Annesophia Richards
No holiday season is complete without a beautiful lights display, and this year my family enjoyed one of the most magical and unique lights exhibits that I have ever seen. The North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival has taken over Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre. This magnificent setting is home to over 20 enchanted displays, each one comprised of hundreds of parts and thousands of LED lights. The enormous, culturally significant lanterns feature some amazing craftsmanship and illuminate the sky with their artistic beauty. Created by hand on silk fabric stretched over steel, the lanterns come primarily from the city of Zigong, Sichuan in China, a place known to be the capital of Chinese lantern-making for thousands of years. The festival also includes cultural performances and arts and crafts activities, all of which are new additions to the event this year.
Annesophia Richards
My son’s favorite display was hands down the Chinese Dragon. The glowing yellow dragon lantern on Symphony Lake mesmerized us all with its immense size - 200 feet long and 21 feet high, to be exact. My daughter was delighted to see the spinning owl lanterns and playful panda bear lanterns that seesawed up and down as we strolled by. After touring the entire collection of displays, we caught the end of one of the martial arts performances on the big stage, and then headed to the concession area for some hot chocolate and delicious warm gingerbread topped with whipped cream. It was a perfect, and very beautiful, evening for the whole family!
Bruce Murdoch Photography
The Chinese Lantern Festival takes place Tuesday through Sunday nights from 6pm until 10pm, and continues through January 15th, 2017. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 800-514-3849, at the Booth Amphitheatre (open Monday - Friday from 12pm-6pm) or through etix.com. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 3-17, and free for kids 2 and under.
As part of a special New Year’s Eve event year, the Chinese Lantern Festival will also include a spectacular fireworks display. Kicking off at 9:30 pm on Saturday, December 31st, fireworks will be launched over Symphony Lake. The fireworks display is included in the price of admission that evening.
