8:06am Thursday 12th August 2010
By Dan Bean
THE organisers of a pillow fight in York have confirmed their next event aims to light up the skies above the city.
The Night of a Thousand Lanterns is set to take place at the end of August to mark the end of summer, and in memory or celebration of a loved one.
Martyn Clayton is one of the flash mob organisers, and said he hoped people would join in the event on August 29, at 9.30pm, wherever they were.
“It’s called ‘The Night Of A Thousand Lanterns’ but it’s extremely unlikely there will be a thousand. More like a hundred or so,” said Martyn, 36.
“The idea is that people can light a lantern in their own back garden or in a public space at the same moment as other people are doing so across the city and beyond.”
The group is also asking participants to share the reasons they are releasing a lantern on a specially-created blog.
“We’d also like to know a little more about what you were wishing for or who you were commemorating both before and after the event,” said Martyn.
“Whether in remembrance of someone, celebration of a new birth, letting go of bad memories, we hope people will take photographs and videos of themselves releasing their lantern.”
On Sunday, York Flash Mob organised a pillow fight in Museum Gardens which went ahead despite museum staff and police trying to prevent it.
A spokesman from the York Museum Trust told The Press that prior notification about the event had not been received.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), confirmed the group had contacted them regarding the lantern launch, and had been given permission to go ahead with the event.
The CAA said: “On a Sunday evening around York there shouldn’t be an issue with aviation”.
However, it advised the group to consider the potential for lanterns causing fire to wheat or barley fields.
The group has requested all participants ensure they use lanterns with non-flammable string and are made of biodegradable materials rather than wire or metal.
For more information on the event, visit nightofathousandlanterns.wordpress.com/
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