Hello Panda Festival is a winter lantern festival held in Queens, NY in the Citi Field parking lot. There are currently three different light festivals going on right now for the winter season (Lumino City on Randall’s Island and NYC Winter Lantern Festival on Staten Island).
Hello Panda was the easiest to access, honestly, being right in Queens, easy to get to and on-site parking adjacent to the event. I haven’t been to the other two festivals but when I researched them both, there were a lot of cons with their parking issues and extra fees and having to walk a substantial distance before even entering the event. With Hello Panda, I drove to the Citi Field parking lot, parked up front, and walked over to the ticket booth to check-in and then walked right through the gates to the display entrance right next to it. If you’re not driving, it’s also easily accessible via the 7 train. It’s literally right outside the Mets-Willets Point stop. Easy peazy. Which was a blessing because it’s winter and well, it’s brick out. Let’s be real, it’s no secret I hate the cold, it DOES bother me anyway, but I braved it tonight for the gram. BUT! I can attest that Hello Panda is pretty awesome in the fact that they take this into consideration that duh, their festival is in the winter and provide giant heated igloo tents for guests to come in, rest their feet between walking through displays, grab a bite to eat, watch performances and warm up before heading back out. They have food vendors on site for dumplings, baos, shrimp, donuts and burritos. I attended the press event so there was a limited amount of vendors this night but the event officially opens to the public tomorrow so I suppose there will be more vendors and a marketplace for you to shop and buy gifts and unique souvenirs from all over the world. There were live performances with a DJ, violinist and a drumline for tonight’s festivities to open up the event. I was also able to try a little bit of everything and all the food was hot, fresh and delicious.
But let’s get to the main attraction! The actual lanterns and lights! From the entrance, it didn’t look like a lot. But upon entering, I found that everything is really well spaced out and it’s bigger than it looks and it goes farther back. There are a LOT of displays and I didn’t even get to capture them all (due to coldness and time constraints). There were ferris wheels and lit up swings that I forgot to make my rounds back to see and gram, unfortunately. But I saw a majority of what the ground had to offer! And there is a lot. There’s plenty of tunnels spaced all around so there’s no need to crowd around any particular one. There are different themed displays so there’s something for everyone. There’s a dinosaur land, a safari zone, underwater theme with mermaids and Nemo and friends, angel wings for the Instagram hoes like me, Christmas displays, a castle channeling that of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, complete with fairy tale figures and horse drawn carriages, giant forest creatures as if you’re living through A Bug’s Life, and of course, pandas! This was my first light festival but I do have to say they had a nice eclectic assortment of displays all around and there was no shortage of wondrous color. This is a festival for the eyes.
I do have to note that I was worried that the photos wouldn’t come out as nice because the festival is at night and night photos are a hit or miss usually. But with this being in the parking lot, there is actually a lot of light available from parking lot lights all around. I would still recommend bringing your own portable selfie/ring light to light up your face/body if you’re there for the gram and want to take photos of yourself keeping the background lit as well as yourself. Otherwise, you run the risk of not showing up in your photos because you’re darker than the lanterns.
Overall, would I recommend this event? Absolutely. Tickets on Groupon are pretty reasonably priced right now at about $19, compared to some garbage pop-ups I’ve attended in the city that charge more and only have 4-5 dinky rooms to photograph, with their displays showing wear and tear and not even providing food or any extra entertainment. I also hate when pop-ups describe their experience as “immersive” when there’s really nothing to it other than taking a photo, not anything interactive, honestly. But at Hello Panda, you can touch some of the exhibits(but not all); there are 20 or so lantern sets you can touch and walk though and 10 of them are interactive for you to play on. There’s a cute light up dance board, swing sets, maze and some of the dinosaurs even move and make sounds. I think there’s also an indoor panda playground that’s going to available for kids, as I saw it getting set up but didn’t have access to view what it looked like inside.
This would be a cute event for a family to explore or even a date night. I do recommend to go on a warmer night if you’re lucky during the winter season so that you’re not freezing for a pic for the gram, but remember, warm weather means more people and crowds so you might have a harder time getting that shot for the gram. So pick your poison.
Tickets are available on their website, as well as updates in case of inclement weather, but I also saw Groupon selling discounted tickets as well. You can check their Instagram from time to time for discount codes. Tickets are also conveniently sold at the door which is nice since a lot of pop-ups and event nowadays do not and only sell tickets online. I also found my own experience communicating with them via email very efficient and responsive, compared to the other light festivals. From emails to even the staff and vendors working tonight, everyone was friendly and welcoming and eager to help you have a fun night! Hello Panda officially opens to the public Dec. 6 in time for the holiday season. If you’re looking for something away from the Rockefeller and Times Square crowds, this is definitely something.
