Families, friends and couples gathered in Lexington on Saturday, Aug. 30, to embrace community by releasing hundreds of lanterns into the water at the Water Lantern Festival.
Held at the Kentucky Horse Park, the Water Lantern Festival invited attendees to decorate lanterns while enjoying a cozy evening filled with live music and unity. Attendees were encouraged to incorporate meaningful messages in their lantern designs and share them before sending them across Rolex Lake.
In addition to the music, the event featured numerous vendors and food trucks that people could frequent throughout the evening.
The festival has been celebrated nationwide in states such as Texas, Minnesota and California. Justin Rash, event coordinator, said many people were drawn to the events and that venues were ever-expanding.
“We love it when our events get so big that we got to go to different cities and spread it out,” said Rash.
Rash said the event had a partnership with Water.org, as the festival practices sustainability by being environmentally cautious of the lantern material and utilizing LED candles.
The goal of the event was to connect humanity while spreading positivity and love, according to Rash. Many attendees dedicated their lanterns to lost loved ones or shared a romantic evening with a partner.
“It’s awesome to just to see people taking these big steps in their life, whether it’s moving on or creating a new part of their life with someone,” Rash said.
Lyle and Kay Blunck, a Lexington firefighter and financial planner, brought their kids, 5-year-old Jay and 3-year-old Lucy with them.
Lyle said they attended the festival to get away from screens and do something his family didn’t usually do. He said he was “excited to see the kids have fun.”
After designing their lanterns, attendees were welcomed on stage, where live performances had been held earlier, to share the stories behind their decorative inspiration.
Scarlett Guffy, a sophomore majoring in art and theatre at the University of Kentucky, was one of many who shared her lantern’s message with the festival community.
During her time onstage, Guffy said her journey in her faith had prompted her to write a prayer in her lantern. She said she took this opportunity as a way to step out of her comfort zone, as speaking about her religion had been an issue for her in the past.
“I was really grateful to be able to do that,” Guffy said. “It was just really great to just be able to write what I needed to say that others can’t hear.”
Shortly after the sharing of lantern messages, the event featured a guided meditation in preparation for the lantern launch.
As the launch began, attendees stood from their seats and knelt at the water level to release their lanterns during sunset.
While some waited for their turns to launch their designs, Joshua Jones and his fiancé, Garrett Million, took pictures to commemorate their moment together.
Jones said he wanted to attend a hopeful and positive event.
“Taking that desire and putting it out on a very tangible thing and sending it out on the water is super cool,” said Jones.
Million said he surprised his partner with tickets to the festival as a way to spend time together. The couple shared that they had written love letters to each other as part of their lantern design.
“It’s a great memory I’m going to share with my future husband for the rest of my life,” said Million. “Events where there’s community and togetherness are always great.”
