9th Annual Lantern Lighting Celebration at Lakewood Cemetery

About

Public Invited to
Memorialize and Remember Loved Ones at Lantern Lighting Celebration at Lakewood
Cemetery 

Lanterns Decorated to Memorialize
Loved Ones Create a Breathtaking Moment of Serenity, Commemoration and
Connection 

WHAT:           9th
Annual Lantern Lighting Celebration at Lakewood Cemetery 

Lakewood
Cemetery invites the public to its ninth annual Lantern Lighting Celebration
the weekend of September 22-23, 2023. The event offers
an opportunity for people to remember loved ones and celebrate their lives by
decorating, then releasing floating, candlelit lanterns onto Lakewood’s Jo Pond.
This event is open to the public.

At the
event, people can decorate a paper lantern sleeve with favorite pictures,
messages and personal sayings, poems and other symbols of remembrance. At dusk,
in a beautiful ceremony, attendees gather to release their lanterns onto
Lakewood’s ten-acre lake, as the names of loved ones are read aloud accompanied
by the stirring sound of bagpipes. The effect of the candlelit lanterns
floating on the lake is breathtaking and magical, connecting people to their
loved ones and to others who are remembering and grieving.  

“Part of
our vision at Lakewood is to bring more creativity to the ways in which we
memorialize those we love and miss,” said Lakewood president, Chris Makowske.
“Our Lantern Lighting Celebration is a way for people to hold space for
remembrance in a beautiful and sacred place, through creative expression and in
the comforting presence of others.”

Since its
inception in 2015, the Lantern Lighting Celebration has grown — through strong
community support — to more than 2,000 attendees in 2022. “Building on the
long-term success of our Memorial Day event and our other seasonal
celebrations, our Lantern Lighting Celebration is one of many ways Lakewood
makes memorialization more relevant, accessible and inviting for all
generations,” Makowske said. “The response from the community has been
overwhelming.”

Throughout
the event, guests can enjoy live music, food and refreshments from local food
vendors, and the beauty of Lakewood’s scenic grounds. Self-guided tour
brochures of the cemetery will also be available.

WHERE:          Lakewood Cemetery  

3600 Hennepin Avenue

Minneapolis, MN 55408

WHEN:                            September 22-23

                        5:00
– 8:30 p.m. each night* 

*Attendees
have the option of choosing one of two evenings to honor their loved ones –
Friday, September 22nd or Saturday, September 23rd.

If it
rains all tickets will be transferred to Rain Day: Sunday, September 24th

COST: Admission is
free, but there is a fee per lantern:
Lanterns are $10 advance / $15 day of (Admission is free)

RESERVE
LANTERNS: HERE

MORE
INFO: HERE

Visit
Youtube to watch a short video from a previous year’s event or watch
this longer video to hear attendees speak about their
experience.