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    DMV Winter Lantern Festival

    1.9 (31 reviews)

    DMV Winter Lantern Festival Photos

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    Julie W.

    I was a bit skeptical after reading reviews online but fortunately cheaper tickets are available on Groupon and they were having a holiday deal with an additional $5 off so my friend and I only ended up paying about $16 per person for ticket. You can purchase the ticket on Groupon first and then you MUST go to their actual website to select a ticket (as if you were to purchase one) and then enter the redemption code to redeem your ticket. We parked at Galleria and before entering we saw everyone leaving/entering with sparkly light up halos. I thought this was such a super cute gift to give out-- especially if you have kids and they go running off you can easily find them in the dark lol. The festival was well spaced out with different themed areas and entertainment spaces for kids as well. There was an indoor tent area with a live performance stage, small toy shop, bouncy house, and customizable hand crafted art experiences by locals from Shichuan China. My friend got her name painted in such a beautiful an artistic way and I got a little personalized rice grain necklace with my name in it. There's even a food booth outside. All the aunties and uncles running the event were very friendly and kind. I admit I did not have the highest expectations after reading reviews online but I had a lot of fun despite the freezing weather and it was overall a great experience. Definitely recommend for dates or family nights.

    Crystal L.

    Took my toddler and infant there on a Sunday night, it was pretty empty due to the holiday weekend. They got some interesting displays and the sparkling lights attract the kids. For adults, the ticket costs $26.99 plus $5 taxes and fees, which rounds up to $32 per person. There was a bounce house (included in our ticket), seesaw, lit up swings that my toddler enjoyed. The experience was average, it was a rip-off for that price, but my toddler slept well after the event. Free parking across the street at the mall parking lot. For adults, the walk takes about 30 mins.

    2 of 4 swings... my kids liked this the most.
    Tina P.

    I spent $120 for 2 adults and 2 kids after Xmas, non peak hours. I was forced to pay an additional $15 to park at the mall where we were then forced to run across 4 lanes of traffic in the dark to get to the event. Event was disappointing. They have a bounce house and little trampoline for additional $10/kid as well as ride on dinosaurs, $10/kid for 6 min ride time. Hot chocolate? $5/cup for Swiss miss and water. The acrobat show was the best part, period. (2 stars bc the show was great) It would have been great if they had some heaters placed around the lot so ppl could warm up a bit. Just disappointed.

    Dragon lantern
    Emma Z.

    I was really excited to see this, but the iteration in Tysons Corner was mostly a disappointment. If you have little kids, this could be a fun activity for a visit in the early evening. There are a lot of lanterns and they are impressive. The space is stroller friendly. But I felt it was over priced and didn't meet my expectations because it wasn't cohesive. Let's start with the price: $26 per adult. $21 for students/seniors and $18 for kids ages 4-13. For that price, I was expecting something more organized and immersive. The location--a giant empty lot in Tysons--is technically transit-accesible, but you probably want to drive here. The event parking wasn't clearly labeled, nor was there a dedicated crosswalk to get from the lot to the event. Groups of people were hoping for the best and running across a pretty big, traffic-heavy road. The line to get in was long, but it moved fast. Once we got in, there wasn't a clear path for where to go. You're sort of on your own to wander around and check out various displays. The displays themselves are cool, and my toddler had a really fun time. But from an adult perspective, it felt sort of scattered. There is a mix of traditional Chinese imagery, like dragons and terracotta warriors, with lanterns from other histories. I wasn't sure why things were ordered as they were. At least one display had a QR code to learn more, but most weren't labeled. The ground was also poorly lit, making it easy to trip over power cords. I didn't try any food or games, so I can't speak to those. Basically, this felt like paying to see some very fancy Halloween or Christmas decorations. If you have a car and go to the suburbs, you can do that for free.

    Austin G.

    If we paid for three tickets at $30 a pop, we would be PISSED. Luckily, we were gifted tickets to the DMV Winter Lantern Festival. For 15 minutes, our six-year-old daughter enjoyed seeing lit-up chicks, cats, etc. The swings and the changing lights on the ground were a hit for you. Everything else was a major let down. To start, it's across from Tysons II, a suburban mall, in a parking lot. Nothing about the scenery is nice. The lanterns are weirdly placed and run down. It's so lame! Food options are horrible and the live music even worse. There's a little rollercoaster that is very unsafe and not monitored by staff. If you have a chance to never go to the DMV Winter Lantern Festival, take it. $30 per ticket gets you to MANY better things in the D.C. area.

    Eva G.

    Well... first let me say I feel that this place would be magical in the eyes of a child. With that being said, if you're not bringing in a kid you may feel indifferent. $26 was a lot to pay to walk thru a parking lot fenced area of lights. There were a lot of people, but it was most likely to pay homage for Chinese New Year. If you don't have the funds to walk inside, you can see and enjoy it all walking outside and around it too.

    Eden C.

    I got the tickets on Groupon for $16 each and it was worth it would go again! Very pretty was there for about an hour and the dumplings were so good.

    Esha Z.

    This is the first year the Winter Lantern Festival was held in the DC MD VA (DMV) area, as it's typically only in NY to commemorate the Lunar New Year. Taking place from December 2022 to February 12, 2023. Pros: - located across the street from the Tyson's II parking lot from Neiman Marcus side. (Walking distance) - very pretty lights, large and small depictions: great for photos! I took a lot of photos but only attached a few to this review (not all the things you can see there - I didn't include some of the other floral ones, a paper lantern walkway with lights in the center, and a couple other things) - if you have kids it's a great place to let them run around bc the sculptures/lanterns are spread apart to make the festival look bigger than it was Cons: - price was about $30 per person , which was way too much considering the size of this attraction (took about 45 min to get through the whole thing just bc I stopped every minute to take photos) - social media and influencers were making it seem like the festival was large, but it's probably about a half mile radius lol - I was hoping that since people were upset it was small and expensive, it wouldn't be crowded: I went at 630pm on a Sunday night and it was PACKED with kids - people were rude, walking into others photos and pretty much just not respectful of letting people have a minute to just get their pics lol, leading to a not as enjoyable experience. It was okay, I probably wouldn't go again if they decided to do this annually after this being it's first year, unless they change the lights every year, and either bring the price down or make the festival bigger.

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    Ask the Community - DMV Winter Lantern Festival

    Review Highlights - DMV Winter Lantern Festival

    We parked at Galleria and before entering we saw everyone leaving/entering with sparkly light up halos.

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    Middle Eastern Food Festival

    Middle Eastern Food Festival

    5.0(2 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    exceptional family fun every year - great food, authentic Arabic sweets, Arabic music and dancing,…read moreopen air seating, Kid Zone that keeps the family happy all day!

    23rd Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival was a great event. I missed 22 other years but I will be…read morecoming again. The staff is incredibly organized, it feels more like an organized Japanese, not Middle East Festival. Everything is presented nicely in different and multiple formats (plates, hand brochure or large food panel with pictures) so it is really hard not to know what is available. Hosts are welcoming and asking how they can assist. The only improvement would be to place a schedule of events on the website so people can gauge what event they want to attend (dance, or roasted lamb dinner or whatever else). There are many ethnic drinks offered and they complement great food. I had a Kibbeh Platter and it was so good that I wanted to meet the lady cook. This is really easy festival to remember because it always during the Labor day weekend. There is a lot of stuff for the kids (free pony rides for example) in the large backyard or you can have a church tour. The assembly hall is large and Arabic music entertained us entire time. The Sweets table is a LONG table with any baklava that you may think off (walnuts, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, ...) Sweets that I tried were all very tasty. I leave this place with a satisfied belly and notion that everything was perfect and I credit the great hosts for that.

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    Middle Eastern Food Festival - Room chandelier

    Room chandelier

    Middle Eastern Food Festival
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    Nowruz Festival @ Tysons Corner

    Nowruz Festival @ Tysons Corner

    4.0(1 review)
    0.4 mi

    7th Annual Nowruz Festival is advertised as a Persian New Year Celebration but this festival was…read moremuch more, because other nations in Asia celebrate spring as their New Year as well. I hope that one day Nowruz Spring Festival will be a mainstream festival like St. Patrick's in USA started - in the face of growing nativist opposition in 19th century as well as a public declaration of a hybrid identity, and a strict adherence to the values and liberties that the U.S. offered to the immigrants. Traditional Ash Reshteh soup served at the special Iranian events was reasonable $5. This vegetable soup is supposed to symbolize good fortune for the New Year but in my mind that was done by a default because the soup healthy ingredients give you a healthy start with the taste that is easy on the palate. Chicken kebab by Saffron Food Truck was the best chicken ever - it tasted like some fancy, high-end meat that should have had a golden leaf over it. The market was rich - full of items from Turkey (selling delicious Salep - flour made from the tubers of the orchid); Afghanistan shops as well as many Persian shops. The entertainment program was moving quickly and it was interesting. Interesting market items were the decorated eggs, and in the proximity of the Christian Easter, I was reminded how we are all closer to each other then we are apart. This Persian New Year festival has a great potential and I hope it will continue to grow. This was my 4th New Year in 2018 (American, Vietnamese, Chinese and Persian) and I loved it. There was no fee to enter and parking @ Tysons Corner is free.

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    Nowruz Festival @ Tysons Corner - Chicken kabob

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    Nowruz Festival @ Tysons Corner

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    Viva Vienna

    Viva Vienna

    3.0(10 reviews)
    2.4 mi

    Over the years, Viva Vienna has become a beloved family tradition! I'm not much of a carnival goer,…read morebut the fact that there is plenty of parking and a hop, skip, and a jump away from home makes it a winner in my book (perfect for those late afternoon toddler meltdowns!). My favorite place to park is near the Vienna Community Center and taking a short walk on the W&OD Trail. I've been doing this for years and it has worked out almost 95% of the time. Other must dos: - Watch the Vienna Singing Princess show (it truly is an hour of campy Disney-esque bliss) - Spinning teacups, carousel, and the spinning dragon ride - Grabbing all the fun free schwag in the vendor area - Moose Juice and funnel cake for the kiddos, chicken on the stick for the boy - Allllll the carnival games This year they switched out paper tickets to a card system. I still had some leftover tickets from last year and they were able to exchange without an issue. We have gone in the rain and on sunny days and it's always a blast. You will always run into a neighbor and it makes me feel like I'm on the set of some small town television show.

    Don't put your name in the beginning of the entrance (bunch of computers) for the raffle. Not sure…read morehow they allow this to go on as a "raffle", it is just a information gathering tool so that people from "VVR rewards" can sell you on a timeshare You get a call that says you are eligible to win a gift card up to $200. Also, that you have won a trip to Williamsburg Virginia. The fair overall was OK but them allowing these type of vendors and not disclosing. The purpose is not a good look.

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    Viva Vienna
    Viva Vienna
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    DMV Winter Lantern Festival - festivals - Updated June 2026

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