Columbus Water Lantern Festival brings magical moments

Water Lantern Festival comes to Columbus on Saturday, August 10, 2024, and is such a fun summer event!

Let the lantern guide your future or release your past – the meaning is all yours.

The festival featuring floating lanterns has been to cities across the U.S., and voted as #1 Best Cultural Festival by USA TODAY two years in a row.

Water Lantern Festival at Franklin Park includes food, games, activities, vendors, music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns adorned with letters of love, hope and dreams reflected upon the water.

As the sun begins to set on the evening sky, the Water Lantern Festival begins to shine with the launch of the lanterns onto the water as we Light The Water together.

Watch your unique lantern drift out into the water as it joins other lanterns carrying hope, love, happiness, healing, peace, and connection. It’s a night that you’ll never forget.

Water Lantern schedule

Gates Open at 6 pm
Enjoy Food Trucks / Music / Fun: 6:00 – 10:00 pm
Design your Lantern: 8:30 pm
Lantern Launch: 9:00 – 10:00 pm
Event Ends: 10:00 pm

Columbus Water Lantern Festival Admission

Tickets are $28.33 to $55.99. Various ticket packages are available and kids 0-7 have free entry. 

Check website for any available discounts.

Each adult ticket comes with the following:

  – Wristband for entry into the festival area with access to food trucks
  – Floating lantern kit
  – LED candle
  – Commemorative drawstring bag
  – Marker
  – Playing Cards
  – Conversation Cards
  – Lantern retrieval and water clean up

Tickets are selling fast! Visit www.WaterLanternFestival.com for more details.

The price covers the cost of collecting and removing the lanterns from the water following the event as well as cleaning up any trash that may have been previously been in or around the water.

Is this safe and environmentally friendly?

The lanterns are decide to remain floating, so they do not pollute the water.

All lanterns are cleaned up after the event by staff, along with any trash in or around the water found during cleanup. The lanterns are made from rice paper and wood so they are as eco-friendly as possible, and the LED candles are reused and recycled.

The festival supports the mission of Water.org in helping to provide safe water and sanitation to families around the world.

Franklin Park Conservatory
1755 E. Broad St.
Columbus, OH 43203