Parkwood Springs Lantern Festival

The 2021 Lantern Festival will take place on Saturday October 16th from 4.30pm to 7pm from near the car park on Shirecliffe Road. Because of COVID-19 this will be a little different from the Lantern Procession of recent years - but it will still be a great community event.

The Festival will start at 4.30pm with lantern-making, circus skills workshops for children led by Green Top Circus, and family treasure hunts. Coffee and snacks will be available from then on.

Then at about 6pm the lanterns will be lit, with music from folk-rock band Treebeard. The event will finish with a fire-juggling performance with Chris Marley from Green Top Circus.

We will need help setting up beforehand, helping with activities and stewarding, and packing up at the end. If you can help please let us know at parkwood.springs@gmail.com.

History of the Beacons Lantern Festival
Every year we try to organise a lantern procession on Parkwood Springs. We provide materials and the help of a local artist so that groups of children and adults can make spectacular lanterns and parade them through the woodland on Parkwood Springs as dusk falls and the lights of the city below are illuminated. It is a fantastic sight to behold. The Beacons Lantern procession is event managed by the city’s Parks and Countryside Service. You can find pictures of past lantern events on our Facebook page. We will post more information about future events here.

In 2018 high winds prevented the parade, but we were still able to show off the lanterns thanks to the help of Christ Church, Pitsmoor. We were able to hold a very successful event in 2019, but the COVID-19 crisis meant that we had to cancel the 2020 event.

Below you can find out about events in earlier years:

Earlier years’ Beacons Festivals

A number of years since 2007 there has been a spectacular evening of entertainment in October, celebrating the special place that is Parkwood Springs. Storyteller Shonaleigh worked many years with children from local schools to develop a story, to be told on the night with music, acting, and fire. The entertainment starts in daylight, and as dusk falls finishes in a spectacular display that lights the night sky.