The Tianyu Lights Festival, an enchanting nighttime walk-through experience for all ages that brings nature and art together through awe-inspiring visual, cultural, and light effects, is entering the final week of its limited run in the Valley. Today through its closing evening on Jan. 5, 2025, the Tianyu Lights Festival will be open seven days a week from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The festival is set across several acres at Camelback Ranch, the spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, located at 10710 W. Camelback Road in Phoenix. 

Tickets range from $18 to $28, with discounted pricing on weekdays and for children 12 and younger. Children 3 and younger are free. Family four-packs of tickets are available as well as discounts on tickets for groups of 10 or more. Parking for the event is $10 per car if purchased in advance, or $15 at the gate.

“While the core techniques of lantern-making have not changed much over the past 2,000 years, we are able to meld ancient techniques with advanced technologies to allow for changing change colors, animations, and the ability to physically interact with our diverse displays,” said Huiyuan Liu, event manager of Tianyu Arts & Culture Inc., which has produced similar light festivals in more than 39 cities across the United States and Europe for the past 10 years.

 The walk-through experience has four themed sections. Upon entering the Festival, guests are welcomed by an illuminated forest showcasing critters and plants from across wetlands, deserts, and rainforests. Of note is the three-story, color-changing “butterfly tree” that serves as the area’s centerpiece, meant to illustrate the importance of nature preservation.

“Our festivals started to take off thanks to partnerships with accredited zoo, botanic gardens and nature science institutes. Inspired by our partners work, we started to adopt their mission and incorporate conservation and sustainable message in our festivals, and this is especially reflected in this illuminated forest that allows visitors to see artistic replicas of both exotic and endangered species,” said Liu.

After the enchanted forest, guests are treated to a whimsical, vividly colorful wonderland with illuminated unicorns, fairies, and fire-breathing dragons, which together symbolize vibrant and colorful dreams.

The third section of the Festival is nicknamed “Panda Land” and boasts a kid-friendly stretch of panda sculptures, many animated to encourage interaction and photos, connecting the event to its Asian roots.

The fourth and final section of the Festival is an ocean-themed odyssey with breathtaking displays of common and endangered sea animals. The experience concludes with an epic grand finale through a 100-foot shark tunnel.

In addition, the Festival features a marketplace where guests can shop for souvenirs and handicrafts. Of note are the aluminum braiding, a traditional folk handicraft that involves using aluminum wire and other metal materials to create various shapes, including mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes, as well as plants and vehicles; inner-bottle painting, which is a unique and traditional craft in China featuring intricate designs created inside clear bottles made of glass, crystal, amber, and other materials; and Chinese lanterns, an ancient handicraft that originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and gained widespread popularity during the Song Dynasty and traditionally hand-crafted from materials such as bamboo, silk, beads, jade, feathers, and shells; several panda-themed items, including dolls, backpacks, scarves, keychains.

“And what would a festival be without a food court area with both local and traveling food vendors to make sure that the event is not only an adventure for the eyes but for the tastebuds as well,” said Liu. 

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.tianyuculture.us/phoenix.