Winter Lantern Festival - Tysons, VA
The Winter Lantern Festival at Tysons was a large outdoor display of handmade Chinese Lanterns. You walk through different scenes and groupings of lanterns designed to look like a variety of animals, insects, and creative sculptures. There were some tunnels of smaller lanterns to walk through as well. In the back of the venue there was a small stage with performers periodically as well as some food trucks and playground equipment. It was a very family friendly event with a lot of small children in attendance.
Quality of Entertainment
The lanterns were truly stunning and handmade by artists out of fabric. I particularly enjoyed the displays that were a full scene made of lanterns. They really told a story and were impressive. However, most of the lanterns were not organized as scenes and were just grouped by type; cats, insects, ducks, etc. These ones were impressive but less impactful. Additionally, by the time I attended the event some of the interactive elements to some of the display were not functioning anymore and some of the lanterns were not illuminated. The size of the event was smaller than I expected but not disappointing. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and the lanterns were beautiful.
Who Goes Here?
Families with children of all ages. There were primarily families with small children. Some, young adults with friends or on dates.
Venue
The venue was a field area next to the Tysons Corner Center Shopping Mall. All of the people attending the event parked in the parking garage of the mall, so it was quite challenging to find parking. Then you had to cross the street to get to the event which was a bit dangerous. Once you arrived at the event there was a very long entry line but it moved quickly. It was held outdoors so attendees were subject to the cold and rain.
Organization & Cleanliness
The entry lines were orderly and moved quickly. However, the flow of foot traffic was not directed in any way so it was quite chaotic inside the event. It would have been nice if the displays were set up with a single direction with organized foot traffic starting flow starting at the entry. Additionally, the power chords illuminating the lanterns cut across many of the walkways and were not well marked. I minorly tripped on these a couple times in the dark of the evening.
Refreshments
There were several food trucks offering refreshments in the back of the venue. They offered hot and cold drinks and ice cream. Additionally, one truck offered fries and sandwiches. There was not an area set up to sit and eat so you had to walk around with your refreshment. Some people sat on the ground to eat them. There was also not a good area to sit or stand and watch the live music and the music was too loud to be close.
Venue Overall
Overall, the event was fairly disorganized and chaotic. They did offer music and refreshments. However, the music and refreshments did not have areas set up for people to enjoy them. There were some safety issues: crossing the street and tripping hazards. Overall, the venue could use improvement.
Location
The Winter Lantern Festival was held next to the Tysons Corner Center Shopping Mall in Tysons, VA. This is just outside of Washington, DC in northern Virginia. It is in a popular central location with free parking. But, the parking was somewhat challenging.
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Summary
I enjoyed my time at the Winter Lantern Festival. The lanterns were beautiful and some really told a story. It was a unique and busy family friendly event. However, it was a smaller event than I expected and was not organized very well.
