Tools

The first time Tiffany Robinson flew to Milan, Italy, as a senior buyer for Barbara/Jean Ltd., she learned an important lesson: never trust your wardrobe to an airline. “I made the mistake of traveling in a warm-up suit, with hopes of sleeping on the overnight flight,” said Robinson, “but when we landed, I found out my luggage had been lost. So there I was, working the Italian Designer Fashion Market in my sweats and sneakers! Thank goodness, most of the people there had all had the same experience and were super nice to me.”

Robinson first caught the travel bug on her semester abroad in London, England, when she was attending Hendrix College in Conway. “I studied British architecture, literature, Shakespeare and sociology. That was one of the highlights of my college experience,” she said. “Being away for a semester gave me a real sense of independence that I would not have realized otherwise.”

International travel indeed instills a certain sense of adventure and opens your eyes to different cultures and even different possibilities. Robinson said that if she could go anywhere in the world, she would take her husband, Daniel, on a European tour. “He has never been to London, and I have wanted to take him there ever since I studied abroad in college. And he has also always wanted to go to Rome. I would love to take a couple of weeks and just work our way across Europe.”

This same sense of international wonder and cultural tradition inspired the LANTERNS! Festival at Wildwood Park for the Arts, where Robinson is a member of the board of trustees. This year the festival is scheduled for Thursday, February 2, through Saturday, February 4. “Festivals of light are prominent in cultures across the globe,” Robinson explained. “Wildwood’s event brings a multicultural flair to LANTERNS! with eight cultural vistas of light.”

This will mark the fourth year of the LANTERNS! Festival. Robinson said, “Last year we had more than 5,000 guests strolling through the park amid paved walkways lined with thousands of luminaries.”

Robinson’s job is to support the park in any way she can. “Wildwood is one of the best kept secrets in Little Rock, but it shouldn’t be a secret,” she said. “The botanical gardens are beautiful, and the festivals hosted at the park—HARVEST!, LANTERNS! and BLOOMS!—are amazing family events with great activities, food and fun for everyone.”

She continued, “Wildwood is unique in so many ways. We fuse artistic performances and exotic gardens so that cultural and ecological experiences are united. There is nothing else like Wildwood in the state of Arkansas.” The facilities are available for weddings, seminars and conferences. The park also has a theater that hosts different types of acts throughout the year, including The Emerging Artists series, which highlights various young musicians.

“Wildwood provides 105 acres of green space for community access and lifelong learning,” Robinson said. “It’s a place that engages our imaginations, where we can celebrate the human spirit through encounters with nature and a diversity of arts.”

The public can see the park at its finest during LANTERNS!, which brings together over 300 volunteers throughout the weekend who are dedicated to bringing the arts to the community. “The volunteers are bonded by a desire to make our community a fulfilling place to live, and LANTERNS! attracts thousands in a festival setting to celebrate cultural traditions and attributes that create a framework for the world and for our nation,” Robinson said. “I hope people are engaged by more than just LANTERNS!, though.”

Wildwood Park will be fitted with eight different scenes celebrating different cultures and luminary traditions, including Asia, India, Shakespeare’s England, Venice, Americana, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and the Moon. “You can expect Parisian flair throughout the performing arts center lobbies,” she said. “We’ll have entertainment nightly in Cabe Festival Theatre, including short performances by Ballet Arkansas.”

The other seven areas will have unique activities and sights, including the Dodi Teahouse in Asia, performances by Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre in England and wishing lanterns to launch in Venice. You can even learn new dance moves in Rio de Janeiro on the outdoor stage.