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Lee and Karen Duquette
went to the Chinese Lantern Festival
in Cary, North Carolina
on November 21, 2023
(It was their second year coming here)
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 To
really appreciate this site, it is recommended that you view the 2022
visit first, which is very different from this year,
You can get there by choosing this link. There will be a link
at the bottom of that second page to bring you back here.
The 2022 photos are very different from these 2023
photos and include the outside entry way, which Karen Duquette did
not photograph this year, because it was pouring rain as they entered
the festival.
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Below: After a
3-hour car drive in the rain, the two RV Gypsies arrived at the Koka
Booth Amphitheatre for their second adventure at the NC Chinese Lantern
Festival, in Cary, North Carolina. Only a few people were in line under
a canopy waiting for the place to open, probably because it was raining.
Plus they went for the special early bird entry (with limited tickets
sold) at a cost on this date of $75 for the two of them. Prices mentioned
on this website are always subject to change.
Once inside, the two RV Gypsies enjoyed the Chinese lanterns. Last year,
they were more colorful with different shapes and bigger, round lights
overhead. But this was still amazing this year, because there were so
many different designs on the lanterns. It is nice that this year was
different from last year. |
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Below: Another photo of the entry walkway and the over-head Chinese
Lanterns.
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Below: A sample of a few of the various designs on
the lanterns. Lee and Karen Duquette were two of the first dozen people
entering (it was raining lightly), and they wanted to see as much
as they could before it got crowded. Karen Duquette thought she would
take more photos on the way out, but did not because by then it was
nighttime.
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Below: The Monkey King |
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Below: Lee
and Karen Duquette enjoyed watching the Monkey King pop-up out of the
cauldron in a mist of smoke. |
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Below: And down goes the Monkey
King
back into his cauldron. |
Below: The Supreme Elderly Lord
in front of trees that kept changing colors. |
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Below: Mayor Koka Booth monument |
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Below: Daytime view of one of the lantern
trees and a nighttime view of a similar lantern tree. They both changed
colors, and so did the one shown just above. |
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Below: These photos were taken when Lee and Karen Duquette
first arrived, and the wooden deck was still wet from the rain that
ended shortly after they entered the display area. Well, a few sprinkles
still occurred now and then throughout the evening.
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The photo below was taken later on in the same day,
after dark, as Lee and Karen Duquette were leaving the Chinese Festival.
This colorful dragon head opened and closed its mouth and the eyeballs
also opened and closed.
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Below: Part of the uniquely shaped swings that kept
changing colors. This was in a children's play area that had a few
other things for the children. Then Karen Duquette zoomed in on the
helicopter that was in the far background behind the swings.
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Below: The Phoenix Corridor sign and the phoenix on top of the lighted
arch.
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Below: The lighting on the Phoenix Corridor arch kept changing colors.
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Below: Lee Duquette in the Phoenix Corridor |
Below: A night time view of the Phoenix Corridor |
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Below: Karen Duquette standing
in front of the Phoenix's tail (as shown above) |
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Below: The moon (seen in the background of the above
photos) and two rabbits that were in the corner behind the moon.
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Below: To the left of the above cannon, there was a
big and colorful board of beads. It was a fun place where people could
draw designs in the board by using their hand to move the beads around.
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Below: The Tree of Life, which kept changing colors.
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Below: Lee Duquette beating on the drum at The Tree of Life as the
lights changed colors.
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