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QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 QNS.COM
Hello Panda Festival coming to Citi Field
52-day winter extravaganza features an amazing colorful light display and food from The World’s Fare
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The first-ever Hello
Panda Festival is coming
to Citi Field in December,
illuminating the holiday
season with giant lantern
exhibits, global cuisine by
the World’s Fare and immersive
cultural experiences
for all to enjoy.
Details about the spectacular
were outlined during
a press conference at
Citi Field on Monday, Sept.
9. Eight life-sized Hello
Panda mascots, each representing
a different attraction
to be featured at
the festival, were joined at
the announcement by the
China Performing Arts
Agency (CPAA), representatives
of The World’s Fare,
and the Metropolitan Hospitality
at Citi Field. The
extravaganza will debut on
Dec. 6 and will run through
Jan. 26, 2020.
“Citi Field is a place
where people from all
walks of life come together
and share an amazing experience,”
said Heather
Collamore, vice president
of Metropolitan Hospitality
at Citi Field. “The Hello
Panda Festival is a unique
event that promotes cultural
exchange while delighting
the child in all of us.”
Produced by CPAA
North America, The Hello
Panda Festival — the largest
lantern, food and arts
extravaganza in North
America — will be the first
of an ongoing holiday tradition
at Citi Field, chosen
for its location in the heart
of Queens and its status
as an iconic New York
City landmark.
“Hello Panda’s mission
is to not only give New
Yorkers and visitors something
they’ve never seen
before but also deliver an
experience they can’t find
anywhere else,” said Winston
Wang, general manager
of CPAA North America,
a leading producer of arts
and entertainment experiences
that promote and
celebrate diverse cultures.
“Our festival will offer a
variety of immersive and
social media moments that
A high lantern panda prototype on display at a Sept. 9 press conference at Citi Field announcing the Hello Panda Festival, a 52-day winter extravaganza featuring
colorful light displays and food from The World’s Fare. Photo by Dean Moses
introduce guests to the
artistry of lantern-making
while bringing different
communities through food
and culture.”
Utilizing over 10 million
lights, Hello Panda’s 120
massive lantern exhibits —
each handcrafted and hand
painted by some of the
world’s leading lantern artisans
— seamlessly blend
tradition, innovation and
creativity. The Hello Panda
Festival’s main attractions
will be comprised of six different
theme parks: Dream
World, Holiday Wonderland,
Discovery Zone,
Interactive Music Zone,
Sports World and Community
Interactive Zone.
Over 100-never-beforeseen
exhibits will be making
their world premiere at
the festival. Highlights will
include the world’s tallest
Christmas tree lantern,
life-sized dinosaurs and safari
animals, an enormous
fairy tale castle and a 98-
foot-long light tunnel.
Visitors can experience
a broad range of cultural
arts — both traditional
and modern — through a
regular series of live performances,
galleries and a
holiday market across six
giant heated tent areas,
making it the warmest outdoor
event during the winter
season. Nightly music
showcases will highlight
local and international
acts from different genres,
including dance, Latin,
pop and hip-hop while a
collection of galleries will
feature works of emerging
artists from around
the world.
“We will also host the
second Global Modern Star
Music Go kids modeling
competition with Modern
Star Media and Brooklyn
Fashion Week,” said Chongren
Fan, deputy general
manager of CPAA North
America. “Additionally,
visitors will be able to experience
paper-cutting,
sugar painting, embroidery,
cotton candy art
and more through handson
activities.”
Food will also be a
prominent feature at the
festival through its partnership
with The World’s
Fare, organizers of the
largest and most diverse
food and drink event in
New York City.
The World’s Fare tastemakers
will curate the festival’s
tented and heated
food pavilion with 60 vendors
representing different
cuisines and cultures,
offering a diverse selection
of global culinary treats.
“This is putting Queens
on the map. This will be
the premiere winter destination
for a borough of
over 2.2 million people,
as well as the entire city
of New York,” said Joshua
Schneps, CEO of The
World’s Fare. “And there’s
two things that people love:
they love to spend time
with family and friends
and they love to eat, and
that’s where the partnership
is formed and that’s
why we’re so excited to
be a part of this. We’re in
the most diverse place on
planet earth right here in
the middle of Queens, and
this festival embraces it in
every aspect.”
Empanada Papa, Chori
Chimi and Cbao are among
the list of food vendors that
will serve its cuisine at
the festival.
“Our key empanadas
are beef and guindilla (a
Spanish pickled pepper),
the chicken and pork are
the top selling ones in our
stores. We do a lot of popups
and catering,” said
brother’s Jose Moreira
and Pedro Moreira, of Empanada
Papa, established
in 2016. “One of the biggest
events we did was with
Josh at the LIC Flea, he did
World’s Fare as well and
brought us along the ride
for this one as well. We’re
excited to see a lot of families
coming together to enjoy
this moment, not just
Christmas and Hanukkah,
but bringing a nice new experience
to New York.”
Tickets for the Hello
Panda Festival will go on
sale to the general public
beginning Thursday,
Sept. 12. Ticket prices are
$22 to $28 (tax and service
fees not included). For
more information, visit
www.hellopandafest.com
or follow @hellopandafest
on Instagram, Twitter
and Facebook.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by email
at cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
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