Last week, Ladybug, Chickadee, and I went to the St. Louis Zoo for the second (annual?) Animals Aglow Lantern Festival!

Let’s start with the one thing that was mostly unchanged from 2024…the impressive dragon tunnel…it was just as cool as I remembered it, both in the daylight, and lit up at night!

Most everything else seemed different…there were many animal and flower lanterns, but different types and designs, which made it feel like a brand-new event:

One new display that I really enjoyed was the “9 Sons of the Dragon”…here’s a look at some of my favorites of the group:

They had a special new drink at Starbucks, too…the “Snakerdoodle,” in honor of the Year of the Snake:

Speaking of the Chinese Zodiac, another new display that I loved featured a representation of each of the 12 zodiac animals…I liked them so much, they’ll have their own post later! For now, here’s a little glimpse of them, including each of us with our year’s animal:

Everything about the zoo looks beautiful at night all lit up!

This iridescent dome looked spectacular in every light!

And here’s a look at the fantastic movement in the largest of the lanterns, which was almost 50 feet high!

We’re already hoping that the event returns next year with more new things to discover!