Looking for a glowing good time right here in the ATL? We’ve got the perfect event for you!
The Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade, presented by Atlanta Beltline Art, is making its highly-anticipated return on Saturday, Sept. 19th, with an expanded celebration, after being canceled last year due to weather.
This year’s parade will feature a longer route, more pre-parade family programming & additional art and community activations along the Beltline’s Southwest Trail. Keep scrolling to learn more!
The Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade
Led by parade creator Chantelle Rytter and the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons (who you might recognize from Where the Weird Things Are), this is the Beltline Lantern Parade’s 16th year of building community, fun and lanterns in the A!
Clyde Higgs, Atlanta Beltline’s President and CEO, said in a statement,
The Lantern Parade reflects something fundamental about the Atlanta Beltline. Our goal has never simply been to build a trail. We are helping create the physical and civic infrastructure that brings people together and gives communities new ways to connect with one another and with their city. For 16 years, this event has shown what is possible when public space becomes a platform for creativity, participation and belonging.
This year’s parade route stretches nearly a half mile longer than in previous years, meaning you’ve got even more parade to enjoy this time around!
The parade’s route
The parade procession begins near Beulah Colbert Park (formerly Adair Park II) and travels along neighborhood streets onto the Atlanta Beltline Southwest Trail, ultimately concluding at Lee + White with the signature All-Band Puppet Jam finale.
Participating bands include:
- Atlanta Freedom Bands
- Black Sheep Ensemble
- Mausiki Scales and the Common Ground Collective
- The Seed & Feed Marching Abominables
Neighborhood, community & civic groups along the route will host pop-up activations, performances and temporary installations centered on light-based work!
Can anyone join the parade?
Yes! Everyone is invited to become part of the art by creating a lantern and walking in the parade or gathering along the route to watch the festivities unfold.
Rytter and the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons will host lantern-making opportunities for those looking for a little help in their lantern creation, and at-home lantern-making resources are also available for participants who want to create their own designs. Trees Atlanta will also host a parade-day “procrastination station.”
OR you can make a lantern at home and bring it!
Okay, I’ve gotta check this out! Details, please
Atlanta Beltline Kids Lantern Parade
- Saturday, Sept. 19, 4-7 p.m. at Pittsburgh Yards®
- Kids Lantern Parade begins at 4:30 p.m.
Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade
- Saturday, Sept. 19, 7:15-10 p.m. on the Southwest Trail, Beginning at Beulah Colbert Park and ending at Lee + White
- All-Band-Puppet-Jam and finale: Approximately 9-10 p.m.
- Line-up begins at 7:15 p.m., Parade steps off at 8 p.m.
Participants must have a lantern to walk in the parade.
Learn more about the parade by visiting the Atlanta Beltline’s website, here!