Skip to content

Experience the Magic of Your Local Water Lantern Festival

Hello, everyone!

I’m so excited to share some information with you today about a stunning event, and it’s one you won’t have to travel far to!

Earlier this year as I was scrolling through social media, I saw an ad pop up for the Virginia Beach Water Lantern Festival. Normally, I keep scrolling right by ads, but this one caught my attention. The photos were just so beautiful, I actually got butterflies in my stomach. I kept picturing the scene from Tangled when Rapunzel finally gets to see the lanterns up close, and everything is perfectly romantic and magical. Cheesy, I know, but I’m just being honest.

The Water Lantern Festival travels to dozens of locations throughout the year, and one of the stops was only twenty minutes away from us. The reviews on the website were outstanding, and I was impressed with the sponsors’ dedication to community and the environment.

The only thing that was deterring me was the price. At $25 per person, plus a $6 fee, plus another $7 in facility fees and taxes, my excitement began to fall a little. Since I’d never been to an event like this before, I obviously wanted to be sure it was worth it. However, after much deliberation, my husband and I decided to drop a grand total of $79.92 on the date night package and go for it.

I’ll preface right away that it was completely worth it. For that price, we got ticket protection in case anything happened and we had to cancel, two lantern kits, two markers, entry to the festival, and a mandala throw. Obviously, I was pretty excited about the mandala throw, since mandalas are the namesake for my blog, so that pushed my decision over the edge!

One thing to note is that tickets go up in increments to $40 the closer you get to the event. So if you’re interested in attending an event near you, you’ll want to get your tickets sooner than later.

On August 3rd, our Water Lantern Festival was finally here.

We arrived about an hour after the festivities started, and I was initially worried that getting in would be a nightmare, but everything was well organized. Several large booths were set up where you could check in, pick up any merchandise, and get your wristband. The whole process took maybe 3 minutes.

After that, we were free to wander around the food trucks and craft tents and play a game of corn hole while we waited for things to pick up. Many people took the opportunity to bring full picnics and plenty of activities to do as they enjoyed the evening.

A large picnic shelter had been set aside as the lantern creation area, but it was full, so we decided to go ahead and set up our space.

We marked our territory with the newly acquired mandala throw and settled in. Around 6:30, a couple of local musicians took to the stage to serenade the crowd for the next hour. During that time, we decorated our lanterns, assembled them, and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was an incredibly joyful and relaxing atmosphere.

Eventually, we went in search of food, which was a mistake. In hindsight, we should have either brought a picnic, gone offsite, or just have gotten in line earlier. Daniel ended up waiting in line for over an hour to get us tacos, and many of the food trucks were sold out by 7:15. He finally got back with our food around 8:15, but he missed a big part of the festival!

Between 7:30 and 8:15 is when the central part of the festival actually happened, and I saw how the festival brings communities together and emphasizes healing and happiness.

The main festival began with “Lantern Stories,” a time when individuals could come to the stage and share the story of their lantern with everyone. Many people shared such heartbreaking stories of how their lanterns were dedicated to lost loved ones, but others shared how theirs signified hope they had or what they were thankful for. Some of them were incredibly touching, and it was so enlightening to hear what others around me have gone through. It also made me incredibly thankful that I could dedicate my lantern entirely to happy memories.

A short time of optional meditation followed the sharing. The pre-recorded music and guidance encouraged everyone to take time to embrace positivity and be thankful for the blessings in their life.

Finally, after a quick set of instructions, festival-goers were free to start launching their lanterns from designated areas around the lake around 8:15 pm.

Since Daniel and I had just gotten our food, we chose to hang back and eat while the lake filled with lanterns and the sun set. It was so peaceful to sit there in the twilight, surrounded by thousands of lanterns while we ate. It ended up being one of my favorite parts of the evening.

Around 8:45, we decided to join the masses headed to the lake and release our lanterns. Initially, the lines looked like chaos, but we found that choosing a launch area further from the main festival took our wait time down to only five minutes. It also gave us the perfect opportunity to take pictures with the lantern-filled lake and the sunset.

At the launching area, we placed our lanterns in a metal slide, made a wish, gave them a gentle push, and watched them slide down into the water where a worker helped nudge it further into the lake.

It was fascinating to watch my little lantern float away and get lost in the crowd of other lanterns on the lake. They emitted this beautiful yellow glow that reflected on the water and paired perfectly with the sunset. It was truly magical.

Aside from taking a few pictures, the lantern launch ended our excursion at the festival. But it was an excellent way to end the night, reflecting on my blessings and observing the beauty of thousands of hopes, dreams, and wishes symbolized in simple, glowing water lanterns.

In closing, I would completely recommend this event to anyone who loves festivals, Tangled, or a magical date night, as well as anyone looking for a way to honor a lost loved one. There was something for everyone at the festival, and the experience was both fun and unique.


Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave any questions or comments below!

Don’t forget to share this post and subscribe to the blog to get the weekly post delivered straight to your email for free!



2 thoughts on “Experience the Magic of Your Local Water Lantern Festival”

  1. I have always wanted to go to one of these events but the price always stopped me. After reading your blog, I defiantly am purchasing my date night tickets today. Thanks “Peace and Happiness to All”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap