Philly’s Chinese Lantern Festival is back this weekend! Here’s what to expect

Philadelphia s beloved Chinese Lantern Festival is back illuminating Franklin Square with over sculptures Different groupings and themes will be on display including an enchanted forest an underwater seascape and more marks the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac The celebration kicks off Friday June and runs to August every night from to p m excluding July It really is a celebration of art and custom and light declared Amy Needle CEO and president of Historic Philadelphia It s a wonderful evening for families for couples for multigenerational families Guests can enjoy drinks and folk art at the festival J Fusco for Tianyu The festival will have a brand new lineup of hand-painted handcrafted lanterns made from steel frames Returning this year is the massive -pound dragon lantern stretching longer than three school buses In addition to the light displays visitors can enjoy food live performances artisan crafts for sale and a fountain show Franklin Square s mini golf discipline and carousel will also be open for extra family-friendly fun Needle suggested getting to the festival when the gates open at p m to enjoy the park s funtivities and then stay as the sun goes down I think the lanterns really do look the best in the dark she explained It s very cool to see them go from daylight to darkness and that glow that comes on Food fun and face changers This year the festival will include culturally immersive weekend sessions at the Franklin Square Pavilion including a dumpling-making workshop and Baduanjin Movement class There will also be a series of performances at the festival such as chair acrobatics in which performers stack chairs high in the air often on a small base and balance themselves in extreme positions Jugglers water spinners and face changers will get on stage to wow audiences with their craft One of the weekend cultural connections at the festival includes a meet and greet with the face changer J Fusco for Tianyu The fan favorite is the face changer Needle stated It s a Chinese opera act and at the click of a finger he changes his mask You really have no idea how it s done The art form known as Bianlian is an ancient tradition that dates back years And the whole neighborhood is in on the fun Historic Philadelphia will be partnering up with stores in Chinatown to offer special deals during the festival If you haven t been to Chinatown in a long time have dinner in Chinatown and then come over to the festival Needle declared We do a Panda Promotion with Chinatown where you can get discounts at certain restaurants with your Lantern ticket Tickets and getting there Historic Philadelphia suggests buying tickets in advance Monday through Thursday GA tickets are for adults for seniors and advancing military and for children On weekends tickets are timed and prices for seniors advancing military and adults are an extra There will also be a new unlimited entry festival pass that s for adults and for kids during the duration of the festival Kids and under get in for free A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the upkeep of Franklin Square Have a drink from a refreshing pineapple J Fusco for Tianyu This year it is easier than ever to get to the festival thanks to the new PATCO station at Franklin Square If you haven t been yet the celebration is a great excuse to check out the million refurbished stop complete with a chic glass entrance In addition multiple SEPTA bus routes drop off near the square as does NJ Transit The Square is also accessible from Jefferson Station or the Blue Line at th or th streets If you plan to drive as part of a donation SpotHero is offering discounted parking at nearby locations It s best to reserve your spot through this link rather than the app A great summer tradition Philly s Chinese Lantern Festival first debuted in and since then it has attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees Getting each lantern made and powered to light up takes a lot of preparation and planning This year over of the lantern groupings will be interactive There will be single and multi-player games as well as immersive displays According to Historic Philadelphia the majority of the lanterns were crafted in China and shipped to Philadelphia Others are made right here in the city Franklin Square s fountain show Photo by J Fusco Several lanterns are created on site at Franklin Square Needle noted We really start planning this festival about as soon as it s over last year and start talking about what designs we should have They design the lanterns literally create them on paper she added Then that gets transferred to these metal frames that are then wrapped in silk and hand-painted And a lot of that is happening over at the square The festival s annual trainee contest is also returning Four of the lanterns created are re-creations of winning drawings from elementary and middle schoolers Putting together the whole festival is no small feat Over people and hours of labor went into this year s displays which include dragonfly swings a coral reef an erupting volcano a blue-ringed octopus tropical birds peacocks jaguars and more It really is a very full evening Needle noted And a great summer tradition that is back The post Philly s Chinese Lantern Festival is back this weekend Here s what to expect appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY