Firelight Lantern Festival

Exuberant two-day festival lights up Picton

The twelfth annual Firelight Lantern Festival took place in Picton on Friday and Saturday evenings, bringing a welcome dose of fun and light to the community. Hosted by the Department of Illumination arts collective, the Festival is an eagerly anticipated event preceded by several weeks of community lantern making workshops, and the conversion of the Crystal Palace into a giant interactive art installation. The Friday night event is restricted to ages nineteen and over, and attendees were encouraged to dress up appropriate to the chosen theme, which this year was Strange Magic. The art installations included a literal house of cards, a fortune-telling giant meatball, a projection booth, and cookies that would guide you to your innermost desires. The curators of the Museum of Uncommon Phenomena were there with their collection of items dedicated to the preservation of the barely believable. There was a fur-bearing trout, a were-rabbit and the remains of the fabled Minnowmaid—the pintsized counterpart to the mermaid. It’s also a dance party, and on Friday night, DJ Hri Neil got the groove going before Bad Tractor took over the main stage. During the intermission, performers from NorthFire Circus gave a dazzling illuminated indoor performance.

On Saturday night, the festivities began at Benson Park with a performance by the Aurora Borealis Community Choir, led by Lisa Bozikovic and Heather Kirby. NorthFire Circus swapped their LEDs for pyrotechnics for their outdoor fire performance that thrilled the large audience. Then it was time for the parade over to the Crystal Palace. A giant puppet led the way followed by hundreds of lantern-waving marchers. Spencer Evans and the Goatsteppers provided the music. It was the largest parade in recent years, with marchers stretching from the Regent Theatre to Town Hill occupying the entire width of Main Street. Once again Hri Neil spun the tunes prior to the live music, this time from Cat Named Earl.