One of Pennsylvania’s most popular festivals opens this weekend, while another winds down.
The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire returns to Manheim on Saturday, with its usual array of jousting knights, costumed villagers, magic acts, and other daily attractions and themed restaurants.
While the Ren Faire says hello, the Chinese Lantern Festival says goodbye in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, across the state, Erie’s annual summer celebration runs through the weekend.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening around the state this weekend.
Chinese Lantern Festival – Philadelphia
Dates: through Sunday, Aug. 16
Now in its ninth year, the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival has become a seasonal staple for locals and tourists, transforming historic Franklin Square into a luminous wonderland. This will be your last chance until next summer to witness over a thousand handcrafted lanterns depicting intricate scenes from enchanted forests to the underwater world, along with the festival’s centerpiece, a 200-foot-long dragon.
CelebrateErie – Erie
Dates: Aug. 14-16
CelebrateErie is the Erie region’s largest festival, a three-day event celebrating—what else?—the culture, food, and community of “The Gem City.” The festival brings dozens of live performances, food vendors, and activities to downtown Erie, with easy access to festival events at the Erie Art Museum, expERIEnce Children’s Museum, and a number of downtown businesses.
Gettysburg Brewfest & Trail 5K – Gettysburg
Date: Saturday, Aug. 15
History meets hops at the Gettysburg Brewfest, with more than 40 types of beer, ciders, and cocktails available to sample from more than a dozen brewers. Held at Historic Daniel Lady Farm, the festival also features live music, food, house and barn tours, and a scenic 5K trail race through the stone roads, grass paths, and woods of the 200-plus-acre property.
Oddities & Curiosities Expo – Oaks
Dates: Aug. 15-16
It’s going to get weird when the Oddities & Curiosities Expo sets up shop at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center this weekend. The traveling showcase of all things weird features dozens of vendors and artists offering everything from taxidermy, preserved specimens, and handcrafted oddities to horror-inspired art, vintage antiques, creepy clothing, unusual jewelry, animal skulls, and funeral collectables.
Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire
Dates: Aug. 15-Oct. 25
Huzzah! The largest and oldest Ren faire in the state returns this weekend. The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire attracts more than 150,000 people each year to its grounds at Mount Hope Estate and Winery in Manheim, where Renaissance enthusiasts can lean into the opportunity to travel back in time to the 1500s and eat a giant turkey leg in public free of judgment.
