YEOVIL NEWS: Fears allayed over festive lantern parade

ORGANISERS of a planned lantern parade in Yeovil ahead of the switching-on ceremony of this year’s Christmas lights in the town centre have reassured people that they will NOT be using the potentially dangerous Chinese lanterns.

The first-ever Yeovil Lantern Parade will take place on Saturday, November 15, 2014, at 4.30pm before the switching-on of the festive lights.

There have been concerns voiced on social media that the lanterns involved could be Chinese lanterns which consist of a candle or a fuel cell filled with paraffin wax which, when lit, float gently up in the air and drift away.

But a Yeovil Town Team spokesman, speaking on its social networking Facebook site, has said this afternoon (Monday, September 15, 2014): “Rest assured everyone who is asking – Yeovil Lantern Parade will not be using Chinese floating sky lanterns.

“The lanterns will be lit with LED (light-emitting diode) lights and held with bamboo poles by the people who made them. They will then be taken home with their owners after the procession is over.”

The Chinese lanterns land when their fuel runs out, but they can go up to 1,000m in height and drift for several miles.

The lanterns have become increasingly popular in recent years – but they have also led to a number of problems when they have landed and set property on fire, while they are also a headache for farmers with cattle.

Full details of the Yeovil Lantern Parade are still to be released, but it is expected that people taking part will come together in the town at 4pm and then move off in a procession at 4.30pm led by the HMS Heron RN Volunteer Band before reaching Ivel  Square in the Quedam Shopping Centre at 5pm.

It will be part of the Christmas lights switching-on ceremony in Yeovil, which is moving from its traditional Thursday evening slot, to take place on Saturday, November 15.

Tags:
News.