Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaii to return as in-person event

The Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaii returns to Ala Moana Beach Park this Memorial Day, May 29, as an in-person ceremony after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting April 1, Shinnyo-en Hawaii is taking remembrance submissions at LanternFloatingHawaii.com, which will be transcribed and placed on candle-lit lanterns to be set afloat by volunteers from canoes at Ala Moana at sunset.

The releasing of the lanterns is a symbolic, collective vow to work toward a peaceful future, where each person commits to strive for their best through expressing their “shinnyo,” a term used to describe “our best selves,” according to organizers.

Last year, Shinnyo-en opted not to hold the lantern floating festival in person “in support of our community’s collective efforts to emerge as safely as possible from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A live TV and internet broadcast aired instead on KHON2 and the organization’s social media platforms.

Also, the community last year was invited to an interactive art installation where people, in limited groups of five at a time, could float lanterns in a water feature across from the temple.

This year, people can participate either in person or remotely.

Those who cannot physically go to Ala Moana in person can watch the 60-minute television broadcast, which will air 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Memorial Day on KHON2, KHII and CW, and livestreamed on the website and social media pages.

More details on how to participate in this year’s ceremony will be available soon at the event’s website.