A ONE-OFF lantern garden will take place next month after organisers raised over half of their £1,200 target within just a few weeks.

After Zoe Matthews, organiser of the famous annual lantern procession, announced it would be having a year off this year, she set about trying to raise enough money to hold a lantern garden in its place.

The town’s annual lantern and firework extravaganza, which has taken place on the weekend after school autumn half term for the past 15 years, drawing in crowds from all across mid Wales, has been cancelled this year, as reported in the Cambrian News.

Zoe said she had decided not to go ahead with the procession this year to bolster its future after making a loss last year, and also to give volunteers a year off.

And after setting up a crowdfunding page online with the hope of raising £1,200 for a lantern garden at Y Plas, Zoe has announced it will go ahead on 4 November after raising £685 since it was started three weeks ago.

In a post on the Machynlleth Lantern Procession Facebook page, Zoe said: “With more than half of our target raised, we can now confirm that the Lantern Garden will go ahead!"

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