Morningside Lights is an annual outdoor procession featuring dozens of lanterns built by volunteers from Columbia University and surrounding neighborhoods during a week of free public workshops open to anyone, with tasks geared toward older kids (10+) and adults. 

Workshop participants will learn the artistic techniques of Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles of Processional Arts Workshop (PAW) as they come together on the stage of Miller Theatre (116th and Broadway) to build dozens of handmade large-scale lanterns, step by step, layer by layer.

Over the past 12 years, our community-built procession of lanterns has illuminated and interpreted works by Homer, Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, and Pulitzer-honored poets. This year, we are asking our community of makers to share the works that they value most—the books that have inspired them, enlightened them, or shaped how they see the world. This year’s theme, The Open Book, is a celebration of the free exchange of ideas and an homage to the libraries that preserve access to knowledge and affirm our freedom to read.

For more information or to register for a workshop, please visit the event website.