UPDATE: New photos submitted by readers below!
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Wow! That parade has to have been one of the most impressive displays I’ve ever witnessed in Decatur. In both artistry and sheer size! How many thousands of people walked from Color Wheel to the Square this evening?
I hope whoever was flying that drone over Decatur this evening posts a YouTube video so we can count! For now, feel free to enjoy my own short video and a few shots from this truly incredible Decatur event.
Oh, and send in your own pics and I’ll add them to the thread!
More photos after the jump!
That was some evening. Amazing stuff. I felt it in my bones
Wow ! Another Decatur tradition is born. I think the number of participants and spectators was larger then the organizers expected and that, combined with the pleasant evening, made for a great event.
They were expecting about 4,000 people based on responses. The parade is a product of the Decatur Education Foundation, and the organizer, Chantelle Rytter, is the pied piper of all of the lantern parades and so much more.
I’m a huge fan of her work:
http://www.chantellerytter.com/
Darn it, we had to miss it. Looks like it was awesome.
Can we please have a do over tonight?
OK, I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering this but I’ll be the one to ask – what is a lantern parade and why do we have one? And how does it affect our schools and my property values?
Not sure but I suspect it’s one of the “design principles” for either IB or Expeditionary Learning, in which case it will increase your property values. For the full IB certificate, you probably have to do two lantern parades.
It was awesome and had a great vibe! Next year I hope they have more band members to provide music for the folks at the rear of parade. It was quiet back there.