Getting Turned on at Lantern Festival

Getting Turned on at Lantern Festival

We were treated to a night of cultural excellence and elegance this past Tuesday as the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival shone brightly in Franklin Square. Since 2016, the lantern festival has delighted guests from all over the world and captivated with its mastery of art and performances. The celebration features performances, handmade art, traditional foods… and of course the lanterns. It runs until August 18.

The 2024 display was something out of a dream. The immersive experience featured cultural significance through animals, plants, and architecture. However, the displays also featured creative choices that pushed the limits of size and complexity for the lanterns. An example that comes to mind regarding that was a tunnel featuring seemingly life-sized giraffes and oversized sunflowers lanterns. The mixes of warm tones throughout gave an incredible feeling while wandering through.

A noteworthy feature of the lantern displays was their vastness. Each corner of the park was decorated with different themes, colors, and oftentimes immersive sounds to emulate what guests saw further. No matter where one was in the festival there was always something larger than life to completely captivate your gaze. The best part of many of the displays was the incorporation of facts or retellings of mythology on plaques accompanying the lanterns. Taking the opportunity to teach attendees about Chinese history, culture, and mythology was wonderful.

While the lanterns were breathtaking and masterfully done, so too were the live performances done on the festival’s stage. Displays of traditional folk dance, acrobatics, and my personal favorite mask switching from traditional Chinese opera were there to delight and share with the guests their rich history. I felt that the inclusion of live performances made the night feel all the more special. The performers all did wonderfully at sharing their skills and wowing the audience.

Even as a lifelong resident of the area, I had never actually been to the lantern festival, but I always felt the desire to go whenever I would pass its glowing gates. As I walked away from the dancing fountain’s last show of the night, I felt completely satisfied with all of the wonderment I had been treated to that evening. It was a pleasure to take part in the festival, and I will definitely be back next year to share in the celebration again. I highly recommend that anyone able should do the same.

Jordan Wagner