Enchanted Summer Evening
My Enchanted Summer evening
I want to tell you about my unexpectedly charming Saturday night. Like many folks, I have been hanging close to home for a very long time because of COVID fears. I have only specific places I would go to be in rather close contact with specific others who I know take as much care as I. This pretty much has limited me to my quilting friends. Recently I received an invitation to attend a client appreciation event which was held at the minor league baseball stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Since this was an outdoor event, I decided that I would attend. As the date grew closer, the weather continued a streak of over 90-degree days. I thought it might be too warm to be out at the baseball stadium. But the woman who coordinated the outing worked so hard to pull together a flawless event, there wasn’t a chance that I was going to be a no-show.
Saturday afternoon I drank a half gallon of ice water to make sure I was hydrated. Dressed in cotton, linen, and a lot of powder, I drove down to the campus where I work so I could park for free. This requires a bit of a walk, but the nearby park that is the path to the stadium is a treat to see. There are two parks, in fact. In the park closest to my car, I noticed that people were sitting on picnic blankets and there were quite a few colorful vendor booths. Music was playing and I saw some food trucks. I wondered if this was a normal Saturday night activity. I approached a couple seated in folding chairs, enjoying the view of the canal and green space. I asked if what was going on happened every Saturday night. They said, “No, this is the Water Lantern Festival that happens every year”.
The Water Lantern Festival is a sponsored event in which persons may decorate a rice paper and wood lantern in honor of a loved one. The lanterns are lit and floated on the water at nightfall. There is a fee for the event which provides the lantern and a service that collects the lanterns from the water and then recycles the wood and battery powered tea lights. When I heard about this I said, “oh! That sounds beautiful!” the couple assured me that it was. I thanked them and made my way to the baseball stadium. In the next park I found bicycles and other pedal powered vehicles for rent. This park has long stretches of path that are perfect for skateboarding and cycling. Since I’ve been working hard at my rec center to develop my endurance on a stationary bike, I’ve made a goal to be out renting one of these vehicles in the park in the next few months.
I found my group in the picnic area at the baseball stadium and I enjoyed a burger and chat with some nice people, albeit with perspiration pouring off me because there was little shade. I quickly moved to my seat in the stands with ice water because at least this location was shaded. I enjoyed about 3 innings of the game when the sun began to fade, and I started thinking about the water lantern festival. I decided to leave the game. I wanted to avoid traveling through the larger park alone during darkness, so leaving early was something I’d planned. As I was walking away from the baseball stadium a man in an SUV called to me, “mam”. I’m not a “miss” anymore. He pulled his car next to me and handed me a huge, long-stemmed, pink rose. He said have a nice day and left. I smiled and took the rose, and thanked him. I wasn’t afraid to have someone pull along side of me because there were police parked everywhere. When the car was near me, I could see that the passenger seat was covered with different colored roses. This guy was just driving around Indianapolis spreading kindness.
I stopped to admire the beauty of White River Park. I took a photo of the sunset behind an obelisk on a pond. I noticed a dad trying to take a photo of his son with this same background. Feeling the kindness from the rose guy, I asked the dad if he wanted me to take a picture of him and his son. He said, “That would be awesome!” I got a couple good pics and then headed toward the green space where the event was taking place.
Lots more people were gathered by this time. Many had completed decorating their lanterns and were waiting for the sun to set when it would be time to launch them. I found a spot on a cool, grassy incline and watched. The sun departed and the event began with a meditative prayer. It was a prayer meant to uplift every soul and unite us. It was quite lovely, as was the soft music that played. For a very long while people traveled along a path to the launch site. Lots of lanterns were placed in the canal. This event was well attended, and I can see why. It was a concentrated effort to put forth positive energy into the community. I am happy that so many people had that mindset.
Even before all the lanterns were floating, it was a beautiful sight.
I’ve found the link to follow so that I can attend the next Water Lantern Festival. It is a great place for friends and family. They had activities for the time before dark, including a photo booth with a princess, and plenty of open space to play football. I look forward to arranging a group outing to attend this event next year. I’m happy I went out by myself because you never know what fun you might find.