Since 2015, the Town of Hillsborough has welcomed visitors to gather along its Riverwalk, with homemade lanterns ablaze, to shed some light on the darkest day of the year. Each December, the winter solstice marks the beginning of our winter season, the longest night of the year, and the precise moment at which the Northern Hemisphere is tilted farthest from the sun.

Last year, the Solstice Lantern Walk took a hiatus due to COVID restrictions, but this year, with masks and social distancing in place, downtown Hillsborough was once again aglow.

Tuesday night, hundreds gathered downtown, touting paper mache and intricately built lanterns both big and small. Participants were asked to make winter-themed lanterns with star-colored lights to guide the community along its walk.

Managed by the Hillsborough Arts Council, the town sells lantern-making kits in advance; however, some residents have really taken the time to make their creations shine.

After two days of crafting, Hillsborough native Lily Cummings even went so far as to wear her own creation.

“So, I’m wearing angel wings,” Cummings said. “I used cardboard as the baseboard and then I used the lights and I kind of pinned them on with wire and kind of twisted [the] wires to hold them onto the board. Then I used chicken wire to make them 3-D almost. Then I put a kind of tulle material over the very top so it kind of just looks illuminated with the chicken wire inside of it.”

The back of Lily Cummings’ wings as she looks at a large unicorn lantern.

For Hillsborough resident Kay Johnson, this was her third year attending the walk with her husband. She shaped triangle lights from plastic mesh to dangle from a long stick – something that was especially practical given the looming threat of rain.

“Plastic doesn’t melt in the rain and cloth doesn’t do so well and neither does paper,” Johnson said. “So, turns out to be a pretty good design.”

As participants gathered at the Eno River Farmers’ Market Pavilion to begin the walk, however, the rain stopped just in the nick of time.

Participants gather at the Eno River Farmers’ Market pavilion ahead of the start of the Solstice Lantern Walk.

The procession of people and lanterns moved through River Park, to the River Walk, before looping back and ending in downtown Hillsborough.

Slowly snaking along the Eno River, a smorgasbord of jellyfish, dinosaurs, squids, stars and unicorns all bobbed in the chilly-night air.

Not every lantern, however, had to be complicated. For four-year-old Eris Gray, all it took was some tissue paper glued and molded around a blown-up balloon which would eventually be popped once the paper was dried.

“Mommy made the sides,” Eris said. “She made it better. It shrinks when you cut the top and it goes down.”

As Eris’ lantern joined hundreds of others drifting along the Eno, the walk held an air of reverence, something that Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver said is strangely typical despite the size of the event.

“There’s always this vibe where people aren’t totally silent, of course, because it’s a crowd of people, but really just this feeling of quietness,” Weaver said. “Along with the idea of the solstice, you know, being the light in the darkness of winter, it is just such a beautiful and really quite moving event.”

Participants are ready to walk rain or shine with jellyfish umbrella lanterns.

After a little hike through the frosty air, warm celebrations were held downtown with music, gingerbread houses, and options for hot drinks and food. Although, for residents like Kay Johnson, while the lights and festivities are all wonderful, it’s who you get to share them with that makes the event shine that much brighter.

“We’ve had grandchildren with us in the past,” Johnson said, “and walking with the grandchildren and just seeing beautiful light, and beautiful floating objects through the sky, and sparkling, and all the people – it’s great fun.”

 

Lead photo via the Town of Hillsborough.


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