After the sun sets on Saturday, September 9, hundreds of lanterns will fill the sky in Dubbo.
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A lantern parade will travel from the corner of Macquarie and Talbragar Streets through to Victoria park where residents can witness the iconic rhino, lions, goanna's.
There will even be some lanterns in the parade that were made by families that came together for a workshop on Father's Day.
Lead facilitator of lantern workshops run by LightnUp, Jyllie Jackson, told the Daily Liberal about the festival's lantern-making workshops and the sense of community they fostered.
"We come from as far as Lismore, so we've come a long way to be here," she said.
The lantern-making workshops, which were open to community members who had registered, were a prelude to the eagerly anticipated parade.
"With the lanterns, we prepare all the materials, so we've got bamboo sticks and tape handles, and we prep it. Then we've demonstrated how to make them," she said.
"We've got people as young as six with their parents, and even adults who love it."
These workshops, which are "a labour of love", allowed participants to create lanterns and diamonds that would illuminate the parade.
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"When they've made them, they put a paper skin on them, and they check if their candles work. We don't use fire candles anymore; we found these other candles which work really nicely and then they decorate their lanterns beautifully," she said.
The parade promises to be a spectacle with a variety of lanterns, including some inspired by marine life.
"We will bring a truck with lots of lanterns...as well as lanterns three metres tall," she said.
One particular family attending the workshops were easily recognisable to Ms Jackson.
"This is their fourth or fifth workshop; they love the lanterns and come every year. That just shows that it's a good community feel-good event," she said.
Ms Jackson said despite LightnUp being badly affected by the Lismore floods in 2022, when water poured into their workshop, they've been able to bounce back.
"The lantern parade is so important for the community, as I can imagine it is in Dubbo also," she said.
"When we do our Lantern Parade in Lismore, we make about 1000 lanterns with children in the schools, and we have about 32,000 people come, it's a very special thing."
If you would like to see the lantern parade it will begin at 7pm on Saturday, September 9.
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