Art Graces the Sky

This past weekend we brought the girls downtown to a special event taking place at ArtPrize. One of the entries was the release of 15,000 - 20,000 Chinese lanterns. Due to poor weather the weekend before, they rescheduled it to the following weekend, which meant my Mom was going to be in town and could attend with us.

We didn't say anything to the girls that we were going until that evening at dinner time. We told them that the lantern launch would be just like the movie Tangled.  They were every excited. We arrived about one and a half hours early and kept ourselves busy with a game of Uno and taking funny pictures while Brian patiently waited in line to get a couple of lanterns for the girls.  After that, a long wait at the Ford Museum for the bathrooms kept us busy until it turned dark and it was time to light and launch the lanterns.

When it came time to light the lanterns, I was so busy watching Brian light them, taking videos, and watching the girls' reaction, I didn't even notice what was going on behind me. I will always remember turning around and seeing the sky lit up with the thousands of lanterns. It was one of the most breath-taking sights I have ever witnessed in my life. I was completely taken aback. I knew it was going to be a cool sight and I knew being the sappy person I am that I would probably get a little teary-eyed; however, I never imagined it would be so beautiful and emotional.

I still don't know what Allison thought of it. She was very serious about the whole thing - she watched but didn't say a word. It took Amelia a few minutes but then she was chattering away about how it looked like Tangled. Me? I was hyped up all night from the excitement. What I loved most was how the community came together for this event. I continue to  hear stories of how friendly everyone was; people sharing their lanterns with families who weren't able to get one before they ran out, or sharing their lighters. In watching videos that have been floating around (pun intended) on the internet, I hear people in awe at the sight. In reading comments on Facebook, people have been saying over and over that this will be a night that they will never forget and how much happiness it brought to their children. I also heard that the children at DeVos Children's Hospital were able to see the lights at they floated by - how cool is that! 

So to the people of Grand Rapids, I salute you. Thank you!