Lanterns & Light!

Chester Zoo / Culture Creative 2025

The Brief

We were delighted to be invited back to Chester Zoo to deliver the interactive puppet experience for the much-loved Lanterns and Lights Christmas trail once again. For this year, the focus was on refreshing the animal line-up with new characters while maintaining the high standard of performance audiences had come to expect.

What We Did

Building on the success of previous years, Jon and Team Lead Zoe began planning early, working closely with Culture Creative and the puppet makers to introduce new illuminated animal characters alongside returning favourites. This year’s line-up included majestic emperor penguins making their debut, alongside dancing zebras, curious meerkats and elegant peacocks, supported by the ever-popular snow leopards! We retained our experienced puppeteer team and continued to work with a specialist puppet maintenance technician to ensure consistent quality across the run.

The Result

Audiences were once again captivated by the different personalities of the animal encounters. The experience delivered a consistently warm, joyful and high-quality interaction throughout the run. Beyond the trail itself, members of the team also volunteered to take the puppets to Hope House Children’s Hospice, bringing the magic of Lanterns and Lights directly to families who were unable to visit the zoo — extending the reach and impact of the project to those most in need.