NC Chinese Lantern Festival 2025 back for its 10th year at Koka Booth Amphitheatre

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The doors open Saturday, Nov. 15, for the 2025 Chinese Lantern Festival at Cary's Koka Booth Amphitheatre.

This is the festival's 10th year and the popular walk-through event has become one of North Carolina's favorite holiday traditions.

Chinese artisans have crafted all-new displays for the 2025 festival.

The festival runs from Nov. 15 to Jan. 11, 2026.

A spectacular new floating display will be unveiled on Symphony Lake. It is 164 feet long and installed by crane with a 15-person crew.

According to organizers, the general themes for this year include: Chinese culture, mythical creatures, mysterious nature, and Interactive displays.

Last year, the festival brought in more than $10 million in revenue to North Carolina and Wake County.

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Chinese Lantern Fast Facts

• The surrounding community is host to more than 50 Chinese artisans and performers who arrive in N.C. in late October to hand-assemble lanterns and prepare for exciting Chinese cultural performances.

• The festival requires 15 days to set up.

• The 2025 festival required 45 tractor-trailers to deliver materials for the artisans to assemble the lantern groupings.

• Lanterns are designed for this event with materials shipped from China into the N.C. Ports in Wilmington.

• Each lantern is created by hand on silk fabric stretched over steel frames and then lit with upwards of hundreds of LEDs.

• Most lanterns are made in only one city: Zigong, in the Sichuan province, the lantern capital of China for many centuries.

• Our visiting artisans, most from Shanghai, have lantern-crafting skills that are passed down through the generations.

• Most traditional Chinese lantern festivals are celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar, marking the last day of the lunar New Year. This tradition dates back 2,000 years.

• In ancient times, lanterns were fairly simple and only the emperor and noblemen had large, ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with complex designs such as the ones on display here in Cary.

• The prominence of red in the designs symbolizes good fortune in the new year.

Nightly Performances

Beyond beautiful lanterns, the festival once again welcomes a unique showcase of Chinese cultural performances. They take place each night of the festival and is included with the price of admission.

• Acrobatic Sticks: An ancient juggling art where performers toss and catch multiple sticks with precision in a continuous cycle.

• Magic Cube: A mesmerizing acrobatic act where performers create stunning visual illusions with a magic cube, synced to music.

• Foot Juggling: Performers skillfully control drums with their feet through flips, rotations, and precise movements.

• Diabolo Playing: A form of juggling that evolved from 12th 12th-century Chinese yo-yo, consisting of an axle and various discs spun using a string attached to bamboo or wood shafts. Acrobats showcase intricate movements such as winding, swinging, spinning, lifting, and tossing.

• Acrobatic Water Meteor: Performers dance with large glass bowls of liquid attached to ropes without spilling.

• Hat Juggling: A dynamic routine where performers spin and toss hats with rhythmic precision.

• Peacock Dance: A traditional Chinese folk dance symbolizing happiness and beauty, featuring elegant movements that mimic the grace of a peacock. See this performance on the small stage.

The history of acrobatics in China can be traced to Neolithic times, growing out of Chinese self-defense skills practiced during leisure time.

Holiday Hours

Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve

• No Twilight Session

• Gates open at 6:00 PM, event closes at 9:00 PM

• Performances at 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM only