A Day Out at Lightopia 2020

We are big fans of light based art. Dann loves walking around, Jupiter loves looking at art, so Lightopia seemed like a great event to attend, especially after the amount of fun we had at Chihuly exhibition and the Ashford Illuminations. Lightopia takes place each year at the Chiswick House in London, as well as several other locations around England. This year, this is running from January 22nd until March 1st, giving everyone plenty of time to stop by!

We went to Lightopia with Claire (who wrote up her own review) and Staurt as a double date. We all purchased tickets a while back, and they were a bit strange to purchase. The tickets themselves have the same opening time, but you’ll end up needing to pick a preferred arrival time, which doesn’t actually get placed on your ticket. We didn’t get the email stating our preferred time, so we went at opening, which was listed on our ticket. We were still let in and nobody pointed out that we were an hour early. Anyway, onto the exhibition.

Before you even make it to ticket check, you’ll walk down a large path of flowers and numbers, making your way closer and closer to the exhibition. Once we got through tickets, we started down the path. Like the Chihuly exhibitions, lights dotted the path moving you from each major point to another. There was a lot to see, but surprisingly, there were also a lot of interactive areas designed for children and adults alike. Everything also had music, with quite a few exhibitions that actually were timed to the music that was playing. The flowers, butterflies, humans, all looked like they were made of wire and tissue paper, but clearly it was made of fabric which had lights under it. A few exhibitions stood out above the others.

There was a peacock light up across a pond, that provided a beautiful reflection. The two girls pushing the broken Earth back together used lighting far different from the other sculptures, as you could see string lighting on the outside and it caste lots of shadows. Another majorly fun sculpture, that actually had several versions throughout the path, were giant wings attached to a heart. Many people stood in front of that for a picture of themselves with wings. Actually, that’s one of the issues we had with Lightopia. Despite all the signs that said not to touch the exhibitions, there were children standing on the giant candy, grabbing the mushrooms, and being told by adults to get closer to the light up deer. This meant that some of the exhibitions were muddy, while we heard one loudly crack as a child jumped on it. Hopefully, these do hold up and some staff members are dotted around to make sure that the exhibitions are safe.

There are plenty of exhibitions that were interactive, aimed at younger children. The first one we came up to was a giant musical note with a dance pad in front of it. The dance pad allowed people to step on the dots, which then had them pulse colors. Lots of kids were jumping around this area! There was another medium sized patch of grass were people could go into the fairy-looking lights, like they were in a lost forest. Light up swings could be found in several areas, which were a hit with the younger folks walking around.

A few of the lights areas were actually completely timed with the music, the best of these being the star sign ruins. I don’t know anything about my star sign, but the music that was playing while you could walk inside a bunch of ruins, lighting up as the music played, was just so lovely. Standing in between all of the pillars and listening to the music – it’s some of the best music that was there. Another area full of patches of different colored roses, which light up depending on the music, and ended with some hands holding flowers and a cute heart to stand by.

There were also mushrooms dotted into the trees, animal areas including a rhino that moved their head, and a Chinese new year themed bit towards the end. One building had projects on it, with large lasers, looping through a really nice show. The lights and exhibitions aren’t the only thing to find at Lightopia.

Half way through the walk, it opens up to a few food trucks providing churros, loaded nachos/chips, and a bar. This isn’t the only food area in the walk, but a lot of people seemed to think it was as there were big lines. Halfway between that area and the end, there is another hot chocolate and goodies stall, and then at the very end there are a few different food stalls to enjoy. Surprisingly, at the very end, there were a few rides as the event opened up to a small fair. Along with the rides, there is an entertainment booth with performers who mainly displayed who flexible they were, but also people who could balance, toss bowls up that are balanced on the board they are standing on, and catch them with their head. It was a fun show and a great time out from the slight chill of the night. Closing out the exhibition was another bunch of light up swings, though we had seen them previously. We didn’t expect the rides and performances, so they were a great addition. Lightopia was a really fun time and we plan to go again next year!

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!