Luminous Lantern Parade at South Bank 2018

Post

Subscribe

Fri 08 Jun 2018

One of the interesting events of the year is the Luminous Lantern Parade at South Bank on Friday June 8. Enjoy an evening of lanterns, multicultural food and entertainment for the purpose of expressing welcome to those who have come from other places, near and far, to live in Brisbane.



A bit of history

The Luminous Lantern Parade started out as a welcome parade to bring people together to celebrate their support of refugees in Australia. Whether it was politics or something else, the parade's theme has expanded to welcome everyone rather than just be a focus on refugees.

In other words, it is now a message of welcome to anyone who has moved to Australia, Queensland or just to Brisbane. Sometimes removing a political message from something makes sense and having broad inclusive message can also make sense, but in this case it means that its message is somewhat weakened.



What's on at the lantern parade

The event starts at 5 pm when the food stalls open. If you want to walk in the parade you can register your interest with the MDA and then you will need to turn up from 5 pm to get prepared for the walk itself.

The parade starts at 6 pm and winds its way around South Bank. Usually the best spot to see it is along the river bank, and photos can look great with the city in the background. Like a lot of events organised by the MDA, the information that they provide is very vague. It is a little bit better this year, but all they have published is that the parade will end up at South Bank's Cultural Forecourt (I think that is where the parade starts as well).



The parade ends at 6:45 and after that the concert begins. Performances include Mexican mariachi's, Bolivian dancers, Latin harp music, Bollywood performances, DJs and of course the police pipe and drums band. This is a very multicultural evening of entertainment.

For families, turning up early makes sense, watching the parade, grabbing some food and enjoying the family friendly entertainment. Others will choose to stay on and dance with the DJs until late.

Getting there

Often the best way to get to South Bank is by public transport, with options including buses, trains and ferries. If you choose to drive, the best place to park is at the car park under South Bank, but there is also parking at QPAC and the art gallery as well.

#family
#festivals
#food_festivals
#free
#performing_arts
#south_bank
#june
!date 08/06/2018 -- 08/06/2018
%wnbrisbane