Memorial Day lantern floating festival

I'll have a lengthier post on this after it's done, but I've already made my way to Magic Island to prepare a memorial lantern.

Last year they ran out of free lanterns before we got there (you cannot bring your own; that's just littering). There are literally hundreds of people under this tent, from Japan, Korea, Hawaii, the Mainland, and all sorts of other places, writing messages to and about their loved ones and offer prayers for peace.

This year I managed to write a little something about my dearly departed relatives, including my aunt's WWII veteran hubby who was old enough to fight at Iwo Jima as an underage volunteer and who passed away in an Alzheimer's facility exactly nine months ago.

The link above is my post from last year, and here is my post from three years ago when I thought about going but instead reprinted without attribution others' pictures of the event (sorry, others). I might have gotten a bit snarky in 2009, but it really is a wonderful experience, something I eventually got to know first hand in 2011.

It's only 5 p.m. now on the island, so if you're Googling this and you are on the fence about whether to go and it's not yet 6 p.m., just come. Park in Ala Moana Shopping Center (I'm blogging this there as we speak) and march across the AMB (Ala Moana Boulevard... not sure if that's a thing, but it should be). The lantern go in the water a bit after 7.

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