More than 300 participants gathered on the Towpath Trail on Saturday, March 8 for Canalway’s annual Towpath Trail Lantern Parade. The event bid goodbye to winter and hello to spring on the eve of Daylight Saving Time.

Participants carried lanterns along the river, many of them nature-themed or history-themed, and 11 local artists displayed commissioned works of art made from upcycled materials.

“Connecting people to important places and others within the community is a priority for us,” says Canalway director of communications Meghan Paynter. “The Lantern Parade brings people together on the historic Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and allows them to get creative in new ways.”

Paynter says people got creative with creating their lanterns and put their heart into the effort.

“We heard people at the lantern parade mention hosting lantern-making parties, finding new ways to draw natured-themed art, and kids turning plastic bottles into snakes and pigs,” she recalls.

The 11 featured artists and their lanterns were:

• Canalway 2025 Towpath Trail Lantern ParadeRoss Bochnek: “Lightbearing Boats” highlights Cleveland history and compares river boats to mythological boats of ancient Egypt and Greece.
• Jim Dotson: “Rockin Robin” uses actual vinyl records to create a guitar birdhouse.
• Dina Hoeynck: “Deflector Array” repurposes salvaged commercial and residential light fixtures to explore the geometric refraction of light.
• Jami Johnson: “ Environmental Flam of Hop” encourages viewers to spread light and hope every day.
• Isabelle Kolleth: “The Butterfly” depicts a Karner Blue butterfly that is native to Ohio and endangered.
• Beth Lynne: “Mù shé” is inspired by the year of the wood snake in the Chinese Zodiac and made from recycled corrugated board and driftwood.
• Meaghan Reed: “Return of Spring” depicts flora and fauna cut into cardboard and other scrap materials.
• Julie Reminick: transformed re-used fabric into a butterfly.
• Connor Riva: “Leroy the Dragon” uses cardboard, egg cartons, scraps of foam and imagination to create something magical.
• Shannon Timura: “Grumpy Cloud” reminds viewers that even gloomy days have their own magic.
• The Rabbit Hole Art Fanatics Collaborative: “A Lantern Called Wanda” is made of tomato cages, curtains and pool noodles and is inspired by the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie

The Towpath Trail Lantern Parade was sponsored by Kichler Lighting and supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.