Home » *Top Pick*, In Person, Kids & Families

Oakland Zoo’s “Glowfari” Lantern Festival is Back (Feb. 5 – March 13)

Dang! This event has already taken place.
>> Want to see our Top Picks for this week instead?
Friday, February 5, 2021 - 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm | Cost: $20*
*$20 adults/$18 children & seniors (2-14 & 65-75)

Learn More

After a nearly two month closure, the Oakland Zoo’s Glowfari festival is coming back with an extended run now that the stay-at-home order has been lifted.

The new lantern festival was originally supposed to run from November 20 to January 17th, but was cut short in early December due to the winter Stay-at-Home order.

  • Glowfari will resume on February 5th and be extended until March 13th.
  • Tickets for Glowfari will go back on sale February 5 at 10am. Advanced tickets will be required

Do you already have reservations? Anyone with reservations for daytime visits or Glowfari during the Zoo’s closure will be contacted by email on Friday, January 28th, with instructions on how to reschedule their existing booking.

Glowfari: A Wildly Illuminating Lantern Festival
February 5, 2021 to March 13, 2021 | 5:30p to 10p
– $20 adults/$18 children & seniors (2-14 & 65-75)
– Children under 2 and adults over 76: Free
– Parking: Free

Advanced ticket purchase is required. – Tickets onsale February 5 at 10am

What is Glowfari?
Dozens of towering and even interactive, glowing lanterns of every order await to entertain and enlighten you at every turn. Take a mile-long stroll (socially distanced, of course!) through these illuminated and dazzling lanterns – from the ice-capped 15-foot tall penguin corridor to the breathtaking full-size elephants, giraffes, and lions – to the enormous, fluttering butterflies floating against the star-filled night sky. Ride our brilliantly-lit gondolas to visit California Trail – where you’re transported back in time to a dinosaur world filled with prehistoric rock stars like the T-rex, stegosaurus, pterodactyls, and more! Learn More.

Related Stories

Oakland Zoo’s GLOWFARI event is reopening to the public on February 5th.

See the latest updates | Oakland Zoo Closure Page | Glowfari

Due to ongoing limited capacity regulations in order to enable social distancing, advance reservations are required for to visit Glowfari. Glowfari has been extended through March 13.

Our online reservations / ticketing system for Glowfari reservations will be live on Friday, February 5th at 10AM (PST). Tickets will not be available for booking / purchase until then.

**If you already have an existing ticket / reservation to visit the Zoo that you purchased pre-closure on December 7th, 2020, either during daytime hours (or to experience Glowfari), we will reach out via email this Friday with instructions on how you can to reschedule your current reservation to visit Oakland Zoo.


Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.


Cost: $20*
*$20 adults/$18 children & seniors (2-14 & 65-75)
Categories: *Top Pick*, In Person, Kids & Families