The gist: The Lantern Festival has been open since December 15 in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) and, unlike a disappointing edition in 2023, enjoys large numbers of visitors. The choice of location, the Jardin des Plantes and in particular the new concept of the festival, which turns away from Chinese tradition and evokes the graphic world of fantastic cinema, are very well received.
“It’s a big box,” announces Jérôme Bringuier. The director of major events at the Montauban town hall does not hide his satisfaction, exactly one month to the day after the opening of the lantern festival. “In a week, ten days at the most, we will have already exceeded last year’s figure. We are very close to 200,000 paid tickets and still need to add the 68,000 purchased undated tickets.”
The school holidays were of course the hoped-for starting point for this 6th Lantern Festival with record days, especially on Saturday January 6th when the 12,000 registrations were short (11,853). “But what we are pleased about is that we are continuing this momentum this week. On Saturday evening we had almost 10,000 registrations. Above all, we don't have the low number of visitors we had last year, or on some evenings we only had 600-700 registrations.”
Has nothing to do with the 2023 edition, the first to be held in the capital Tarn-et-Garonne, which was considered disappointing with 320,000 spectators, including children under 11 attending for free. The decision to leave the Cours Foucault to set up the lanterns in the Jardin des Plantes turned out to be a wise one… as did the decision to renew the concept and turn its back a little on Chinese traditions – even if this, how We emphasize, is always the case The Sichuan artists who create the 2,500 sets have created this “Fantastic Garden” in the city's most famous public garden, reminiscent of the universe of films such as “Avatar” or “Alice in Wonderland”.
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As the number of visitors increases, the Lantern Festival in Montauban becomes successful
“Many things surprise people and we have very little negative feedback,” says Jérémy Bringuier, highlighting the mobilization of agents from the festival department of the town hall. Flying dragons, mystical creatures and fantastic plants make up the 38 light paintings. Already at the entrance to the “Fantastic Garden”, visitors are amazed by the enchanting goddess, whose beauty and dimensions (25 meters high and 25 meters long) leave more than one viewer speechless.
Thanks to the completely renewed decoration, the festival is also more interactive and entertaining, as it combines tradition and new technologies: mapping, giant holograms, musical tiles, projections and light panels offer acoustic and visual experiences that accompany visitors during the walk. In the heart of the Fantastic Garden, you can also attend a performance by Sichuan opera artists or stroll the aisles of a Chinese craft market.
Exceptional opening this Monday and Tuesday January 16th
To avoid last year's low attendance, the organizers decided to take two days off per week (Monday and Tuesday), with the exception of the Christmas school holidays, during which the festival remained open seven days a week. Initially Monday, January 15th and Tuesday, January 16th were reserved for seniors, who were invited to share the Galette des Rois and attend the festival. “Since we had almost a thousand registrations over the two days, we decided to exceptionally open it to the general public,” announces Jérémy Bringuier. That's why “Le Jardinfantastique” welcomes you every day this week, starting this Monday and Tuesday, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Online ticket sales at https://www.festivaldeslanternes-montauban.com/ Prices from 15 euros. Free for children under 11.