The scent of mulled wine is getting stronger in the air, which can only mean one thing… Christmas is around the corner! Can you tell we’re excited here at BOTI Towers? And, with Christmas comes one of the best dates in any Brightonian’s diary. Yes, we’re talking Burning the Clocks – the unique celebration of the shortest day of the year is back for its 30th outing.
If you haven’t made your own lantern of light and paraded through the city to music with thousands of people watching, then have you really experienced a proper Brighton festive experience? Now’s the time to put the date for this symbolic celebration of renewal in your diary. It’s the perfect community-focused antidote to the excesses of the festive season.
Arts organisation and paper lantern supremos Same Sky are behind the inclusive event which takes place on 21st December each year, bringing the whole city together to mark the winter solstice and to celebrate and reflect on the past year. With new puppets and lanterns made every time, it’s always exciting to see what gets revealed on the night.
The event’s funded through donations and community support, allowing Same Sky to offer free lantern-making workshops to local residents, including refugees, children with learning disabilities, and deaf and hard-of-hearing participants.
Inclusive community event
As ever, loads of local community groups have been invited to take part in the lantern-lit spectacular (including members from the city’s deaf community, Brighton Table Tennis Club, Barco, Rap ‘n’ Rhyme, and local Guides and Scouts groups). Some 2,000 parade participants will be accompanied by a dozen local bands, dancers and artists, entertaining around 30,000 onlookers.
This year’s theme is ‘Voyager’, with organisers highlighting the city’s welcoming attitude to displaced people on their individual journeys.
It was “inspired by the 1977 Voyager probe launch and [astronomer] Carl Sagan’s eloquent passage from the Pale Blue Dot, whose relevance continues to grow each year,” said artistic director John Varah.
“We forget our core humanity when caught up in the hurly-burly of needless conflict and want…It is only when we reflect on the indifference of the universe and our smallness that we are reminded that we are passengers on a spaceship earth, voyagers in time and space, and maybe not much else,” he explained.
How to get involved
If you really want to get stuck in, then you’ll need to get yourself a lantern kit (£40). This will give you the materials to make two lanterns, instructions on how to put them together, and four wristbands to allow you to join the parade. You’ll then be given your lumestick to light up your lantern on the night.
You can get your hands on one of these packs from Friday 15th November from stores across the city, including Infinity Foods in central Brighton and the Book Nove in Hove, from the Open Market on Friday 13th December, or you can order one online to pick up from Same Sky. And if you’d rather not make one yourself, you can support their crowdfunder and order a personalised one here.
If you’d like to be part of the event, but don’t fancy making a lantern, Same Sky are also looking for parade volunteers to support the bucket donations team and the lantern-passing on the beach. If you’re interested, you can fill out their form here. Or you can just walk alongside the parade as it wends its way through the city.
On the night itself, as the parade comes to an end on Brighton beach, the lanterns – symbolising people’s hopes and dreams – are passed onto a blazing bonfire and burned to mark the end of the year and welcome the new one.
It’s a pretty special experience and one to get the whole family down to (bring earplugs if you’re sensitive to noise as it does get pretty loud). If lantern-making and parading around town aren’t your thing, then join the crowd and get swept away by the magic of the spectacle (Kensington Gardens, North Laine and Madeira Drive are all good places to watch), or head down to the beach and see the incredible fireworks that mark the end of the celebrations. It really will make you fall in love with the city all over again.
You can also help Same Sky keep doing all their great work by supporting their crowdfunder. You can choose from a range of goodies, including a pre-made lantern for the parade, VIP tickets and limited-edition prints of local artist Graham Carter‘s event posters, and even a chance to lead the procession. Or just bring cash or a card (they’ll have card readers this year) for donations on the night.
If you’re taking part, head to the starting point on New Road near Brighton Dome. And if you’re watching, we’d recommend picking your parade-watching spot early (and we mean early, it gets BUSY) – there’s no space for onlookers on New Road itself. The parade traverses the city, finishing on Kemptown seafront near the end of the ZipWire. The fireworks and effigy burning will start around 7.30pm on the beach there – Madeira Drive is a good viewpoint – ending at 8pm – 8.30pm.
And stick around for hot drinks and hot vibes (not just thanks to the firepit) at the free after-party – it’s at Bison Beach Bar again. DJ Nick-T will be seeing out the shortest day with classic house and Afro/Latin groove from 5pm.
Thursday 21st December; from 6pm
samesky.co.uk
Photo credits: Simon Dack (featured image); Kaleido Shoots
