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LanternsArt
Watch a 63-second night walk through Montreal's first lantern carnival — a 10-meter dragon gate, a 180-piece hand-painted lantern corridor, and an 80-meter imperial palace, all lit across a 27,000-square-meter park.
In September–October 2019, the Montreal Chinese Cultural Arts Foundation and Canada Xianlong Group launched a first-of-its-kind lantern carnival at Park Jean-Drapeau. Spanning 27,000 square meters, the event featured over 100 custom light installations — from a 10-meter-high dragon gate to an 80-meter-long imperial palace display.
This 63-second video captures the event's nighttime atmosphere, themed zones, and visitor engagement. It was filmed entirely at night with no voiceover or subtitles — the visuals carry the story across languages.
According to the organizing foundation, the carnival ran for seven weeks and drew 80,000 visitors, generating CAD $4.2 million in direct ticket revenue — 60% above the organizers' initial projection of 50,000 visitors. The following year, the organizers began planning an expanded edition based on the debut's performance.
A flower-lit foreground leads to a massive Chinese archway with red pillars and a golden roof. Two dragons coil around a central pearl — the "two dragons playing with a pearl" motif. The archway is visible from outside the park, deliberately positioned to convert passing foot traffic into ticket buyers.
Over 180 individually decorated lanterns line a pathway in red, gold, and multicolor. Close-ups show bird-and-flower paintings on silk-style lantern surfaces. The corridor offers an intimate, photo-friendly contrast to the larger installations, and the layered hanging depth creates multiple framing opportunities for visitors.
Giant glowing mushrooms in pink, purple, and green give way to a multi-tiered pagoda covered in warm white and amber LEDs. Next, a palace hall with curved eaves and a bridge. Wet ground from evening rain reflects the structures back upward, doubling the visual footprint.
A giant seated panda in white and black silk-covered frames, illuminated from within. A peacock with tail feathers fanned out in blue, green, and purple. Lotus flowers floating on dark water. Then a fire-breathing golden dragon with red LED flames, and a dragon-shaped sculpture winding through the garden.
A drone shot pulls back to show the entire palace complex and main square. Hundreds of visitors are visible walking through, taking photographs, and moving between zones. The final frame fades to black with ambient park sound and music.
Themed progression keeps visitors moving through the entire venue instead of stopping at the first impressive piece. At Montreal, the five zones were sequenced so each one offered a different kind of visual encounter — a grand entrance to establish scale, an intimate corridor for close-range viewing, a fantasy zone for family audiences, cultural icons for recognizability, and an aerial-scale finale as the destination.
This sequencing turned a collection of individual installations into a walkable narrative. Visitors who would otherwise photograph one piece and leave had reasons to continue forward, which increased both total dwell time and the number of shareable moments captured per visit. For first-time events with no local awareness, that progression is what builds word-of-mouth within the run itself.
The carnival's outcome — 80,000 visitors and CAD $4.2 million in ticket revenue across seven weeks — reflects how a clearly structured visitor journey compounds engagement across a multi-week run. For more examples of large-scale event projects delivered on this model, visit the Event Decorations page.
Q: How long does it take to install a carnival of this size?
A: Installation typically takes 2–4 weeks depending on site conditions and number of pieces. For Montreal 2019, the production crew coordinated with local staff to assemble over 100 large installations within the park's public access schedule.
Q: Can a similar video be produced for my event?
A: Yes. Every custom project can be documented with aerial footage, night shots, and behind-the-scenes clips. Video capture is best planned at the design stage so all key moments are covered.
Q: What is the typical investment for an event with 10 or more installations?
A: Budgets vary by size, complexity, and shipping. For a medium-sized festival (15–30 installations), a typical range is USD 50,000–200,000. Contact us for a ballpark estimate based on your venue and audience targets.
0:00–0:08 — Opening shot: a sea of illuminated flowers in the foreground. A massive Chinese archway (paifang) with red pillars and a golden roof. The archway features two dragons playing with a pearl. Text on the archway reads "Montreal Lantern Carnival" in Chinese. Nighttime, warm golden and red lighting.
0:08–0:20 — Transition to a double dragon welcome gate, each dragon curved dynamically. Cut to large palace lanterns with tassels. A long corridor lined with hanging lanterns in red, gold, and multicolor. Chinese knot motifs visible throughout.
0:20–0:32 — Hand-painted lantern corridor: close-up of bird-and-flower paintings on silk-style lanterns. Multiple layers of hanging lanterns create depth. Shift to a fantasy forest zone: giant glowing mushrooms in pink, purple, and green; insect-shaped lights; luminescent plants.
0:32–0:40 — Ancient Chinese architecture zone: a multi-tiered pagoda entirely covered in warm white and amber LEDs. Next, a palace hall with curved eaves and a bridge. All structures reflect on wet ground from evening rain.
0:40–0:48 — Panda lantern: a giant seated panda made of white and black silk-covered frames, illuminated from within. Peacock lantern: tail feathers fanned out in blue, green, and purple lights. Lotus flowers floating on dark water.
0:48–0:55 — Dragon culture display: a fire-breathing golden dragon with red LED flames from its mouth. Dragon palace themed installation with coral and pearl elements. A dragon-shaped sculpture winding through the garden.
0:55–1:03 — Aerial drone shot pulling back to show the entire palace complex and main square. Hundreds of visitors walking through, taking photos. Final frame fades to black with ambient park sounds and music.