The Chinese Lantern Festival returns to Franklin Square in Philadelphia this summer of 2023.
Here’s a guide to everything you need to know:
When will the festival take place?
The activity takes place every year in Franklin Square north of 6th and Race streets from Wednesday, June 21 to Sunday, August 13, 2023. The park is open from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. :00 pm and the event starts from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm
What can visitors expect to see?
Attendees will be able to view 34 exhibits, which contain more than 1,500 individual illuminated sculptures. Highlights include a 100-foot-long sea dragon and another 164-foot-long fire-breathing dragon.
This year they will be celebrating “Cultural Connections”, every Friday and Saturday, with workshops on how to make “dumplings” and interactions with characters from the festival.
The event will also include performances such as: traditional Chinese masking, acrobatics, juggling, dancing and spinning dishes.
For the first time since 2019, the artisans will be selling their creations.
How many lights are there in the festival?
- Consists of 25,000 LED lights
- 2,500 form the flowers
- 180 form the animals
There will be food?
The answer is yes! There will be Asian and American food throughout the event. It will be located in the “Dragon Beer Garden”. The dishes that will be present are: the “Oishii”, “Sang Kee” and “SquareBurger”.
How much is admission?
- Adults (18-64): $22 (Sun-Thurs), $25 (Fri-Sat)
- Teens (13-17): $20 (Sun-Thurs), $23 (Fri-Sat)
- Children (3-12): $14
- Children under two years: free admission
- Seniors (65+) and Military (with ID and companion): $20 (Sunday-Thursday), $23 (Friday-Saturday)
A portion of these proceeds will go to Historic Philadelphia, Inc., a nonprofit organization that operates and manages Franklin Square.
Get the tickets here.
Do you want to play mini golf or ride the carousel?
This year, the festival organizers are offering combined tickets for the event entrance as well as the ‘Philly Minigolf’ and/or the ‘Parx Liberty’ carousel. The cost varies depending on the day of the week.
More information here.
