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On Our Radar: Riddles, crafts and music to mark Lantern Festival in Coquitlam

Town Centre Park is set to add Chinese lanterns to Lights at Lafarge in commemorating the end of Lunar New Year celebrations.
Chinese lanterns
Coquitlam is hosting a Lantern Festival celebration this weekend at Town Centre Park. | File photo

If you're planning to take a stroll around Town Centre Park this weekend, you may notice some extra red lights near TD Community Plaza.

Coquitlam is set to host a Lantern Festival on Saturday (Feb. 4) with several family-friendly activities to mark the occasion.

The traditional celebration, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, falls on the 15th day of the lunisolar Chinese calendar, signifying the final day of Lunar New Year events.

Most lights on display will be red, which symbolizes good fortune.

The lanterns themselves provide cultural and personal significance, meaning to let go of the past.

This weekend, Coquitlam residents and visitors are invited to make their own paper lanterns while taking in the sights and sounds of the festival.

The three-hour event is set to include riddles and problem solving, a common activity for children per Lantern Festival tradition, calligraphy tables and live musical performances with Chinese instruments.

The evening is scheduled as a "host night" during Lights at Lafarge, to which its 300,000 bulbs around Town Centre Park will continue to twinkle until Feb. 21.

The Lantern Festival, organized by the Golden Maple Culture and Arts Association and the City of Coquitlam's Park Spark team, will take place Feb. 4 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at TD Community Plaza.

On Our Radar is a thing we do when we're looking forward to an event that we think the public should be aware of. Think you have something for it? Email us at [email protected].

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Coquitlam is set to host a Lantern Festival celebration, as part of Lights at Lafarge, on Feb. 4, 2023. By Harvey Su/Facebook