http://youtu.be/j9m65SendaU
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Obviously you are here to read about our experience going to the Lantern Floating Festival in May 2015, perhaps you are planning on going on a future date; whatever the case, thanks for taking the time to read, you are awesome!!
Honolulu holds this festival annually on Memorial Day with a huge ceremony that ends with people floating lanterns out on the ocean at Ala Moana Beach (near Magic Island). Each lantern represents a loved one that has passed away, whether military or not.
I decided, since it is Brain Cancer Awareness Month, to go gray for Liam Webb. He's a little boy I used to babysit (along with his older sister). He was a sweet, loving, happy kid! A couple years ago he was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away later that year from the effects of his chemotherapy treatments. His family is so strong for going through such a trial; they started a foundation in honor of him called "Link Up for Liam" to help out other families (emotionally and financially) that were in their same situation. You can go to their facebook page and "Like" them here
https://www.facebook.com/linkupforliam?fref=ts
Rewinding back, we got to Ala Moana Beach around 9:30am by bus (Routes 8, 19, and 20) come from Waikiki to here very frequently). But oh man! I guess you have to come super super early because we knew there was no way we would get a lantern for Liam. The lanterns are free, therefore everyone wants one, and people will get there super early and camp out until it opens at 10:00am. So we decided to just chill on the beach instead of waiting in line for hours, only to possibly not get a lantern. I respect all of those people though for actually waiting out in the heat for hours, because I knew they had the thought of their loved ones in their hearts. That's probably what kept them going.
We were right on Magic Island (which is where the ceremony took place later on), so we went to the beach which ironically wasn't crowded at all. We snorkeled but didn't see many fish, swam, and just spent a lovely time together just Brad and I. (Since it was Memorial Day he had work off)
After the beach we took the bus back home for lunch and a rest. It's important to give yourself a break when doing a full day of activities.
This reminds me of what MY parents did when my siblings and I were young, and they took us to Disneyworld. (Well, I don't actually remember this, but I remember them telling us the story). My parents would get us up early in our hotel, go to the park as it opened, spend the morning riding the rides, then leave the park before lunchtime. Weird right? Why not just stay the whole day? Here's why: There was just my 2 sisters and I, all under the age of like 7. They would take us back to the hotel for a nap, get up and possibly swim in the hotel pool (which was of course, all to ourselves), THEN head back to Disneyworld. My parents said as they were coming back in the entrance, many families were leaving with their small children because they were crying, cranky, hungry, and tired. Meanwhile we were as happy as can be, being fully fed and rested! We would spend the rest of the day at Disneyworld, up to the nightly fireworks! How smart are my parents!? :)
So we implemented that mentality, went back to our apartment, then came back around 5pm for the Festival! We took into account not getting good seats/a good view. If you want good seats, get there morning/early afternoon. Take into account it's hot, no food around (except for in the expensive mall across the street), and it'll be a long wait, just to be a little more up close than others. A lot of people set up EZ up tents and have huge picnics with a large group of friends or family. It's almost like they are tailgating in my opinion. But we sacrificed good seats with lunch and rest indoors, so sue us. I think it worked out well.
The ceremony started around 6:30pm, with Shinnyo (a buddhist priest), who is very famous from the looks of it, as well as other important contributors, and music. We couldn't really see from where we were.
LANTERN FLOATING BEGINS
Then at 7:15, as the sun goes down, they start lighting everyone's lanterns, and they go down to the water and float them off, taking a moment of remembrance and respect. Everyone is actually very respectful, there wasn't any pushing or shoving or yelling. But it is VERY crowded. I went down with all the people to get good footage for the video and it was dark by the time I got to the water. Everyone wants to be as close as possible, so the front of the crowd is waist-deep in ocean water! Brad didn't get that far because he didn't want to get his tennis shoes wet. But I really wanted to see it up close so I took off my flip flops (or slippahs-as they call them in Hawaii), and trek'd out into the water.
I got soaking wet up to my waist...but the view was worth it! I'm actually glad it was dark by the time I got up close because the lights were just spectacular on the ocean water! People were praying, or hugging, and you can tell they were taking time to remember loved ones. You could feel the love! Bring a camera, preferably a waterproof one like a gopro in case of waves or splashing of any kind. I took like 5 minutes to film, then headed back to the beach.
My recommendation is if you go (ESPECIALLY VISITORS WHO DON'T KNOW YOUR WAY AROUND), do NOT split up! Large groups, forget about it. It was way crowded! Parking there? Get ready for hours of traffic leaving. Buses and shuttles also had a hard time getting out. Brad and I texted to meet at a Walgreens that you had to go through the huge Ala Moana Mall to get to, which worked out pretty well because everyone else either waited for transportation from the Beach, or went INTO the mall. Luckily, we know our way around so we met up then walked home because we knew the buses would be crowded. Basically, set up a meeting place everyone is familiar with in case of separation, and park far away or get ready for a long walk/crowded bus.
That's really the one downfall of this festival, like any other huge event. But I DO recommend going at least once, it was a spectacular thing to see! There are pictures below, as well as the link to our Youtube video showing our experience! Be sure to Subscribe to see new videos every Monday! Aloha!
http://youtu.be/j9m65SendaU
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