‘We’re very excited’: Why this festival is fighting off scam allegations
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Events promising unforgettable experiences can sometimes spark excitement—but also controversy.
What began as a highly anticipated festival soon found itself at the centre of public scrutiny, with allegations swirling and officials stepping in.
As questions mounted, organisers scrambled to defend their event and set the record straight.
A US-based festival has distanced itself from a similarly named online scam while reaffirming plans to bring its event to Canberra, despite being rejected by the National Capital Authority (NCA).
The Water Lantern Festival, which promised an evening of illuminated lanterns reflecting on water, had scheduled an event at Lake Burley Griffin on 8 March.
Tickets ranged from $38.75 to $95.27, offering various perks such as a floating lantern kit, playing cards, and access to a scavenger hunt giveaway.
Despite listing the NCA as an ‘event partner’ and displaying its logo and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on its website, the festival had not secured official approval.
The NCA instructed organisers to ‘immediately remove’ the unauthorised branding and later confirmed it would not approve the event due to insufficient information.
Online speculation suggested a link between the Water Lantern Festival and fraudulent events operating under similar names.
Lantern Festival Australia and Lantern Festival UK had reportedly cancelled events with little notice and failed to issue refunds.
A venue owner near Adelaide who had dealt with Lantern Festival Australia remarked: ‘As soon as I heard the news [of Canberra’s festival], I thought: "They’re back at it again, just under a different name."’
In a statement on 3 February, the festival denied any connection to ‘this fraudulent event’ and reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a ‘memorable, unique, sustainable, environmentally responsible event’ in Canberra.
Their statement reads: ‘We would like to address recent confusion regarding The Water Lantern Festival in the Canberra area.’
They stressed that: ‘We are saddened to hear that there have been reports of a scam event called Lantern Festival or Lantern Festival Australia being marketed under similar branding to our own.’
‘We want to clarify that The Water Lantern Festival is not associated with this fraudulent event in any way.’
Organisers attributed the use of the NCA logo to an ‘oversight’ after conditional marketing approval and apologised for the error, confirming the logo had been removed.
They also stated efforts were underway to find an alternative Canberra venue and assured attendees that ‘if an event does not occur, attendees will receive a full refund.’
The festival has begun refunding ticket holders while continuing venue negotiations.
Operations manager Giovanna Schmeil later clarified: ‘We were just trying to comply with what was asked of us, and I guess we did it incorrectly.’
‘In fact, we have been issuing full refunds right now for anyone who’s been reaching out to us and asking for a refund.’
Addressing environmental concerns, she explained: ‘We work in all sorts of different bodies of water, and we have a buoy line that allows us to contain all the lanterns to a certain area...and after the event is over, we use that buoy line to bring all the lanterns back to shore. We account for every lantern that goes in the water.’
The festival hosted 150 events across the US and Canada last year.
A November event in Sacramento drew 6,000 attendees, and organisers were preparing for another on 8 February near Austin, Texas.
Negotiations with multiple Canberra venues were ongoing, and while nothing was confirmed, Schmeil stated, ‘It’s looking promising.’
‘We’re very excited to go to Canberra, and we’re doing all we can to make that happen.’
In a previous story, we explored the controversy surrounding the Water Lantern Festival’s lack of NCA approval and its ties to a previous scam.
For more insight into why organisers are now defending their reputation, read here.
With the festival working to clear its name and find a new venue, the question remains—will it be able to regain public trust and deliver the event as promised?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
What began as a highly anticipated festival soon found itself at the centre of public scrutiny, with allegations swirling and officials stepping in.
As questions mounted, organisers scrambled to defend their event and set the record straight.
A US-based festival has distanced itself from a similarly named online scam while reaffirming plans to bring its event to Canberra, despite being rejected by the National Capital Authority (NCA).
The Water Lantern Festival, which promised an evening of illuminated lanterns reflecting on water, had scheduled an event at Lake Burley Griffin on 8 March.
Tickets ranged from $38.75 to $95.27, offering various perks such as a floating lantern kit, playing cards, and access to a scavenger hunt giveaway.
Lantern festival organisers react to scam allegations in Canberra. Image source: Pexel/Destiny Photography
Despite listing the NCA as an ‘event partner’ and displaying its logo and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on its website, the festival had not secured official approval.
The NCA instructed organisers to ‘immediately remove’ the unauthorised branding and later confirmed it would not approve the event due to insufficient information.
Online speculation suggested a link between the Water Lantern Festival and fraudulent events operating under similar names.
Lantern Festival Australia and Lantern Festival UK had reportedly cancelled events with little notice and failed to issue refunds.
A venue owner near Adelaide who had dealt with Lantern Festival Australia remarked: ‘As soon as I heard the news [of Canberra’s festival], I thought: "They’re back at it again, just under a different name."’
In a statement on 3 February, the festival denied any connection to ‘this fraudulent event’ and reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a ‘memorable, unique, sustainable, environmentally responsible event’ in Canberra.
Their statement reads: ‘We would like to address recent confusion regarding The Water Lantern Festival in the Canberra area.’
They stressed that: ‘We are saddened to hear that there have been reports of a scam event called Lantern Festival or Lantern Festival Australia being marketed under similar branding to our own.’
‘We want to clarify that The Water Lantern Festival is not associated with this fraudulent event in any way.’
Organisers attributed the use of the NCA logo to an ‘oversight’ after conditional marketing approval and apologised for the error, confirming the logo had been removed.
They also stated efforts were underway to find an alternative Canberra venue and assured attendees that ‘if an event does not occur, attendees will receive a full refund.’
The festival has begun refunding ticket holders while continuing venue negotiations.
Operations manager Giovanna Schmeil later clarified: ‘We were just trying to comply with what was asked of us, and I guess we did it incorrectly.’
‘In fact, we have been issuing full refunds right now for anyone who’s been reaching out to us and asking for a refund.’
Addressing environmental concerns, she explained: ‘We work in all sorts of different bodies of water, and we have a buoy line that allows us to contain all the lanterns to a certain area...and after the event is over, we use that buoy line to bring all the lanterns back to shore. We account for every lantern that goes in the water.’
The festival hosted 150 events across the US and Canada last year.
A November event in Sacramento drew 6,000 attendees, and organisers were preparing for another on 8 February near Austin, Texas.
Negotiations with multiple Canberra venues were ongoing, and while nothing was confirmed, Schmeil stated, ‘It’s looking promising.’
‘We’re very excited to go to Canberra, and we’re doing all we can to make that happen.’
In a previous story, we explored the controversy surrounding the Water Lantern Festival’s lack of NCA approval and its ties to a previous scam.
For more insight into why organisers are now defending their reputation, read here.
With the festival working to clear its name and find a new venue, the question remains—will it be able to regain public trust and deliver the event as promised?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
