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    LEDs light up the dark winter months worldwide


    by Angela Daley

    After the colorful lights and decorations of Christmas, January and February can feel dark, cold and downright bleak. Luckily, there are currently several light-filled festivals illuminating the frosty air in several places around the world – and many of those are using LEDs to draw, delight and dazzle visitors and participants. Here’s our pick for some of the best:

    Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
    © La Priz
    © Michael Elleray
    © La Priz

    Deep in the north of China, not far from the Russian border, the 32nd Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is currently underway. It’s the world’s largest winter festival, attracting as many as one million visitors – despite daytime temperatures as low as 13 to minus 23 Celsius.  This year’s theme is “Pearl on the Crown of Ice & Snow” and, like other years, visitors come to marvel at intricately-carved ice architecture and sculptures. And while the festival is spectacular during the day, the artistry takes on a new life at night when the computer-controlled, LEDs embedded within the ice sculptures switch on, casting a colorful and ethereal glow over the entire exhibition. More than 100 foreign artists are currently competing in the ice sculpture and LED lighting design competitions.

    Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year/Spring Festival
    © Michael Elleray
    © Michael Elleray

    On February 8th, millions of people around the world will celebrate the Lunar New Year and usher in the year of the monkey. Chinese New Year – or Spring Festival – celebrations take place in every corner of the world with a significant Chinese population. From mainland China to Malaysia to Chinatowns scattered throughout the United States, the festival is marked by family, food and extravagant, light-filled decorations. In many places, the traditional red lanterns hung at this time of year have already gotten an LED-makeover while in Singapore, shop owners are now offering LED-lit tangerine, cherry blossom, and plum blossom plants as eye-catching and low-maintenance alternatives to decorating with the real thing.

    Carnaval
    And while much of Asia is celebrating the Lunar New Year, many people in the West will be celebrating Carnaval, the riotous Catholic festival leading up to Lent. And, of course, the best-known celebrations take place in Brazil, where LEDs are increasingly being used by revelers to set apart their extravagant costumes, floats and “block” parties. In fact, last year’s celebrations in Rio included one block party – which are the spots where the locals celebrate – entirely dedicated to LED lighting. The My Light is LED pre-Carnaval street parade even included partiers perched atop glowing LED stilts. And 2016’s preparations are almost complete as participants put the final touches on their parade floats, including the thousands of LEDs that illuminate their fantastical creations.

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