Sunday, November 3 | 3:00 -6:00 pm FREE
Join us for this simple celebration of light and community as we gather at sunset to walk with handmade lanterns in our historic park. This event is free, accessible, and all are welcome. Leading up to the parade, organizations and venues across the city of Albany will host free lantern-making workshops.
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Lake House
Lantern displays, refreshments, distribution of candles
5:00 PM
Welcoming remarks
5:30 PM
Parade begins around lake
Last year, the 3rd Annual Albany Lantern Parade brought nearly 1,000 people from the Capital Region together on the evening of November 4. The community lit up the path around the lake, warming the autumn evening with cheerful conversation, creativity, and the musical contributions of the Albany Women Drummers and the Albany Academies Glee Club, followed by refreshments provided by Stewart’s Shops and Samascott Orchards.
In the weeks leading up to the Lantern Parade, parade, more than fourteen community venues opened their doors for free lantern-making workshops, at which participants crafted lanterns out of bottles donated by CLYNK and art supplies donated by Arlene’s Artist Materials and workshop hosts. The incredible librarians of the Albany Public Library hosted a workshop at each branch, other workshops were held in storefronts and spaces offered by local businesses, as well as the Albany Institute of History and Art. Many outside groups and individuals held their own lantern-making workshops; the magic of seeing all these lights and those holding them as they gather is the essence of the event, and what the Washington Park Conservancy, Mayor Sheehan, and the City of Albany see as the promise of a new beloved tradition in Washington Park. Many thanks to all involved- we are so looking forward to the new partnerships and lanterns this year will bring!
For more information on upcoming Lantern-making workshops, please check HERE