Community Lantern Parade set for tonight at Dentonia Park to welcome Spring Equinox

A Community Lantern Parade is set for the night of Sunday, March 19, in Dentonia Park to help welcome the Spring Equinox.

East End Arts, Shadowland Theatre and Workman Arts are teaming up to host the community lantern celebration that begins at 7;15 p.m. in the parking lot at the east end of Dentonia Park, located on Dentonia Park Avenue between Thyra Avenue and Avonlea Boulevard.

Participants in the Light it Up 2023: An East Toronto Lantern Celebration will parade on the night of March 19 from Dentonia Park and through the Crescent Town neighbourhood.

“With music, glowing lanterns, and the light of community spirit, we will welcome the longer days and bring hope into our hearts, together,” said a news release from East End Arts about Light it Up 2023.

Everyone is welcome to join in the parade which is free and accessible. Participants can bring their own lanterns to welcome the brighter days of spring. Also, community residents are encouraged to bring lanterns out to their porches, balconies or driveways as the parade passes by as a way to join in the celebration.

The Spring Equinox, which is the first day of spring, will officially arrive on Monday, March 20, at 5:24 p.m.

“On Spring Equinox, day and night are equal, light and dark are in perfect balance – it’s a time to rejoice! Let’s celebrate the return of the sun, of balance, and of the love that got us through the dark of another long, cold winter by filling the east end with light – inside lanterns,” said the East End Arts news release.

For more information on Light it Up 2023 and the Community Lantern Parade, please go to https://eastendarts.ca/light-it-up-lantern-celebration-2023/