Check out photos from this weekend’s opening of the Chinese Lantern Festival

Philly’s 200-foot-long blue dragon landed in Franklin Square last weekend, staring down passersby with glowing yellow eyes and marking the return of the city’s Chinese Lantern Festival. 

The celebration has over 1,100 different lantern displays — many with moving parts. The festival features multiple natural scenes and animals, underwater seascapes, interactive games, a fountain show, decorative tunnels and more. Near the entrance, children hopped across tiles that lit up in different colors with every step.

The only returning lantern is the massive blue dragon. Otherwise the park is covered with completely new displays that took over 20,000 hours of labor.

“Every year is something different for even kids to do,” said Syka Jiminez, a bus driver who commuted from Camden with her 3-year-old son. “It’s a learning experience for the kids to understand that there’s not just our culture. There’s different cultures out there.”

Jiminez has been coming to the festival every year for the last five years, and began bringing her son, too. 

“He did come as an infant in the stroller,” she said. “So he’s been coming every year. It’s almost like a tradition for him.”

Festival goers strolled through the park, pausing to admire each unique display. At every corner, people were snapping photos with the sculptures — some posing with iPhones, others with more elaborate cameras. 

“I’m taking photos,” said Dwayne Rooks, a mental health technician at a Main Line Health Hospital. “I’m a beginner photographer, so I’m just learning how to take different shots.”

It’s safe to say the festival will provide great content for many social media accounts. 

Rooks came with his girlfriend, Ciera King. They were hanging by one of the seascapes with giant anglerfish — you know, the eerie deep-sea creatures with needle-like teeth and glowing lures on their heads as seen in Finding Nemo.

“She knew exactly what they were,” Rooks said. “She explained they’re deep at the bottom of the ocean, and to see them like this, in an artistic way, was nice to see.”

Multiple people came out for opening night to celebrate a special occasion. 

Sophie Lee, a recent post-grad from Swarthmore College, came to the festival for her 22nd birthday with her friend Jillian Provaznik.

“I’m 22 today!” she exclaimed. 

The two were sitting in the festival’s cocktail garden, sipping drinks underneath strings of glowing lanterns. 

“I have the lychee lemonade,” Provaznik said. “It’s delicious.”

“I haven’t been to an Asian Festival in a long time, but my mom is Vietnamese, so it’s kind of nice,” she added.

The friends were excited to continue to explore what the festival had to offer and just enjoy something fun for the night. 

“Feels good being 22,” Lee said. “The world’s unsure, but I wake up every day, so the sun is shining. It’s going to be hotter, but I like the summer, so I’m looking forward to the next year.”

Talitha Troupe, a life strategist and dating coach from Allentown, came to the festival with her partner to celebrate their anniversary. 

“This is by far the coolest so far,” Troupe said of the lit-up park. “The lanterns on the way in were absolutely beautiful. And this is just so neat! I feel like a little kid at Disney.”

“It’s fun for the kids,” she added. “I’m grown, and it’s fun for me.”

Others stopped by the festival out of a sense of curiosity. 

“I’ve driven by it a million times over the years and have never come, and I’m splendidly surprised. It’s just beautiful.” said Lou Tumolo, a creative director. He came with his daughter Ella, who said she enjoyed the lit-up tile walk. 

“The craftsmanship and the imagination that went into all of this, it’s like a whole little world here that I didn’t know existed walking by all these years,” Tumolo said. “I think we both love it.”

Check out more photos from this weekend’s opening of the Chinese Lantern Festival in our slideshow below.

Lantern Fest runs through August 31, every night from 6 to 11 p.m. For more details about the festival, including additional performances, activities and details, read more here.