Have you seen the movie Tangled? A very fun flick, as I may have stated here before. Animated, but lovely. Well in Tangled one of the scenes is off an entire city releasing sky lanterns. I thought that looked very magical and on the off chance there was such a thing I googled them. I was very excited to discover they were so real you could order them on Amazon. It’s hard for me not to love Amazon. I know they aren’t the best thing that ever happened to book stores, and I love book stores, but man – you can buy anything on Amazon and never even leave your bed.
I wasn’t exactly sure how a sky lantern was going to work so I ordered one and my youngest daughter and I set if off one night in the beginning of December. It floated up into the sky and over the valley before it finally went out. Perfect, in fact. It was perfect. So I ordered a boat load more of them and invited my friends to come over New Year’s Eve at dusk to set them off.
I’d need a lot more people and a ton more lanterns to have anything like the scene in the movie, but on the whole it was very fun and kind of magical to watch the lanterns floating up in to last night sky of the year. And we have pictures! So here you go – next year you can come join us. I’d like a lot more lanterns going up at once – so bring your friends!
I took a few of the pictures but most of them are Steven Timian’s photos. He has a nice camera and he does a lovely and very thorough job. Thanks Steve! The very last two or three photos are of a poor lantern that had a huge tear in the side. It hovered jsut at ground level for the longest time, but then it finally began to climb and it ended up high in the sky despite it’s shortcomings. It was a slow starter and a late bloomer. Kind of like me.
These are thumbnails so click on the picture to see the whole thing in a bigger size.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Love these– I loved that scene in Tangled, had no idea they were a real thing. And I also love amazon, even while feeling slightly guilty about it. Now that Borders is closed, we have no bookstore. Amazon keeps me sane.
So, so pretty.
My most darling Kewl Kate, you know I adore you, and I so don’t want to be Debbie Downer…. but
what happens to them? What are they made of, and where do they land? Are they biodegradeable? Now I’m worried. Sorry to be so horrible. If it helps, I thought the exact same thing when we saw it in the movie. (And I always feel bad like this when I see people letting balloons go too. The only thing in my head is that there will be more ocean trash and these will get stuck on baby dolphins and whales.)
Dearest Julie,
Don’t worry! They are made of bamboo and flimsy biodegradable tissue paper. Fully compostable. The fuel is wax based and is consumed before it hits the ground. Maybe if it was pouring rain and you were able to start the fuel and get it flying and then it went out, then there might be a chunk of wax on the ground. But other than that? It’s just going to biodegrade with the sticks and leaves.
I hope that information makes you feel better. No Mylar balloons to float around in the ocean for eternity.
It totally DOES make me feel better! NOW I can get all excited for how pretty this must have been. Thank you, thank very very much!
And this is why you are known as Kewl Kate!
**Smile**
That is so, so cool! I love it! Maybe I’ll get some for the beach this summer. I’d love to do them New Year’s Eve – what an excellent celebration to welcome the new year.
Totally cool, Kate! I’m heading to Amazon–we need these to launch from the boat this summer! What a great way to welcome the new lake season!