The City of Arcata Recreation Division announced that the 39th Annual
Arcata Lantern Floating Ceremony will take place on Saturday, August 6.
This event is an opportunity to offer spiritual consolation for everyone affected by the pandemic, those
we miss, departed loved ones, ancestors, and all we hold dear. The City of Arcata’s Nuclear-Free Zone
Committee started the Arcata Lantern Floating Ceremony 39 years ago to commemorate the U.S.
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and to affirm Arcata’s dedication to the cause of
peace, to bring awareness to the dangers of nuclear proliferation, and to advocate for environmental
sustainability.
On Saturday, August 6 a lantern-making station will be set up at the Arcata Plaza Farmers’ Market
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Materials and lantern-making assistance will be provided to those who would like
to participate.
Later that evening, the ceremony will take place at Klopp Lake, located in the Arcata Marsh and
Wildlife Sanctuary from 7:30 to 10 p.m. with lanterns entering the water at sunset. The event will be
hosted by Arcata Mayor, Stacy Atkins-Salazar, and will include poetry reading, shakuhachi flute music
by Rick Kruze, Humboldt Taiko, the Raging Grannies, and the McKinleyville Choir.
Ceremony attendees are encouraged to walk, bike or to take a shuttle to the event. To catch a shuttle,
community members can park at the Johnson Industry parking lot located near the intersection of Samoa
Boulevard and J Street near the entrance to the Marsh at Samoa Boulevard and I Street. Shuttles will run
from 7 to 8 p.m. and at the conclusion of the event. There will be no vehicle access at the Klopp Lake
parking lot, except for those with a designated Disabled Person (DP) placard or license plate.
Community groups helping to create this event include: the City of Arcata, Humboldt Buddhist Peace
Fellowship, GI Rights Hotline, Shinnyo-en, Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Social Action
Committee, Veterans For Peace, Humboldt Friends Meeting (Quakers), United States Servas and the
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
The 39th Annual Arcata Lantern Floating Ceremony is free and open for all to attend. For more
information, visit cityofarcata.org or call 707-822-7091.