Celebrate the end of summer and the gift of community with a magical lantern parade on Chocorua Lake at dusk.
On Sunday, August 31 at 6PM, join Chocorua Lake Conservancy for its Annual Picnic in the Grove by Chocorua Lake, followed, at dusk, by the Parade of Lights on the lake. BYO picnic, drinks, chairs, flashlights or headlamps (important!), and whatever else you might need. Then, decorate your canoe or kayak with lanterns, fairy lights, or candles to participate in the parade, or watch the beauty unfold from the shore.
Click for a larger view.
The parade will begin to assemble soon after the sun sets at 7:25 PM. Boats will put in from the Grove at the Route 16 end of Chocorua Lake Road, or you can put in at the Island off of Rt. 16 and paddle over toward the Narrows Bridge for the start of the parade.
The Parade is follow-the-leader. The head boat will be identified as the boats assemble in the water, and then will lead everyone from the Grove, passing in front of the Narrows Bridge first before making a figure 8 out in the big lake. Boats that are able to fit under the bridge will make a smaller loop around Little Lake before heading back under the bridge to line up again in the big lake with all the boats to “storm” the shore of the Grove!
Boat headlights might be used at the beginning or end for safety, but they can be bright and blinding for other boaters, and if you do not have other lanterns or lights on your boat, it can be harder for boats behind you to see you. Please be sure you also have flashlights or headlamps as needed for safety on shore before and after, lifejackets, and whatever else you need to be safe out on the lake.
The Parade of Lights was started in the 1960s by painter and landscape designer Sam’l Newsom, a longtime Chocorua resident, and his friends. Newsom, who designed landscapes as disparate as the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and the Remick Park in Tamworth, was inspired by aspects of the Japanese festival celebrations he witnessed during his time living in Japan. Come see for yourself why this tradition continues so many decades after its inception.
Banner image: The Parade of Lights on Chocorua Lake. Photo: Betsy Memishian