Feast of Lanterns

At the end of summer, our town holds the Feast of Lanterns. It is an annual celebration, over 100 years old, of the legend of the Blue Willow, a fabricated "Chinese" story.
From the Feast of Lanterns site: 

"Long ago in far off Cathay, a land now called China, there lived during the reign of Emperors a wealthy Mandarin named T'so Ling. His land holdings were vast and fertile, and his treasures beyond counting. His palace was built of fine woods and rich lacquers with a roof of blue tile that gleamed in the sun, and a handmade fence that ran below the palace. Behind the palace grew an orange tree, and beside the palace ran a river with a graceful willow that gave shade in the heat of the day.

Of all T'so Ling's possessions, his beautiful Princess daughters with their jewel names were his greatest joy. The Mandarin delighted most in his eldest daughter, Koong-se, who he named Topaz, so named for the golden lights that twinkled from her eyes. Topaz passed her days in a summerhouse that leaned over the rippling water, where she did elegant embroidery on silk while listening to tales of old Cathay as told by her faithful nurse, Chun Soy.

T'so Ling thought Topaz so lovely that he wished to crown her as Queen. A coronation ceremony was planned, and all the princes, potentates, maharajahs and lords of the realm were invited to attend the coronation. One of the old Mandarins brought a chest of gold so impressive that T'so Ling thought this rich man would make a fine husband for his daughter Topaz. T'so Ling made plans to combine the coronation with a marriage feast.

Topaz heard this news and became quite despondent, for she had fallen in love with a poor, young scholar called Chang. Hearing of this, T'so Ling forbade his daughter to marry Chang. Topaz wandered off into the dark to drown herself. T'so Ling alerted the villagers to search for Topaz with lighted boats and lanterns. During the search Topaz and Chang reunited. In a final burst of lights, Topaz and Chang were illuminated as they changed into Monarch butterflies and escaped into the sky.

The pageant, which takes place on the last night of the Festival, tells the story in pantomime and ends with a burst of fireworks overhead as the lovers are seen for a brief moment departing in the guise of Monarch butterflies."

We love to anchor out in the bay to watch the show and lovely display of fireworks. Also, to avoid the huge crowds that cram themselves onto the beach. We often bring out friends, food, and have a lot of fun. This year, we truly had a boat load of people on board! =)

Fun times!

Glow sticks are lots of fun! Plus, a great safety hack for keeping track of the kiddos.

View of the shore.

Sleepy time. The kids were worn out after a fun evening out on the bay!
The wagon in this pic is AWESOME. We use it for just about everything (walks to the grocery store, hauling beach or boat gear, and even sleeping kiddos!)