New Year lights
Blayne Walsh, adorned in lion attire, leads the Lantern Festival Attendees down to Soap Lake to place lanterns. The organizers decided not to release lanterns in the lake due to high winds and low water levels.
NANCE BESTON/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
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.
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.
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