LETTER: Efforts of many make River of Light shine
December 15, 2025
Parade participants line up with their paper lanterns before this year’s River of Light. Photo by Gordon Miller
To the Community:
A huge shout-out to everyone who made the 16th annual River of Light Lantern Parade such a joyful success!
A heartfelt thank-you to: Rachael Wells and the Brookside Primary School staff for a month of art class lantern-making and parade-day magic; Nora McDonough, Duane Pierson, and the CBMS PTO for their support with the middle school lantern makers and drum line; Carol Baitz for organizing festivities at Dac Rowe in the absence of a town recreation crew this year; Al Carron and the scouts for the warming fires; Harwood Union High School National Honor Society, the Waterbury Rotary Club, and MakerSphere board members who helped out at the hot chocolate stand. Also, the many helping hands -- the town road crew and manager, Waterbury Select Board, Waterbury Winterfest team, Norwich University cadets, and Rotary volunteers -- who managed road closures; Gordon Miller and Lisa Scagilotti from the Waterbury Roundabout for the exceptional photos and press coverage; all of the artists who far surpassed our expectations for amazing lanterns this year; and of course, Mame McKee's and Sarah Lee Terrat's amazing creativity and energy!
The parade would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, the Vermont Community Foundation and the Harwood Unified Union School District. This free community event is able to shine because of the hard work of MakerSphere and all those who support our work, including the Vermont Arts Council, our individual donors, and everyone who cheered us on from the sidewalks!
MK Monley
Waterbury
P.S. If anyone knows who made this lovely phoenix lantern (below), would you put them in touch with me, please? mkmonley@gmail.com
Photo by Gordon Miller