Between 2015 – 2019, SPAN co-presented an annual River of Lights Lantern Parade in Haverfordwest.
Initially, founded by spacetocreate, and presented in partnership with SPAN as part of The Lab; an arts and regeneration project for Haverfordwest, The River of Lights lantern parade grew into a spectacular and much loved event presented by SPAN in partnership with others.
Haverfordwest has enjoyed 4 spectacular lantern parades since 2015 which have brought thousands of people together to share in a memorable, uplifting, much loved, family friendly event.
This extraordinary participatory arts event quickly became a popular annual event on the Pembrokeshire calendar where artists and the community were brought together to create a memorable parade shaped by a new theme or story each year .
River of Lights Lantern Parade was conceived to inspire a sense of community pride and belonging in Haverfordwest, through a large scale event that celebrated the river, the county town, the creativity of its people and its connections with the coastal communities that it serves.
As part of each Lantern parade, drop in Lantern making workshops were held in a variety of settings in Haverfordwest and across the county, where hundreds of people together with artists and volunteers made their own willow lanterns to carry on the parade.
Most recently in 2019, SPAN presented ‘Over The Moon’; A lantern parade to celebrate space and the night sky. People from across the county gathered together in Castle Square before walking in the candle-lit lantern procession to Haverfordwest Castle which was lit up. A pedal powered cinema at Haverhub provided by Electric Pedals added to this memorable night as well as providing shelter from the rain.
