Ulverston Lantern Festival is set for an epic procession on Saturday September 17^th when the  lantern-makers will be drawing their inspiration from movies, TV, and computer games for the ‘On the Screen’ theme for 2022.

The paper lantern creations are likely to feature everything from superheroes, Disney characters to Harry Potter’s golden snitch, dinosaurs, spaceships, Pokemon and children’s TV favourites. Whatever anyone sees on a screen could be appearing in the procession – lit by the traditional candle or sparkling LED lights.

Last year saw a huge success as the Lantern Festival returned after the COVID 19 with around 1,000 lanterns in the parade that created a never-ending River of Light as it wound through the town up to Ford Park for the big firework finale.

Up to 10,000 people crammed into the town centre for the spectacle, and excitement is already building for the 2022 event.

The Lantern Festival is a true community event, self-funded with support from local companies such as education specialists CGP Books, and from Ulverston Town Council and South Lakeland District Council. But the biggest proportion of the £10,000 needed to run the event each year comes from sales of Lantern Kits – which will start from Town Centre outlets in August – and with the money collected from spectators on the night itself.

The event also relies heavily on volunteers to step up and help organise the procession and road closures to keep everyone safe, and the organising committee is hoping for an influx of new people to help run the Festival.

Lanterns Chair Chris Nelson explains: “We desperately need more volunteers willing to give up their time on the night itself to help with the organisation, maintain the road closures around the town centre, and ensure that everyone attending and taking part enjoys the evening safely. It is just 3 hours on a Saturday night, but every extra person we recruit to help ensures that that Festival survives and prospers and remains a feature of Ulverston for  future generations to enjoy.”

To find out more about the festival go to the Facebook page or visit https://ulverstonlanternfestival.org, and to volunteer please contact Chris Nelson on 07761 930627 or email chris@trafalgar-pr.co.uk

The Annual Town meeting took place on 16th May at the Red Rose Club. The Mayor of Ulverston Cllr Bob Brown gave awards from his fundraising for the year to representatives from:

Have your say on 5th May and help shape the future of local government in Cumbria! Voters heading to the polls tomorrow (Thursday) will be electing councillors to the new Westmorland and Furness Council, which will be running council services in the South Lakeland, Barrow and Eden areas from April 2023. Find out more here: http://ow.ly/BTSP50IYTaY

The Rickshaw Challenge for BBC Children in Need is back for 2021, and it will be arriving outside The Coro in Ulverston on 4th November, around 3pm! (Time may be subject to change due to weather etc)

20 year old Harrison Holmes, from Pennington is excited he will be taking part. Please come down to give him a big Ulverston welcome! Harrison will have cycled all the way from Windermere with Matt Baker from BBC’s The One Show.

A team of 5 young people, all of whom have been supported by Children in Need, will cycle a rickshaw from Bristol to Edinburgh. They will push themselves to the limit, battling steep hills and braving the elements to raise money for the charity.

This year, to keep everyone COVID safe, instead of the riders coming to the rickshaw, for the first time the rickshaw is going to them. The Great Rickshaw Relay Challenge will see The One Show’s Matt Baker and team take on a relay-style ride in five chapters, with each rider taking a leg each, travelling through their hometowns and visiting places which hold a particular significance for them along the way.

Best of luck to Harrison and team!