Edited: The festival is back this year and runs from May 1 - June 30, 2018
For it's second year in a row, The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival is back at Franklin Square Park in Old City Philadelphia. This one-of-a-kind cultural event is simply breathtaking with gorgeous lantern displays, nightly performances, traditional Chinese crafts, authentic cuisine, and cocktails. The performances of Chinese entertainment and art, includes contortion, acrobatics, folk-dancing and plate spinning. The festival runs nightly till June 18, 2017. You are able to visit the square during the day for free, but nightly admission begins at 6pm. Tickets can be purchased in advance on-line or at the door; $17 for adults, $12 for children and $15 for seniors and active military. If you live in the greater Philadelphia area or are visiting nearby be sure to check this event out before it's gone!
My hubby and I went last week and arrived during daylight hours, then stayed into the night. It was awesome to see all the light displays during the daytime and then see how they transformed when it got dark. The lanterns are made with such bright, colorful, beautiful fabric and then the addition of the lights at night made them just breathtaking to see. We had such a fun time walking around the park, taking in the lights, snacking on some traditional Chinese food and having a few drinks at the Dragon Beer Garden. We decided to go on a weeknight when it wouldn't be as crowded. There was still a good amount of people in attendance, but not too many. Lines for food and drinks weren't long and we had no trouble finding seats to sit and enjoy our drinks. I imagine it's probably busier and more crowded on the weekends, but it's still totally worth going.
DETAILS: 6-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 6-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays at Franklin Square, Old City Philadelphia.
Cost: $17 adults, $12 children, $15 seniors and active military.
historicphiladelphia.org/chineselanternfestival.
