By Tate Papworth
The Sunshine Lantern Festival is celebrating a decade of lighting up Brimbank.
More than 55,000 people flocked to the multicultural festival last year and Sunshine Business Association president Carson Luk said a bigger crowd is expected in 2019.
“We’re celebrating 10 years, building on the legacy created when this all started,” he said.
“It’s a bit earlier this year so it doesn’t clash with things like the AFL grand final and other major events around Melbourne, but we got over 50,000 last year and there’s no reason why we won’t get more this year.”
The family-focused event will feature foods from around the globe, entertainment, rides, street performers, animals, music, dancing and the ever popular lantern festival, which will be filled with light from 4000 battery-powered animal-shaped lanterns.
“Food is always popular with the punters and the fireworks show is also a big hit,” Mr Luk said.
“This year we’ll also be incorporating some elements from White Night – we’ll have a giant puppet of a Corrobboree frog and a redback spider.”
With a large crowd expected, no stone has been left unturned with security.
“We’ve been in constant contact with the police in the lead-up to the event, it’s something we obviously take very seriously,” Mr Luk said. “There’s no intelligence to suggest anything is amiss, but it only takes one incident to undo 10 years of goodwill.”
The festival will be held on Sunday, September 15 from 11am to 8pm. It is held along the Hampshire Road shopping precinct.
