New Mills Lantern Parade will not be happening this year

A new campaign group called Relight The Lanterns was formed earlier this year, since then hundreds of people signed a petition in favour of bringing back the lanterns as part of the New Mills Festival in September.

Community groups and schools were all engaged with the campaign and a public meeting held in March showed 88 per cent of people were in favour of having the lantern parade at a higher ticket price.

However, organisers have now announced the much-loved procession through The Torrs Riverside Park will not be happening this year.

Alison Johnson, a festival spokesperson, said: “There won't be a Lantern Procession in 2023, there's not yet the people, time or money to put this together for this September.

“New Mills Festival's Lantern Procession has become very very large over the years, and is now too big to be safely and enjoyably run by volunteers. The people of New Mills have spoken, and downscaling the Lantern Procession isn't an option New Mills wants.

“The intention is to Relight the Lanterns, but the future date is yet to be decided. We're sorry it won't take place this year.”

There has not been a lantern procession in New Mills since 2019. The pandemic stopped the event for two years and last year it was cancelled due to not enough volunteers to marshall the procession, which attracts thousands of people, safely.

Alison said: “The decision to not have a lantern procession this year has been really hard, particularly because we know how much the town wants this.

“The feeling that we're letting people down has been at the forefront of our minds.

“The requirements around the event on the health and safety and welfare side of things have increased in cost as the years have gone by.

She added: “We're down but not out. We will be using this time to do our absolute best to keep the hopes of the lantern procession alive and to bring it back to the town, just not this year.”

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