Newton's Lantern Parade Is in January. The Lanterns Get Built This Month.

The Shine A Light Lantern Parade happens on January 24 at Newton City Hall, with music, hot chocolate and a crowd carrying paper-and-willow lanterns lit with LEDs. Every one of those lanterns comes from a workshop, and the workshop calendar is front-loaded. Three of the six sessions take place by the end of this weekend. Two of the later ones already show as full on the City's registration page.

So if you plan to be in the parade with a lantern you made, the realistic time to make it is right now, in Newtonville.

Six sessions in three buildings, all leading to one night in January

Newton's Department of Arts and Culture runs the program, and the City's program page lays out the full series. Here is the schedule with each session's status on the registration page:

The pattern is clear from the table. The January session would have been the last chance before the parade, and it is full. The only session for children ages 4 to 7 is also full. Teens and adults who want to build the bigger owl or flying fish lanterns now have one option left, the New Art Center weekend of November 14 and 15. Kids ages 8 to 12 have tonight at the Boys and Girls Club and December 3 in Newton Highlands.

What tonight and this weekend look like

The first session starts at 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday, November 12, at the John M. Barry Boys and Girls Club on Watertown Street. Children ages 8 to 12 come with an adult and make star and moon lanterns. You register the adult, one adult per child, and add the child's name at checkout.

On Saturday and Sunday the program moves to the New Art Center at 61 Washington Park. Each day is a separate three-hour session from noon to 3 p.m., open to teens and adults. Both days build the same designs, so you can come either Saturday or Sunday. The resident fee is $20 per session.

Before you go, keep a few practical points in mind:

1. Register first. Every workshop requires registration through the City's online system.
2. Check status the day you sign up. The registration page shows in real time when a session fills.
3. Questions go to the department. Email [email protected] or call 617-796-1545.
4. Hold onto the lantern. You keep what you build, and it goes with you to City Hall on January 24.

The program is paid for in part by a Creative Experiences grant from the Mass Cultural Council, which is how a two-to-three-hour workshop can cost $10 or $20.

A city department that did not exist a year ago

The organizer explains why this series is new to so many people. The City created a dedicated Arts & Culture Department earlier in 2026, according to Fig City News. Meryl Kessler is the director and Archana Menon is the associate director. The department worked out of City Hall for months while its permanent home was prepared, the Newton Beacon reported.

Menon described the department's goal in plain terms to Fig City News: "We want to elevate the role of arts and culture planning in the city so that arts are viewed not as something ancillary, but as an integral part of community and economic development."

You can see that approach in how Shine A Light is set up. The workshops run in three buildings in two villages over three months, and the department pitches them as a way for neighbors to "come together to create, connect, and shine a light in the darkness together" as the nights get longer. The parade at City Hall is the night all those separate workshop rooms end up in the same place.

Brigham House, the department's home in Newton Highlands

The December and January sessions take place at the Linda Plaut Center for Arts and Culture on Hartford Street in Newton Highlands. Locals know the building as Brigham House. The Brigham family, who founded Brigham's Ice Cream, built the Victorian house in 1896. The City later used it as a branch library, then a teen center, and most recently a temporary senior center, according to the Newton Beacon. The renovation was paid for with Community Preservation Act funds plus private fundraising.

The ribbon was cut on June 14, 2026, during Newton Highlands Village Day. Mayor Marc Laredo and Kessler were joined by members of Linda Plaut's family. Plaut led Newton's arts and cultural programming for decades, long before the City had a department for it, and the center carries her name.

"I want it to be a place for the arts community to gather, connect, and create ideas together," Kessler told Fig City News at the opening. She also said she plans to host brown-bag lunches and other gatherings there.

The Highlands sessions are already the hardest to get into. Two of the three workshops at Brigham House show as full, and the remaining one is the December 3 session for ages 8 to 12. The busiest weekend for the series, though, is happening in Newtonville.

Making a weekend of it around the workshops

Local businesses have filled the same days with their own events, according to the Fig City News business events calendar. If you're heading to a workshop, here is what else is going on nearby:

• Thursday, Nov 12, 4 p.m.: Frame It Waban Gallery at 1645 Beacon St. begins its 50th Anniversary Celebration, with product demos, personalized giveaways and items by local artists. It runs again Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m.
• Friday, Nov 13, 3 p.m.: Greentail Table at 343 Watertown St. hosts a Bettina's Bakery pie tasting, on the same street as the Boys and Girls Club.
• Saturday, Nov 14, noon: The Cork & Board at 1207 Centre St. in Newton Centre holds its Drinksgiving Grand Wine Tasting, at the same hour the New Art Center session begins.
• Saturday, Nov 14, 3 p.m.: Hummingbird Books at 55 Boylston St. in Chestnut Hill hosts a book signing with Joanne Chang, which starts just as Saturday's workshop ends.
• Wednesday, Nov 18, and Friday, Nov 20, 6:30 p.m.: West Newton Cinema at 1296 Washington St. shows two programs with filmmaker Robb Moss, The Same River Twice with Riverdogs, then Riverdogs with The Bend in the River.

A teen or adult who takes the Saturday session at 61 Washington Park can walk out at 3 p.m. with a finished owl or flying fish lantern. It then waits ten weeks for one evening at City Hall on January 24.

We're based in Newton Centre, and we follow what's opening and happening across the villages, from Brigham House to Washington Park. If you're thinking about a move within Newton and want someone who knows these blocks and their calendars, the Batya & Alex Team is glad to help. Start Your Home Search.