L.A. Arboretum's Moonlight Forest: A Review
Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia, CA
Happy new year, folks! It’s 2020, which means a new decade for most of us who aren’t calendarist (blah blah there was no year 0, so the first decade was year 1-10 and so on, we know, we don’t care), and our very first update of the new Roaring 20’s is… a Christmas seasonal event.
The Los Angeles County Arboretums Moonlight Forest is a gorgeous lantern festival with plenty of eye candy—sometimes literally!
Well, not really. Moonlight Forest, a winter lantern festival put on at the L.A. Arboretum, is not particularly Christmas-y at all. Guests visiting the event expecting to see a winter wonderland should temper those expectations. There is no North Pole or Santa Claus or Christmas elves. Instead, visitors will find an extraordinary collection of nearly five dozen lantern displays designed and constructed by artisans from the Sichuan province of China, where such artworks are a traditional part of Chinese wintertime festivities that culminate up to the Lunar New Year.
Moonlight Forest is more of a nighttime illumination gallery—and an extravagant at that. With arrays illustrating a variety of wildlife and history and culture, dazzling colors, and fun details in theming and ambiance, there is a lot to take in. There may not be overt Christmas content, but there is a lot of eye candy similar to the vibe provided by Christmas displays and decorations. This, added to the fact that it is a seasonal event running from November through early January, means we lump it into our admittedly much-sparser-than-Halloween Christmas event coverage. (Full disclosure: the photos used in today’s update were taken during the 2018-19 season, though as far as I can tell, this year’s event is almost entirely the same, with just a few new additions.)
Moonlight Forest features displays of animals, plants, and Chinese culture from all sorts of eras!
The displays are broadly divided up into five general categories: the Welcome Area, Nature’s Treasures, Polar Dreams, Magical China, and Ocean Visions. There are also five installations that are interactive, offering guests a chance to influence the displays of light and color. Spread throughout the Los Angeles County Arboretum grounds, Moonlight Forest is a wondrous visual spectacle, bringing a magical element of Chinese culture and customs to a Western audience and providing plenty of photo ops to go along with it!
There are actually three ways to get into Moonlight Forest, each bringing guests into a different section of the event. Those coming from the Main Lot will enter through the Arboretum’s regular primary entrance, finding themselves in the Welcome Area. Those parking in the adjacent South Lot enter just a few hundred yards to the south. Guests who arrive via a ride sharing service or who park in the overflow lot across street at the Westfield Santa Anita shopping center, however, will enter the Depot Lot entrance, which places them right in the middle of the Nature’s Treasures area. Given the very heavy traffic that accompanies Moonlight Forest due to the small Arboretum parking facilities, there’s a good chance that most guests will be coming from farther away and thus taking the last entrance mentioned. So that is where we’ll start.
The largest of the five themed areas, Nature’s Treasures is a testament to all things wildlife and land-based. Sprawling around the Arboretum’s Baldwin Lake, and with numerous pieces showcasing animals from all around the globe, it’s practically worth the $25-$28 price of admission all by itself. Guests can venture across the African Serengeti to behold zebras and lions and tigers and elephants. A trek across the desert reveals snakes and camels. The woodlands brings California brown bears. And there’s even a bamboo forest section, featuring some adorable pandas. But it’s not just the animals themselves who are featured. Moonlight Forest also creates a sense of place by including thematic elements and scenic treatment, adding plants and trees and flowers to the composition so that the animals aren’t just posed awkwardly by themselves. It’s no surprise that cameras and phones are constantly out and on the ready for the next, new scene.
Zebras on the African plains are just some of the sights in Nature’s Treasures.
When your S.O. is just nag nag nag, but you can’t have any other reaction other than to just grimace and bear it.
Ridiculously cute, lit-up pandas cluster in a bamboo forest in Nature’s Treasures.
Although the five categories are generally organized and grouped with each other, the layout does not exclusively place each category in its own sector. As a result, halfway through the Nature’s Treasures area, guests will find themselves in the Ocean Visions portion of Moonlight Forest before returning to the land-based part. But while they’re diving into the deep, blue sea, they have wondrous sights to behold. A spectacular ocean tunnel presents sea turtles, seahorses, a variety of fish, and even sharks, jellyfish, and whales, all “floating” on by above guests’ heads, twinkling in luminous color. Further on, a massive, color-changing octopus looms over the pathway, looking more like a dynamic art installation. It’s a great photo op, as guests can cluster beneath the cephalopod to captures images of their experience.
The Sea World Tunnel in Ocean Visions offers a wide collection of marine life!
This groovy octopus changes colors in Ocean Visions.
Similarly, several displays for the Polar Dreams category are scattered amongst other groupings. But here is where the holiday associations start to take a stronger hold. Polar Dreams takes guests down to Antarctica, home of the penguins, and up to the Arctic, with polar bears and wild tundra. This year, the area has been expanded to actually include a little more of the Christmas ambiance, with segments devoted to snowmen, reindeer, holiday candy, and more. The artistry and creativity of these exhibits are certainly charming, and expectedly beautiful too!
“Antarctica Gentlemen” provide a frigid display of elegant poise.
Finally, the most extravagant of all the sections is the Magical China area. Taking up a large portion of the Arboretum’s northern half, this area is where Moonlight Forest’s Sichuan inspirations shines most brightly and dramatically. Fierce dragons, fiery lanterns, and spectacular temples bring a festive environment evocative of the Lunar New Year celebration. Some displays recall old Chinese myths and lore. Others showcase Chinese history and culture, such as an army of terra cotta warriors or a series of Chinese opera masks. Together, they’re a wonderful celebration of the revelry and pageantry that has sparked this entire event.
Magical China features a variety of fun, exciting displays, including this New Year’s dragon.
Other displays show aspects of traditional life or recount Chinese lore and myths.
An army of warriors makes up one spectacular scene in Magical China.
The Temple of Heaven is a dramatic sight at Moonlight Forest!
In addition to the lantern displays, Moonlight Forest also features a galley of food trucks along the north lawn, a bar and cafe, and stage performances to entertain guests who want to take a break from wandering the Arboretum grounds. Certainly, the main highlight of this event is the collection of Chinese lantern art, but it’s nice to have additional amenities to pass the time and offer more diversity in things to do.
The iconic Chinese Dragon can be found along the east side of Baldwin Lake.
Overall, Moonlight Forest is a sensational wintertime offering that ranks as one of the best winter seasonal events in Southern California. Along with Descanso Gardens’ Enchanted: Forest of Light, it’s also one of the most photogenic—an aspect that is highly appealing in today’s Instagram-centric society. But even if you’re not aiming for more likes or more social media content, this attraction is still a terrific site to visit with friends or family or with that significant other. The ambiance and spectacle are sure to make for a memorable evening, and there’s certainly enough to do to warrant a solid two or three hours to take everything in!
For those who do want a Christmas touch, the interior of the Queen Anne Cottage along Baldwin Lake is decorated with a classic, Victorian holiday decor.
Moonlight Forest continues its run into the new year and is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 5:30 - 10:00pm, from now through Sunday, January 12th. Guests must purchase a timed ticket, with options at 5:30, 7:00, and 8:00. Though this aspect is meant to control crowds more efficiently, expect a lot of visitors, especially on the weekend dates, and give yourself plenty of time to get to the site and park. When we visited last season, vehicular traffic was backed up off Baldwin Avenue, all the way onto the 210 freeway!
Given the success of the lantern festival the past two years, I’d be shocked if the L.A. County Arboretum didn’t bring Moonlight Forest back another year. For those who can’t make it over the next week and a half, mark your calendars for the second weekend of November, which would be the equivalent part of the month that Moonlight Forest began this season. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, and there are also often deals online from places like Goldstar. So whether you’re still in the Christmas spirit or are just settling in for the rest of the winter season, Moonlight Forest is a great destination to experience a little grandeur before, during, or after the holidays!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
