Franklin Square Lantern Festival

Family 4 Pack, including mini golf and carousel passes!

It's the time of the year when dragons and lanterns take over Franklin Square. Between June 21 to Aug. 13, the three-school-bus-long red dragon returns for the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival.

This year's edition brings 34 colorful, dynamic displays, including a new sea dragon. Plus, for the first time in four years, Chinese folk artists are returning to show off their crafts and skills.

Looking to attend this celebration of light and culture? Here's what to expect:

Hours
The 2023 Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival lights up Franklin Square at Sixth and Race Streets, no matter the weather. It's open seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., June 21 to Aug. 13.

Activities and installations
In addition to lights and sculptures, the 2023 Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival brings performances, cultural activities, and interactive art, among other things:

Lanterns: This year's event features 34 installations throughout the park. Get ready to see new lanterns, including an interactive fortune-telling wall, and a 100-foot sea dragon coiled into a tunnel. But, worry not, the festival's traditional 200-foot-long Chinese dragon, cherry blossom forests, pandas, mythical creatures, leopards, armadillo, and chameleon will also be returning.
Entertainment: From 6 to 10:35 p.m., folks can enjoy different live performances every night. Artists from China will present shows such as jar juggling, where artists juggle porcelain jars and spin objects while laying down with their feet in the air. Or, Kung Fu Tea, an art performance that uses a long-stem teapot and music to create a tea ceremony. Check out the 30-minute water-light shows at the Rendell Family Fountain during show intermission.
Folk Artists: At the Dragon Beer Garden, Chinese artists Yu Xia, Yinuo Hu, and Shaojia Fang will create braided aluminum art, inner-bottle paintings, and lantern paintings.
Cultural activities: This year, folks can participate at Franklin Square Pavilion on Friday and Saturday nights. Around 6:30 p.m., take photos and get to know the artist behind the face-changing performance. At 7:15 or 9 p.m., learn to make dumplings while learning the cultural meaning of this food. Or, take folk dance lessons at 8:15 p.m.
Park activities: At Franklin Square, you can play mini golf and hop on the carousel while you wait for a performance to begin.