Lunar New Year Lantern Festival

We are excited about the start of 2026, and the return of the annual Lantern Festival here at the Arts Center.

Join us as we celebrate 2026 the Year of the Horse and fill our entire lobby with lanterns!

Decorate a Lantern

EVERYONE is invited to participate! Our goal is to hang 300 decorated lanterns in the Arts Center lobby, celebrating our hopes and wishes for a brighter future. Instructions are included with each lantern picked up.

►Pick up a lantern starting January 9th at the Sherwood Center for the Arts. Lanterns must be decorated and returned by January 26th to the Arts Center to be part of a community installation that remain in place for over a month.

Each lantern will be unique! Some people write or draw their wishes for the new year on their lantern, or celebrate their blessings.

Important Dates:

Lantern Pick-up: Friday, January 9 - January 16
Lanterns Returned: Monday, January 26
Lantern Celebration: Saturday, February 7, 2026 from 2pm - 5pm
Lanterns will come down on Tuesday, March 16: If you'd like to retrieve your lantern(s), please pick up on this date! No lanterns will be kept past March 16.

Lantern Festival Event

Join us on Saturday, February 7 from 2-5 pm for the Lantern Festival celebration. Enjoy treats (limited quantities), live performances, and interactive activities as we usher in the Lunar New Year!

Lantern Festival is celebrated annually on the 15^th day of the first lunar month to mark the grand finale of the Lunar New Year celebrations. It is also the very first full moon day of the New Year, symbolizing the coming of the spring. People light lanterns in their homes and in public spaces during the spring festival to symbolize “illuminating the future.” The Lantern Festival is an important part of the Lunar New Year.

Brought to you by Sherwood Cultural Arts Commission and Sherwood Center for the Arts.