Two large bonfires crackled and popped under a blanket of clear skies and bright stars in the field Friday outside the Ault-Pierce Fire House, while a crowd of more than 600 gathered for the first Ault Sweetheart Lantern Festival.
“It sounded cool, different, perhaps romantic, we’ll see,” said Arla Hay of the event. She stood near the bonfire with Dick Hay, her husband of 46 years. “So far it’s been wonderful. What’s incredible is that the weather is picture perfect.”
The $25 per couple package included a heart-shaped lantern, two hot chocolates, two cookies, a lighter and instructions. The highlight of the evening would be a collective display of hundreds of lanterns floating in the night sky.
The festival was inspired by the movie “Tangled,” in which the story’s king and queen release lit lanterns every year on their lost daughter’s birthday. Eventually, those lanterns led Rapunzel back to her rightful home.
Brenda Sterner, Ault town board member and the driving force behind the Sweetheart Lantern Festival, said she liked the togetherness the lantern lights inspired. Sterner said she was motivated to bring a lantern festival to Ault after attending a similar event in Colorado Springs with her family in November. Beyond an alternative Valentine’s Day event, Sterner wanted to see the festival bring the community closer.
The 300 couples’ tickets sold out Thursday.
At 7 p.m., the crowd lit their pink, heart-shaped lanterns. The hot air swelled within the paper until each lantern floated away. Hundreds of lights gently swayed in the still February night, rising higher and higher until they melted into starlight.
Tommy and Amanda Sporleder celebrated six months of marriage at the unique new lantern festival.
“It signifies something bigger than a lantern — one lantern for two hearts,” said Amanda Sporleder. “It was out-of-this-world gorgeous.”
High school sweethearts Samantha Bullock and Cole Rouse, together almost six months, saw the event on Facebook and were drawn to the new, different aspect of the festival.
“We’re having fun so far,” Bullock said.
Pizza Casbah catered the event, pulling fresh, hot pizza and gyros out of the oven every couple minutes for a barrage of hungry people.
The festival proved to be a hit with families in addition to couples, as young children filled the air with laughter and wonder at a scene reminiscent of a fairytale.
Music played from the firehouse while volunteer fireman kept an eye out for stray flames from both the bonfires and wayward lanterns.
“We’re just here to take care of the fire and make sure everything goes okay,” said David Guzman, a volunteer with the Ault-Pierce Fire Department. “I think it’s pretty neat.”
Some lanterns did not take off smoothly, curling into a flouncy, fiery ball. A combined effort by volunteer firemen and alert patrons kept the crowd safe from runaway lanterns.
As the last of the lanterns were extinguished in the sky, the crowd dissipated. Some couples lingered as the fire broke into a pile of burning embers.
“We were here for the first one and we’d love to be there for the last one,” said Tommy Sporleder. “It was awesome.”
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