The Water Lantern Festival is underway at Maryland’s National Harbor, where hundreds of people turned out Friday to participate in the opening event.
Hundreds of people took part in the first night of a weekend Water Lantern Festival at National Harbor in Maryland.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
Jack Hawkins came all the way from Richmond, Virginia, to take part in the Water Lantern Festival.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
The festival runs through the weekend, with water lanterns launched each night at about 7:30 p.m.
(WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
WTOP/Kyle Cooper
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Hundreds of people took part in the first night of a weekend Water Lantern Festival at National Harbor in Maryland.
According to organizers, the festival is a community-centered experience where you can decorate a floating paper lantern with personal messages of love, hope, remembrance or intention, and release them onto the water.
Jack Hawkins came all the way from Richmond, Virginia, to take part in the event.
“You’re with friends, family and loved ones. You can put your dreams and hopes and everything in the lantern and, hopefully, they come true,” he said.
Hawkins wrote a special wish for his children on his lantern which read, “The kids to have a bright and meaningful life with all the happiness in the world.”
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A woman named Tee said the lantern release represents hope for her. “Life has been hard the last couple of months, and just the thought of being able to write it down and watch it flow away kind of connected with me,” she said.
One of the lanterns quoted scripture from the book of Psalms: “God is with her, she will not fail.”
Alyssa Bailey expressed gratitude on her lantern.
“I actually just served a mission for my church and so I wrote about how Jesus loves me and how he cares for me and loves other people,” she said.
Jessica Hawkins sees the event as a way to express what’s inside.
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“I like the idea of getting your hopes and wants out, and putting it out in the world and watching what the future brings from there,” she told WTOP.
The festival runs through the weekend, with water lanterns launched each night at about 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available online.
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Three people were killed on Saturday after their single-engine aircraft crashed in a wooded area near Bowie, Maryland, according to Maryland State Police.
The three people on board were Israelis, according to Israeli media reports on Sunday, citing the Foreign Ministry.
An NBC report cited the police as saying that the aircraft was found Sunday morning after crashing near a townhouse community and local playground.
Police did not release the identities of the deceased, all of whom were declared dead on the scene.
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The crash was initially reported at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday via iPhone alert, NBC cited Prince George’s County Public Safety Communications as saying.
The pilot and passengers of the small aircraft were on a training flight when the crash occured, NBC reported, noting that the aircraft belonged to a Montgomery County flight school.
The Baltimore Sun identified the aircraft as a Piper PA-28, a common training aircraft in the United States.
On Tuesday, a small jet plane carrying six people crashed into a vehicle on a highway in Laredo, Texas, authorities said.
One person was killed in the crash, named by the Associated Press on Wednesday as Austin tech entrepreneur Joshua Baer.
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In addition, five first responders were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, and the passengers were hospitalized for minor injuries.
WALDORF, Md. — A man in his 20s was flown to a trauma center early Saturday morning after suffering multiple gunshot wounds during a shooting at Friendly Tavern in Waldorf.
The shooting was reported around 2:15 a.m. on June 20, 2026, at in the 3100 block of Leonardtown Road.
Emergency crews were dispatched for a shooting with two people initially reported injured. The man suffered two gunshot wounds to the upper and lower abdomen and one gunshot wound to the right arm, going in and out of consciousness.
Maryland State Police Aviation Trooper 2 was requested and landed at Thomas Stone High School. The man was flown to a trauma center.
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A second person was later located and evaluated by EMS after suffering a graze wound to the right thigh but refused transport.
Detectives are working to identify a suspect described as a black man with a shaved head.
Police are investigating the shooting.
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JB is a local journalist and the Senior News Producer at The BayNet, delivering sharp, on-the-ground reporting across Southern Maryland. From breaking news and public safety to community voices and fundraising,…
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