China Lights Festival Will Return Next Month

200-foot-long dragon at China Lights festival. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The annual China Lights Wisconsin Festival is returning this September.

The event will run from Sept. 15 to Oct. 29 at Boerner Botanical Gardens, 9400 Boerner Dr., in Hales Corners. It will be the sixth time Milwaukee County Parks has hosted the event. Each year has had a different theme and design. The 2022 edition was “Adventure in Lantern Wonderland.”

The main attraction of the annual event is the massive life-size Chinese lantern displays. But the event also acts as a celebration of Asian folk culture with live performances and a marketplace. There will also be food and drink vendors.

In recent years, the show has featured more than 40 sets of handmade lantern sculptures, including a 200-foot-long Chinese dragon. It has also included a display with interactive light installations.

Parks hosts the event in partnership with Tianyu Arts & Culture Inc., a Chicago-based lantern and light festival company that holds events across the country. The local sponsor this year will once again be Tri-City National Bank.

Additional details on the 2023 installment will be announced later this month.