River of Light 2024
December 18, 2024 | By Waterbury RoundaboutLanterns of all sizes light up downtown Waterbury for the 2024 River of Light Lantern Parade. Photo by Gordon Miller
For the 15th consecutive year, Waterbury stopped in its tracks for a glowing, waving, stomping procession through the downtown known as the River of Light Lantern Parade.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, hundreds of local primary school children and their siblings and grownups along with hundreds more community members filled Stowe and North Main streets carrying their illuminated paper and willow lanterns. This year’s parade theme was Creatures and Critters and lanterns large and small bore likenesses to a variety of birds, fish, forest mammals and even imaginary beasts.
Parade organizers and lantern masters MK Monley, Sarah-Lee Terrat and Mame McKee along with parade marshal Don Schneider at Brookside Primary School as the parade begins. Photo by Gordon Miller
Organizers MK Monley, Sarah-Lee Terrat and Mame McKee — artists and art teachers from MakerSphere — led the marching spectacle that included Burlington street bands Sambatucada and Brass Balagan. The finale at Dac Rowe Park included bonfires, hot chocolate and snacks at the pavilion, and a blazing performance by Jericho’s Cirque de Fuego fire spinners.
Snowfall a few days prior helped set the wintry scene as temperatures remained reasonably mild for an early December evening.
Photographer Gordon Miller captured the scenes. Click below on the gallery to enlarge the images.
gallery from the parade below ….
Cirque de Fuego lights up Dac Rowe Park
Photo by Gordon Miller