By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
The Bellforge recently hosted an all ages, hands-on lantern making workshop at UCC Medfield. Community members were welcomed to attend this free event to handcraft their very own lantern. The Bellforge Arts Center provided all materials for participants and each crafter was able to pick from a variety of designs, including: a pyramid, a star, and a sphere.
Upon arrival at the UCC, patrons were asked to pick out which design they wanted to craft into a lantern, then a volunteer provided them with materials. Each participant was instructed to craft equal sides of the lantern before heading over to the hot glue station to assemble the two sides together. Once the lantern was secured, participants returned to their respective tables to begin the paper mache process. Each crafter was instructed to leave a small portion of their lantern open so they were able to place an electronic tea light which would illuminate the lantern.
Once the paper mache process was completed, volunteers helped patrons secure a handle onto their lantern and then instructed them to add colorful paper mache tails to their lanterns.
Mary, the lead volunteer for this workshop, informed all of the lantern crafters to allow their lanterns to dry for at least twenty-four hours before painting or drawing to complete the decoration process.
The idea of this workshop was to bring the community together to craft their very own lanterns in preparation of the annual Lantern Festival & Parade that takes place at the Bellforge each fall.
The tradition began last autumn with great success; several community members had participated in the previous lantern making workshop last spring then returned to tote their lanterns in the parade. The final details have not been ironed out, but according to volunteers the parade should take place in September. For further updates, please visit the Bellforge website: bellforge.org/events/
