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

Philly s -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 different lantern displays various 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 Returning this year is the massive -pound dragon lantern stretching longer than three school buses Julia Binswanger Billy Penn The only returning lantern is the massive blue dragon Otherwise the park is covered with thoroughly new displays that took over hours of labor Every year is something different for even kids to do explained Syka Jiminez a bus driver who commuted from Camden with her -year-old son It s a learning experience for the kids to understand that there s not just our practices 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 The festival features a light show at the Rendell Family Fountain at Franklin Square Julia Binswanger Billy Penn He did come as an infant in the stroller she noted 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 specific posing with iPhones others with more elaborate cameras I m taking photos announced Dwayne Rooks a mental medical technician at a Main Line Healthcare 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 a multitude of 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 announced 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 These anglerfish face off at the Chinese Lantern Festival Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Multiple people came out for opening night to celebrate a special occasion Sophie Lee a fresh post-grad from Swarthmore College came to the festival for her nd birthday with her friend Jillian Provaznik I m in current times 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 mentioned 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 Sophie Lee and Jillian Provaznik up-to-date Swarthmore College grads celebrate a nd birthday Julia Binswanger Billy Penn 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 Lee stated 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 noted 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 The animals move and change colors Julia Binswanger Billy Penn 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 mentioned Lou Tumolo a creative director He came with his daughter Ella who declared 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 stated 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 every night from to p m For more details about the festival including additional performances initiatives and details read more here Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn This peacock changes colors Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Crocodiles lanterns Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn Julia Binswanger Billy Penn The post Check out photos from this weekend s opening of the Chinese Lantern Festival appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY