Around Queens
Get a Hello
Panda Sneak
Peek
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I DECEMBER 2019 49
BY ALEX MITCHELL
One of the brightest and ongoing
festivals in the city will keep you
warm at Citi Field this winter.
The city’s inaugural Hello Panda
Festival touched down in the “World’s Borough”
on Dec. 6 and will be sticking around throughout
January of next year.
More than 120 massively illuminated and
handcrafted lanterns will be on display, and
guests will get to enjoy great food provided by
30 magnificent vendors at the festival organized
by CPAA North America and The World’s Fare.
The displays feature more than 300,000
brightly colored LED lights and several interactive
elements. Visitors can explore six different lan-tern
theme parks, each of which deliver distinct,
immersive experiences.
The never-before-seen exhibits will be spread
throughout the festival grounds: Dream World,
Holiday Wonderland, Discovery Zone, Interac-tive
Music Zoe, Sports World and Community
Interactive Zone.
Display highlights include the world’s tallest
Christmas tree lantern, life-sized dinosaurs and
safari animals, a huge fairytale castle and a
98-foot-long light tunnel.
“Hello Panda’s mission is to bring the epic
scope and scale of China’s best and brightest
lantern festivals to North America,” said Winston
Wang, general manager of CPAA North America.
“We want to transport visitors into a magical
world filled with sights and sounds they’ve never
experienced or even imagined.”
The World Fare, which has delighted tens of
thousands of visitors to Citi Field the past two
springs, is not just providing great food vendors,
but also live performances, modern art exhibits,
a holiday market and traditional crafts across six
giant heated tent areas.
This is the first time that Hello Panda will
be coming to New York City, a feat that brings
pride to the organizers.
“We are thrilled to be a part of The Hello Panda
Festival, which is No. 1 winter destination in Queens
and throughout New York City,” said Elizabeth Aloni,
president of The World’s Fare. The World’s Fare
has a fantastic lineup of the best international food
vendors from bao to baked goods plus a full bar
serving seasonal cocktails, beer and wine.
So of course, the most delicious parts of Hello
Panda will be handled by many of the city’s well-known
food vendors: Bolivian Llama Party, Brooklyn
Dumpling, C-Bao Ca’Pisci, Cambodia Now, Chef
Jimmy Creole Vicious Cycle, Chori & Chimi, Dilena’s
Dolcini, Don Ceviche, Dough Donuts, Down East
Lobstah, Empanada Papa, Four The Hard Way
Jianbing Company and Joey Bats Café.
Also, Knot Of This World, La Braza NYC,
Made From Scratch, NYC Mac Truck, Pete’s
Hot Cider & Tea, Pickle Me Pete, Shaking Crab,
Snow Show Flushing, Spoonable Spirits, T-Swirl
Crepes, The Wasted Baker, ToastieLand, What’s
The Dillaz, Wings Lovers and Zonarica Churros
will be cooking up during the festival.
Meanwhile, some of those cultural points
that the World’s Fare President Joshua Schneps
referenced will be done by the way of nightly
music from local and international acts from
different genres including dance, Latin, pop and
hip-hop, along with festive artwork.
Hello Panda is open seven days a week from
5 to 10 p.m., Dec. 6 to Jan. 26, 2020. CPAA
also plans to produce the even in Vernon, New
Jersey, from Oct. 18 to Feb. 2, 2020, and at the
World Vacation Hotel from Oct. 25 to March 22,
2020, according to the organizers.
Ticket prices range from $22 to $28 minus
tax and service fees. For more information, visit
www.hellopandafest.com or follow @hellopan-dafest
on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook.
/www.qns.com
/www.hellopandafest.com
/www.qns.com
/www.hellopandafest.com
