International lantern festival lights up North Las Vegas park — PHOTOS

The goddess of the moon — grasping a red ribbon and emerging from flowers in front of an illuminated satellite — stood out brightly from the other glowing lanterns at Craig Ranch Regional Park.

As Chinese legend has it, Chang’e, the flying goddess, accidentally swallowed immortality pills and flew to the moon.

The lantern goddess wasn’t alone. Beside her to sat a beaming, red puff fish with teal-colored eyes, a grasshopper and a friendly, green caterpillar with outstretched arms.

The vibrant sights are part of China Lights, the first-of-its-kind festival in the Las Vegas Valley. Although the Strip is known for its bright lights and

glamorous sights, the festival found its home at the North Las Vegas park.

The international lantern festival held by Tianyu Arts &Culture and sponsored by Boyd Gaming runs through Feb. 25.

The festival has been held in many cities, including Milan, Italy; Sydney, Australia; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Atlanta; and Spokane, Washington, Tianyu Arts &Culture event manager Huiyuan Liu said.

China Lights features 40 large lanterns crafted by Chinese artisans from Zigong, Sichuan, China’s cultural capital for lantern-making. Displays, which are composed of more than 1,000 components that have been welded together, covered with colored silk and hand-painted by artists, require a two-month building process.

While the lanterns are the main draw, the festival also features Chinese cultural performances and artisans creating special handicrafts.

On Thursday night, Xia Liu, in a silk mask and red silk robe, flapped her garment around and shook her head.

Prancing along the stage, she covered her face for a split second, changing her mask from blue to a fully painted white one.

The 300-year tradition originated in Chinese opera, when masks were easier than make-up changes. Xia Liu studied for many years before learning the craft.

Two acrobats, Chang Liu, 18, and Chen Chi, 16, have been performing together for 10 years. The pair, wearing blue sequined suits, jumped over and squeezed in between hoops and each other.

On Thursday, they circled the crowd in a yellow, sparkly Chinese Dragon head and body.

“I like traveling,” Chang Liu said in Chinese. “And we get to learn a bit of other cultures, too.”

From in front of neon-colored notes, Meimei Chen contorted her body, her legs reaching the back of her head.

Balancing candles on her mouth, hands and feet, she twisted her body again, into a pretzel.

The awed audience erupted in applause.

After the show, Lin Martinez and Marvin Campos walked toward the artful lanterns with their 4-year-old daughter, Sofia.

“It’s great to come out and show people something different that they aren’t normally exposed to,” Martinez said.

From underneath her floppy, pink hat, Sofia giggled. “My favorite is the dragon,” she said.

Huiyuan Liu said no two shows are completely the same. “It teaches them about Chinese culture in an interesting way,” she said. “Without having to read or sit in front of a book.”

Also at the festival, children also could dress up in traditional Chinese garb.

Cesar Rodriguez was there with his parents and his 5-year-old sister, Gabriela Leon.

As she smiled, Gabriela was outfitted with a hat with red flowers and a baby-pink dress with cherry blossoms on the front.

“She loves to dress up,” Rodriguez said. “This is something new for us.”

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @brianarerick on Twitter.