New Year lights

SOAP LAKE — What began as a small community gathering grew into a crowd of nearly 300 people Saturday as families lined the streets of Soap Lake to celebrate the Lunar New Year during the town’s first Lantern Festival. The festival honored the Lunar New Year – the Year of the Horse – and focused on themes of renewal, community and respect for the natural elements surrounding Soap Lake.

“Today was extremely, overwhelmingly successful, kind of beyond our expectations,” said Blayne Walsh, one of the event’s organizers. “Our community always shows up. And it was cool that it reached even beyond just our small Soap Lake town.”

The festival featured lanterns, food, cultural decorations and costumed performers, including dragon and lion imagery that delighted children throughout the evening. Organizers said the original goal was simply to bring neighbors together during the seasonal transition from winter to spring.

“This originally was just to get our community together,” Walsh said. “Then we had lines out the door, down the street. It was super cool, and hopefully people understood the idea of coming with a reverent heart and really honoring the lake and the change of the seasons.”

Children were a central part of the celebration, particularly during interactions with costumed performers.

“I love being in costume,” Walsh said. “Seeing the kiddos light up when they see the dragons or the lions, it just changes everything for them. You see the family dynamic happen. That magic doesn’t happen a lot around here.”

The Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival in many Asian cultures, traditionally celebrates the end of winter and the start of a new agricultural cycle. It is a time for honoring ancestors, releasing the past and welcoming renewal.

“In most Asian cultures, when we celebrate Spring Festival, we’re celebrating making it through winter,” said Dusty Bolyard Wong, another organizer. “It’s also a time to honor the ancestors, honor where you really come from.”

Lanterns play a symbolic role in those traditions, representing prayers, intentions and remembrance. While lanterns are often released into water or the air, organizers made the decision to keep them on land due to environmental concerns, low water levels and strong winds.

“The intention is still there,” Walsh said. “The energy of the lake is here. This lake is a place of peace, recognition and community.”

Bolyard Wong said organizers worked carefully to balance cultural tradition with environmental responsibility and community concerns.

“We wanted to bring the heart and soul of the Lunar Lantern Festival while listening to the broader community,” Bolyard Wong said. “The lake is low, the mud is extreme, and the wind was strong. We had to honor what the elements were presenting.”

Despite the logistical challenges, the response from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Organizers prepared food and lanterns for fewer than 100 people, quickly running out as crowds continued to arrive.

“We’re very thankful people had a lot of patience,” said Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce President Karen Woodhouse. “We did run out of things, but everyone was gracious and understanding.”

Bolyard Wong said the turnout reflects a growing interest in cultural exchange and community connection.

“It’s really beautiful to see the community interested in other people’s culture,” Bolyard Wong said. “For a long time, my mom was one of the only Asian people in Grant County. Seeing something like this happen is really meaningful.”

Encouraged by the success, organizers plan to make the Lantern Festival an annual event, with celebrations in both spring and fall. A fall festival is already scheduled for Sept. 25 and is expected to include more food, lanterns, performers and space for attendees.

“This was like a newborn baby – the first year,” Walsh said. “Now we know how to plan. We’ll be ready next time.”

For many attendees, the night was less about spectacle and more about intention.

“This isn’t glitz and glam,” Bolyard Wong said. “It’s about coming together as a community, living intentionally, remembering where we come from and honoring each other in that goodness.”

    Blayne Walsh, in red, and Dusty Bolyard Wong, in yellow, dance for Lantern Festival attendees. The two started inside the Soap Lake Spa and Resort before leading all of the attendees to the lake.
  

    Grant County Fire District 7 firefighters fill balloons for the floating lanterns. The wind ended up picking up while the event was happening, so the group was only able to fly balloons with led lights inside of them.
  

    Blayne Walsh, in a red lion costume, fist-bumps a young attendee. He said interacting with the children in costume was his favorite part of the event.
  

    Soap Lake’s beach was adorned with colorful lanterns Saturday during the city's inaugural lantern festival.
  

    The group of Lantern Festival attendees walk through decorated arches to the beach of Soap Lake.
  

    People lined up at the beach of Soap Lake as balloons were flowing in the sky.
  

    Lion dancers interact with Lantern Festival attendees on Saturday. The organizers were expecting around 100 attendees but were pleasantly surprised when nearly 300 people showed up.