From May 1 through June 30 Franklin Square Park hosted its annual Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival. The festival originated three years ago with over 90,000 attendees from around the world. 
Attendance sky-rocketed to 130,000 people in 2018! Take part in this year’s new record, you definitely won’t regret this unique experience.
This year, the festival includes 29 breathtakingly vibrant animal and mystical creature themed lanterns handmade by local Chinese crafters. Besides the lantern displays that are composed of 20,000 LED lights, visitors can interact with installments, watch authentic Chinese performances including folk dancers, Bian Lian (face-changing), acrobatics, plate spinning, martial artists, and contortionists (showtimes are at 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. each night), purchase Chinese souvenirs from vendors or grab a bite to eat within the festival!
Sunday through Thursday tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for children (ages 3-12), $16 for students (with valid student ID), and $16 for seniors and military (with valid ID). Friday & Saturday timed tickets are required and cost $20 for adults, $12 for children, $18 for students, and $18 for seniors and military. I definitely suggest pre-purchasing your ticket online to save time and skip the line!
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Story and photography by: Alyssa Bauer, rising senior public relations major