A few moms in our co-op organized a Luminara Lantern Festival for the kids this year. Luminara has been a yearly thing here in Victoria since 2000, but I’d never heard of it until last year, and this year was the first time we’d done anything for it.
Luminara began in 2000, when the City of Victoria asked the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA), to produce a community celebration in Victoria.
Luminara has elements of both worldwide celebrations of light and local community connections. It is a celebration of light that has taken root here in Victoria, like other traditions that have come here from around the world, and become part of our local identity.
We met up here to start out with. One of the moms brought homemade candied apples, which were delicious.
For some reason Meredith decided she didn’t want hers. She told me she doesn’t like chocolate. More for me. 
We made their lanterns from glass jars, coating them with tissue paper, glitter, and feathers, and using pipe cleaners for the handles. (Notice the big bowl of chocolate chips next to my daughter, who had just told me she doesn’t like chocolate? I guess those don’t count.) Meredith was able to do a lot of it herself.
Fiona ate her pants, which is about her favourite thing in the world to do right now. That and her shoes.
Then we put candles in the jars and walked around our co-op with them. It was pitch black out, and I think pretty neat for the kids to wander around with their lanterns. Meredith found holding her jar by the pipe cleaner too hot so her and Kris improvised.
A few of the houses were decorated with tissue paper on the windows and windows all lit up for the kids. I took pictures but because of how dark it was and I didn’t have my tripod, I didn’t get any really nice ones. One of the neighbours had put out some of her own lanterns around her walkway for the kids though, which was neat and I did get a decent picture of that.
I think it was a pretty fun time for the kids. Next year I think it might be fun to also go to one of the communities that celebrates it. Apparently this year some of them had stilt-walking, a barn dance, music, shadow puppets, and more.
Related posts:
I used to attend Luminara every year back when it was held at Beacon Hill and I loved it. But I haven’t gone this year because I didn’t want to have to drive all over town to see the whole thing.
Your idea sounds really cool. I would have loved to see it. I was actually thinking of having a lantern bbq but the weather has been so yucky I decided not to bother. Maybe next year.
That’s pretty cool.