The Lantern Fest – Pittsburgh

Lantern Fest

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post. All opinions are mine without any bias.

Have you ever lighted a lantern with a wish in your heart? Have you ever seen the sky filled with lanterns? We witnessed such a lighted sky today in Burgh.

The Lantern Festival in Burgh was a 1-day event held at Pittsburgh PA’s Motor Speedway in Imperial. The tickets for the festival was sold by Eventbrite. It’s been my long time desire to capture the sky with Lanterns. And the dream became reality today. Lantern Festival is where thousands of revelers join their hands together and light up their lanterns for an unforgettable spectacular event.

Once we heard that Lantern Festival is conducted in Burgh on July 8^th, I have been constantly bugging both SJ and Santhosh to purchase tickets for the fest. And finally, I won!

There was a Groupon offer for the Lantern fest, but then when we checked we found the offer was for the fest in other locations. Watch out for the offer in Groupon! They are of limited time.

The Gates open by 5:00 PM. Each individual should have their own ticket to enter the gates. The tickets were verified and a wristband was provided for each participant along with the Lantern. A portion of event proceeds will be donated to Angels of America’s Fallen. This non-profit organization provides funds and supplies for mentoring children of fallen police, military, and other first responders.

Each ticket came with a Lantern, marker and a lighter. Kids pass included a special gift for them. Additionally, each one was provided with Marshmallow, Barbecue sticks, Crackers and a Hershey Milk Chocolate. When the sun went down, everyone lighted up the lantern with their wishes on it and blew up in the sky. Till then, one could enjoy the music and food. Food outlets were available. There were other activities in the premises – Face Painting, Henna Tattoo, dress shops and Jewelry shop. Play area and balloon artists were available for the kids to play and enjoy in their preferred way. One could take selfies with Princesses. If you love scavenger hunt, then a game awaits you in the fest. Follow the instructions in the lantern kit, complete the game and win T-shirt for FREE.

When the time was just right, the sky was dark, everyone lighted up their lantern with the highest hopes and fondest dreams. The pictures couldn’t do justice to the spectacular event which we witnessed. It is an experience that one should feel it enjoy it.

Notes:

• Imperial was 20 minutes’ drive from Green Tree, Pittsburgh
• Nearly 5000 people gathered for the festival
• Though the gates were opened by 5 PM, the lanterns were lighted and released in the sky by 10 PM.
• Since the parking area is limited, one has to wait for a long time to come out of the parking lot once the event was completed.
• Hence, I highly suggest one to start bit lately from the home, reach around 9 PM as one can park in the front lots and pull out car easily on return.
• The food outlets were available inside the premises but then it was costly.
• Please bring chairs/blanket with you. Don’t forget to carry jackets with you as it tends to become cold by late evening.
• Follow the instructions mentioned in the Lantern Kit to light up the lanterns.
• Exercise extreme caution and release the lantern only when it is completely filled with hot air.
• Always watch out for children.
• Ensure to carry both Wide angle lens and the zoom lens.
• The lanterns move faster than expected, hence low shutter speed results in the shaky images.
• Adjust the shutter speed according to the movement of the lanterns. One can always increase the exposure during post processing.​

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Next time, when you have Lantern Fest happening near your location, then don't forget to attend the fest and experience it. Make a wish when you light up the Lantern!

Hope you liked the post. If you have visited the Lantern Fest, then do let me know about your experience in the comments and also share your lantern images by tagging me. If you love this space and would love to get updates, then do follow me in social space – Facebook, Google, Instagram

Thanks,

Karthi