For the second year in a row, the Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade will not take place in person due to COVID-19.
The Beltline had been moving forward with plans for an in-person 2021 festival, but announced Friday that rising case numbers and hospitalizations forced organizers to rethink the events.
The nighttime parade began in 2010, and has grown into an event that in recent years brought more than 70,000 people to the Beltline for the procession of illuminated paper creations of all shapes and types. The parade, typically held in September, was created and is hosted by Chantelle Rytter and the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons.
“In conjunction with the mayor’s office, we have decided to postpone this year’s lantern parade. While we are disappointed in having to reschedule, we want to ensure our communities stay safe,” the Beltline said. The city still has a moratorium on permits for events of 50,000 people or more.
Last year, the Beltline held a “Parade-in-Place,” where residents in neighborhoods near the Beltline put up their own lantern decorations on their porch or yard.
The lantern parade is one of several fall festivals that had been hoping to make a comeback this year, but was canceled due to the contagious variant. Organizers announced last week that the 2021 Atlanta Pride festival and parade, which was scheduled for Oct. 9-10, has been canceled.
Atlanta Black Pride is moving forward with its events scheduled for this weekend, with mask-wearing and social distancing encouraged.
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