Imagine a pitch black night sky dotted with a thousand lights – no, not stars, we mean lights, lanterns,
and fire! That’s what this Sunday night is going to be all about. The Chandigarh sky will be lit like a
wedding and we promise you it’s a spectacle you don’t want to miss!
What : Chandigarh Urban Festival Sky Lantern Evening
When : March 25, 2018 | 4:30PM – 9:30PM
Where: People’s Plaza, Capitol Complex, Sector 1
They call Diwali the festival of lights. True. But nobody said we have to celebrate it only once a year,
right? That’s why Chandigarh Urban Festival is hosting a sky lantern evening as part of its closing
ceremony on Sunday, March 25. An estimated 1000 sky lanterns are going to be released by fellow
Chandigarhians and if you want to be part of this celebration, then you need to head over here and register yourself now!
The Chandigarh Urban Festival has been an ongoing celebration of the cultural diversity and urban
architecture of the city beautiful, for the last two months. It was an endeavour undertaken by the Act!
Chandigarh to create an interactive platform for citizens, academicians, students, politicians, and
bureaucrats to come together and debate, discuss, and celebrate the existence of Le Corbusier’s
visionary city, i.e. Chandigarh!
The Festival will culminate with the Grand Carnival this Sunday, with a variety of programmes lined
up for a truly enriching experience. Starting with the Grand Open Hand March, which will be held at
Jan Marg and will showcase 2400 performers – a mix of professional and amateur folk, classical,
contemporary, and freestyle dancers and musicians. Carnival groups will be dressed up for
masquerade, wearing wigs, masks, funky dresses, and painted faces. Here’s a chance for a truly public
celebration with elements of circusry for tricity residents to come in costumes and masks and join in
the fun.
Did you know that Le Corbusier had designed Jan Marg as a 100m wide ceremonial street for the
purpose of parades, carnivals, and grand ceremonies? Only that it was never used for its intended
purpose and has simply remained a common street to this day. Thus, for the very first time, by way of
the Open Hand March, the Chandigarh Urban Festival will put this street to its actual use.
The March will be followed by a coordinated release of sky lanterns at dusk by tricity citizens at the
People’s Plaza in Capitol Complex. Participants are free to tie a written message with their sky lantern
and each lantern will be released by two people. Sky lanterns are traditionally a part of various Asian
cultures, launched at festivals and carnivals. This Sunday will be a true celebration of the UNESCO
World Heritage Site!
