River of Light 2022
‘Marvelous Magic’
Dec. 10, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti and Gordon Miller 
It was “Marvelous Magic” indeed or something along those lines that intervened last Saturday for the 13th annual River of Light Lantern Parade.
The theme for the parade was apropos as organizers all day watched persisting rain showers, holding out hope that the forecast for them to end before parade time would hold true.
“We've been building lanterns for a month! A little rain won't stop us,” parade organizers wrote on the MakerSphere Facebook page.
Their bets to leave plans in place paid off. By parade time at 5 p.m., skies were clearing over Brookside Primary School and the clouds lit up for sunset. Two bands along with school students with their parents and siblings, and numerous community members assembled their lanterns and lined up for the procession to Dac Rowe Park.
Hundreds lined the streets to watch the colorful lighted creations float and bob past. With many drums, Burlington’s Brazilian samba band Sambatucada set the pace up front. Brass Balagan, also from Burlington, finished strong with horns of all sizes.
At Dac Rowe, a well-lit S.D.Ireland cement mixer joined and illuminated the scene. There was hot chocolate, small bonfires, and the Cirque de Fuego fire spinners from Jericho to entertain the crowd. Before people dispersed, both bands gathered together to jam for several tunes with the crowd encircling them.
A bright moon and stars lit the night sky as parade-goers handed in their bamboo poles and headed back to homes and cars.
Slideshow above by Lisa Scagliotti and Gordon Miller
Art teacher MK Monley for the organizing team shared this note of thanks afterward:
Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Thanks to everyone involved in making the 13th annual River of Light Lantern Parade a marvelously magical success. Thankfully, the weather was cooperative and allowed for the enjoyment of paraders and spectators alike.
Thanks to Wyatt O'Brien and the Recreation Department crew, the State Police, MakerSphere, the students and staff at Brookside Primary School, art teacher Rachael Wells, all of the community artists who made lanterns, as well as all of the people who volunteered their time to make this possible.
Thanks to the entertainers from Sambatucada, Brass Balagan, and Cirque de Fuego. Many thanks to our sponsors (HUUSD, Waterbury Winterfest, The Alchemist, Ben & Jerry's, and Billings Mobil) for their support of this community-wide event.
And to Mame McKee, Sarah-Lee Terrat, and Don Schneider, we make a great team! Here's to more community-based art!