roadtrip St. Louis Zoo Photo by Ray Meilaum Lantern Festival: Art by Day, Magic by Night Dave Jacobsen St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals
A Visit to st. Louis
The Lantern Festival... and beyond TEXT BY julia boudreau
Each time I walk through the Missouri Botanical Garden I am captivated by the lush surroundings. Although the site is vast in acreage, the landscaping has a way of making visitors feel they are in their own secret garden. This summer guests are getting the chance to explore its wonder during one of the most exciting exhibits to date, the Lantern Festival. As part of the event, Chinese steel and silk statues light up and come to life Thursday-Sunday nights through August 19. The various creations are set amongst the plants living in the garden and do not detract from the natural beauty. “It is a special exhibit designed specifically for the garden that represents cultural aspects of China, including their myths,” says Gale Murphy, a docent at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The lantern exhibit has been in the works since 2009 and the garden has hosted 33 Chinese artists to help create the pieces, Murphy says. The planning can be seen from the start of the exhibit where visitors are welcomed by a giant glowing dragon, a creature sure to take anyone’s breath away with its sharp teeth and length of 137 feet. Visitors don’t have to search long to find another eye-catching set of dragons located 118 | At Home Tennessee • August 2012
in the garden’s central axis. This dueling pair The Missouri Botanical Garden is located is unique in that they are made up entirely of in the heart of St. Louis in the area known porcelain dishes, utensils and other cooking as the Botanical Heights neighborhood. objects. Nearby attractions for visitors include the freeadmission Saint Louis Zoo located in Forest “40,000, is the approximate number of Park, an extensive public park that also holds porcelain dishware pieces in the porcelain dragons an art museum and a history museum. set,” Murphy says. “Four containers of lantern materials were shipped by boats to the U.S.” If the beauty of the garden and surrounding areas is not alluring enough to make you want While continuing on the exploration, visitors to take the trip, don’t forget St. Louis is also will also find a sculpture depicting the famous home to the World Series Champion Cardinals terracotta warriors, which stand 10 feet tall nd baseball team. Busch Stadium is located about have swords in hand. They are a representation 10 minutes down Highway 64 from the garden, of the 8,000 discovered in China, according to making a Cardinals game the perfect addition the Missouri Botanical Garden. to a St. Louis weekend. While in town, look upward and find a St. Louis symbol. Standing The exhibit’s lotus flower creation sits nestled above the city is the famous Gateway Arch. among the natural inhabitants of the Swift Known worldwide as the gateway to the West, Family garden ponds. Other noteworthy this structure is a must-see on any trip to the area. items in the Lantern Festival include a panda’s paradise sculpture, surrounded by the pandas’ main food source of bamboo, a four-faced Whether it’s the festival, Forest Park, the Cardinals or the magnificent Arch that brings you Buddha and a creation of cherry blossoms. to St. Louis, the generosity of the people and the “The attendance is phenomenal. People are excitement of the area are sure to help you create coming from all over the country to see it,” many lasting memories of time spent there. Murphy says. “There have been no negative comments in spite of the fact that we are having 100-plus degree temperatures.”