#United States #LuminoCity #Long Island Children's Museum #Lumi's Utopia #East Meadow

LuminoCity Festival Celebrates Young Talent

The LuminoCity Festival, in collaboration with the Long Island Children's Museum (LICM) and the support of WE ART Education, proudly announces the winners of the sixth annual Lumi's Utopia Children’s Drawing Competition. This year, the enthusiastic response led to the selection of twelve remarkable young artists out of 362 entries. The innovative and imaginative drawings will be transformed into extraordinary handcrafted 3D light sculptures. These delightful sculptures will illuminate the upcoming LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival at Eisenhower Park, running from November 11, 2026, through January 3, 2027.

Engaging Young Minds with Creativity

This year’s competition theme, “Dino Friends,” encouraged children to let their imagination roam free by creating their own distinctive dinosaur characters. The surge in submissions, over three times more compared to last year, is a testament to the growing enthusiasm for this unique event. The winning entrants, ranging in age from four to thirteen years old, presented a range of enchanting concepts that covered playful, silly, and even fire-breathing dinosaur designs.

Meet the Stars of Lumi’s Utopia 2026

The winners of this year’s competition include:

• - Isabella Tiscione, age 11 – "Sprinkles"
• - Christian Arthur, age 8 – "Noah"
• - Albert Zhao, age 8 – "Fire Breathing T-Rex"
• - Leia Chea, age 4 – "Liamstirakosauri"
• - Declan Buckley, age 10 – "Dan the Dino"
• - Carson Testa, age 7 – "Roger the Magic Dinosaur"
• - Angela Chen, age 9 – "Cookie Dino"
• - Bella Chlebek, age 13 – "Dancing Dino"
• - Irene Chiang, age 10 – "Skelnosaur"
• - Jessie Sui, age 10 – "The Dotted Dinosaur"
• - Yuna Fu, age 8 – "Strawberry Dinosaur"
• - Yining Chen, age 9 – "Cool, Dinosaur Dad!"

Bringing Ideas to Life

The enchanting designs will be brought to life by LuminoCity's skilled lantern artisans who will recreate the youthful art into impressive light sculptures. They will take great care to maintain the original sparkle and charm that each child's artwork embodies. This transformation marks a significant moment as the creations will be unveiled to the public during the festive event, allowing families to appreciate the artistic talent and vision of these young creators.

Erika Floreska, President of Long Island Children's Museum, expresses her excitement stating, “There’s something incredibly joyful about seeing a child’s imagination come to life. Our partnership with LuminoCity gives young artists a chance to dream big and express themselves, which is incredibly important.” Likewise, Principal Zhou, founder of WE ART Education, adds, “We hope this experience gives them the confidence to keep creating and sharing their own stories.”

The Legacy of Lumi's Utopia

Since its inception, Lumi’s Utopia has served as more than just a drawing contest. It has fostered a nurturing environment for children to showcase their talents and creativity. Through the ages, the initiative has utilized the age-old tradition of Chinese lantern making to elevate children’s artwork into the public space, creating cherished memories for families within the community. As Xiaoyi Chen, Founder and CEO of LuminoCity, states, “Over the past six years, Lumi’s Utopia has grown beyond a drawing competition, and now represents our commitment to the communities we serve by providing young artists with a meaningful platform.”

As LuminoCity approaches a new season filled with color, light, and creativity, those interested in experiencing the brilliance of these children’s ideas can become a part of the upcoming LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival by purchasing tickets online.

For more details, visit the official LuminoCity website and stay tuned for the celebration of creativity, imagination, and community spirit.