News / st george
Lantern parade makes joyous return to BS5
Scores of people flocked to a lantern parade in Bristol which filled a neighbourhood with light, music and creativity under dark wintry skies.
The event featured hundreds of handmade lanterns which made their way up Church Road and through St George’s Park to the sound of a brass band on Saturday afternoon.
Celebrating its tenth birthday, 2025’s colourful parade was themed around the urban wildlife found in Barton Hill, Redfield and St George and saw lanterns in the shapes of owls, bees, birds and wildflowers proudly promenade through BS5.
Hundreds of people attended the popular lantern festival in east Bristol
The intricate creations were made by the local community, including schoolchildren, through workshops led by Lamplighter Arts CIC – an east Bristol collective made up of artists and designers who want to make positive change in their area.
It followed a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised £5,139 in December 2024, allowing school workshops to take place across the area and enabling the parade to be “bigger and more inclusive than ever”.
Church Road Lantern Parade began in 2014 to create “a common celebration” in the area following far-right activity on the high street two years before.
Its first iteration involved 28 lanterns and 60 children, and now has grown into a much-loved annual tradition with hundreds of lanterns created and attracting thousands of attendees.
All photos: Rob Browne
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