Opportunity to be a 5 star Event was let down by hours of waiting and Horrible Parking...22 minutes of 10 stars 4 hours of 2 stars 1 1/2 hours of 1 star. Let me first say this is an amazing event and a sight to behold. It's 22 minutes of sheer amazement and beauty. Something everyone should see once. The problem is the 5 hours of waiting until the event and 1 1/2 hours to try and exit the parking lot (who knows how much longer for people going in wrong direction). For the first problem, I'd suggest bringing games or having food there to fill the time. The parking however, is truly inexcusable. At $20-$30 per car to park depending on the lot, there is no reason for us to be stuck in a parking lot for 1 1/2 hours. I saw only two police at the exit only and no one anywhere else. The closest thing I have seen to the parking lot is the zombie tv shows or end of the world movies where there are literally cars facing every which way and not having any idea of even what direction to go in. This almost ruined the whole night and had a couple family members say they would never trust this event organizer again. Seriously, this is an annual event - you should know how to do this. By the way I have held off on writing this review so I could be more objective. My conclusion is that the Thai people are amazing for creating such a spectacle and the organizers try to care about you but fail miserably with the last thing you deal with them. read more

Attended our 1st event and it was awesome. Really good live entertainment. This event was moved from Williams to Maxwell, notifications given in advance so no problem getting there. We got there early to get good parking and a good spot inside the gate. This was held in an old wheat field. Very hard walking and harder driving. Very rough road to drive & walk on. Lines where long getting in and it seemed like they were organized, no problems were experienced. The stage was set up nicely so everyone was able to see. We were in early enough so getting food & drinks wasn't too bad. Some folks stated they were on line gir up to 2 hrs. Our meal was actually very good. The food is a little pricey so highly suggest bringing your own food & drinks. Bring chairs, blankets, umbrellas because even though it was a beautiful day we regretted not bringing "shade". Lots of folks brought tents. Bring a sweater in case it gets chilly for you. We welcomed the breeze. Once sunset was over they gave more information regarding the lantern lighting. Cal-Fire from the town of Maxwell stood watch making sure everyone was safe. Once the sample lantern was set permission was given and the torches were set and it was lighting time, It takes a little time but once your lantern was set up you can send it off into the sky. So beautiful against the nite sky...everyone was helping each other. Music was set to the releasing of the lanterns what feeling of excitement, some emotions came up. Everyone decorated their lanterns with names, sayings, pictures it was truly amazing and a little teary-eyed. All in all it was an amazing experience. Yes there was handicapped parking, yes plenty of clean porta potties, take water to wash hands in case they run out and bring your own "tp" in case that runs out also. Firemen and ambulance personnel are there for any emergencies. read more

Fantastic experience!! We have a great time at this fest!! First time and I'm sure I'll be back!

What a special experience, the daytime picnic leading into the evening lighting of the land turns was so nice. Everybody was so kind and generous and friendly, the traffic getting in and out was smooth and easy. The entertainment and activities and food for the kids and family were perfect. Yet the most striking thing was the moment when the lantern started to take off it was magical, what an experience like I've never experienced. I can't wait for the next time. read more

Went last night. This was the second time around us. Our first event was magical at the event but logistically a nightmare due to poor event planning on the part of the company. This time around they moved venues whic provided for better traffic flow, but entering the event was confusing once again due to lack of direction from event organizers. This time around our group each group purchased an extra lantern. (12 lanterns.) Even though we knew how to light the lanterns, we still listened carefully to how to light our lanterns. We followed the directions to a T. It was very disappointing that six of our lanterns either did not light or only floated about ten to thirty feet before landing. Someone in an earlier review said it was disappointing that people did not listen to directions, I don't think that was the case, many of our lanterns just WOULDN'T LIGHT. It was actually dangerous as many lanterns, fully ignited, came skimming across the crowds or landed back on the crowds. One lantern came down right on someone's head, fully ignited. Luckily someone grabbed it off her head quickly. I heard many shouts, of "Look out" from all around us. Of the people who shared a tiki torch with, we all had about a 50% rate of not igniting. One couple, who were completely new to the experience, didn't get either of their lanterns lit, and there was nothing left of the pad to keep trying to light. EVEN THEIR TEST LANTERN LANDED BACK BY THE CROWD! Many who were there for the second time around felt they switched to a cheaper lantern. I figured we would show staff our six lanterns still in hand. Of course, not one staff member was around to communicate with. And they are famous for not communicating if an even is cancelled or postponed. While there were many lanterns that did make it up in the air for a bit, the ground where the crowd was, was littered with hundreds of lanterns. Would we go again? Maybe, but I will go into it like playing the lottery. We might have a nice experience, then again, we might lose our money or get lit on fire. read more

I think the Lights Fest in Toronto, which does not really happen in TOronto, it's actually in Dunnsville is a SCAM. It's SUPPOSE to be a LANTERN release ...They made me drive to the middle of no where in July and cancelled the day before because of a fire ban, however the campground I was at had fires all around and there was fireworks going off in the town that night...then I look online and try to find the next one and it says a bunch of ontario towns Niagara Falls, Kitchener, Toronto and all links back to Dunnsville with two consecutive dates sept 1 and then sept 7. I have left multiple messages no one gets back to me I paid extra for insurance and again no one gets back to me. DO NOT PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THIS EVENTS!!! read more

We attended the one in Willows,CA, on 3/31. I'll start by saying that the actual lantern launch was an incredible sight, very emotional and the experience I was looking for. That said, the event was surprisingly disorganized for a company that has done this before and knew that there would be thousands of people attending. The parking process was pretty organized, although getting out at the end of the event was not, but that's not a surprise with an event attended by thousands of people. After parking we found ourselves in a crazy long line to have our bags checked before heading up the hill to the actual venue (only to wait in another 45 minute line to get our lanterns). We were amazed that there was only 1 person checking bags/coolers at 5:20pm when we got in line. I have no idea how many people were in line, but we estimated at least 500. We were in line for about 40 minutes before the line started to move very quickly, which is when we realized that they had stopped checking bags. We made into the next line to get our packets, which ended up taking about 45 minutes. Along the way, there seemed to be a lack of crowd control and many people jumped the lines. I think some of this was innocent, as people followed those in front of them, but there was not sufficient event staff this from happening, and they did not have barriers to keep people moving in the correct direction. The instructions state that you need find a spot with a Tiki torch, but they were all taken when we arrived. Fortunately, when it was time to launch the lanterns, they announced that those closest to the torches would light theirs first and then should move away to let others use the torch. The actual lantern launch was an incredible experience and we found the people attending made for a supportive community. However, it was concerning to us that we saw only 1 police officer and 2 security guards, and very few staff working the actual event and some did not have any special shirts or vests so it was hard to notice that they worked there. We noticed only 1 ambulance for a crowd that was 6,500 people (according to the M.C.). Fortunately there were no issues, that we could tell, but had there been I don't think they were prepared to address crowd control. We loved the lantern launch itself but I wouldn't do it again unless they had a better organized event. read more

Event parking used multiple access roads. & entrances to get in. The last 3miles took us 45min to get to parking. So, we were way past the 7:30pm checkin time even though we planned ahead. They were kind enough to let us in with our pre-paid tickets. Leaving afterward was anything but pleasant. Police blocked all exits with their cars except for 1 exit point onto 1 road. Atrocious! Seemed like local Kennett Square police have never attended or serviced an event before. The crowd of 10,000 was very angry and honking alot. We were parked in a remote grassy field & it took us 2+ hours to be allowed to make our way to the main road. For an event that ended at 10:30pm we decided to sit on the field enjoying the lamps until midnight, assuming traffic was dissappaiting. It was not. We made our way to our car & sat through 1am. Still one cop, one exit, more honking. Finally got home after 2am exhausted & hardly able to be awake to drive safely. Nightmare. This venus is not set up for an event. The local cops are not trained to handle crowds or real traffic. Never again. read more