Flying lantern festival a go in Craven, Sask., after fire, scam concerns

An upcoming festival happening in Craven, Sask., has been causing some confusion and concern, but event organizer Colin Larsen says the lantern festival will be ready to illuminate the skies next month.

The Lights Festival, formerly called Light the Skies, is scheduled to take placeSept. 17 on the same grounds as the Craven Country Jamboree, 35 kilometres northwest of Regina.

"We are 100 per cent going to be there. We are excited to come there, and definitely want to make it a really cool thing," he said.

Larsen expects about 4,000 people to attend. Each attendee gets a paper lantern with a wick inside.

When the wick is lit, heat causes the lantern to rise in the air like a mini air balloon. When the fire burns out, the lantern falls to the ground.

RCMP said some people were concerned the event, being put on by the American Viive Events, was a scam. People were also posting concerns over authenticity on the event's Facebook page.

Sgt. John Armstrong with Lumsden RCMP said he's aware of the event, and an RCMP investigation has determined it's not fraudulent in nature.

"That's pretty much the extent of our involvement as of now," Armstrong said.

Paper and fire

Other concerns were voiced about the event being a possible fire hazard.Numerous communities in Canada and the world have banned the paper lanterns.

They are currently banned in Saskatoon, and the city of Regina will be voting on a ban as part of an update to its current fire bylaw at its council meeting at the end of August.

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Randy Ryba, fire marshalfor Regina Fire and Protective Services, said he's investigated three fires in his career connected to flying lanterns.

"The odd one does come down due to wind direction and current, with the candle lit. And when it comes down into something that it could ignite, be it dry grass, be it a tree, be it any number of things, we have a fire," Ryba said.

They do pose a bit of a risk to fire.- Randy Ryba, Regina fire marshal

The fires he saw involvedgrass being lit of fire.In one case, a tree and garage caught fire. They were enough of a concern that he wants them banned in Regina.

Ryba wishes the festival organizers success, but said he's glad it's not being held in his city's limits.

"They are quite beautiful when they're launched I must admit, but they do pose a bit of a risk to fire if they come down with the candle lit," he said.

Taking precautions

Saskatchewan often gets dry in the fall, and the grounds are surrounded by grassy fields.

But Larsen says he's aware of the climatein Saskatchewan and not worried about the lanterns causing a fire.

"I already have it all mapped out. I've tested them, I've gotten them certified. I have all that information," he said.

Larsen the lanterns will be airborne for two minutes and only travel about 160 metres in any direction.

We want people to understand that this event does give back a lot. This is for other people. This isn't just for themselves.- Colin Larsen, event coordinator

"They won't leave the property of the site where the Jamboree is," he said.

Ryba said in his testing and investigations the lanterns would travel up to two kilometres, depending on wind currents and strength.

But the village of Craven said there will be certain fire-prevention clauses in the business agreement, including not flying the lanterns if it is too windy.

The agreement isn't finalized yet, but both sides say it is in the works.

Larsen said he'll have people on site monitoring wind and weather conditions.

"I'm going to be more cautious than anybody else because of the fact that if I do do something that is out of the norm, I would rather have a backlash of rescheduling or something like that than having my event ruined," he said.

Extra fire services

Viive Events has contracted a group called Team Response to provide fire and emergency services. Team Response is made up of volunteer firefighters and paramedics who help out with safety at events, including every year at Craven's music festival.

Belinda Mitchell will be the emergency response coordinator for the Lights Festival.

She says they will have fire services set up around the event perimeter and will also be monitoring weather conditions.

"We're going to ensure the fact that the conditions are adequate for these lanterns, and if not the event is just not going to fly," she said.

"At the end of the day, the event could be postponed or worst-case scenario cancelled, depending on the environment at the time of the event."

Giving back

Larsen said he's excited about hosting the festival and hopes people come check it out.

"We're just excited to come there and want everyone to understand that we take it seriously, we're excited about it, we're covering all our bases and just it's going to be awesome," Larsen said.

As well as the lanterns, Larsen plans to have food vendors, musicians and more at the event. The lanterns will be launched when conditions are right and at dusk.

He said for many, the event will be emotional.

Everyone is given a marker to write on their own paper lantern. He said many people write quite personal things.

"We want people to understand that this event does give back a lot. This is for other people. This isn't just for themselves," he said.

That's why the lanterns won't be reused after the festival.

Instead, crews will gather all the lanterns from the grounds the night of the festival and the next day. Anyone who wants their lantern back, Larsen said, can just ask.

Larsen said a portion of proceeds from the festival will be donated to local volunteer fire services.