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!

But wait… what is a Rent Party? Folks get together to have a great time playing and listening to live music, dancing, drinking and generally carousing while raising funds for the host to pay the rent. Good times for a good cause! We invite you to revel with us and help us pay the rent at Secret Headquarters so we can stay in this fabulous space and continue to create cultural experiences for you to enjoy well into the future.

As always we’ll have live music throughout the evening, this time featuring Balkan dancing with some very persuasive dance leaders hidden amongst the crowd.

OUR FABULOUS PERFORMERS:

​​Zlatna Mountain performs new arrangements of traditional Balkan folk music, offering rich harmonies & instrumentation, and intriguing rhythms. 

Grupa Dunbarov has been playing music from the Balkans for over 30 years.  Their appreciation for music of that region developed through international folk dancing, which is also how they met one another. 

Susan Gerofsky, a true ‘Squeezebox Diva’, loves traditional songs and dance music from many cultural traditions including English Morris dance, Acadian, Quebecois, French, Irish, Breton, Swedish, Catalan, Balkan, Yiddish, etc. She plays them on melodeon , pennywhistle, baritone horn and a variety of other instruments.

Roscoe & Dashiell: Roscoe Silva and Dashiell Olexson specialize in the music of yesteryear, comprising two sides of old time styles. On one side stands Mr. Olexson who renders traditional jazz, swing, and sweet music accentuated by his gentlemanly demeanor, and on the other side stands Mr. Silva,
playing down-home standards and rural songster music with his folksy attitude and stylish appearance. The duo meld their styles to craft
an entertaining blend not unlike what you may have heard nearly a century ago.

Song man Bevan Bartlett is a third-generation traditional singer. With an expansive repertoire and an attuned sense of occasion, he is as well known for raucous & cheeky tunes as he is for plaintive and heartfelt songs of longing.

Jam Session!
The evening concludes with a wild assortment of performers playing whatever the heck they want.
All are invited to join so bring your instrument
or wear your dance shoes!

EXTRA EXTRAS!
As if the music weren’t enough, the famous Secret Speakeasy will be open for business with fancy cocktails and delectable beverages, the Flames of Secret Desire will be burning up your donations (a visual and visceral experience) and our infamous Secret Tours of Forbidden Spaces will be conducted at your own risk!

Secret Tour #1: The Louis XlV Champagne Tour
Secret Tour #2: Tea(quila) for Two

Our legendary Actual Action Auction offers an eclectic assortment of coveted items, this time
featuring tickets to events from our generous neighbours at Secret Headquarters:

• A weekend pass to the Vancouver Folk Festival

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

• Two premium tickets to La Bohème, courtesy of Vancouver Opera

• 3 original framed prints by artist Lynda Nakashima (of solstice calendar fame)

• Vintage hand-crank Mexican puppet theatre from Oaxaca

• Plus more items to be revealed on the night!

Secret Dress Code
Please feel free to dress fancy or come as you are, just wear your dancing shoes, gather your most fun friends, bring lots of cash, and let the mayhem ensue!

Location
SECRET HEADQUARTERS
1398 East 3rd - look for the yellow awning

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