Last year, Canalway Partners debuted a new event, taking place on one of the most recently opened sections of the Towpath Trail. It was a blustery, chilly day in March when the first Towpath Trail Lantern Parade took place. And 2023 was no different. Long underwear was de rigueur.
An informal gang met at Sokolowski’s Overlook off Abbey Road only to be serenaded by the John Marshall High School Marching Band percussion section performing cadences of their own composition plus classic tattoos to get everyone into the spirit and build our courage. The event, they say, is “a celebration of light, creativity and sustainability welcoming spring to the banks of the Cuyahoga River.” And it’s a goodbye to standard time, because that night, we returned to daylight savings with an extra hour of evening light!
The parade made a roundtrip march along 1.6 miles of the Towpath Trail, led by area artists who made lanterns from recycled materials: Joyce Morrow Jones, Haley Himiko Hudson Morris and Ron Shelton, led by the John Marshall High School drumline and a light dancer.
At Heights Arts on Thursday March 9, Debbie Apple-Presser lead a free workshop and helped participants in decorating their lanterns. View the photos (and video of the Marshall drumline!) here.