trip for two people to China or a night’s luxury accommodation at SkyCity. 

ATEED and Asia New Zealand Foundation acknowledge the sponsors and supporters of the Auckland Lantern Festival 2016: ASB, Chinese Ministry of Culture, Lotto New Zealand, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, Air New Zealand, Barfoot & Thompson, COSCO (New Zealand) Ltd, China Travel Service, iHeartRadio, Chinese Herald, stuff.co.nz, NTEC Tertiary Group, The Better Drinks Company, The Hits, Love NZ and the Public Place Recycling Scheme, Auckland Transport, SkyCity.

Bus travellers please note

The Inner Link bus may not be operating on Friday due to industrial action. However, trains to Grafton and Newmarket Station are operating and extra services are in place for the Auckland Lantern Festival. Full details of all public transport services to and from the festival, including a dedicated shuttle from Britomart, are available at Auckland Transport.