{Photograph} by LoKnowsDrones LLC
A puppet in a white go well with, with a smiley face for a head, towers over each Beltline Lantern Parade. His title is Mr. Pleased, and he’s the creation of Cam Ayer, who has marched yearly since 2010 as a member of the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons. On Could 3, Mr. Pleased will be part of 1000’s of others at Adair Park and head up the Southwest Beltline path for the fifteenth annual Lantern Parade, a free group occasion that has turn into an iconic Atlanta custom.
The Krewe’s chief, Chantelle Rytter, dreamed up the Beltline’s signature occasion again when the city-transforming pedestrian throughway was only a grime path. “We needed to inhabit the area and picture what it may very well be,” says Rytter.
Whereas the parades at the moment are an Atlanta fixture, they have been initially impressed by a Southeastern sister metropolis. When Rytter moved again to Atlanta in 2001 after a spell in New Orleans, she missed the mischief and magic of Mardi Gras. Rytter and her buddies fashioned their krewe (the time period originates from the social organizations that stage Carnival parades round Louisiana) and walked within the Little 5 Factors Halloween Parade dressed as gnomes—however she felt one thing was lacking. “New Orleans krewes see parades as a present to their metropolis, however I used to be operating round as krewe captain and never giving a present,” Rytter recollects.
When the Beltline known as for proposals for the primary Artwork on the Beltline, Rytter started imagining one thing greater. In 2010, 500 individuals introduced do-it-yourself lanterns for a casual stroll up the Beltline Eastside Path. The Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons took their marching orders and led the pack. Ayer, who met Rytter throwing darts on the Euclid Avenue Yacht Membership in 1993, made Mr. Pleased. His spouse, Pleasure, went as Mrs. Pleased.
Collectively, the Ayers traipsed over previous railroad bridges at that first parade, they usually haven’t missed one since. “While you placed on a dressing up, you’re nameless and may exit and play in an enormous crowd,” Ayer says. “It’s so enjoyable to have the ability to work together with of us and see individuals smile. Nobody is ever mad at a parade.”
The lantern parade was the right match for the Beltline, which makes use of its arts packages to create group and assist native artists. However Atlantans have been those who made it the Beltline’s largest occasion. “Lots of different cities have tried light-based inventive placemaking parades and festivals,” says Amina Cooper, the Beltline’s director of arts and tradition. “However ours might be one of many longest-running occasions that comes with group, arts, and efficiency. All of Atlanta comes out in concord to do our personal little bizarre factor.”
The parade has turn into so profitable that it’s been Rytter’s full-time job since 2011. She’s expanded to seven annual occasions across the area, including parades in Sandy Springs and Hilton Head Island. In 2024, these group events drew an estimated 45,000 individuals in whole, and the Beltline Lantern Parade made nationwide information. The flagship parade has grown so fashionable that it’s even needed to transfer trails. In 2022, after pedestrian visitors on the Eastside Path had begun to achieve Downtown Connector–degree congestion and parade spectators have been outnumbering lanterns, Rytter relocated the occasion to the Beltline’s Southwest Path, citing security issues.
The transfer proved good for everybody: The Beltline may spotlight its blossoming Westside enlargement, whereas a shortened route ensured individuals had vitality for postparade revelry on the Lee + White advanced, the place the parade ends. Rytter’s warehouse, which is residence to her puppet assortment and the place she hosts lantern-making workshops, is simply down the road.
Today, Rytter’s mischief- and magic-making is in excessive demand; she now consults for cities and cities across the nation to assist them launch their very own lantern parades. However the coronary heart of what she loves about them hasn’t modified for the reason that first lantern parade was only a few hundred individuals on a dust path behind the dumpsters.
“Having a burst of collective pleasure on the calendar that everybody is invited to is so useful,” she says. “Particularly today, bringing individuals collectively is a feat, however we now have 1000’s of individuals coming joyfully collectively. I tear up each time.”
{Photograph} by Andrew Hetherington
The place the Wild Lanterns Are
After launching Atlanta’s first lantern parade on an unpaved Beltline Eastside Path in 2010, Chantelle Rytter now hosts six annual parades round city, plus a seaside occasion on Hilton Head Island.
Once they’re not illuminating the evening sky, the creatures of Rytter’s lantern parades stay at her warehouse within the Lee + White advanced in Southwest Atlanta. The large puppet frames are made out of bamboo, willow and reed, and coated in cloth, with added fine details for aptitude. To get their signature glow, battery-powered lights are tucked inside.
A number of seen right here: an owl from the Parliament of Owls Parade; a Pink Woman Daisy from the Butterfly Lantern Parade; and “Mama Kissy,” a water puppet who swims within the Chattahoochee River through the “Take it to the River! Sandy Springs Lantern Parade.”
This text seems in our Could 2025 situation.
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