Best Melbourne Night Festival and Winter Event at Queens Park
Melbourne Water Lantern Festival is one of those events where you can slowly spend an entire afternoon in the park until sunset. The park itself is free to enter, but if you want to participate in the lantern release, you need to purchase the lantern package.
Location Queens Park, Moonee Ponds
Date May 2 to May 3 2026
Tickets around 49.99 dollars including the full lantern package with lantern materials and pens
Best Time to Arrive at Melbourne Water Lantern Festival
You can arrive around 3pm or 4pm in the afternoon and slowly stay there until night time. Entry time is from 5pm to 9pm, while lantern release starts around 8pm. Since everyone writes wishes and draws on their lanterns before releasing them, it is better to arrive earlier around 7pm.
What Is Included in the Water Lantern Festival Package
After collecting the package, we spent the whole afternoon walking around the park and taking photos. The package included a water lantern, markers, playing cards, and a box of question cards to play while waiting for sunset.
There was also a live singer performing in the afternoon, and the atmosphere felt super nice.
Food Trucks and Picnic Atmosphere at Queens Park
There were many food stalls on site selling Greek food, German sausages, potato spirals, sugarcane juice, and ice cream. Everyone sat on picnic mats eating, drinking, chatting, listening to music, and drawing on their lanterns.
It is best to bring your own picnic mat from home. They do sell them on site, but bringing your own is more comfortable if you plan to stay the whole afternoon.
Water Lantern Experience in Melbourne
As the sun started going down, the last activity before the lantern release was an open sharing session where people could go on stage and talk about the story or wishes written on their lanterns. After that, there was a short meditation session, which made the atmosphere feel even more emotional and calming.
Once it became dark, everyone slowly walked over to the riverbank to release their lanterns. Warm and familiar pop songs played throughout the park together with soft background music, and the whole atmosphere felt very peaceful.
Tips for Melbourne Water Lantern Festival
The lanterns looked brighter in person than they did in photos. The lantern package only includes one coloured pen, so if you want more colours it is a good idea to bring your own markers or share with friends.
At night the weather gets windy and cold, so wearing extra layers and bringing a thicker jacket is recommended.
Overall Review of Melbourne Water Lantern Festival
Overall, the experience feels very healing and relaxing, especially if you enjoy slow afternoons, music, chatting with friends, and small moments of happiness. It is the kind of event where you can simply sit in the park for hours and enjoy the atmosphere before ending the night by releasing your lantern into the water.