MORNINGSIDE LIGHTS to Mark 15th Year With Lantern Procession

Morningside Lights will celebrate its 15th anniversary this September, inviting thousands of New Yorkers to help transform Morningside Park into a glowing outdoor gallery of community-created lanterns inspired by this year's theme, A Common Thread.

Produced by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre at Columbia University, Morningside Lights has become one of New York City's most beloved public art traditions, bringing together neighbors, students, families, and artists to create illuminated lanterns before joining in a spectacular nighttime procession through Morningside Park.

This year's theme, A Common Thread, explores the visual patterns and motifs that connect people through textiles, architecture, domestic adornment, and engineered spaces. Guided by artistic directors Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles of Processional Arts Workshop, participants will collaborate on luminous patterned panels inspired by the geometry of American quilts. Throughout the procession, a winding red line will weave through the lanterns, symbolizing the shared connections that unite communities across their diverse backgrounds.

Kahn and Michahelles, whose Processional Arts Workshop is also known for creating the giant-puppet spectacles that lead New York City's annual Village Halloween Parade, have directed Morningside Lights since its inception, helping thousands of participants discover the artistry of illuminated public processions.

Free lantern-building workshops will be held daily at Miller Theatre from September 12 through September 18. During afternoon and evening sessions, participants will learn the techniques of illuminated sculpture while contributing to the lanterns that will appear in the final procession. The workshops are designed primarily for adults and teens, though children ages 10 and older may participate alongside a supervising adult. Registration opens Wednesday, September 2.

The celebration culminates on Saturday, September 19, when hundreds of handmade lanterns will illuminate a one-mile procession through Morningside Park. The event begins at 8 p.m. at 116th Street and Morningside Avenue, with participants invited to join the walk anywhere along the route. Those wishing to carry a lantern should arrive at 120th Street and Morningside Avenue at 7 p.m., where lanterns will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

In conjunction with this year's festivities, Miller Theatre will present Carried by Light: Celebrating 15 Years of Morningside Lights, the first exhibition dedicated to the history of the annual event. Curated by Lauren Bailey Cognetti, the exhibition features photographs from every Morningside Lights procession since its debut in 2012, documenting the evolution of the community tradition through images of lantern-building workshops, illuminated processions, and the countless volunteers who have helped shape the event over the past fifteen years.

The exhibition will be on view in the Miller Theatre lobby from September 12, 2026, through May 2027. During the lantern-building workshops, it will be open to the public daily from September 12 through September 19, and afterward for two hours before Miller Theatre events throughout the 2026-27 season.

Morningside Lights 2026

Lantern-Building Workshops
Dates: September 12–18, 2026
Location: Miller Theatre, 2960 Broadway, New York, NY
Registration Opens: Wednesday, September 2
Admission: Free

Morningside Lights Procession

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Lantern Distribution: 7:00 p.m. (120th Street & Morningside Avenue)
Procession Begins: 8:00 p.m. (116th Street & Morningside Avenue)
Route: Approximately one mile through Morningside Park, concluding on Columbia University's campus around 8:45 p.m.

Exhibition

Carried by Light: Celebrating 15 Years of Morningside Lights
On View: September 12, 2026 – May 2027
Location: Miller Theatre Lobby, 2960 Broadway, New York, NY

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