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Birdseye View of Pacific Grove | City Departments | Chautauqua
Early Businesses | The Faces of Chinatown | Feast of Lanterns
Growing up in the Grove | Grand Army of the Republic | Gardens in the Grove
Hazards of the Rocky Shores | A City of Homes | Hopkins Seaside Laboratory
Mammoth Stables & Horses | Hotel to Holman's | Lovers Point
RLS' Old Pacific Capital Quote | Pacific Grove People
The First Pledge of Allegiance | Pacific Grove on Track | C.K. Tuttle

Display of early Feast of Lanterns costumes (courtesy of Virginia Coleman),
willow ware (courtesy of John Renz), lanterns (courtesy of Kristi Portwood),
and Chinese items from the Museum's collection.

By the turn of the 20th century, interest in the yearly Chautauqua assemblies remained high, but there was a noticeable decline in the number of graduates of the CLSC reading program. Around 1900, only two certificates were being issued each year. This was in part attributable to the advances in nearby educational institutions, and increased opportunities for post-secondary education.

In 1905, the Pacific Chautauqua Alumni Association (graduates of the four-year CLSC reading program) decided to spark interest by initiating a closing ceremony similar to the ones held at the mother Chautauqua in New York. These were usually held on the evening of July 4, and featured lantern-lit boats on Lake Chautauqua. Traditional lantern festivals have been held for centuries by Asian cultures, and this theme was adapted on the suggestion of the Association's president, Mrs. T. Kirk.

Feast-goers cross the Southern Pacific tracks on the way to Lovers Point.
c. 1910.From the Museum's Collection.

The first Feast of Lanterns was held in Pacific Grove on July 22, 1905, during the 26th session of the Pacific Grove Chautauqua. The town was profusely decorated with lanterns, which were available for purchase at Culp Brothers' store for 60 cents a dozen, with candles at the rate of two for 5 cents.

The ceremony centered at Lovers Point, and included a chorus of 50 voices, music by the Fifteenth U.S. Infantry band, a fleet of boats alive with lanterns, flashing red lights, and fireworks. It was hailed as better than anything seen at the mother Chautauqua, and it raised enough money to cover expenses-plus a surplus used as a nucleus for the next year's festival.

After 1917, the Feast of Lanterns was celebrated sporadically. The festival was revived several times since, usually to celebrate other important events in the city. In 1958, largely through the efforts of Elmarie Dyke and the Pacific Grove City Council, the Feast of Lanterns was revived as a yearly event. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the event included a beauty pageant. The young woman chosen as Queen Topaz was also Miss Pacific Grove through the rest of the year.

These four images show the residents of Chinatown engaged in a celebration, parading along the Pacific
Grove shoreline towards Lovers Point. In 1905, the local Chinese population participated in the festivities.
By July 1906, the great Chinatown fire had forced most of them to move away from Pacific Grove.
c. 1905. From the Museum's collection.

c. 1905. From the Museum's collection.

c. 1905. From the Museum's collection.

c. 1905. From the Museum's collection.