Lamplighter Arts CIC to bring 'spooky' Lantern Parade to Bristol this October half-term

Lamplighter Arts CIC, creators of Church Road Lantern parade and lead artists for Bedminster Winter Lantern Parade, will bring a touch of curious storytelling and illuminated spectacle to Bristol city centre on 30 October. 

Lamplighters Arts CIC invites people of all ages to join in and celebrate Bristol's historical and cultural heritage through a spectacular lantern carnival on Sunday 30 October. Spooky stories steeped in Bristol’s rich history and mythology, from ghost ships to giants, will come to life with a parade of illuminated giant puppets starting in Broadmead and finishing on King Street. 

To help bring these giant lanterns to life, workshops aimed at all ages and skill levels will be held in October at Bristol Old Vic, The Galleries and in Bristol’s Old City and will include family-friendly half-term dates. Participants can explore the free-to-attend workshops online, choose a lantern, help build it and join the procession. 

Workshops should be booked in advance via the Lamplighters CIC website, with support from local events platform Yuup.

To book places, visit https://www.thelamplighters.org.uk/bump-in-the-night. 

For those who want to join in from home, a make-a-long bat lantern workshop will be released via YouTube. Makers can then get their spook on, dress up and bring their bats to carry in the parade.  

Dee Moxon from The Lamplighters CIC says “We are so excited to create giant, lanterns and celebrate Bristol’s history with a spooky spectacle. We are really looking forward to this being a Bristol community project that brings people together with art and light and introduces Bristol residents to lesser-known stories. We are incredibly grateful for the grant from both Bristol City Council and WECA that will enable us to do this.”

Councillor Craig Cheney, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance, Property and Culture, said: “The city centre and high street recovery programme brings further support to our city centre and Bristol’s local high streets through the culture and events sector. The lantern-making workshops provide a great opportunity for the whole family to get involved, before joining the parade at the end of half term.” 

Bump in the Night is another activity under the City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme, funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority’s Love our High Street project.    

The City Centre Culture and Events Grants scheme intends to support projects of different scales and creative forms such as music, visual art, architecture, film, history and heritage across the city centre: events where people can share, celebrate or learn.