Often considered to be St. John’s best-kept summer secret, the Victoria Park Lantern Festival is a one-day event full of fun, family-friendly activities out in the sun.

This year’s Victoria Park Lantern Festival is scheduled for Saturday, July 27th. It is an all-ages celebration centred around a lantern installation that outlines the path of an underground river which flows below the park, illuminating it before your eyes on the surface. Prepare to be amazed after the sun dips low in the sky and the lanterns come to life. Admission to the festival is free, though donations are welcome.

Victoria Park will come alive at 2 pm on festival day with a wide variety of performances and activities you can spend hours enjoying. There will be a barbeque, a yoga class, community booths, a Kids Zone for younger festivalgoers, and a soundstage where you can watch local performers. There will also be a jar lantern-making workshop where you can make your very own lantern for the evening procession.

Over the years, the festival lanterns have become much larger and much more creative. It’s a treat simply to come and see all of the uniquely shaped lanterns that festival attendees have created. The park’s steep topography provides the perfect canvas for the lantern display. There is something new to see every year, which is what makes this a festival you’ll want to go back to again and again.

The procession itself is set to begin at 8 pm. Attendees will be led up to the top of the upper hill at Victoria Park, which creates a sort of natural amphitheatre, from where they will be able to view the lantern installation. The procession is followed by a spectacular fire and light show.

The Victoria Park Lantern Festival is organized by the Friends of Victoria Park, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization dedicated to ensuring that the park remains a safe and enjoyable place for locals and visitors alike. The organization was created in 1998, and the first Victoria Park Lantern Festival was held in 2001.

That first festival was only intended to be a one-time event. Though it was attended by just a few hundred people, there was much demand for the event to happen again the following year. Now in its 18th year, the Lantern Festival attracts as many as 2,500 people over the course of the day.

Every Tuesday and Thursday in July leading up to the festival, you can stop by the Victoria Park Pool House for a 6 pm lantern-making workshop. These workshops are free to attend (with donations appreciated) and open to all ages. Learn how to make your very own lantern to hold in the parade during the Lantern Festival. Instruction is provided on how to make glass jar and bamboo lanterns.

From the workshop to festival day, the Victoria Park Lantern Festival is a volunteer-driven festival kept alive every year by the participation of the community. Come out and show your support for this colourful, multicultural gathering that has become an integral part of the summertime fabric of St. John’s.