Welcome to our secret home!

Upcoming Secret Salon Series

Secret Rent Party

SATURDAY APRIL 25TH
7:30PM until way past your bedtime

Come experience the massive love vibe that has become the essence of our fabulous Secret Rent Parties!

As always we’ll have live music throughout the evening, this time featuring Balkan dancing with Grupa Dunbarov and Zlatna Mountain, a roving troupe
of masked musicians (aka Sospiro Misterioso), Albanian accordion legend Ben Meti, and more!

The Live-Action Auction offers an eclectic assortment of coveted items, and our generous neighbours at Secret Headquarters have donated amazing gifts:

• A weekend pass to the Vancouver Folk Fest

• A 4-pack to the Vancouver Children’s Festival

• Two tickets to La Bohème, courtesy of Vancouver Opera
  If you have a rare and unusual object to donate for the auction please let us know:
  naomi@secretlantern.org

As for the other delights of the evening, we’ll host two Secret Tours of Forbidden Spaces:
1) The Louis XlV Champagne Tour
2) The AGM of The Agave Appreciation Society
Plus a curated selection of fine beverages and treats, surprises, and friends you just haven’t met yet.
More shall be revealed!

(tickets available soon)

Solstice Calendars by Lynda Nakashima
Now only $10 each!

A mere 24 solstice calendars remain!
Celebrate the simplicity of everyday life with our 2026 solstice calendar, featuring beautiful block-print designs that honour the love we
all share for nature, friends, and quiet joy. Solstices and equinoxes are marked as a gentle reminder of our planet’s
eternal dance with the sun and our continuous flow through darkness back to the light.
We hope you take heart from this simple truth each and every day.

At the end of each month you can cut out the image and use it as a gift card or tiny work of art for a special spot in your home.

Let us know you if would like to come by Secret Headquarters to pick one up - no tax, no processing fee, but please e-mail ahead of time as we are often away conducting secret business in mysterious locations.
naomi@secretlantern.org

You can still order on-line, just be sure to provide a mailing address and we’ll entrust this tiny perfect work of art to the care of Canada Post.

Become a SECRET MEMBER of the Secret Lantern Society!

What is time? Is it real?
Once upon a time we knew ourselves through the rhythms of the sun and the patterns of the stars. And while we openly embrace the timelessness of nature, beauty, and wonder, we urge you to become a secret member as soon as possible!

Miraculously, the Secret Lantern Society has survived and evolved in magical ways for over three decades.
Our longevity is a testament to our resilience and dedication, and to the loyalty of our community participants, neighbours, volunteers and members!
There are now 3 levels of membership to choose from, each with their own unique secret membership card, plus abundant benefits, members-only
gatherings, and secret missives in the mail. We would love to welcome you to join our not-so-secret Society and delve more deeply into our countless cultural projects, intriguing workshops, mysterious gatherings, and the highly irregular goings-on in our fabulous Secret Headquarters.

A not-so-secret partnership

Secret Lantern Society and the AIA Arts In Action Society became partners in 2024 with the shared purpose of supporting our beloved Secret Salon Series.

Since 2023 Secret Lantern has hosted over 50 salons in our gorgeous lantern-lit home at Secret Headquarters, offering immersive cultural experiences
that merge art, education, science, diverse traditions, music, and nature in unexpected ways. We love this series and all our creative and inspired presenters!
While we have sought funding from various government agencies, the greatest supporters of the Salons are the presenters themselves, who have generously reduced or waived their fees. We are dedicated to honouring our artists with fees that reflect their enormous cultural contributions, and you can help!

DONATION OPPORTUNITY
* Receive a Charitable Tax Receipt *

Our partnership with the Arts In Action Society enables us to provide CHARITABLE TAX RECEIPTS for donations of $50 and up.

If you would like to support the many artists and presenters involved in this series, please e-transfer your donation to:

artsinaction.society@gmail.com
NOTE: Please include the word "Salon"

We sincerely thank you for your generosity!

Please start supporting our 33rd Annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival today!

Plan ahead:
Monday, December 21, 2026

It somehow seems impossible to believe that our festival has survived 32 years!
There have been numerous changes over the decades as the festival responded to variable circumstances, sometimes expanding beyond our wildest imaginings and sometimes curling quietly into humble spaces that perfectly fit the need.
You may have experienced some of the changes as a loss, and indeed, sometimes so do we. Perhaps you remember the beautifully dark nights when we had water canons shooting 100-foot jets of rainbow-tinted water arcing out over False Creek through the magic of fibre optics, or the Secret Lantern Garden with the life-size tree lantern that people lay down under to meditate, or the ferocious energy of African drumming, Taiko drumming and Indiginous drumming filling the Roundhouse, or the hundreds of handmade lanterns gracing the trees and ponds of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. And there was so much more! For a decade our solstice festival was celebrated simultaneously in 7 different neighbourhoods. Those were delirious days!
Gradually, global funding for the arts has diminished, and pragmatic people would have reasonably decided to stop producing a festival that relies on government support. However, we are dreamers, artists, creators, music makers, nature lovers and creatures of spirit and heart.
So despite unpredictable funding, extreme weather, and excessive bureaucracy, the Secret Lantern Society perseveres.
Because we love what we do. Because we believe in the power of our community, the beauty of the natural world, and the mystery in which we exist.
If you share our vision and optimism, please contribute whatever you are able, and know that your support is deeply appreciated.

Our 32nd Annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival was phenomenal! We extend our sincere thanks to all who contributed their energy to this special night of communal joy!
Catch a glimpse of the festival experience in our photos, and know that we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we succeeded in luring the the sun back to brighten our days.

***************

Find us at Secret Headquarters

Secret Headquarters is located at 1398 E 3rd Avenue in Vancouver, BC. (look for the yellow awning)

Please note: We are often away on secret missions so please e-mail us to arrange a visit. But by all means, feel free to show up spontaneously and see what happens when you use our antique doorknocker. (Unfortunate update: our antique door knocker was stolen and we are looking for a replacement…)

Secret Headquarters is gratefully situated on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

We honor, respect, and give thanks to our hosts.

our mailing address:

Unit 3
717 West 8th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
V5Z 1C9