Firelight Lantern Festival is a cherished Prince Edward County tradition

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2022 – For anyone looking to escape to “The County” this fall, a very special 10th Anniversary edition of the Firelight Lantern Festival, a cherished Prince Edward County tradition is happening in Picton (a 2.45-3-hour drive east of Toronto) the first weekend of November. And this year, for the first time ever, the festival has expanded to two magical evenings of arts and music with the theme The Enchanted Forest from November 4 and 5, 2022 at the Crystal Palace in Picton, Ontario.

On Friday, November 4 the Firelight Lantern Festival will be a 19+ evening featuring Kingston’s unique and experimental folkestra The Gertrudes amongst food, drink, dancing, art installations, and interactive performances.

Saturday, November 5 sees the return of the Firelight Lantern Festival’s beloved Lantern Parade in an all-ages event starting in Benson Park. The parade will make its way down Main Street to the Crystal Palace, where Toronto’s hip-hop brass band Bangerz Brass will take the main stage.

The Firelight Lantern Festival is known for its epic illuminated art installations in the beautiful Crystal Palace and this year is no different. Lead artists Nella Casson, Krista Dalby, Chrissy Poitras, Tim Snyder, and Kyle Topping will be responding to the year’s ‘The Enchanted Forest’ theme and animate the site with giant lantern puppets.

Both evenings will be filled with an eclectic array of performances from multiformat puppet masters Imagicario, shadow puppetry by Birdbone Theatre, plus Peterborough circus performers, and festival favourites, Trellis Arts. DJ Ombudsman will be providing the beats to keep the dance floor moving, and Kaleidoscope will be on-site to keep everyone fed. Festival-goers are also invited to dress up in whatever wild and wonderful costume they wish – especially if it’s illuminated! 

The Department of Illumination invites its audiences to play an active role in the lantern festival by taking part in their community lantern-making workshops, running October 21-30, 2022. These will be held in the Department of Illumination studio in the lower level of The Armoury in Picton. Attendees are provided with all the materials and instructions necessary to make a lantern for just $10 per lantern. 

For more information visit deptofillumination.org/firelight-lantern-festival

Other articles from totimes.ca – mtltimes.ca – otttimes.ca