By Balqis Jazimah Zahari
GOPENG: The Festival of Lights, organized by Trident Event Management at the RTC Gopeng field here, received an enthusiastic response when it successfully attracted nearly 70,000 visitors during the two-month duration of the festival.
The festival, held on a 100-square-meter site, captivated visitors with a Fantasy Space Science Park theme.
With an affordable entrance fee of only RM7, visitors could take photos and selfie with the space-themed backdrop and enjoy without than ten unique designs inspired by space science.
Festival Light Manager, Lin Nordin, said that initially, the light festival was scheduled for just one month, but due to overwhelming demand, it was extended for an additional month.
“At first, we opened from August 10th to September 10th, but due to high demand and some saying they couldn’t make it, we extended it from September 15th to October 1st.
“In the first phase, we welcomed over 50,000 visitors, while in the second phase, we received about 600 visitors per day on weekends.
“So, after this, if anyone still couldn’t make it to Gopeng, they can visit our next light festival location, which is also in Perak, at Arena Square Pengkalan Hulu,” he said during a recent interview at the light festival.
He mentioned that they had organized various themes for light festivals, and the space science theme was one of the most popular.
“This time, the theme is space science, featuring various shapes like the moon, Earth, Uranus, Mars, astronauts, and rockets.
“So, we attract visitors from various backgrounds and ages, where they not only come to take pictures but also gain some knowledge,” he said, mentioning that they received light festival equipment supplies from China.
He said that Perak was the third location for their light festival, following Kelantan and Terengganu.
“Previously, we had other themes like the 10,000 flower light festival and various tower-shaped light festivals.
“We organize these light festivals based on demand and invitations, but besides that, we chose Perak this time because we noticed that there are rarely such light festival attractions in Perak,” he said and also mentioned that he originated from Kelantan.
In the mean time, he admitted that organizing a light festival in an open area came with various challenges.
“When it’s done in an open space, the challenge is dealing with rain, and many times we had to close it. But I’ve been in this field for a long time; it’s a common challenge, and during the one-month duration, we had to close the festival at least six days.
“Indeed, we bear a loss as many lights get damaged after rain, but we have already made preparations to replace those lights, which were pre-ordered using stock from China,” he said.
He added that in the future, they would continue to organize various other attractive themes for visitors to enjoy.
