Featured image credit: Water Lantern Festival

Relax and enjoy the beauty of hundreds of lanterns floating on a pond or lake near you as the Water Lantern Festival tours across the United States.

To participate, follow these steps:

1. Find a location near you and buy your tickets. Each ticket covers admission and comes with a floating lantern, keychain LED flashlight, marker, and wristband.
2. Arrive at the festival from 4-6 p.m. and pick up your items. The time varies by location and venue and will be included in the Water Lantern Festival Event Guide emailed to you a week before the event.
3. Write messages on your lantern.
4. Launch your lantern at the scheduled time. Typically the launch begins at sunset and lasts for 1-2 hours until everyone can launch their lanterns into the water.
5. Relax and enjoy the view!

In case you’re wondering what happens to the lanterns after the festival, your ticket helps cover the costs of cleanup.

Outside lanterns are not allowed into any of the venues. Neither are pets, but service animals are OK. Some locations also do not allow alcohol.

All ages are welcome.

For more information, go to the Water Lantern Festival website.

Handwritten messages on the floating lanterns (photo credit: Water Lantern Festival)