If you’re ever in the Los Angeles, CA area around the months of October-January, then you need to visit the magical Lantern Art Festival at the Arboretum!
This festival is perfect for a date night, a family outting, or if you just want to experience something spectacular with friends. The nice part about the Lantern Art Festival is that it’s celebrated during the holiday season! So you can enjoy the holiday season with a bit of eye candy.

Let’s talk nitty gritty
Although the Lantern Art Festival is shown from October-January, they are only open from Wednesday-Sunday; 5:30p-10:00p. They also have slotted ticket entry times, which are: 5:30p, 7:00p, and 8:00p. The prices are reasonable, but fluctuate depending on what day you decide to go.
Here are the pricing details:
Wednesday-Thursday:
- Adult: $25
- Children (ages 3-17): $20
- Senior (62+): $23
Friday-Sunday:
- Adult: $28
- Children (ages 3-17): $23
- Senior (62+): $25
They also offer military discount! Just remember to bring your military ID. Also, if you’re an Arboretum member, you get 15% off tickets. The festival is also very wheelchair and stroller friendly.
How’s the parking?
It’s CRAZY, but the good news is that they have it very well organized with cones and helpers. They also have 3 different parking lots to choose from, and that are sure to fit the festival capacity.
Is it a trek from the parking lot to the festival?
If you decide to walk, then yes (but I wouldn’t suggest it). Lucky for you, they provide numerous shuttle buses to take you to and from the festival for FREE so you don’t have to walk! Yay!

What about food?
You can’t have a festival without yummy food, and Lantern Art Festival doesn’t disappoint. The food court is perfectly located right by the entrance, along with the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen at any festival (seriously, my mouth dropped when I saw it).

There is a plethora of food trucks and booths to satisfy your hunger. They also provided a large seating area and games such as horseshoe and corn hole to enjoy.

Amazing photo ops
Come on, be honest, you want to know if there are Instagram worthy photo ops at the festival right? Well, if you were wondering (or not) the answer is YES! There are a TON of photo ops at the festival! Want to take a peek at some great ones? Here you go:
Amazing, right?! These are only a few of the many photo ops you can take at the festival, honestly everywhere you turn is a wondrous sight!
Any live performances?
Yes! They have a live performance scheduled at different times throughout the night. Which makes it really convenient if you miss a performance because you can just catch the next one not to long after.

If you’re coming with kids, try not to miss it! It’s packed with jugglers, dancers, acrobats and more. Not only will your kids enjoy it, but everyone that watches the performance will too (I know our family did).
Little trinkets
The festival has a bunch of cute little trinkets and souvenirs that you can purchase at a decent price. The best part of all is that most are handmade and all very unique.
The Arboretum also has their own gift shoppe, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll love all the Joanna Gaines feels of the shoppe. So make sure to stop by and check it out before you leave.
& that’s about it
So if you’re ever in the area, you need to put the Moonlight Forest – Lantern Art Festival on the to-do list. You’ll enjoy every moment of this magical place.
Love always,
Catherine

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