The Lantern Festival
Buying tickets
I recently attended a local Lantern festival. I bought tickets to the lantern festival months ago. If you decide to go, make sure you do too. It was much cheaper buying them early. I always search online for promo codes and then make sure to buy before the price goes up. You can also follow their Facebook page to see if they have any deals going on.
Planning
This was something I had always wanted to do. It has definitely been on my bucket list. For some reason I get nervous sometimes being the only adult when I’ve never been somewhere before. Not that I ever let it stop me, but I do have to make myself go. A friend of mine was planning on going with us, but it didn’t end up working out and so it was just me and my kids.
I would recommend bringing something to sit on, drinks and snacks (or money for food), a camera and some extra money for parking and anything else you might want.
Parking
When we arrived, the parking lot was packed. We had to pay to park and then found a shuttle that took us (closer) to the gates. They gave us our lanterns, smores kit, lighter, and marker (to write on the lantern).
Find a spot
There were so many people! They had fire pits placed all over and also tiki sticks that we would later use to light the lanterns. We found a family to sit by. They were very nice and happy to share their fire pit.
Things to do at the Lantern Festival
We got there around 7:00. I thought we would have plenty of time, but they had so much to do. They had inflatable slides and things for the kids, face painting, pictures, food trucks, etc. We also had our smores kit and had fun hanging out by the fire.
Lighting the Lanterns
My youngest daughter was very nervous to light her lantern. We were sitting pretty far away from the stage and couldn’t hear all of the instructions on lighting lanterns. We tried using the lighters, but those didn’t work. So, we waited for a few people and used the tiki torch. It took awhile to get the fire big enough to fill the whole lantern with hot air. There were actually a few that people were lighting that weren’t quite full enough when they were launched and some barely made it over the heads of other spectators.
Lighting the Lanterns (the easy way)
By the time we were on our third lantern, we finally figured out how to fill up the lantern by lighting the small square on the bottom with the tiki torch and then placing it on the (rock) ground. That way the hot air stayed in and filled up the lantern enough that it really took off.
Launching the Lanterns
This was such a fun experience and the perfect activity to do together right before going back to school and work. There’s something magical about writing down your dreams on a lantern and letting them lift into the sky.
What we would do differently next time
We do want to go again. When we do, I will definitely bring friends. We had a great time and it was fun meeting new people, but it would have been nice to go with a big group.
We will definitely get there earlier so that we have time to do everything. I didn’t realize how much they had to do!
I will also remember to bring camping chairs to sit on. We forgot ours and ended up buying some on the way. Luckily, they were pretty cheap (and I had been wanting some). We would have been pretty uncomfortable without them.
If you’re taking pictures, make sure you know how to use your camera, specifically for taking night shots. I’m still learning how to use the Canon EOS Rebel T5 for great pictures. We had to practice using different camera settings before some of the pictures turned out okay. Luckily, my teenager was there to help 🙂 I will also bring a tri-pod next time for better shots and video.
You may also be interested in more Salt Lake Festivals/Activities
Have you been to the Lantern Festival?
I would definitely recommend attending if you ever have a chance. Have you ever been? If so, please share your experience. Is there anything you would do differently next time?
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