Feast of Lanterns
Glowing lanterns, food trucks, a kid’s zone, bands…. need we say more?! If you don’t have any plans this weekend, The Feast of Lanterns is just what you need!
Here’s more:
The Feast of Lanterns annual, family-friendly festival organized by the Lanterns Foundation Inc. is slated for Saturday, Aug. 27 from 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. at Spades Park, 1800 Block of Nowland Ave. Admission is free. This colorful and visually-appealing one-day festival features glowing lanterns, food trucks, live music from local and national bands, a kids zone, community vendors, artists, yoga, a beer garden, and more. Festival attendees can enjoy the event after dark when one can see and enjoy the lanterns and lights throughout the festival.
The Feast of Lanterns Festival is host to over 30 local artists with items for sale, neighborhood organizations, games, and performances. Food trucks include Duos, Citizen Hash, Calliope Sno Balls, Cosmic Chrome, Gauchos Fire, General American Donut Company, Taste of Caribbean, Der Pretzle Wagon, Kickstand The Flying Cupcake, Gordon’s Ice Cream and more. The beer garden will feature Metazoa, Flat 12 Bierworks, Ash & Elm Cider Company and Tastings Wine. Live music features Damon Karl, The Punkin Holler Boys, Busman’s Holiday, Bonessetters, Rodney Stepp & The Steppin’ Out Band featuring Steve Cooper and The Pork and Beans Brass Band.
Spades Park is located on Indy’s near eastside at 1800 Nowland Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana. FREE parking will be available at Circle City Industrial Complex located at 1125 Brookside Ave. Park free and walk down the new Pogue’s Run Trail to Spades Park and the Feast of Lanterns.
The Feast of Lanterns is a historic festival based on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis. Its earliest incarnations in the late 1800s were of small gatherings and decorated front porches in nearby neighborhoods like Woodruff Place. By 1909, these neighborhood events had morphed in to a single, larger festival that took place in Spades Park. Neighbors came to hang paper lanterns-lit first by candles and later by electric lights. The park, historic bandstand, and numerous bridges were illuminated by the colorful lantern lights. As time passed through World War I, the Roaring 20s, and Prohibition, the event continued. But by the 1940s, the event was held only sporadically and eventually not at all.
In the early 2000s, local neighbors from Windsor Park and Springdale were looking to begin an outdoor music festival and rediscovered the historic Feast of Lanterns festival. The theme of colorful lanterns lit throughout the park was incorporated with local music, craft vendors, and neighborhood booths. Eventually, the event was hosted by Near Eastside Community Organization (NESCO), and has been for more than a decade. In 2015, NESCO announced they would not be hosting Feast as part of their efforts to re-organize and refocus as an organization. This year’s Feast of Lanterns, hosted by the Lanterns Foundation, brings a refocus on the origins of the event where local neighbors work together to host a festival and build community.
For more information, visit www.indyfeastoflanterns.com.