INFO 9th Annual Candle Night Festival on Shioya Bay

[Rob Oechsle]

HEADS UP: The 9th Annual "CANDLE-NIGHT FESTIVAL" on Shioya Bay is this SATURDAY EVENING, June 6th. The Bay, Village Roads, Sea Walls, Sandbars, and all Bridges around the Bay, will be lined with 4,500 - 5,000 CANDLES. It's a pretty cool sight to see. The Events get started in SHIRAHAMA VILLAGE with a 15-minute EISA DANCE, followed by the full-bay candle-lighting at 7 pm.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Although there is a great "golden hour" opportunity to get some nice candlelight scenes that include the twilight sky before it gets dark, I have yet to see a satisfying set of photos from this festival, and NEVER saw a shot of it taken from the MUTABARU LOOKOUT POINT high above the Bay :

PICTURES & PEOPLE: This is a massive volunteer effort to light up the Bay is also a big party time in all 6 villages that line the shores. "Outsiders" are completely welcome to mingle with the locals, see the events, make friends, chat folks up, and take all the pictures you want of this photographically challenging event. The candles burn for a couple of hours (7-9 pm), but the partying usually goes way beyond that.

SHIRAMA VILLAGE :

ONE OF MANY DESIGNATED PARKING SPOTS :

There a 6 villages around the Bay. The last time I went, I drove from one to the next, parked where I could, and joined the party at each village!

If you plan to down a few beers, be a nice drinker, and don't forget your designated driver.

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[Rob Oechsle]

NOTE : IF THE FESTIVAL GETS RAINED OUT, IT WILL BE POSTPONED FOR A WEEK

 

[Rob Oechsle]

UPDATE: I'm posting this comment before 2 pm.

I made TWO calls to Shioya, asking if the Candle-Night Festival is ON or OFF, and the answer was typically Okinawan. "If it's raining at 6 pm, we'll call it off. If it's not raining, the festival is on!"

Yeah, I know. Not much help.

This means that, with the rain bands coming through, they could be ON at 6, then get rained out at 7 !!! Or you might get lucky and it will all be over before the rains move in again, or it will be a total bust from the start !!!

I hate when this happens !!!

So, you can go at your own risk, and either get blessed or cursed --- or wait until next year! This is the first time in the Festival's 9 year history that it has been too close to call, while the Rain Radar view has rain bands out there on the horizon... with no rain in between. Cheers!