Leeds Light Night 2019
Once again, Leeds Light Night event came back this 10th and 11th of October, illuminating the whole city centre with vibrant lights. For two nights, my feet could not rest for a moment for I did not want to miss any light works (according to the official website, there were 60 events in total!). Almost all exhibitions exuded surreal impressions probably because this year's theme of Light Night was 'Mind, Body and Spirit'. I have to say, they seemed to transcend typical imagination. And, as a person who loves art, it was a pleasure to attend this event. My favourite exhibition was 'flying violinist'. The performer with her LED decorated dress flew in the centre of Trinity mall without hesitation, and with her violin, bowed her way into the hearts of the audience. As such, many exhibitions that combined light and music captivated audiences. Other exhibitions encouraged the audience to get involved in art. For example, the 'Big Heart' monument in front of Leeds Town Hall was one of the best-loved interactive exhibitions. It collected the heartbeat of the couple on the platform and tuned love-songs based their heartbeat rate.
On the first night, my friend and I had to run and squeeze ourselves in between people to get a good spot for Launch parade, because the whole city was literally booming with people. We did not want to miss this parade because it marked the start of the Light Night. As the parade begun with the white clown drummers’ march, everyone took out their phone (as if they had coordinated) and captured the spectacular light parade. Although it was drizzling a bit, the bad weather did not faze our ardour towards the event.
In Light Night, it is important to have some money in your pocket, because there are lots of food trucks selling different kinds of street food - from Lebanese food to Thai dishes. And never forget to grab a bunch of churros dipped in hot chocolate while watching the giant light show in the Millennium Square!
On the second night, I was able to take a look at Leeds dock, where I never been before. The dock, too, was decorated with lights: On the side of the river, two huge Light Knights were welcoming people; and above the River Aire, hundreds of illuminated origami boats were floating. For me, the two nights of the event were a great chance to get away from academic stress and also explore central Leeds. I would strongly recommend Leeds Light Night to anyone who may visit Leeds around October. I do wish them to witness how the whole city centre lights up in colours and becomes one.