Koka Booth Amphitheatre — Attraction in Cary

We can't speak on the amphitheater itself, only the customer service. We had tickets to attend the NC Chinese Lantern Festival on December 29th 2024 as a family gathering before moving across the country away from all family and friends. There was inclement weather this evening and the event itself was canceled. We received an email on December 28th 2024 giving an option to reschedule or get a refund. We responded promptly on December 29th to reschedule for January 3rd. The responsed I received informed us that there would be an additional fee for that date as military discounted tickets weren't accepted that day. We weren't happy about this as we weren't the ones who needed to reschedule but we accepted it because it was much needed family time before moving and confirmed the CVV for the card used as the email asked. I received the next email on the 31st confirming the date. I responded on January 1st confirming the CVV again. On January 2nd I received another email confirming once again, the date, the extra charge, and the CVV. I never received a response on the 2nd. I emailed again this morning on January 3rd to confirm since I had not gotten a response only to be told they are sold out and we can't attend. We called and were told the same. The rest of my family is able to attend. We move on Sunday January 5th so another date wouldn't work.

We did receive the full refund but how it was handled and missing out on the event didn't take away the disappointment.

If you're given an option to reschedule, just call instead before missing out on an event you were looking forward to and your last chance to spend time with your family. I've heard wonderful things about this event and it's a shame responding promptly will only get you denied...

DISABLED BEWARE-KOKA ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! If I could give zero ⭐️ regarding their atrocious disregard for the parking needs of the disabled, in exchange for price gauging profit margins I would! In addition to a prepay VIP parking extra charge, the next lot nearest to gate, which used to be the disability lot with designated parking spaces, they’ve converted all but one lane, to Preferred Parking @ $20 per car That one lane is a long walk when disabled if your in the middle or near end of it Even worse, if single lane fills, they direct the disabled to a far lot w/o shuttle service. In addition, parking staff are incredibly rude as well. After arriving over an hour early for a recent show, permanently disabled, newly recovering from emergency knee surgery, in the absence of designated space signage I parked in an available parking space in that one lane. Within minutes a staff member yelled at me move despite explaining my need, displayed placard, and a bandaged knee. All the remaining spaces in that one lane were not within my ability to walk w/o assistance into venue toting a comfortable chair. He refused to allow me to park in any other closer spaces that went unsold. If it weren’t for the kindness of strangers who after witnessing this and assisting me until my concert buddy came last minute, I would have had to miss the concert on a milestone birthday for me Seems like rights under disability acts were violated by Koka Booth in return for even more profit and no concern for the disabled I certainly will not and could not attend any future events...

We went to the Chinese Lantern Festival before it was shut down due to damage and weather concerns. Overall everyone had a great time. The lantern setup was rather beautiful. There were a bunch of interactive light setups that the kids could enjoy, as well as some fun informational aspects to the event. We opted to eat from the selection of food trucks, however in my opinion that was a big mistake. The selection of food trucks was poorly chosen. Mexican, Japanese, and a few other oddball ones made for a less authentic feeling for the event. The Mexican taco's were some of the worst I've ever had. I didn't even finish them.

Parking was also a little odd. They had free parkers who didn't pay the premium for parking drive further down the drive and dumped into the furthest parking lot. Once you left the main entry street, you were sort of up to your own parking desires to find a space and nab it. Meanwhile there was a plethora of unmanaged foot traffic meandering through the parking lot with little direction on where to go. Maybe some better signs or more staff to guide traffic would be good.

The Koka Booth Amphitheatre area is nice, situated on a pond, you get some decent scenic views while being located next to a few office buildings. The grounds were kept up nicely and while the event was busy, it wasn't horrifically packed unless you wanted to partake in the interactive areas. We'll go back again next year and probably choose some better...