Well, the calendar tells us that it’s summer…and the fact that I have a vicious full-body sunburn because we had 12 hours of warmish sunshine yesterday tells me that this city is ready to cut loose with outdoor fun! Luckily, this weekend is one of Vancouver’s most beloved and magical public arts events, and it’s going to be Downtown for the first time.

Illuminares – July 30th, 2011 at Canada Place from Public Dreams on Vimeo.

The Illuminares Lantern Procession began in 1986, when the original founders came up with a creative participatory event to stoke the flames of community spirit in their neighbourhood around Commercial Drive. They invited professional artists to facilitate free lantern-building workshops for the rest of the community. At first, a few hundred wore costumes, and carried the lanterns they’d built, and were lead by percussionists and performers in a parade around Trout Lake. Year after year, the event has grown…now more than 35,000 participants attend from across the Lower Mainland.

That massive growth has spurred the festival in recent years to look for a new long-term home. This year, Public Dreams, who organizes Illuminares believes they’ve found that spot in Downtown Vancouver. On Saturday July 30^th at 6pm, the lantern procession will begin at Green Harbour Park, near Stanley Park, and wind its way to the Canada Place outdoor promenade. At Canada Place, there will be a series of eye-popping instillations including suspended aerial ballet dancers, digital art projected onto the Sails themselves, firedancers, and maybe, just maybe, a Victorian flashmob. The fun lasts at Canada Place until 10pm.

One of the coolest parts of Illuminares is the fact that the community is encouraged to get involved in almost every facet of the celebration (except the firedancing). Public Dreams is holding workshops to teach people how to become the puppet-masters of the 30-foot illuminated Heron Puppet that’s going to lead the procession (inspired by Paris’ amazing Big Little Girl puppet). There are also workshops to transform you into a member of the choreographed Victorian flashmob, and of course, to help you and your family build amazing lanterns. The schedules for these workshops are here. You can also download a PDF template of a lantern here!

The inspiration for Illuminares’ amazing programming this year stems from Vancouver’s 125^th birthday. The Heron, the Victorian characters, and a few more tricks all hearken back to the earliest days of this city. So, come play your part in this extraordinary celebration, join in a workshop or two, and enjoy this iconic event in an iconic location.

Procession begins here at 6pm on July 30th:

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