Lanterns to give light in Colorado Springs

  • 2014-08-01
Colorado will be lit up on tonight, as the city's first ever 'First Friday Lantern Parade' takes place on the streets.

The parade brings to an end a week that has seen schoolchildren, friends, and families make their own lanterns. Facilitated by Concrete Couch, the free lantern workshops have been running at the Pioneers Museum.

Many of the colorful handmade lanterns are set to be paraded from the museum to Acacia Park at the Friday night parade.

The parade and workshops are part of Concrete Couch's Summer Community Art and Mural Program (SCAMP). A free program held annually, it aims to build better communities while invigorating the local arts scene.

People taking part in the parade will leave The Pioneers Museum at 8:00 pm. on Friday, August 1, before heading north on Tejon Street. It is expected that the parade will be in Acacia Park for 8.30 pm.

A half-hour set by the Concrete Couch Jam Band will play under the Uncle Wilber Fountain until 9:00 pm.

It is the third running of the SCAMP initiative, with the Lantern Parade being the fourth event put on by the team this year. Poster printing projects for other events in the local area are no doubt planned throughout the summer period.

The event has been backed by the Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs and The Fund for the Arts, among a number of other local organizations and businesses.