Cheongdo-gun in North Gyeongsang Province will hold the 18th Cheongdo Lantern Festival on Saturday along the banks of the Bluebird Bridge on Cheongdo Stream, the county announced Friday to mark the Buddhist year 2570 (2026).
Organized by the Cheongdo Lantern Festival Committee, the event will feature a range of programs including preliminary and final rounds of a lantern song contest, performances by local singers and saxophonists, a student essay and painting competition, and a community gathering for festival committee members.
Official ceremonies — including the Three Refuges ritual, a dedication address and congratulatory speeches — will begin at 6:30 p.m. The highlight of the evening will be a lantern-lighting ceremony at 7:20 p.m., when hundreds of lanterns adorning the Cheongdo Stream area will illuminate the night all at once.
Singers Oh Yu-jin, Park Mi-young and Hwang Tae-ja will then take the stage for celebratory performances.
Visitors can also take part in hands-on activities at the festival grounds, including flower lantern making, portrait drawing, calligraphy, family motto writing and caricature sketching.
Tanam Sunim, chair of the Cheongdo Lantern Festival Committee, said he hoped "the light of compassion and sharing held within the lanterns will reach the hearts of both residents and tourists, making this a meaningful occasion for communication and harmony."
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