Finger Lakes Festival of Lights: Lighting up the Night in Burdett, NY

NOTE for 2022: As far as I know (I spoke to someone at Grist Iron Brewing in September), the FLX Festival of Lights is NOT TAKING PLACE at the brewery in 2022. However, it seems to have moved back to Castel Grisch Winery. You can buy tickets here. I’ll update as I get additional information.

As we head into fall and winter, there’s a new attraction in town shining light into the increasing darkness.

The Finger Lakes Festival of Lights is lighting up the night for people of all ages behind Grist Iron Brewing in Burdett, NY through early November.

We almost didn’t go, because with a family of four, this will make a bit of a dent in your entertainment budget. But several people independently raved to us about the experience, so we decided to just do it. Plus, we’re big fans of light shows such as Lights on the Lake.

For around $20 a pop, I thought “this had better be good.”

Well, it was. It was enchanting.

The experience

As we approached, we could see a long line of lights (that turned out to be giant sunflower sculptures) and a brightly lit, humongous arch and were immediately excited. This was going to be great!

We barely got jackets on the kids (check the forecast and dress accordingly; it can get chilly at night) before they were off, running towards the lights.

We moved past the concession stands and a few benches around a wood fire to pass under the giant light arch covered in grapes and birds where the path began. The 1-mile loop leads through the forest and takes you past about 30 scenes of over 1,000 colorful, large light sculptures.

They’re loosely held together by a storyline about two siblings, Kyle and Sarah, who visit their grandparents at Seneca Lake and listen to a story their grandfather tells them. An attendant at the entrance had recommended we read the story boards to our kids, but honestly, we couldn’t slow them down enough to listen. Max and Miki were just flitting from one scene to the next, trying to take it all in. 

There were home and garden scenes that introduced us to the protagonists, the Lost World with many different dinosaurs (and dramatic music to underscore the atmosphere), wild animals like lions and zebras (Miki’s favorites — Max liked Tarzan hanging off a tree), underwater adventures, species of Seneca Lake, and Chinese lions. A few sculptures even moved.

It was all so beautiful! 

In case you’re familiar with Lights on the Lake in Liverpool, NY (which we also enjoy): I think of the Finger Lakes Festival of Lights as its fancy cousin, a kind of “high art” version that’s still plenty approachable. (So approachable, in fact, that I had to hold Max back several times from hopping right into the scenes and poking and prodding the sculptures.)

I can’t say exactly how long it took us to get through, but it was enough for our four-year-old, Miki, to be done. Six-year-old Max, on the other hand, was ready for a second go, so Andrew took him around again and this time read him the story — only once, though, despite Max’s declaration at the end that he wanted to go three more times.

It was well past bedtime by the time we got home, but if we’d visited without kids, Andrew and I would definitely have stopped into the brewery to round out the evening.

What is behind the Finger Lakes Festival of Lights?

The only thing I felt was missing was a little more information about how the sculptures are made and who is behind this whole production. So I called Daniel Lai, one of the partners in the recently formed American Lantern Festivals Inc. that put on the show. (Lai is working with executive producer Bob Montgomery, who has organized similar festivals around the world.)

As it turns out, Lai has a direct connection to the festival’s cultural roots in China, from where he emigrated nearly 25 years ago. Now he’s “a local guy” and owns Castel Grisch Winery, where a drive-through version of the show took place last season.

He told me that the festival is a modern adaptation of Lantern Festivals that began around 2,000 years ago during China’s Han Dynasty and are celebrated even now on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar in February or early March. Sculptures are traditionally made from silk, porcelain, and glass.

The modern sculptures contain wire frames that are welded together and covered in printed and waterproof synthetic silk. Every single piece is handmade. (The company created the designs and concepts and had them produced in China, from where they were shipped by container and assembled locally.)

Inside, LED lights have replaced the traditional candles. The number of lights that must be involved is pretty mind-boggling: There are ca. 30 scenes of 50 to 100 lanterns that each have numerous lights inside.

The themes have also been modernized and adapted to the region, most noticeably in the display of fish and other creatures that live in Seneca Lake but also in the fact that there’s even a story line. “Since we’re holding the festival here, we put American and local elements into our shows,” Lai said. “We’re trying to make the show part of our life and make it more enjoyable.”

I also liked the homage to the Lantern Festival’s Chinese roots, mainly in the form of the Chinese lions and also in the anime-style eyes in the human sculptures.

Next year, look out for some seasonal elements around Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas themes. “We don’t want to make people feel fatigued by giving them the same thing every year,” Lai told me. “We’ll definitely add more things.”

Logistics for the Finger Lakes Festival of Lights

• Tickets: Definitely buy online if you can plan ahead. In 2021, online prices range from $19.95 (seniors, youth up to 13) to $23.95 for adults ($2 less Su-Th), compared to $30 at the door. Kids 4 and under get in free. (There are discount codes floating around, so keep an eye out for those. They can save you up to 25 percent.)
• Hours: Starts at dusk.
• Parking: Signage was great, so we had no trouble making our way past Grist Iron Brewing and its accompanying hotel, The Lodge, up to the parking lot. We showed our tickets from our phones and were waved to open spots by attendants.
• The path: The path is wide, flat, and covered in gravel the whole way. We saw lots of families with strollers who seemed to be doing just fine.
• Accessibility: I heard from a friend, Ashley, that the event did a great job on this front. Here’s what she said: “We were super impressed with the wheelchair accessible port’o’potties and the accessible parking close to the entrance. ALSO, there are golf carts available for those with mobility concerns that would like to participate but I believe you have to call ahead to arrange this. My husband is a wheelchair user and the packed gravel path was level enough and firm enough for a power wheelchair to maneuver on. Also, the benches spread throughout the path are great for those with disabilities who may need to take a break.”

• Food: There’s a kind of bar tent with beer (duh, given the location!), wine, water, and root beer for sale. At a separate concession stand, you can find sno cones, pop corn, peanuts and similar snacks.
• Restrooms: And then there are the bathrooms. Normally not something I spend many words on, but they’re so thoughtfully done at this site, they deserve their own paragraph. First of all, there are plenty, both at the entrance and a few along the path (along with benches and trash cans). Even better, the porta potties have handwashing stations in front of them — and then there’s the luxurious bathroom trailer with three clean and even pretty pleasant-smelling mini bathrooms. Thank you, organizers!

If you enjoy light displays, make sure to also check out Lights on the Lake in Liverpool and the Scott family’s fun holiday show in Groton.

I’d love to hear about your experience with the Festival of Lights! Did you go? Are you planning to? Let us know in the comments.

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