Autumn Lantern Festival
Celebrate the coming of fall with lanterns, lights and community. The event will feature cultural entertainment, illuminated lantern displays, food trucks and a lantern-making workshop. Come dressed up in an illuminated costume and your own battery-lit lantern creation! Or make one at our lantern workshop for $5 per lantern kit.
When: Saturday, September, 13, 2025 from 5:00 to 8:30 pm
Where: Gordon Head Recreation Centre and Lambrick Park
Quick Links
- Getting to the Venue
- Lantern-Making Workshop
- Prizes
- Live Performances
- Food Vendors
- Accessibility
- Contact
Getting to the Venue
There are lots of ways to get here! The event venue has a free bike valet run by The Locker, nearby BC Transit stops, and several vehicle parking lots. Details below.
Bike Valet
No need to carry a bike lock! The Locker will be on-site with a free bike valet. Cruise up on your E bikes, cargo bikes, tricycles, daily commuters, pennyfarthings or unicycles to get the best parking at the event. The Locker will be stationed at the event site, and will be open from 5 pm - 8:30 pm.
BC Transit
The closest bus stops to the event venue are stop numbers 101105 (southbound, serviced by route 27) and 101123 (northbound, serviced by routes 27 and 28), which stop on either side of the Feltham Rd. To approach from Shelbourne St. use bus stops numbered 101103 (northbound, serviced by route 39) and 101102 (southbound, serviced by routes 28 and 39). Once you disembark from the bus, simply walk down to the park!
Vehicle Parking
Vehicle parking will be tight, so please allow some extra time to find a spot, or consider coming by bike, bus or walking in. The main lot at Gordon Head Rec Centre is expected to fill up very fast. Alternate parking locations include:
- Lambrick Park tennis and lacrosse parking gravel lots
- Lambrick Park lawn bowling parking gravel lot
- Lambrick Park secondary school parking lot off of Torquay Dr
- Lambrick Park Church off of Feltham Rd (after 5 pm only)
Lantern-Making Workshop
Bring your own lantern, or make one at the event! For $5, you'll get a kit with everything you need to make your own festive lantern. Purchase your kit at the Gordon Head Rec reception desk and assemble it in our lantern workshop space inside the rec centre. Staff and volunteers will be on-hand to help.
Tickets cannot be pre-purchased and are available from 5 pm on Sept 13 when the event opens until sold out. You can purchase with cash or card.
Prizes
Lantern staff will be walking around at night with prizes for best costume and best lanterns! This casual competition is a light-hearted way to recognize the amazing creativity in our community. There's no need to register for the competition, and we aren't looking for anything specific; simply show up and at twilights, staff will begin to walk through the crowds to hand out prizes for what they think are the most creative costumes and lanterns.
Live Performances
Check out this year's amazing lineup of local live performers!
- Lək̓ʷəŋən Dancers
- Victoria Chinese Opera Club
- Furusato Dancers
- Sanpaguita Dancers
- Victoria Bengali Cultural Society
- Uminari Taiko
- Dian Punjab Dancers
- Wong Sheung Kung Fu Lion Dancers
The call for performers is now CLOSED. If you are interested in participating in the 2026 Autumn Lantern Festival, please send an email to events@saanich.ca.
Food Vendors
Feeling hungry? Check out our great food vendors who will be on site at the event!
- Kuku's
- Greek on the Street
- Mama Rosie's
- Macondo Columbia Kitchen
- Good Filling Sankaku
- Walnut Cakes
- AXOLOTL Mexican Flavours
- Softies Ice Cream
Accessibility
Getting here: Please see the notes in the venue/how to get here section for information on parking, buses, and bikes.
Surface conditions and grade: The Autumn Lantern Festival is at Gordon Head Rec Centre & Lambrick Park. The majority of the park surface where the event takes place is grass, however there are some gravel and paved walkways near the parking lots. The Lambrick Park parking lot is a gravel parking lot, and the Gordon Head parking lot is paved with accessible ramps.
Washrooms: Gordon Head Rec Centre toilets will be available for use (accesible washrooms with flush toilets), and there will be portable toilets at the event site (accessible units available).
Noise: This event will have live, amplified performances throughout the evening. In between sets, there may be announcements from stage and recorded music.
Food and beverage: As all food will be provided by local food vendors, Saanich cannot verify or clarify specific allergen or dietary questions. Please confirm with the food vendors directly to verify.
Weather: This event has both outdoor and indoor activities and will run rain or shine.
Dogs: Your furry friends are welcome to attend the event! Please note that dogs must be on leash while at Lambrick Park. Inside Gordon Head Recreation Centre, service animals are welcome to accompany you inside the Gordon Head Rec Centre facility; however, dogs without jobs (non service animals) are not permitted inside. if you are planning to purchase a ticket for the lantern-making workshop, please plan to have a member of your group stay with your dog outside.
Contact
Questions? Please email events@saanich.ca or call the Events Programmer at 250-475-5558. We can't wait to see you there!
Photo credit (houses): Cecile Brisebois Guillemot