GlowFest celebrates the spirit of the lantern festival near the Las Vegas Strip

GlowFest, a family-friendly holiday light festival in Las Vegas, was recently featured in Las Vegas Weekly.

Lantern festivals originated in China’s Han Dynasty in honor of the Buddha, and they’ve spread all over Asia as a way to mark the end of Lunar New Year. The 15-day celebration welcoming the year of the Fire Horse culminates on February 17 this year, and GlowFest is here to help you celebrate.

“GlowFest is more than a light show. It’s an immersive journey through art, culture, storytelling and imagination. You’ll see and explore handcrafted lanterns, interactive installations and vibrant cultural displays,” program director David Valenzuela said at the December 20 grand opening.

The six-acre festival partnered with Dragon Lights LLC based in Zigong, China—a world-famous destination for its lantern festivals. It took several months for more than 100 artists to create, paint, wire and ship the structures overseas.

“There was a team of about 15 artisans that worked day and night over the course of about a month to fully construct the set at the parking lot beside the Las Vegas Monorail Sahara station," Valenzuela adds.

Guests head through the entrance into GlowFest, a holiday night market and light festival at Paradise Road and Sahara Avenue, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. The festival runs through Feb. 22.