Astra Lumina exhibit, Seattle, WA. Start gate or "Astra Archway."
My friend Caroline Hatton, a children’s writer and frequent contributor to this blog, took these photos in Seattle in December 2024 on a phenomenal walk at Astra Lumina, an "enchanted night walk among the stars," at the Seattle Chinese Garden. The same exhibit is apparently available in Dallas, Gatlinburg, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle until January 31, 2025.
What sets AstraLumina a galaxy apart from other lightedgarden events is the bold vision behind an exuberant music-and-lighting show. Everything is big and nothing is static. This gives the experience its power to lift the spirit. A 3-minute video overview shows a sample of every art installation along the one-mile night walk. The video does such a good job giving an idea of what to expect, especially if it is played with the sound on and the volume up, that I share only still shots.
The "Stellar Visions" uplifting visuals and pulsing music sweep away two visitors.
My favorite of the nine art installations was “Stellar Visions.” In the screenshot above, the silhouettes of two visitors on the right give an idea of how big and how high the giant lens-like screen was, as if pointed at the heavens. Projected onto it, a cosmos-inspired video to uplifting celestial music swept me away on a virtual journey through space.
My next favorite was walking through the utterly cool special effects of “Stardust Rays.” It felt like floating through interstellar currentseven though my feet never left the Earth.
Cosmic Choir, detail.
With nine areas sufficiently different in mood, visuals and sounds, chances are everyone can find favorites and count on feeling transported to distant star fields. The many photo opportunities along the way were a nice bonus.
In the Cosmic Choir, I saw a red lantern, but this is what my phone captured.
The lantern turned purple, but this is what my phone captured.
For me, Astra Lumina was an exciting, stirring experience, not one to bring me serenity. The bigness of it all boosted my ambition, optimism, and happiness. At the Astra Lumina website, tickets seem available only until January 31, 2025, but this is not the first year of the show, so perhaps it won’t be the last.
A lit plant as I saw it.
