The River of Light: Waterbury, Vermont

It's a cold and snowy night in early December, yet children and community members are gathering on the streets of Waterbury, chattering excitedly while they await the beginning of what has become one of the calendar highlights in Central Vermont - the River of Light Lantern Parade, Waterbury's Annual Community Lantern Procession. The scene is magical - handmade luminaries of every size and shape are sprinkled throughout the dark streets as far as the eye can see. These are simple yet beautiful lantern structures, constructed from sustainable materials including willow and coffee filter paper, lit by battery-operated LED lights, and held aloft on bamboo poles.

Samba beats signal the start of the parade and over 500 people begin to slowly make their way through Waterbury's town to the culminating meeting point, where hot chocolate and warming bonfires await them. The sense of pride and joy is palpable: schools, surrounding communities, artists and townsfolk are celebrating together on the streets. It is a visceral and emotional experience.

What began as a school project in 2010 between Thatcher Brook Primary School's art teacher, MK Monley, and teaching artists Gowri Savoor and Angelo Arnold, has now become a tradition embraced by the community. Students from Preschool through to 4^th grade make age-appropriate lantern structures, learning about 3-D design, use of materials, construction, and social engagement.

Community Lantern Making Workshops

What makes this project so successful is the unique experience of collective art making. There is power in creating a piece of something that is part of a whole. It says: “Together, we can do anything!”  Receiving arts funding through grants enables us to host a series of free lantern-making workshops in surrounding communities to make lanterns for the event. This year, three workshops are available for the public to attend (materials included) and we teach rudimentary skills in lantern making. We also host a free special 2-day Artists' Lantern Workshop, an intensive weekend-long event that is a wonderful opportunity to equip artists with the skills to teach lantern making within their own communities and the opportunity to create large-scale luminaries to spearhead the parade.

Impact

Hosting an event such as the River of Light has a tremendous impact within the community. Through the workshop program and final celebratory event, we are able to provide a forum for participation for people of all ages and backgrounds, irrespective of income or status. Working with children and young people, both within schools and in the community, supports creative talent from an early age, creating a generation of arts advocates, and setting a foundation where art is both present and valuable and a necessary part of our lives.

Joy is at the heart of the procession and participants have an emotional connection with the event after making an investment to create something simple and functional, bringing it out to the streets, and helping to bring light to the darkest times of the year. There is a tremendous sense of empowerment for young people when they can contribute to and experience a multi-sensory, outdoor art event such as this in a safe, supported environment. It fosters a sense of civic pride.

It is our hope that more towns in Vermont will embrace the ideology behind the Lantern Procession and begin to celebrate alongside one another, creating more artistic collaborations between the school and community.

MK Monley is the art teacher at Thatcher Brook Primary School in Waterbury, Vermont.  Gowri Savoor is a teaching artist who collaborated with the school.