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Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
We've reached peak lantern festival mania. Experience these magical ones around SoCal
Is there anything more like a fairy tale than thousands of glowing lanterns floating heavenward into the night? Long before the luminescent spectacle awed viewers of Disney's 2010 film 'Tangled,' real-life lantern festivals have been taking place around the world. In China, sky lanterns were first used as a means of communication in warfare during the Eastern Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. Since then, sky lanterns have taken on a more ceremonial and celebratory significance, marking occasions such as the end of Chinese New Year and the coming of spring. Yet, as wondrously beautiful as these floating mini hot air balloon launches are, the reality is there's only a fine line — and a gust of wind — that can turn a sky lantern into a free-floating Molotov cocktail. Outlawed in many regions due to the fire risk and environmental hazards, the idea of releasing thousands of them indiscriminately into the sky literally wouldn't fly here in Southern California, where memories of the January wildfires are all too fresh. This is why when OC Japan Fair hosted a lantern release as part of its three-day festival at Costa Mesa's OC Fairgrounds last month, organizers opted for a safer alternative: lantern-shaped helium-filled balloons tethered by string and lit by lithium battery-powered LEDs. I was among the hundreds of people who released their glowing boxy 'lanterns' inside the OC Fair's Hangar after a set by Japanese singer Minmi. For a few seconds, save for a piano playing a few pensive notes, there was silence. All eyes — and cellphones — were focused upward at the flickering white cubes. 'When you let go of a lantern in the air or in the water, you let go of your feelings behind it,' said attendee Charles Mendoza, who drove to the event from West Covina. Anything that's been weighing your thoughts, 'you just let it go.' Whether you attend a lantern festival to release pent-up emotions, send a message to a loved one you've lost or cast a prayer into the great beyond, the experience can become a quiet moment of reflection. Here are four lantern events happening at various locations in and near Southern California until the end of the year, where, at the very least, you will be awed by the beauty and peacefulness of the idea — one that ironically started from war. When: May 16-17 What: The Water Lantern Festival returns to Southern California. It happens Friday and Saturday at Lake Gregory Regional Park in the city of Crestline, and on Saturday only at Elm Grove Beach in Lake Elsinore. As the festival name and venues suggest, these are water lantern launches. But just like sky lantern events, they will be visually spectacular and, hopefully, spiritually impactful. Originally launched in Utah in 2018, the Water Lantern Festival first came to Lake Gregory Regional Park in 2020 and has since expanded nationwide. Though it is a for-profit event, the festival has partnered with an organization that helps bring clean water and sanitation to communities in need around the world. Admission is $57.99 at the event. It includes a drawstring bag with one floating lantern kit with a lantern, tealight and marker to write your wishes, hopes or messages. Beyond the lantern release, the festival offers an array of food via food trucks, shopping, and entertainment. You are allowed to bring your own picnic and snacks, but not alcohol as the event is alcohol-free. Details: When: July 12-13 What: One of Los Angeles' beloved summer traditions — the Lotus Festival — is returning to Echo Park Lake. It began in 1972 as 'The Day of the Lotus,' created to highlight the contributions of Asian American communities in Los Angeles. It was renamed the Lotus Festival in 1990, and each year since, it has spotlighted a different Asian or Pacific Islander culture. The event is timed with the blooming of the lake's iconic lotus flowers, which was once the largest outside Asia. Last year's celebration honored the Philippines and its L.A.-based diaspora. This year it will honor South Korea, showcasing the richness of Korean culture through live music, traditional dance, cuisine and artisan vendors. While the highlight of the weekend is usually the Dragon Boat Races — which have drawn competitors and crowds since 1991 — the sentimental favorite is the water lantern release onto the lake. Admission is free, but details on the cost of the water lanterns has yet to be announced. Check the website closer to the date for more information. Details: When: Oct. 3-5 What: This fall, Rise Festival returns for three nights at Jean Dry Lake Bed, a desolate patch of Mojave Desert (three miles from Jean, Nev.) that has been used as a filming location for 'The Hangover,' 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' and other movies. In its 10th year, Rise is the only sky lantern release festival on this list. But because it also features large scale art installations and a stage that sets up the night with live music, it is the Burning Man of lantern release festivals. (Though unlike at Burning Man, you can drive less than 20 miles to the Las Vegas Strip when it's done and end your evening with a shower in a hotel room of your choosing.) Ticket packages start at $129 for the Silver tier, which includes the lantern release ceremony, live performances on two desert stages, access to large-scale art installations, meditation spaces known as Rise Halos, two lanterns per guest, a portable cushion for desert seating, and unlimited water refills. Higher-tier packages add perks such as gourmet dining, open bar access and reserved viewing areas. Details: When: Nov. 9 What: Celebrated for centuries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, St. Martin's Day honors the life of Martin of Tours, a 4th century Roman soldier turned monk and bishop. He is best known for a simple but profound act of compassion — sharing his cloak with a freezing beggar on a winter's night. That moment of generosity defined his legacy. When he died, his body was carried by boat along the river to Tours. Legend has it that children bid farewell by standing on the riverbank with candles to light the way. Since then lantern processions, or Laternenumzüge, became tradition, symbolizing the light and the enduring warmth of human kindness embodied by the saint. On Nov. 9 at around 5 p.m., this tradition continues in Huntington Beach's Old World Village. Children and families will carry illuminated lanterns through the mall while singing traditional songs sung for generations. Hosted by German School Campus of Newport Beach, this St. Martin Lantern Parade is free to attend (but a $5 donation and reserving your spot online is requested). Details:
Los Angeles Times
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
OC Japan Fair returns to fairgrounds with free J-pop music fest, Freedom L.A.
Locals looking for fun with a Far East flavor should head to the Orange County fairgrounds the first weekend of April as the OC Japan Fair returns with a slate of cultural activities, culinary delights and a nighttime lantern festival. The three-day event beginning Friday, April 4, will feature all the fan favorites, from tea ceremonies and kimonos for sale in a recreation of Japan's Nakamise shopping street to cultural demonstrations and 55 street food vendors, along with some new features. This year's fair will be held in conjunction with Freedom L.A., a J-pop music festival headlined by singer/songwriter MINMI and taking place on the Hangar concert stage. Admission is included with fair tickets. Another new feature coming courtesy of Freedom L.A. will be the 'release' on April 5 at 8 p.m. of paper lanterns, which will be safely strung with LED lights and kept grounded so people can take them home as keepsakes afterward. Stephanie Yoshida, a spokeswoman for the event, said such a ceremony is common in many Asian cultures during a special occasion, such as a prayer or send-off intended to honor the dead. But the fair's ceremony will have a slightly different message. '[Organizers] wanted to have a wish for peace in the world,' she said. Held for the past 15 years, the tradition has been gaining in popularity, attracting crowds of more than 40,000 visitors from throughout Orange County and beyond. Some come to see time-honored traditions, such as taiko drumming, flower arranging and sake (rice wine) tasting, while others are drawn to the occasion's pop cultural elements, like cosplay, anime and street fashion. 'It's about making a connection and being a bridge between Japan and people in America,' Yoshida said Thursday. 'Our main purpose is having people be interested in traveling to Japan. But even if they aren't able to, they can enjoy a piece of it [here] and feel like they are in a Japanese festival.' OC Japan Fair runs April 4-6 at the Orange County fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Hours are from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Parking is $15 and general admission costs from $15-18. Children 6 and under and seniors over 65 are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased at or with cash only at the event.
