A Water Lantern Festival on Lake Burley Griffin was knocked back by the NCA earlier this year. Photo: Water Lantern Festival.
After several attempts to get a local event up, the embattled Water Lantern Festival has confirmed it won’t be holding anything in Canberra anytime soon.
The festival, said to show visitors the “beauty of thousands of lanterns and lights reflecting upon the water on an emotional and unforgettable night”, was slated for Lake Burley Griffin on Saturday, 1 March.
Tickets ranged from $38.75 for “access to a variety of food trucks, one floating lantern kit, a marker for personalising your lantern, a deck of playing cards, conversation cards for sharing moments with friends and family, and entry into the scavenger hunt giveaway” to $95.27 for a “date-night special”.
However, the National Capital Authority (NCA) knocked it back due to “the lack of information provided by the organiser”.
Online commentary also suggested it was linked to Lantern Festival Australia and Lantern Festival UK, both of which sold tickets to events only to cancel or postpone many of them with little notice and no refunds.
Water Lantern Festival cleared the air with a statement denying any association with “this fraudulent event” and claiming it was already processing refunds for people who had chosen to opt out.
The Water Lantern Festival website. Photo: Water Lantern Festival.
“We are saddened to hear that there have been reports of a scam event called ‘Lantern Festival’ or ‘Lantern Festival Australia’ being marketed under similar branding to our own,” it said.
“If we are unable to secure a new venue in Canberra, we will issue refunds to all registered attendees. Our refund policy is straightforward: if an event does not occur, attendees will receive a full refund.”
A spokesperson also told Region the festival had issued a formal letter of cease-and-desist to Lantern Festival Australia, claiming the latter was stealing photos from the Water Lantern Festival’s social media pages to promote its own events.
A post to the Water Lantern Festival Facebook page announcing the new venue. Photo: Screenshot.
In a post to its Facebook page on 15 February, the Water Lantern Festival said it rescheduled the Canberra event to the Canberra Public Golf Course in Narrabundah on 15 March.
Two days later, this was pushed back to 16 March “due to the Skyfire event in the area”.
However, in an update last week on 27 February, it said the golf course had “pulled its approval” due to “misinformation circulating about our event”.
“Despite our best efforts, we haven’t been able to secure an alternative in time.”
It offered remaining ticket holders could either use their tickets in one of the Water Lantern Festival’s other upcoming Australian events or receive a “full refund”.
CEO Burke McArthur told Region the team had “worked tirelessly to find a new venue but felt it was being rushed”.
“As such, we made the call to cancel the Canberra event,” he said.
“We have already provided refunds on most ticket purchases for the Canberra event, and have had many customers elect to use their tickets at any one of our other events around Australia, and we hope to bring the festival back to the community in the future.”
Mr McArthur said the Water Lantern Festival delivered 138 events across the US and Canada last year, and has racked up nearly one million attendees since 2018.
“We are thrilled to extend this tradition to Australia, a country we admire for its vibrant spirit and sense of togetherness.”
Participants are encouraged to decorate their lanterns before setting them afloat. Photo: Water Lantern Festival.
The first Australian Water Lantern Festival event is locked in for Carss Bush Park in Kogarah Bay, Sydney, over Saturday, 8 March and Sunday, 9 March.
Other events across Newcastle, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Melbourne are slated for between March and June 2025.
The lanterns are made from wood or rice paper, “making them as sustainable as possible”, and participants are encouraged to decorate their lantern with “messages of empowerment, remembrance, and connection” before setting them afloat.
At the end of each event, the lanterns are pulled back to shore with a buoy line and collected from the water.
Attendees are encouraged to scan QR codes scattered throughout the event to donate to the festival’s charity partner, Water.org, a global charity that provides access to safe water or sanitation.
The Canberra Public Golf Course was contacted for comment.
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