The endless rain in Seattle stopped long enough on Thursday night for the “stars” to come out — even if those stars had to be man-made.
On a winding path through the Seattle Chinese Garden at South Seattle College, a new immersive light and sound experience has opened called Astra Lumina. The installation follows previous openings in the U.S. in New York, Los Angeles, and Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Billed as “an enchanted night walk amongst the stars,” Astra Lumina features 10 different and dramatic light displays set to atmospheric music and nature sounds. Each display plays on a loop for a few minutes, and some are accented by lighting directed into surrounding trees or fog that gives off an otherworldly feeling.
The temporary installation is the work of Montreal-based multimedia studio Moment Factory and Fever, a global live-entertainment discovery platform, which brought “Stranger Things: The Experience” to Seattle in May.
“We strive to create immersive moments to draw people away from the computer screens, away from their TV screens, away from their phones, and come into this great sense of collective wonder,” said Manon McHugh, senior director of business development and marketing at Moment Factory, during a press preview of the show.
Astra Lumina features an endless array of LED lights in various shapes and sizes. And everything is choreographed with the music and sounds along the way.
Some displays are simple glowing orbs hung from the trees, or tubes of light representing falling stars. Others are more dramatic, such as “Stellar Visions,” which features a large lighted ring displaying images that could have been shot in a distant galaxy. In “Stardust Rays,” the wooded trail is transformed into a laser light show of sorts.
Thomas Pintal is the director who created the show for Moment Factory. While Astra Lumina relies on the same sets in various cities, the landscape impacts how they are laid out and perceived. That was the case at the Chinese Garden.
“The way we design it, we amplify the impact of some zones,” Pintal said. “Like when we arrive at [‘Celestial Trail’], the way we arrive and face this multimedia experience makes it totally unique. There’s no other Luminas that have this sense of arrival.”
The lantern-accented walk along Astra Lumina’s gravel path, which Pintal estimated to be one kilometer, takes about 45 minutes, depending on how long you linger at various displays.
The show is planned to stay through the first week of January, and if it does well, Fever will consider extending the run. Tickets range in price from $29 to $41 and can be reserved here.
Keep scrolling for more photos from GeekWire’s tour of Astra Lumina in Seattle:
