Festival of the Lanterns: Science Fiction
Festival of the lanterns began mid-October, just as the leaves began to change colors. We all got the idea from something the Japanese had been doing for a while (even if on a different day), but we did it on a much bigger scale. We wanted to show our appreciation, and to show that we believed in what had happened. We wanted to prove that we weren't the Deniers who still ran most of the news and the government. We gathered from all corners, all religions, all races, all countries, and all ages and genders. We pooled our funds so that we could purchase the hot air balloons that would truly make this a thing, and then we scheduled hot air balloon festivals all across the world. Even the deniers couldn't (usually) refuse the permits, because--why were they so keen on us not doing this again? If they explained why, they spread the truth more than we would, having our quiet lantern festivals without any proselytizing. If you knew, if you'd seen, then you knew. We might talk about it amongst ourselves or tell our children the story, but we knew better than to try and persuade others. Maybe they honestly hadn't seen it and fund it too ridiculous to believe, or maybe they were purchased by the government and decided that the only path forward was to pretend it had never happened.
Inspiration: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smb_flickr/9728530273/
Story potential: Low.
Notes: Eh. I mean, I'm thinking aliens, maybe fixing global climate change or something like that, but...still meh. Love hot air balloons, though.