The Kensington Market Festival of Lights marks its 20th anniversary tonight with a dazzling celebration of the winter solstice. Residents and spectators join forces to light up the longest night of the year with a firey procession through Kensington Market. Organized by Red Pepper Spectacle Arts, the Festival of Lights is a highly participatory event where everyone is encouraged to dress up, make some noise and help light up the night.
In preparation for the event, Red Pepper held a community craft workshop Saturday afternoon where residents were invited to make lanterns that will be carried through the market tonight.
Held at Steelworkers Hall (25 Cecil Street), the workshop was a big success — when I stopped by at 2 pm there were about 50 people fashioning stick frames into fanciful shapes: Lucia Fiestas and 5-year old Pablo Pedraza (above) were working on an elaborate design that would depict a woman’s face with flowing hair; 8-year old Nigel Ko and Nancy Wo (below) were building a birdhouse lantern. It was a fantastic family event and everyone, including yours truly, was looking forward to tonight’s big celebration.
WHERE/WHEN: Procession begins at 6 pm sharp at Oxford Street and Augusta Avenue. The event is a “non-profit, handmade, commercial-free event” but donations are graciously accepted.
Festival photo, top, by Solomon King, workshop photos by Christopher Jones
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