The River of Light Lantern Parade 2011:
Is over and what a truly magical event it was! On behalf of myself, Gowri Savoor and MK Monley, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all involved: artist Angelo Arnold, lantern artists, students, volunteers, community members, supporters, and especially to: Our funders, The Vermont Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and the Thatcher Brook Primary School PTO.
Thanks also go to the Building & Grounds dept. at the Vermont State Complex, Helen Day Art Center, Sambatucada, St. Andrew’s Church, Principal Tom Drake of Crossett Brook Middle School, BCK Realty, the Waterbury Police Department & Washington County Sherriff, Steve Lotspeich, Vince Franke and Gordon Miller.
A special thanks to Jeffery and Maryanne Larkin for the use of their new building on Elm Street (formerly Federated Auto Parts) to host an impromptu lantern gallery for the month of December.
And Lastly… A Glimpse of the Night
On a final note… many thanks to Vince Franke, talented filmmaker of Peregrine Productions, for this wonderful 3-min video of the night. Enjoy!
Artists’ Lanterns
Here are a few of the magnificent lanterns made in the Artists’ Lantern-Making Workshop that took place in October. Photos have been taken by Lori Hinrichsen and Sally Duval.
The River of Light – in Pictures
Thanks to talented local photographer Gordon Miller, we have some wonderful photos of the night. Here is a small sample below. You can purchase photographs directly from his website,
Gordon Miller Photography
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Saturday Dec 3rd: We Owned the Night
What a beautiful and truly inspiring evening. Perfect weather conditions, happy smiling faces all around. Plenty of help and love and support from all facets of our communities – it was a wonderfully memorable procession, shining our light through the streets of Waterbury.
A huge thank you to everyone involved – and especially to those of you who came out on a chilly Saturday night to show your support and cheer from the sidelines.
We’ll be posting some photos as they come in. Here is a lovely description of the parade from one of our community members, “….a Christo ribbon of flowing light wrapping itself around the town. Transitory beauty.”
It’s the Five Day Countdown!
There is a definite buzz in the air… its the 5-day Countdown to the River of Light Lantern Parade on Saturday! If you are coming to watch the parade – bring your smiles and shouts of support and share the joy. Lantern makers, artists and community folk, we look forward to seeing you at the Horseshoe at the Vermont State Complex between 3.30pm and 5pm, with your lanterns…wrap up warmly and remember to arrive in plenty of time to collect your lights and find your place in the procession as we’ll be setting off at 5pm.
Have a wonderful week and we’ll see you on Saturday!
Saturday Community Workshops
The last two Saturdays have been a blast. On the 12th we visited the Helen Day Art Center and were thrilled to see a full house. People from many of the neighboring communities came to represent and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to Nathan Suter, director of Helen Day, Lynn Rublee education coordinator and Anahi Costa, admin assistant for your help in making this happen.
The 19th November saw our last community workshop before the parade – and now the countdown begins. The move to Thatcher Brook Primary School hardly made a dent in the enthusiasm and focus in the room and we had some happy lantern makers in our midst. MK Monley and Don Schneider, our gratitude for you is boundless. Here is a quick photo recap!
Change of Venue for Saturday’s Lantern Making Workshop
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Saturday’s workshop at the TW Wood Art Gallery, Montpelier has been moved to Thatcher Brook Primary School in Waterbury.
The address is:
Thatcher Brook Primary School, 47 Stowe Street, Waterbury, VT 05676
There will be signs leading to the art room.
There is limited parking in the front car park. You can also park in the car park to the rear of the school. Turn down High St. (next to the school) then left onto Armory Ave to find extra parking.
Saturday Lantern-Makers: Thank you for your understanding, we look forward to seeing you on Saturday. The workshop will still run from 10am to 3pm. Materials will be provided and there is no charge for the workshop.
Please call Gowri on 802 778 0334 if you have any questions.
Willow at Thatcher Brook. Photo by Mame McKee
Crossett Brook Middle School, Duxbury, VT
Wow, what a week. 140 lanterns in 4 days. Its been an exciting and hectic week at Crossett Brook Middle School with the 6th and 7th Graders. There has been an amazing array of beautiful and complex lantern designs and right now, they are hanging up to dry, ready and waiting for December 3rd. Many thanks to all the students who gave their focus, attention and enthusiasm, all the teachers and parent volunteers for their assistance, and special thanks to Cathy Knight, Assistant Principal and Tom Drake, Principal, for enabling us to work with the students. Here are a few highlights from the week:
4 Weeks and Counting…
The River of Light Lantern Parade is a month from today – it’s going to be a busy month. Some of the teaching artists will be getting together this weekend in preparation for an intensive week of workshops at Crossett Brook Middle School. By the end next week, we’ll have another 150 lanterns in creation to join the river of light.
And next Saturday, November 12th, will see the first of our community lantern-making workshops at the Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT. If you are still interested in reserving a place at either the Helen Day Art Center next week, or at The TW Wood Art Gallery, Montpelier on Saturday November 19th, then get moving! Spaces are quickly filling up. Please see the relevant post below for details.
Love, laughter and a lot of hard work
Many thanks to all those who attended the artists’ lantern-making workshop last weekend at Thatcher Brook. It was a great success, with everyone working hard and having fun at the same time – a perfect combination! Without creating any spoilers before the parade, all the lanterns were based on the theme of flight – including a dragonfly, a bumble-bee, a snow goose and a 15ft Chinese dragon.
Here are a few photos taken over the weekend:
