If you’ve never experienced a nearly two-mile parade of glowing lanterns, giant puppets, and brass bands weaving through Atlanta at night, September 19 is your sign to book that road trip.
The Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade is celebrating its 16th year, and this time organizers are going bigger, brighter, and longer. The route is stretching nearly half a mile more than previous years, and there’s a whole new wave of pre-parade programming to soak up before the main event even kicks off.
How a New Orleans Transplant Started an Atlanta Tradition
The parade’s origin story is pure magic. It was dreamed up by Beltline resident and parade artist Chantelle Rytter, who missed the community-driven parade culture of her former home, New Orleans, and decided to bring a little of that spirit to Atlanta. She rallied local volunteers — known affectionately as the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons — and the rest is history.
“I think the Lantern Parade cracked something open for a lot of us,” Rytter said. “It made the idea of public art feel different. Less precious, less gatekept. Suddenly, you didn’t need permission to engage with public space in a creative way. You just needed a lantern and the willingness to show up. It stopped being about just ‘making a thing’ and became about ‘making a moment,’ a memory, a shared experience. That kind of thinking has spilled over into murals, installations, performances. You can feel it all over the city now.”
What started as a few hundred people gathering with handmade lanterns on the Beltline’s very first completed stretch has since exploded into a thousands-strong celebration — one of Atlanta’s most iconic and recognizable traditions.
The Route: From Beulah Colbert Park to a Puppet Jam Finale
This year’s procession kicks off near Beulah Colbert Park (formerly Adair Park II), winding through neighborhood streets before spilling onto the Atlanta Beltline Southwest Trail. The grand finale lands at Lee + White with the beloved All-Band Puppet Jam — because what’s a lantern parade without a full-blown band send-off?
Along the route, expect activation stations from neighborhood and community groups, new artist pop-ups featuring light-based installations, and the Atlanta Beltline Marketplace at Allene — home to the Beltline’s small business incubator program — staying open all evening for shopping and browsing between lantern sightings.
Make Your Own Lantern (Yes, You Can Join the Parade)
Here’s the best part: this isn’t a spectator-only situation. Since its debut in 2010, community participation has been baked into the DNA of this event. Anyone can craft their own lantern and march in the parade, or simply post up along the route and soak in the glow.
Leading up to September 19, Rytter and the Krewe will host lantern-making workshops for anyone needing a little creative spark, plus at-home resources for the DIY crowd. And if you’re the type to wait until the last minute (no judgment), Trees Atlanta has you covered with a parade-day “procrastination station.”
Don’t Forget the Kids
Before the grown-up procession begins, families can head to Pittsburgh Yards® for the Atlanta Beltline Kids Lantern Parade, presented by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Running from 4 to 7 p.m., with the kids’ parade kicking off at 4:30 p.m., the afternoon is packed with music from DJ Willy WOW!, face painting and balloon twisting from Color Me Happy Academy, performances by Atlanta Drum Academy, and a lantern-making station courtesy of The Happy Black Parent.
Why It Matters
As Atlanta Beltline President and CEO Clyde Higgs puts it: “The Lantern Parade reflects something fundamental about the Atlanta Beltline. Our goal has never simply been to build a trail. We are helping create the physical and civic infrastructure that brings people together and gives communities new ways to connect with one another and with their city. For 16 years, this event has shown what is possible when public space becomes a platform for creativity, participation and belonging.”
The Lantern Parade was one of the Beltline’s very first public art projects, and it helped set the tone for what has since become one of the largest public art programs woven into a major urban redevelopment initiative in the country — with the Beltline’s annual outdoor exhibition now featuring more than 100 works of art each season.
The Details
Atlanta Beltline Southwest Trail, starting near Beulah Colbert Park
Saturday, September 19
Kids Lantern Parade: 4–7 p.m. at Pittsburgh Yards® (parade starts 4:30 p.m.)
Whether you bring a lantern, a puppet, or just your sense of wonder, this is one Southern tradition worth the trip.