2020 El Paso Water Lantern Festival Won’t Happen, Plans to Return 2021

Picture this: it's late in the afternoon and you're by the lake at Ascarate. As the sun begins to set in the El Paso sky, hundreds of lighted lanterns begin to float away quietly as their soft glow reflects upon the water.

Unfortunately, this year you’ll only be able to imagine such a calming scene, because, like just about every other event that was on the books for this year, organizers of the Water Lantern Festival that had been schedule for October 17 at Ascarate Lake are calling it off.

In a note to attendees posted on its website, officials cited COVID-19 as the reasons, although they did not elaborate. The festival had previously been rescheduled from its original March date to October because of the outbreak.

Tickets purchased for this year’s event will be valid in 2021. That date has not been set. Refunds are not available, unless you purchased the Ticket Insurance Protection when you bought your tickets, according to their refund policy.