Koka Booth Amphitheatre

Cary, North Carolina, Is Hosting a Gorgeous Chinese Lantern Festival For the 8th Year

"Set on Symphony Lake in Cary, North Carolina, this Cary amphitheater is hosting the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival through Jan. 14, 2024. Now in its eighth season, the event showcases enormous, meticulously crafted silk-over-steel lanterns made by more than 25 Chinese artisans—including an LED-lit dragon that stands 21 feet tall, stretches roughly 200 feet, and weighs about 18,000 pounds, whose head required a 15-person crew to install. Materials were shipped from Zigong in Sichuan and assembled on-site while performers rehearse for stage shows that run four times nightly beginning at 5:30 p.m.; gates open at 6 p.m. and the event runs until 10 p.m., with special twilight admission starting at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Sundays. Tickets are available online with discounted single-night prices starting at $11 for children ages three to 12 and $16 for ages 13 and up, or a flexible $35 any-night ticket. The town partnered with Tianyu Arts & Culture, one of North America’s largest lantern-festival producers, and past editions have drawn visitors from every North Carolina county and from across the United States." - Rachel Chang Rachel Chang Rachel Chang is a travel and pop culture journalist who contributes to Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines