I’m going to be straightforward with you, all of my currently non-existent readers, I don’t have much to say for this post on “The Lights Fest.” But of course with my never failing wordiness, I might find some (or too much) to say. Definitely too much.
Wyatt and I left from the Clifton Kroger at 6:00 with a 12-pack of Cherry Coke and bottled water to venture out to Harveysburg, Ohio. More popularly know for the annual Renaissance Festival fairgrounds, Wyatt talked excitedly about telling his dad how much different the grounds would look. Spoiler alert: there was no change. Buildings still stood tall, worn-down, and old-timey. We were just in one half of the grassy parking lot for our festival.
Arriving before 7:00, we stepped out into a perfect day that was originally predicted to be overcast and onto a field that was dry despite the constant downpours of the prior weekdays. Although Wyatt wasn’t overly enthused about the fest, he was being nice enough to be enthused with me. At check-in, we received our lanterns and a little baggie holding a sticker, marker, and bracelet all doning the event’s logo. We set up camp among the 1,500+ other patrons and sat on the small blanket. I hurriedly began to search for designs to decorate the lantern with while my stomach growled.
As promised “The Lights Fest” had a bouncy house, live music, and food trucks. However: only 2 bouncy houses, six food trucks with lines that would rival Dimondback lines at Kings Island (for those who aren’t familiar…that’s long and not one I am patient enough to wait in), and ish music. To be fair, the musicians tried their best to put on a good show for no one in particular. We enjoyed a laugh while the second singer would sing popular cover songs like, Wagon Wheel only to hand the well-known chorus off to the crowd and be met in return with irrefutable silence.
We sweat.
A lot.
I drew.
Wyatt warred with Instagram.
We waited. Not well, I add. Surprise, surprise, patience is neither one of our specialties.
Doors had opened up at 5:00 and closed by 8:00. Arriving at 7:00 seemed uncomfortably early. We were excited for the lanterns, but not the direct sunlight and the boredom it took for them to finally be ready to light. The sun would be begin to set at 8:58 my phone told me, we groaned.
We eavesdropped to pass time.
A kid got lost.
The kid was found.
We sweat.
I drew more flowers as I wished the weather would have been right for once.
By the time it began to hit dusk, the crowd began to get antsy. We squished our way toward the middle where hundreds of tiki torches were being lit. The announcer proclaimed that the fire department had to okay the take off before everyone lit their lanterns off and to keep writing their hopes/dreams/prayers/whatever on them while we waited. Also, we were told to boo any preliminary lightings.
9:15 passed slowly.
Wyatt and I passed the time by talking about our boredom and the ridiculousness of the events in this festival with a lovely couple made up by two mid
dle-aged women. We joked about sneaking the lanterns out of the designated areas and lighting ours off later.
Then 9:30 hit.
Two lanterns were gone. A chorus of boos met them.
At 9:45 we were told it would still be a little while before we could let the lanterns go. The booing was louder than they were for the “rebellious” lanterns.
At 9:55 it was dark and the go-ahead was given.
The crowd rushed to ignore the instructions given up on stage as they anxiously lit their lanterns. With over 2,000 people now and 4-10 people to a tiki torch, the lanterns went up more so in waves than all at once. Although I had gone to see the floating lanterns more out of desire to hopefully see the Thai lantern festival, Loy Krathong, one day. . .I couldn’t help but feel like a disney princess. For the first minute.
The first wave of lanterns went up without a hitch. So did the second wave. My speckled flowery lantern proudly joined. The third, fourth, fifth, and however many waves after were a bit different. Having been made specifically for this event to prevent fire hazards, the lanterns burnt out quicker than it took to get them into the air (honestly quite a funny sight watching all of them dive to the ground). It looked like a war of the angels with these precious lanterns gently floating while all of these burnt out, darkened paper lanterns ambushed them in the air.
After lighting off our lanterns, Wyatt and I made for the car. The pretty view had come and gone quicker than intended as our bellies complained unceasingly. As nice of a day as The Lights Fest was and as funny as it was to watch the “dreams coming true when it reaches the sky” lanterns crunch under my car’s tires, never reaching the sky, the day was an A-okay day. Fun, yes. But definitely only a one-time experience kind of festival.
Maybe I’ll have better luck in Thailand.