Saturday night, when things were beginning to feel seasonable and not like I had never left Florida, Jon and I decided to bundle up (finally an opportunity to wear my sparkly new hat) and head to the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary.

It was quite crowded when we arrived, and we waited for about 20 minutes to purchase tickets, but it was totally worth it because of all the pretties. Behold:

(Yes, that is me trying to take a photo with the pandas in the dark).

Beautiful, right? I haven’t even shown you the 175 foot long dragon in the lake:

It had steam coming from its nostrils and was amazing! Dragons are the best.

The event was packed with visitors of all ages: families, couples, friends out for a stroll. The festival was supposed to close on Sunday, but has been extended through January 17, likely because of high demand. Which makes sense, because it is incredibly “OMG BEAUTIFUL.”

Triangle friends: GO SEE THIS BEFORE IT CLOSES. You have almost two weeks, and it is open every night! And a quick FYI: On Saturday nights there are food trucks and cultural demonstrations, such as music and dancing.

Want more info? Here you go! Now, get thee to Cary, and enjoy!