What are you having for dinner on the night you see the lanterns? Most ticket buyers leave that question for later. At Queens County Farm Museum it deserves an answer first. The Winter Lantern Festival returns to the Little Neck Parkway farm on Thursday, Nov. 19, and stays through Jan. 3. The walk itself is short. The organizers' ticketing page on Fever says to plan on about an hour among the lanterns. That leaves the rest of the evening open, and for anyone living in Glen Oaks, Bellerose, Floral Park or Little Neck, the meal will probably take longer than the lanterns.
Hillside Avenue picked up a new option this fall. Punjabi Dhaba, the Richmond Hill restaurant that turns 20 this year, opened its Glen Oaks location at 259-11 Hillside Ave. with a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 18. A few blocks west is Usha Foods at 255-03 Hillside Ave., which the farm already sends its own visitors to. If you pick your table first and your entry time second, the whole evening gets easier.
The farm's kitchen is a snack counter
The Queens County Farm Museum visit page is plain about this: there is no café on site. The Farm Store sells snacks and drinks, and the store keeps the farm's daytime hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival opens its gates as the daytime farm closes. Inside, the organizers advertise food and drink from local vendors but don't say who those vendors are.
So a festival snack will tide you over, but you can't plan dinner around it. The farm's own advice for a meal off the grounds points to three "farmer favorites": Usha Foods, Luigi's and What-A-Bagel Café. Usha sits on Hillside Avenue, and this fall it got a new neighbor.
Two vegetarian kitchens on the same stretch of Hillside
Punjabi Dhaba, 259-11 Hillside Ave., Glen Oaks. Brothers Karnail and Gurmit Singh founded the restaurant in 2006, and the family describes it as one of the first South Asian restaurants in Richmond Hill. It's known for traditional vegetarian Indian comfort food and sweets at affordable prices. Navdeep Singh, Karnail's son, now owns it and runs the new location with his cousin, mother and sisters. The opening drew more than 1,000 people to a block party with live music, an ice cream truck and a free buffet. "All food is cooked by our family members, and we use recipes passed down through generations," Singh told QNS. The restaurant's leaders described the Glen Oaks opening as a response to a growing South Asian community in Northeast Queens.
Usha Foods, 255-03 Hillside Ave., Floral Park. Usha is the quicker stop. When Eater's Robert Sietsema wrote it up, he singled out its vegetarian North Indian snacks and short meals: chaat, dosas, paratha rolls, pakoras, lassis and sweets. He also flagged a cheese-and-tomato sandwich with mint chutney. The recommendations keep coming. A 2024 QNS roundup of where local officials eat has Council Member Lina Lee naming Usha and recommending the dosa.
With both places on the same stretch of Hillside, you have a real choice. Punjabi Dhaba suits a sit-down dinner with sweets to take home. Usha suits a fast plate of chaat or a dosa before your slot. Either one sets up the rest of the night.
Let dinner set the time slot
Entry is timed. Tickets on Fever come in 30-minute slots starting at 5 p.m., and you're asked to arrive at the time printed on your ticket. The official festival page lists hours of 5 to 10 p.m. The organizers also cap how many people can enter each hour, so they recommend reserving ahead. With a walk of about an hour, an evening can go two ways:
- Dinner first. Eat on Hillside around 5 or 5:30, then book a slot an hour or so later. You'll walk the lanterns after full dark and be done well before closing.
- Lanterns first. Take an early slot and walk while the crowd is still building. Head to Hillside for a late dinner, or stop at Usha on the way home for snacks and sweets.
The second plan works better with young kids. The first works better for a date night or for out-of-town guests who'd rather sit down and eat before a cold outdoor walk.
What four people actually pay
The festival says tickets start at $18, and children under 3 get in free. Fever's ticket menu shows how the prices break down by age and group size.
| Ticket type on Fever | Listed price | Fee | Total per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 13+ | $24.99 | $1.25 | $26.24 |
| Child, 4–12 | $17.99 | $0.90 | $18.89 |
| Senior 65+ or Military, ID required | $22.99 | $1.15 | $24.14 |
| Family Bundle, minimum four people | $19.99 | $1.00 | $20.99 |
| Flex Ticket + Wish Jar, adult | $31.99 | $1.60 | $33.59 |
| Flex Ticket + Wish Jar, child | $24.99 | $1.25 | $26.24 |
For two adults and two kids ages 4 to 12, separate tickets come to $90.26 with fees. The Family Bundle comes to $83.96, a savings of $6.30. For four adults, the savings are bigger: $104.96 separately against $83.96 for the bundle, or $21. The farm's own calendar listing gives a range of $18 to $25 per ticket. These are the prices listed now and may change by date, so check the total at checkout.
The Flex ticket is weather insurance
The festival runs rain or shine. If conditions get extreme, the organizers offer flexible rescheduling. A standard ticket can't be refunded, and you can only change the date up to five hours before your slot.
The Flex Ticket + Wish Jar lets you enter on any day and at any time. It costs $7.35 more than a standard ticket, for an adult or a child. Locals can make better use of that than visitors can. If you live 10 minutes from the farm, a Flex ticket lets you wait for a clear, still evening and go then.
Thursday through Sunday, then every night
Through Dec. 17, the festival is open Thursday through Sunday only. After that it runs every day until Jan. 3.
The lanterns are handmade from small pieces of Chinese silk cloth stretched over steel wire, and they're lit with modern LEDs. They show scenes from Chinese legends and lore along with images from nature. Live performances run during the evening. The festival is produced by Kaleido Arts and Entertainment, which is also running a lantern festival at Snug Harbor on Staten Island this season. David Hughs, the farm museum's executive director, told QNS the festival lets families "enjoy our historic farm in a whole new light this holiday season."
Getting to Little Neck Parkway
The farm is at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, and three bus routes serve it: the Q46, Q36 and QM6. Drivers can use free street parking along Little Neck Parkway, and the farm opens its on-site lot during special events. If you're starting at Punjabi Dhaba or Usha, Hillside Avenue is part of the trip either way. You end up in the same place whether you eat first or walk first.
The farm's December calendar
Queens Farm is holding wreathmaking workshops on Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13, with sessions from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. Each workshop costs $40. Joy on the Farm is also on the farm's calendar for Dec. 5. On regular days the grounds are free to visit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on ticketed event days. Weather permitting, hayrides run on the hour, from 1 to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. You could make a wreath on a Saturday morning in December, take the kids on a hayride, and go back after dark for the lanterns with dinner on Hillside in between. That's a full day in eastern Queens without driving anywhere far.
Long-running traditions like the lanterns at Queens Farm and a family kitchen opening a second location are part of what makes a neighborhood feel like home. At Marty Vandenburg, we follow these neighborhood details as closely as the market. If you live near the farm and want to know what your home is worth this season, get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
