The Stockton Lantern Festival will return to downtown Stockton for a second year this fall with a new theme.
This year's theme is "Magic Ocean."
The festival opens to the public on Friday, Nov. 22 at the Stockton Ballpark at 404 W. Fremont St. and it will run through Sunday, Jan. 19.
The festival was created for the Stockton Ballpark, Jason Perry, general manager for ASM Global Stockton, told The Record last year.
What is the Stockton Lantern Festival? 'Full immersive sensory experience'
The festival debuted with " Koda's Journey to the Magical Forest ," last November with butterfly spirits, owls, and peacocks.
"It's a completely and full immersive sensory experience that one would walk through. And it's a story of a young boy named Koda in his journey into the rainforest of Peru," Perry said last year about the festival. "You're seeing his visualization of what he experienced while he traveled through the rainforest."
He added then they hoped to bring a new storyline every year, and that's exactly what they did.
This year, Koda will journey through the Magic Ocean, according to organizers.
"Koda visited the Georgia Aquarium with his schoolmates themed 'World Ocean Day,'" the Stockton Live website states. "While walking through the tunnel, a variety of fish and corals illuminated in various colors right before his eyes. That night, Koda, dreamt he was in a mysterious ocean filled with many colorful coral and fish swimming all around."
Last year, the lanterns were transported from China in 67 containers, Jihong Guo, (Iris) an on-site project manager for Tianyu Arts & Culture Inc., producer of the show told The Record then.
The lantern festival was set up a month before it opened, Guo added.
The Stockton Lantern Festival was an effort to bring " a show to Stockton, that would allow for consecutive nights of performances, live entertainment, experiences to create new and lasting traditions here for our Stockton community ," Perry said last year.
"This is something truly unique, handcrafted lanterns that are multicolored and interactive. It's just a unique experience that we have not seen in Stockton before," Wes Rhea, Chief Executive Officer for Visit Stockton told The Record last year. "I'd encourage people to come and check it out. Because it's about supporting. If we want to see more of this sort of activity in Stockton, we've got to support the ones we have here."
Tickets now on sale
Ticket prices vary.
Tickets can be purchased at the Stockton Ballpark Box Office (open daily starting Nov. 22) or at the Adventist Health Arena Box Office on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Stockton Live website states.
Any night tickets are available starting at $30 for adults ($37.12 online), after Nov. 15 tickets are $34 ($41.22 online).
All tickets online have an additional fee. Other ticket options are also available by day and age.
Festival ticket discounts on the Stockton Live website
- Seniors and children: save $4 when purchasing advance tickets, save $3 on day of show tickets for Monday through Thursday, save $2 on day of show tickets Friday through Sunday
- Military: active duty military and veterans save $5 when presenting ID at the Stockton Ballpark or Adventist Health Arena Box offices
- Students: save $3 on Wednesdays when presenting a valid student ID at the Stockton Ballpark or Adventist Health Arena Box offices
Gates open daily at 5 p.m. and last entry into the Stockton Lantern Festival is 9 p.m. as the lanterns go dark at 10 p.m., according to Stockton Live. On Jan. 1, gates will open daily at 5:30 p.m.
The festival will take place rain or shine, according to Stockton Live.
Stockton Lantern Festival
- Location: Stockton Ballpark, 404 W. Fremont St. in Stockton
- Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Jan. 19
- Information: stocktonlive.com
For more information about the Stockton Lantern Festival visit stocktonlive.com .
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ AngelaydetRocha . To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow .
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Lantern Festival returns for second year with new theme in November
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