Twelve Young Artists Win Lumi's Utopia 2026; Their 'Dino Friends' Will Glow as Handcrafted Light Sculptures at Eisenhower Park
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — LuminoCity Festival and the Long Island Children's Museum on October 15 announced the 12 winners of the sixth Lumi's Utopia children's drawing competition. According to the organizers' announcement released via PR Newswire, the competition drew 362 entries through on-site workshops at the Long Island Children's Museum and online submissions — more than three times the number received in 2025 — and the winning drawings will be transformed into handcrafted three-dimensional light sculptures for this holiday season's LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival.
This year's theme, Dino Friends, invited children to create an original dinosaur character full of personality. The 12 winners are aged 4 to 13: Isabella Tiscione, 11, with Sprinkles; Christian Arthur, 8, with Noah; Albert Zhao, 8, with Fire Breathing T-Rex; Leia Chea, 4, with Liamstirakosauri; Declan Buckley, 10, with Dan the Dino; Carson Testa, 7, with Roger the Magic Dinosaur; Angela Chen, 9, with Cookie Dino; Bella Chlebek, 13, with Dancing Dino; Irene Chiang, 10, with Skelnosaur; Jessie Sui, 10, with The Dotted Dinosaur; Yuna Fu, 8, with Strawberry Dinosaur; and Yining Chen, 9, with Cool, Dinosaur Dad!
The organizers said LuminoCity's lantern artisans are now transforming each winning artwork into a handcrafted light sculpture, preserving the personality, colors and imaginative details of each child's original creation. The sculptures will make their public debut when the LuminoCity Holiday Lights Festival opens at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow on November 11, 2026, and will remain on display through January 3, 2027.
Erika Floreska, president of the Long Island Children's Museum, said in the announcement that the partnership with LuminoCity gives young artists a chance to dream big and express themselves, and to see that their ideas matter. Principal Zhou, founder of supporting partner WE ART Education, said the organizers hope the experience gives the children confidence to keep creating and sharing their own stories.
Xiaoyi Chen, founder and CEO of LuminoCity, said in the announcement that over six years Lumi's Utopia has grown into more than a drawing competition, turning something that began in a child's imagination into an experience thousands of families can see and enjoy together. According to the organizers, LuminoCity draws on the tradition of Chinese lantern craftsmanship, and the children's art program has been rooted in the local community for six years.
(Source: LuminoCity Festival and Long Island Children's Museum announcement released via PR Newswire, October 15, 2026)
Source: LuminoCity Festival与长岛儿童博物馆
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：第六届Lumi's Utopia儿童绘画比赛官方获奖海报，12名小画家的「恐龙朋友」作品同框。LuminoCity Festival官方发布图，经PR Newswire发布。Poster of the 12 winning Dino Friends drawings, official image released by LuminoCity Festival via PR Newswire.
