Lantern Parade and Wassail

Released On 3rd Jan 2024

Join us for the annual Lantern Parade. We are partnering up with Yeovil Art Space and Yeovil Country Park to bring you this year’s Lantern Parade with a celebration of the Somerset ‘Wassail’ tradition and many family friendly creative activities here in Yeovil.

2pm – Creative workshops
4.30pm – Lantern Parade
5.30pm – Wassail Ceremony

From 2 pm there will be an array of creative workshops to participate in, including charcoal making and print creation, lantern making, drumming workshops, and fireside cooking. These workshops are free of charge and for all ages and ranges of ability so we hope everyone can find something that really makes their night.

At 4:30 pm we will hold the popular annual lantern parade, starting at Petters Way and making our way together to Penn Hill community Orchard. Yeovil College art students will be leading the parade with lanterns they have made inspired by food.

After the parade at 5:30 pm the wassail ceremony will be held at Penn Hill in Yeovil country park where there will be a blessing of the community orchard.

The term “wassail” comes from Old English wes hál or waes hael, meaning ‘be thou hale‘, which in turn means ‘be in good health’ or ‘be fortunate’, and is traditionally a time to bless the orchards in hope of a good harvest for the year to come! Although historically celebrated on Twelfth Night, modern day wassails are usually held January to February, and we couldn’t resist including this event in the Taste of Yeovil programme!

Don’t forget to dress warm and wear appropriate footwear for a woodland
walk!