Everland is launching an ecological festival this summer vacation season, giving families a chance to experience nature up close. Weekend late-night hours will be extended to 11 p.m.
Everland announced it will hold the "Midsummer Night Firefly Festival" from July 24 through Aug. 30. The festival is an ecological program where visitors can observe thousands of fireflies lighting up the night. Everland is opening the program — which has run since 2017 — free of charge this summer and expanding it into a participatory festival, with the experience area dressed up as a starlit camping ground.
The experience area, stretching from Pupa Town to the Lost Valley education center, features newly installed photo zones and lighting, along with a nature-learning space where visitors can observe the ecological characteristics of fireflies. Inside the indoor experience area, guests first watch an educational video and listen to a zookeeper's storytelling about the firefly's life cycle and the reasons behind its bioluminescence. The lights then go out and visitors take in the glow of live fireflies in an indoor forest setting.
The firefly experience runs daily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lost Valley education center, with each session lasting about 15 minutes. Any Everland visitor can participate free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis at the venue.
Everland will also extend its late-night hours to 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday from July 24 through mid-August. During the Liberation Day holiday period, from Aug. 14 to 16, the park will stay open until 11 p.m. on three consecutive nights — Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
A range of nighttime entertainment will accompany the extended hours. Carnival Plaza will host "Bam Bam Summer Night," a water DJ party blending music and water jets, starting July 24. DJs Judy, KREAM and Jetbe are among the performers. Safari World will run "Summer Night Safari," offering nighttime views of nocturnal predators.
Holland Village, a European-style open-air restaurant area, transforms into a night market each evening, selling street food — including deep-fried chili peppers, American-style pizza and yakisoba — alongside beer. The park will also stage "Guardians of Light," a multimedia fireworks show featuring flames and drones, as well as the "Moonlight Parade."
"We hope this becomes a time for the whole family to observe fireflies firsthand in a romantic, summer-camping atmosphere, reflect on the importance of protecting nature, and find some healing," an Everland official said.
Everland is currently selling discounted evening admission tickets, valid from 6 p.m., and is running a two-park event that allows guests who visit Caribbean Bay to enter Everland free of charge on the same day.
terry@heraldcorp.com
