The Lantern Fest

So last weekend we took the babes to the Lantern Fest here in Albuquerque. I had never done one before but I had seen pictures and videos of other people going and it looked SO cool.

We drove about 25 minutes to get to the speedway where they had the event. The drive wasn’t bad at all and the kids slept the whole time so it was nice for them to rejuvenate before we got the party started!

When we got there, we got checked in and were immediately greeted and given cute little packs for our “camp out”. You guys, this event had like a hip/chic camping vibe to it…that is the best way I can describe it, but it was so awesome. Anyways, the packs had stuff to make s’mores and you were given your lantern, a lighter, and a marker to write on your lantern.

Once we were in, we had to find a fire pit to sit next to. The fun thing about this was that everyone had to share a pit with people that they didn’t know (because the pits were limited). Once the fire was going, it literally felt as though we were camping with friends. We put out our blankets, ate s’mores, and listened to a live band that was up on stage playing some laid back soulful music. (I should include really quickly that there were jumpers for the kids, stations to decorate your lantern and also places to get food.)

As soon as it got dark they started to get everybody ready to launch their lanterns.

I’ll stop here and say that I had no idea what to expect when it came to launching the lanterns…pictures just do not do it justice. To see a huge field of people lighting their lanterns at the same time with their own sweet thoughts written on them was unbelievable. It had a sacredly unique unity to it that was breathtaking. Once the sky began lighting up with lanterns I honestly had to hold back tears! Such a beautiful experience for us to do as a family!

Luke slept the entire time if you can believe it! But Lily had an absolute blast and says she wants to do it again. We will definitely be going again next year! 🙂