Arcata Recreation Division announced that the 42nd Annual Arcata Lantern Floating Ceremony will take place at Klopp Lake on Saturday, Aug. 9.
This free event is an opportunity to offer spiritual consolation for those missed, departed loved ones, ancestors and all held dear. The City of Arcata’s Nuclear-Free Zone Committee started the Arcata Lantern Floating Ceremony 42 years ago to commemorate the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and to affirm Arcata’s dedication to the cause of peace, to bring awareness to the dangers of nuclear proliferation and to advocate for environmental sustainability.
A lantern-making station will be set up at the Arcata Plaza Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9. Materials and lantern-making assistance will be provided to those who would like to participate.
Later that evening, all are invited to attend the ceremony that will take place at Klopp Lake, located in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary from 7:30 to 10 p.m. The ceremony will include Taiko Drumming, performer Blase Bonpane, speaker Brenda Perez, songs from The McKinleyville Choir and The Raging Grannies, hula dancing, poetry and more. The event will be hosted by Arcata Vice Mayor, Kimberly White. Lanterns will enter the water at sunset.
Ceremony attendees are encouraged to walk, bike or to take a shuttle to the event. Parking will be available at the parking lot located on the south side Samoa Boulevard at J Street. A shuttle will run from the parking lot to Klopp Lake beginning at 7 p.m. and for the duration of the ceremony to accommodate event participants. The shuttle pick up location will be clearly marked. There will be no vehicle access at the Klopp Lake parking lot, except for those with a designated Disabled Person (DP) placard or license plate.
Community groups helping to create this event include the City of Arcata, Humboldt Buddhist Peace Fellowship, GI Rights Hotline, Shinnyo-en, Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Social Action Committee, Veterans For Peace, Humboldt Friends Meeting (Quakers), Which Way the Wind and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
For more information, visit cityofarcta.org or call (707) 822-7091.
Cover photo courtesy of Toby Griggs