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    Water Lantern Festival

    1.6 (45 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Water Lantern Festival Photos

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    Penny B.

    This event was held in Bend Oregon this past weekend and they have been banned from ever coming back. This is a "for profit" company that mislead the permit department when they allowed this event to happen. They sold their lantern and skipped town and left the local people to clean up. Please don't support this organization. And read the fine print about them. These lanterns are not made of rice and sticks, They are plywood and LED plastic lights for the most part. https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/water-lantern-festival-officially-banned-from-bend-after-lanterns-pollute-deschutes/article_3bf7935c-3bbb-11ee-8251-0344dfbade66.html

    Lanterns

    Went to the 2025 festival in Knoxville, TN at Chilhowee Park. Overall it was a fun time. There was a good variety of food trucks and craft vendors to choose from. Not a lot, but a good variety. The tickets were $30, but they make it seem like if you don't buy in advance you'll miss that price, which wasn't true. The $30 ticket price was extended until the day of the festival online. Also expect to pay ticket fees of at least $5 per ticket. The festival pretty much consisted of 3 hours of free time before launching the lanterns into the water after sunset. During this time there was live music, a time for people to share what the festival meant to them, and time to get food/shop at vendors. Food lines were always long, so I wish they had more trucks there to accommodate. Unfortunately, a lot of the grassy area around the lake was absolutely covered in goose poop. Not sure if this was the park's fault or the event organizers, but it made setting up a blanket or chairs incredibly frustrating. There was nowhere to set food, belongings, etc. Additionally, when it came time to launch the lanterns, we were only allowed to put them in specific roped off areas of the water, despite it being a small pond. The videos online make it look a lot grander than it is. In reality, they resteict all the lanterns to one or two small areas. Overall it was a good time and a fun festival to attend, but ultimately there isn't that much to it and it could've been executed better.

    Julio B.

    Awful... I had to stand in line for 45 minutes to get some shaved ice and 25 minutes for a sandwich. We didn't enjoy the music for waiting in line as the music was well away. At the time of putting the lanterns in the water they only played some songs from an ipad. unfortunately not worth it

    Attended one of these in Palm Desert, CA. For starters, not being charged to park is refreshing. There were several hundred people there, not sure why we were given wrist bands when the event is in public place. Anyone could wander in, they just wouldn't get a lantern kit. Kits included a scavenger hunt, deck of playing cards, deck of conversation-starter cards, the lantern and one small felt pen of decent quality, bring more if you want colors. We wished we had a pencil for outlining. Ink will bleed through the paper a little bit, so use something in between the papers if you want it pristine. A lot of the event is sitting with the people you came with, so I thought it was a good insight to provide us with something to do. There were about a dozen food trucks and a few vendors selling their wares. Prices were typical. Sitting by the water seems like a good idea, but keep in mind that when the time comes to launch, lots of people will be walking/standing very close to your spot. Some higher ground a little further back might be more picturesque. Bring chairs or a blanket to sit on as well. If you're looking for a deeply spiritual event, this might not be it though. It's not the event's fault, it's just that there are hundreds of people, all with different reasons to be there. Some were celebrating, some were mourning, some just wanted something to do on a Saturday night, and each group behaved accordingly. I found it well-organized. I didn't stay long enough to know if they cleaned up well. They encouraged us to leave no trace in our personal area. And of course they can't just let the lanterns float off into the distance! Again, some of the one star reviews seem to have had unrealistic expectations. This isn't some centuries-old tradition, it's a small replica of one. Be sure to know the weather patterns for the area just after sunset. If you're facing the breeze, your lantern will float right back to you. You can see them bunched together on the far side of the lake in the picture. The lights beyond are the food trucks.

    Patricia N.

    Water lantern festival was super lame. The lanterns didn't hop anywhere because they had barriers very close to where we released them. They could have moved the barrier further down the water way and still could've easily retrieved. Kind of sad to write your hopes and messages to loved ones and then they all just sit there and go no where. I will not spend my time or money on this event again.

    Jaden W.

    This company is only out there for the money. I bought 2 standard adult tickets for Tulsa, OK, on 5/25, but they cancelled the event the day of due to tornado warnings (despite there hardly being a cloud in the sky). Okay, fine. However, they refused to provide a full refund for my tickets even though my boyfriend and I wouldn't be able to attend the rescheduled event date. The best they could do was a partial refund of $44.33 when I originally paid $64.28 for 2 tickets. The $19.94 they couldn't refund was "processing fees," which even if that was true, the actual processing fees I originally paid for was $17.62 ($5.97 per ticket plus $5.68 other). They couldn't even do their processing fee math correctly. I recognize that I bought the non-refundable tickets, but the product/service I paid for was advertised as being on 5/25 in Tulsa, not a random other date months later, so to pay for something I never received seems like a tricky scam. 0/5 do not recommend.

    Monalisa Z.

    Event was nice. Parking was $10, tickets $25-$40 for adults. Kids pay less There were live music, food trucks, lines were not too long. The lanterns were as promised. I'd say it was pretty organized. We got items as promised, a drawstring bag with the lantern kit inside, a marker, a wristband for who-knows-what, coz the area/ pond wasn't restricted to anyone, really. Anyone without tickets could go in, they just wouldn't get the lanterns. Nobody checked wristbands. I don't know how many folks came, from one side it was pretty full. I'd guess like 1000. This weekend offered lots of activities around DFw. Last weekend of state fair, Six Flags with the fright fest, Imagine Dragon concert. In the morning there was Pokémon Go fest in downtown. So competition was on. I wished there were more things for kids to do, like bounce houses. My kids enjoyed decorating the lanterns prior to releasing them. Organizers encouraged us to be grateful, thankful that we were alive, forgive ourselves and let go of the past, and to decorate the lanterns with meaningful words. I wonder if this is std operating procedure at each lantern fest. It'd also be nice to explain a lil about the history of lanterns. How did it come about. Why the Asians celebrate it. For days it rained prior to the event. Even yesterday it rained the whole day. So the pond's bank (I wouldn't call it a lake) was really muddy. We didn't want to get into muddy banks and dirtied ourselves. The organizers did the best they could. They put down rolls of rags but they needed to put down more. Overall. We recommend it if you've never been.

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    2 years ago

    Had a good time with double date, maybe a little overpriced. Lots of places to eat, no parking so I got a ticket.

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    7 years ago

    Very enjoyable and relaxing. Free anxiety and pray for peace. Good time and a beautiful experience.

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    Ask the Community - Water Lantern Festival

    Review Highlights - Water Lantern Festival

    Anyone could wander in, they just wouldn't get a lantern kit.

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    Food Trucks Festival - Great Australian meat pies

    Food Trucks Festival

    3.7(3 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    Small and less walking around for the hungry…read more I didn't eat at EVERY single trucks but I did eat from a good number of them...gosh! there goes my summer bikini body! I've been pigging out too much. Stop temping me after this! gym time errrday in May!!!! it's nice that they gather up all around you for once so you wouldnt have to drive around for different trucks. I really wanted Ssahm though! that is my favorite truck ever! they weren't there! sad days....:(. They had some of the trucks thats been around and some new I've never even heard of. I went on a Friday and there was not much to do. No music...just trucks. I can't possibly eat food from all those trucks ok? please find other entertainment! the chairs for the table could be better. They were so flimsy, I thought my badonkadonk butt was going to fall off. How embarrassing would that be? yikes!

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    4.3(6 reviews)
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    Quaint little art fest with friendly people and great lines of vendors and artist. It's not as…read morecrowded as the other arts fest I've been but I like it because the kids can enjoy themselves too without the parents/guardian worrying about them getting swept by a big crowd.

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    Levitt Pavilion - The Stooges Brass Band,  performing at 8 p.m.,

    Levitt Pavilion

    4.7(20 reviews)
    1.6 mi
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    I hope this review finds you in good health. It's summer…read moretime and I highly recommend the Levitt Pavilion! It's easy to get to , there's plenty of parking and the music is free! They have a few food trucks such as the Flying Pig and J Gillian's. My father blessed me with a Grilled Cheese Brisket Sandwich, from the Flying Pig. It was a little on the pricey side, $10. However, the bread was fairly large with lots a butter. Such a a interesting combination I've never heard of. You can bring your own food, drinks and pets. Just keep your dog on a leash and no glass containers. The sound is great! They have screens on the side of the stage for a better view. Also, the camera man zooms in on the stage. The stage is surrounded by beautiful Vitex Agnus trees. The landscaping is well taken care of. The lawn is large with freshly planted grass. There's plenty of space so, bring your blankets and lawn chairs. There's a large sidewalk for dancing. The event is secured too. Police officers are on patrol. Bathrooms are large and clean and the pathway to the restroom is lighted. They also have a hand sanitizing station before you get to the restroom. Balcony seating is also available. Please, see information booth regarding that. If your looking for some free entertainment, I would definitely come here.

    A really nice place to listen to music my wife and friends had a good time…read more We will be back soon when it's a little cooler

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    Levitt Pavilion
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    Diamond Loch Christmas Lights Display

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    4.0(23 reviews)
    11.0 mi

    I recently heard of this place and decided to go check it out. The neighborhood has several…read moreentrances but the main one you can go in is through the north part thru . They do have police directing traffic and blocking the other streets so only residents can enter through those. I went around 8pm on a weekday and there were about 30 cars waiting to go in. I was surprise it only took me about 5-9 minutes to get into the neighborhood. Once inside you just follow the crow and enjoy, a lot of the streets have a could de sac and you can just follow along. The neighborhood is a big circle so when you are done you will exit where you first came out of. It took me about another 10 minutes to get through the first set of house because there were a group of little kids at the end of the first street passing out candy canes. They were the reason why it was taking a while to get into the place but after that I was constantly moving along looking at house. The whole thing did not take me more than 30 minutes and after that I was on my way back home. Its free and the house that are decorated are nice but a lot of them are also dark and don't participate (which is fine). But if I had to choose between this and Interlocken in Arlington, i choose arlington. Thats just my person opinion but either way come on out and enjoy some lights by yourself or with the squad.

    We visited again this year, and as always it was enjoyable. We try to go during the week to avoid…read moresuch big lines.

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    Diamond Loch Christmas Lights Display
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    Forest of Fear

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    9.8 mi

    This was an awesome experience!!! My children enjoyed our evening here. The cocktails were fun, and…read morethe staff was excellent.

    As far as Halloween activities for the family, this place falls second only to YesterLand Farms…read more It was our first year visiting and honestly we went in with no clue on what to expect. We were unprepared. We waited in our car in line for almost three ours to get to the starting point. Three hours! We were out of snack within 20 minutes and we hadn't had dinner yet so I was really about to lose it. Also we were almost on E. If you have a car you can deck out in Halloween go for it. Most ppl here had lights and music and even inflatables in their cars. That part was a little entertaining to see the passing cars how they go all out, I mean all out!! Okay now to what this is. This is basically a campsite park. And the people that are staying there decorate their sites. But this isn't just some twinkly lights and spider web, nooooooo. These people are creative. Some even come up to scare the people in the cars oh it is so fun. I love to see their individual styles come together in such a fun way. The drive through the displays doesn't take very long. Actually it's pretty quick. The majority of your time there will be in line waiting to get to the campsite areas. So gas up, take plenty of things to entertain your kids in the car.. take snacks maybe a meal. I'd take wipes bc there's mostly port- a potties . Once you get in, there is a restroom but I heard that's way more scary than the Halloween stuff.. yikes! The website did say not trailers with the hayride seats but I did see people loaded up in the beds of pickup trucks, the trailers with ppl on hay bales, even golf carts many golf carts.

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    Water Lantern Festival - festivals - Updated May 2026

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