The REACH Winter Lanterns | KidFriendly DC

If there’s one activity to put on your must-do list sometime over the next week and a half, it’s The REACH Winter Lanterns at the Kennedy Center. In celebration of the Lunar New Year, the grounds overlooking the Potomac will glow with beautiful illuminations — around 100 lanterns, all of them crafted by Chinese artisans, made up of 10,000 LED lights. It’s breathtaking and delightful all at once, with luminescent scenes of cute, dazzling creatures and pretty flora. And it’s all free for the public to enjoy.

Stroll along the paths to view the Coral Reef, Panda Grove, Mushroom Forest, Flower Path, Butterfly Garden, and Flamingo Lagoon, all of them featuring a variety of animal and plant shaped lanterns.

And on select dates, Winter Lanterns Plus will offer extra activities. Featuring China from Thursday – Sunday, January 27-30, guests can take photos with Tiger and Panda characters, write letters to the National Zoo’s pandas, make wishes for 2022, and enjoy refreshments. And February 3-6 will have Korea-inspired activities, including photo ops with Korean mascots, a traditional costume display, and wish-making for 2022. Freebies and refreshments for sale will be available both weekends, too. There are tables on the Plaza with heat lamps, where you can enjoy them.

The closest, most convenient parking is in the Kennedy Center garage — it’s a flat rate of $25. There is also parking at the Watergate garage, which is just across the street, for about $15/two hours. There is street parking nearby, but it’s always tough to get a spot in that area. (And when you consider the event is free, paying a bit for parking isn’t so bad.) The closest Metro station is Foggy Bottom on the Orange/Blue line.

Make a plan to go, and in the meantime, view more scenes from the fantastic exhibition!

The REACH Winter Lanterns
Where: Kennedy Center | Foggy Bottom DC
When: January 27 – February 6, 5:30-9:30pm
Admission: Free

It’s time to ring in the Year of the Rat, and there are a bunch of fun ways to do so around DC (see the latest Weekend Round-Up for details on several). The Kennedy Center has already begun the celebration with The REACH Winter Lanterns, a wonderful exhibition of about 100 stunning illuminations. Crafted by Chinese artisans, the display is made up of 10,000 colored LED lights, including the Chinese Four Symbols and 12 Zodiac Signs, Panda Grove, Mushroom Garden, Floral Garden, and Jellyfish Lagoon — all of it delightful and so beautiful.

Along with the lanterns, there are more activities to enjoy. When Sasha and I visited, there was a Beijing Opera make-up demo, panda photo ops, traditional costumes to try on, a calligraphy station, and a paper lantern making workshop. Food trucks are there for bites, and outdoor seating areas warmed by heaters provide a place to eat them.

A special Family Day on Saturday, January 25, will have free fun for all ages from 1:30-4:30pm. Activities will include arts and crafts, a traditional costume photo booth, zodiac stickers, demonstrations of sugar painting and wood block printing, magic shows, and more. Plan to stick around for the Winter Lanterns, which begins at 5:30pm. And the Beijing Bamboo Orchestra is the Millennium Stage performance that evening at 6pm.

The REACH Winter Lanterns will be on display select dates through Sunday, February 2 — this weekend through Sunday, January 26, then Thursday, January 30 – Sunday, February 2. It begins at 5:30pm each evening except for January 26, when it starts at 4pm. All of it is free, though parking at the Kennedy Center is $23. You can try for street parking nearby (though difficult to find a spot), so pubic transportation (nearest Metro is Foggy Bottom) is recommended. And all of the lanterns are outdoors on The REACH campus, so dress warmly! Other activities, however, take place inside.

Here’s more of a glimpse of it all…