Festivalgoers enjoy warm weather on the Scioto Mile during the Water Lantern Festival. Credit: Paradise Thomas | Lantern Reporter

When the sky darkened, the launching of the lanterns into the water began. The music switched from lively and uplifting to serene and tranquil as festival-goers cast their lanterns into the water.

On Saturday, the Water Lantern Festival gave locals the chance to enjoy a relaxing night, encouraging unity in the community at the Scioto Mile for the event’s stop in Columbus.

The organization One World takes the festival across the country to bring together people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate life by releasing water lanterns into nearby bodies of water. The event is a one-night experience that features games, music and lanterns to decorate for the big launch.

The festivities included a hula hooping contest for children, cornhole, music, food trucks and vendor stands that sold items ranging from necklaces to color-changing nail polish and even self-defense items for women.

The main event of the night was the lantern lighting and launch.

Every attendee received an LED light and lantern kit they were able to decorate with words of encouragement and creative designs. The festival workers encouraged attendees to write positive messages on the lanterns before they released them into the water.

There were even banners with some examples such as, “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection,” and “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”

Attendee Amber Skinner usually creates her own lanterns, but was able to use the festival to share with others her own experience of how she celebrates life.

“Paper lanterns and water lanterns are really important to me. My first husband passed away in 2010, and he’s Vietnamese and it’s a traditional thing,” Skinner said. “People light these and they let them on the water and they let their wishes go. I’ve been doing this for a long time, since he has been gone. I’ve been doing this by myself.”

The Water Lantern Festival encouraged the attendees to keep positive thoughts and brought together people in Columbus to share love, happiness and peace around the world.