Sophomores Caitlyn Kowalski, Olivia Halverson and Christina Kolman recently went to the PA Lights Fest to experience something new and exciting. With the new school year starting back up again, the three friends wanted to kick back and relax before heavy work loads start to pile up.

The Lights Fest is an experience where thousands of friends and families gather to listen to live music and light up life by sharing personal wishes, aspirations and dreams. The event is organized in different areas across the country. The girls went to the festival hosted in Coastville, Pennsylvania. 

Although the Lights Fest is a profit organization, they also partner with non-profits and charities in every community they visit as well as national charities. They selected Girls Rule as their charity of choice for the Pennsylvania session; the charity focuses on the development of female leaders in communities.

With the purchase of an entry ticket, guests are given paper sky lanterns, markers to decorate and write with and a commemorative festival bracelet. The guests are encouraged to write hopeful messages and their personal goals on their lanterns. Once the sun has set and everyone has written and decorated their lanterns with their hopes and dreams, everyone ignites their personalized sky lanterns with tiki torches and then release them to take flight in the night sky.

The girls had a great time to say the least. They all were so happy to participate in something unique and laid back. 

“It was so pretty,” Kolman said. “I had never heard of the festival before, but now I want to go every year.”

Additionally, the girls were also able to reflect on their personal goals for not only the school year, but for their personal growth as people. They wrote their own messages on the lanterns and discussed them with each other as well.

“We all want to do well in school, but we also want to be happy with ourselves and set achievable goals for the year,” Kowalski said.

Regardless of what this year holds for the friends, they will be able to look back at this memorable day and smile. For more information and upcoming dates and locations of future Lights Fests, visit www.thelightsfest.com.