Illuminares
Illuminares is a now-defunct annual lantern festival (starting in 1989) held every summer in John Hendry Park (also known colloquially Trout Lake Park) in east Vancouver. In 2010, the festival moved to Canada Place, but the 2012 festival returned to John Hendry Park.[1][2] The event was put on by the Public Dreams Society, a group formed in 1985 to encourage community events. Illuminares was a mixture of events put on by the society, such as fire-breathers and bands, and participants bringing their own homemade lanterns. Local artists ran lantern-making workshops to help people make their own personalized lanterns. The festival was paid for through corporate and community sponsors, government grants, and donations from participants at the event.
While it began as a small community festival, Illuminares quickly grew into one of the most popular events in Vancouver. About 30,000 people attended each year.
Another lantern festival, the North Shore's Wild Lights Lantern Festival, is held in Edgemont Village.
Another public event that Public Dreams put on was the Parade of Lost Souls, a parade through Vancouver's Commercial Drive neighbourhood around Halloween, until it was taken over following Public Dreams' demise.
References
- Werb, Jessica (11 August 2011). "Illuminares plans to return to nature". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- "Illuminares Lantern Festival set to return to Trout Lake". The Vancouver Sun. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.