Illuminares Lantern Festival 2012

Comments 5 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The 24th Illuminares Lantern Festival is a unique, creative, family-friendly evening presented by the Public Dreams Society and it returns to Trout Lake this month.

Head to Trout Lake (John Hendry Park at Victoria Drive & East 15th) on Saturday, July 21st to pick up a lantern or attend a workshop where you can make your own. Admission is a $5 donation to the society and the event will run from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Food vendors will be on site but you can also bring your own picnic.

There will be interactive performances, artists, entertainment, and hopefully thousands in attendance to light up the night by lantern. The traditional procession will go around the lake at 9:45pm, simply follow a band and you’ll be lead to the finale point — which involves a 30-person fire show presented by Radiant Heat at 10:15pm.

Walking, cycling, or taking transit is highly recommended and parking will not be available. The park is accessible on bus routes and is between Commercial Drive/Broadway and Nanaimo SkyTrain stations.

Secret Lantern
Photo credit: The Vancouver Guy on Flickr

Leading up to Illuminares, you can attend a lantern-making workshop at Trout Lake Community Centre starting today, and every day until the main event on July 21st. Stop by from 5:00pm to 8:00pm on weekdays and from 12:00pm to 4:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. You’ll learn to create various styles of lantern from simple jars to intricate bamboo and paper. The cost is $5 to build small lantern, $10 for medium, and $15 for large.

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5 Comments  —  Comments Are Closed

  1. TheVancouverGuySaturday, July 14th, 2012 — 7:40pm PDT

    It’s right by my neighbourhood. There’s still a variety of volunteer opportunities at Trout Lake that leads up to the festival.

  2. DanielaSaturday, July 21st, 2012 — 2:27pm PDT

    Love this festival. Do you know if there will be a mass lantern launch into the lake like in past years? I have a floating lantern and would love to be able to be part of something like that.

  3. LeeSunday, July 22nd, 2012 — 1:20am PDT

    Didnt go because of the ‘parking will not be available’ warning. My wife just cant do the walk.

    Why was there no parking available?

  4. Rebecca BollwittSunday, July 22nd, 2012 — 9:45am PDT

    @Lee From Not sure why but the society put up the warning on their site: “Remember that there is no parking at Trout Lake or in any of the nearby neighbourhoods.”

  5. MarkMonday, July 23rd, 2012 — 2:24pm PDT

    Had a great time at this event! Check out what you missed if you did not go.
    Great pictures of the events…
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcbusinesshub/sets/72157630699309492/

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