✨Free Lantern Making Workshops!

Join us for a weekend of free, family-friendly lantern-making workshops at the Dockland Settlements! Everyone is welcome, no experience necessary. You don’t need to bring anything – we provide all the materials and teach you our signature willow lantern technique.

By making a lantern with us, you’ll also be invited to take part in a spectacular lantern parade on 15th November in Russia Dock Woodlands, featuring acrobatic performances, live music, and an evening full of fun and wonder! Find out more about the parade here.

Don’t worry if you’ve never made a lantern before – we’ll introduce you to our willow lantern-making technique, giving you a hands-on experience of crafting willow lanterns.

You’ll work with natural materials - fresh buff willow, eco-friendly tape, wet-strength tissue, and non-toxic PVA glue- to bend, tape, and layer your designs, bringing them to life with LED lights.

With our guidance, you can make anything you like – birds, footballs, castles, exact replicas of dogs, even T-Rexes! Our expert team of lantern makers will help you realise your ideas, no matter how big or imaginative.

Once you’ve made your lantern, you are invited to join Light Up the Old Docks - a new lantern parade for Rotherhithe. Taking place on the 15th of November at Russia Dock Woodlands, everyone who made a lantern will automatically have a reserved ticket for the parade.

And the adventure doesn’t end there – the sister parade, Illuminate Bermondsey, takes place the following weekend, continuing the celebration of light, community, and creativity.

We are Light Whale International, a collective of lantern makers and performers. We began our practice in France and now deliver lantern parades, light installations, and craft workshops to communities in the UK and beyond.

For the last four years, we have run annual lantern parades in Tonnerre, France, and Eye Village, UK. Now, with the support of the Southwark Cultural Celebrations Grant, we are bringing a new lantern parade to Rotherhithe – and we can’t wait to share it with you!

Also check out other Workshops in London, Entertainment events in London, Music events in London.