Behind the scenes at the Light Park: Haldenzauber

As you probably know by now, two of our brand new Light Parks and one Light Festival have opened their doors to visitors: GaPa Funkelland in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Haldenzauber in Hückelhoven, Germany; and the Joburg Zoo “Festival of Lights” in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In our previous “behind the scenes” post, we took a look at GaPa Funkelland, and this week we’re taking a look at Haldenzauber, which is reporting a record number of visitors in its first couple of weeks.

Haldenzauber (29 Nov 2019-5 Jan 2020)

Haldenzauber is enjoying its second year in Hückelhoven’s Millicher Halde, a beautiful and popular green space that started life as a mine dump in 1936 and that was replanted and repurposed for community use around 50 years ago. You can read more about the space’s history in one of our previous posts.

Last year’s Light Park attracted some 35,000 visitors and exceeded all expectations, and this year’s event is on track to exceed expectations once again. Thanks to its popularity, a decision was made to expand the Light Park by another 50%, which has made space for even more light installations, interactive experiences and light sculptures for visitors to enjoy.

Many of 2018’s popular installations are back with new characters and features, like the “Magical Forest of Animals”, which includes a selection of brand new forest dwellers, but there are a number of new features on offer this year, too. Some of these light experiences are interactive. The “Ladder to the Heavens” that displays a series of hearts when triggered by a kiss, and in the “Ice Forest”, visitors are invited to strike tubular bells to change the colors of over-sized crystal light sculpture.

And that’s not all. Once again, light, design and interactivity are enhanced with sound. The “Sounds of the Stars” sound-to-light show lights up the evening sky for a full hour daily at 17h00.

Not all of the park’s features are interactive. Some simply celebrate the region, like the “Hückelhoven 50” display, which marks the city’s 50th anniversary, and which has become a fun place for local residents to take photos. Social media and blogs are awash with selfies and photos of friends and families enjoying the event, which just goes to show how light can bring people together, put a smile on their faces, and give them an experience that doesn’t involve a “screen”!

Three weeks of installation

The first light motifs began to arrive at Millicher Halde on 11 November 2019 and a team of 10 electricians, technicians and light experts worked solidly for 3 weeks to turn the idea into a reality. 

Before and after

Take a look at how Millicher Halde has been transformed in a few short weeks:

Before