Ulverston Lantern Festival set for epic procession with ‘On the Screen’ theme

Ulverston Lantern Festival is set for an epic procession on Saturday September 17th when the lantern-makers will be drawing their inspiration from movies, TV, and computer games for the ‘On the Screen’ theme for 2022.

The organisers are expecting the withy and paper lantern creations will feature everything from Marvel superheroes and Disney characters to Harry Potter’s golden snitch or flying Ford Anglia, dinosaurs, spaceships, Pokémon and children’s TV favourites. Whatever anyone sees on a screen could be appearing in the procession – lit by the traditional candle or sparkling LED lights.

Last year saw a huge success as the Lantern Festival returned after the COVID 19 with around 1,000 lanterns in the parade that created a never-ending River of Light as it wound through the town up to Ford Park for the big firework finale.

Up to 10,000 people crammed into the town centre for the spectacle, and excitement is already building for the 2022 event.

The Lantern Festival is a true community event, self-funding with support from local companies such as education specialists CGP Books, and from Ulverston Town Council and South Lakeland District Council. But the biggest proportion of the £10,000 needed to run the event each year comes from sales of Lantern Kits – which will start from Town Centre outlets in August – and with the money collected from spectators on the night itself.

The event also relies heavily on volunteers to step up and help organise the procession and road closures to keep everyone safe, and the organising committee is hoping for an influx of new people to help run the Festival.

Lanterns Chair Chris Nelson explains: “We desperately need more volunteers willing to give up their time on the night itself to help with the organisation, maintain the road closures around the town centre, and ensure that everyone attending and taking part enjoys the evening safely. It is just 3 hours on a Saturday night, but every extra person we recruit to help ensures that that Festival survives and prospers and remains a feature of Ulverston for future generations to enjoy.”

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