Last weekend my sister treated my family and me to an evening at Jacksonville Zoo. My sister currently interns with the behavioral health team at the zoo, and as a reward for her work, the zoo gifted her not only with general admission tickets to the zoo but also with special tickets for the limited-time Colors of the Wild event. This event is so popular, when we arrived we learned the event was sold out, and it was clear to see as we hardly found parking.

Colors of the Wild celebrates the Chinese New Year; and while we didn’t intend to visit on the actual first day of the Chinese New Year, it just so happened we all were able to attend the event on that day.

I didn’t quite know what to expect from Colors of the Wild. Perhaps I thought a few sparsely decorated lanterns would adorn the zoo and that would be it. But it was wrong, and I’m glad I was.

Massive lanterns of every animal you can imagine, each brightly lit with vibrant colors, adorned the exhibits of the zoo. While the real animals had long gone to bed, these lanterns came to life; some, like the parrot and giant crab lanterns, even moved.

My sister informed us just a few men assembled all the lanterns across the zoo, a massive feat. My favorites were the walkways beneath the flowers, the great dragon that spiraled around one of the paths and individual lanterns symbolizing the different animals of each Chinese New Year.

From gorillas and fireflies and giant leaves to giraffes and lions and even hippos emerging from the water, every lantern was absolutely spectacular. The kids especially loved the interactive section, where lanterns blew bubbles, lantern cannons shot smoke balls, and lantern animals with xylophone panels welcomed kids to play.

It was truly a magnificent event and deserves more praise and attention than it currently receives. While this year’s Colors of the Wild event wraps up Feb. 18, I highly encourage everyone planning a trip to Jacksonville between November and February to check in with the Jacksonville Zoo to make a visit to this fantastic experience.

— Aoife O’Riordan, associate editor