Lanterns!
LANTERNS!, Arkansas’ only deep-winter outdoor festival, is returning to Little
Rock for a fourth year of family fun and illuminating entertainment. From the China to the Moon,
LANTERNS!, is a magical evening designed to delight children and adults alike.
At Wildwood, visitors will take a mystical stroll along paved pathways lit by fire pits and luminaries into
the park’s winter woodlands to enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor entertainment at lighted vistas
representing eight cultural vistas around the globe: China, Paris, India, Shakespeare’s England, Venice,
India, Americana with a baseball theme, and Shakespeare’s England. A wide selection of international
foods and beverages are available for purchase, with prices from $2 - $8. Patrons can exchange cash or
credit card for Wild Bucks, the Park’s currency utilized for food and luminary purchases.
LANTERNS! celebrates the first full moon of the lunar year. Honoring the Chinese Year of the Dragon,
Wildwood’s Asian Woodland Garden welcomes guests to China where families can create their own
lanterns, try their hand at chopsticks and visit a display by sculptural art students at Hall High School.
Sponsored by the June Hoes Williams Endowment, China offers vegetarian fare, hot tea and sake.
Inside Wildwood’s 625-seat performing arts complex, the lobbies and stage will be transformed into a
Parisian street market underwritten by Chip and Cindy Murphy and filled with the aromas of crepes, as
well as antiques vendors, a French fortune teller, art by Gene Hatfield, plein air artists from Maumelle’s
Art Group, and nightly performances by Ballet Arkansas and The Muses. Ballet Arkansas will perform
Piaf - A Tribute, choreographed by Bud Kerwin and featuring 10 dancers, 6 from the professional
company and 4 members of BAII, the pre-professional company. The Muses’ performances will include
chanteuse Deleen Davidson and a French jazz trio sponsored by vista chair Tiffany Robinson and
committee members Melissa Thoma, Larry Burton and Heather Pile.
Wildwood’s lakeside performance pad will transport festival-goers to the carnival atmosphere of Rio
de Janeiro chaired by Wildwood board members Vivian Norman and Patti Stanley. Guests will have the
opportunity to purchase foods and beverages created by Little Rock’s Café Bossa Nova and Rosalia’s
Family Bakery, including caldo de feijao (traditional bean soup) with yucca root puffs, and caipirinhas,
a popular Brazilian drink, and plan to dance the night away to the rhythmic Brazilian sounds of a five-
piece bossa nova band led by Susana Menda.
Star-gazing will be featured at The Moon created by Botanica founder Chris Olsen, and in India, hungry
guests can feast on a dinner created especially for Wildwood’s festival by restaurateur Sami Lal of Star
of India. Families can also learn about and create their own rangoli, a traditional part of India’s Diwali,
or Hindu New Year, Festival.
Further east in Wildwood’s Butler Arboretum, the young and young-at-heart can pitch baseballs for
prizes provided by Central Arkansas’ SYNC Weekly Magazine and the Arkansas Travelers in Americana’s
Baseball vista. Little Rock’s famous Hot Dog Mike will create selections reminiscent of America’s
favorite past-time, and at a nearby lakeside fire pit, traditional s’mores will be available for guests to
purchase and personalize.
Venice, chaired by Anna Harper, returns this year to the Gazebo, where guests can launch wishing
lanterns on Wildwood’s Swan Lake and enjoy sweet treats, Venetian bellinis and the child-friendly
version, kiddinis.
Wildwood is also delighted to welcome Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre to Shakespeare’s England on
Butler Hill. Chaired by Tom & Elizabeth Small, Meg Johnston and Angie Gilbert, the AST troupe will
perform a green show nightly, complete with combat artists and lute players. The Bard’s fare includes
smoked turkey legs and ale brewed by Vino’s in Little Rock.
Wildwood would also like to extend special thanks to our community partners the Arkansas Arts
Council, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Deltic Timber, Kroger Marketplace Chenal, Ben E.
Keith Co., Bylites, and Little Rock Family.
Wildwood Park’s mission for each Festival and event is to engage the imagination and celebrate the
human spirit through encounters with nature and a full spectrum of the cultural arts: visual,
performing, literary, horticultural, culinary and more.
For more information, tickets and a map, visit www.wildwoodpark.org (festivals & events) or call
501.821.7275.
