Union Elementary School (UES) invites the entire Montpelier community to join them for an evening lantern procession on Thursday, February 21. This year’s theme is “Shine Your Light, Share Your Story.”
The lantern procession will begin at 6 pm at Union Elementary School. Led by the Burlington samba band Sambatucada!, the parade will go from the school through downtown Montpelier, covering Loomis, School, Main, Langdon, Elm, and Court streets before finishing on the State House lawn with a fun finale celebration with decorated luminaries, live music, a dance performance, and free hot chocolate and cider. The event will end at 7 pm.
Visual artist Gowri Savoor will guide UES students in making their lanterns during an art residency from February 5 to 19. All preschool through fourth-grade students will create handmade lanterns from sustainable materials including willow and tissue paper. Lanterns will be suspended from bamboo poles and lit with battery-operated LED lights.
The lantern parade is made possible through the support of the the UES Parents Group, as well as Lake Champlain Chocolates, Champlain Orchards, and the Hunger Mountain Co-op, who made generous donations. The Montpelier Police Department, Montpelier Alive, and Montpelier City Council also assist in this community event.
Montpelier residents and community members will also have the opportunity to create their own lanterns at one of our free one-day lantern making workshops (donations welcome). All tools and materials will be provided. If you have a pair of hand-held pruning shears, please bring them along. You’ll find it useful to have a pair of your own.
The workshop is not suitable for children under six, and those above six must be accompanied by an adult. There will be a limit of 20 participants for each workshop. For more information and to book your place for the February 9 workshop at Union Elementary, please contact Kristina Kane at kristinak@mpsvt.org. To register for the February 16 workshop at the Montpelier Senior Center, please call (802) 225-8699.
For more information about the school art residency, the lantern workshop, and the community lantern parade, please visit uesart.blogspot.com
This text was provided by Union Elementary School.
