The Menagerie of the Imaginary illuminated the darkness of late winter 2026. It kicked off with community lantern making workshops, then added a new Mini Parade for our youngest and oldest community members. It culminated in the third annual Menagerie of the Imaginary Lantern Parade with luminous lanterns created by a wide array of community members.
Click on any of the events below for details and pictures.
The 3rd annual Menagerie of the Imaginary Lantern Parade featured a festive array of lanterns large and small created and carried by Gallatin Valley community members. Large puppet lanterns created by local artists accompanied by percussionists and performers led three magical realms: Air, Water, and Earth. The parade wound around the lakes at Gallatin Regional Park, creating an unforgettable evening of shared hope and joy.
This new event was created to allow our youngest and oldest community members to experience the magic of the lantern parade in a more accessible location and format. Attendees met the large lantern puppets up close and joined them in a small parade followed by a joyful dance party.
A series of workshops at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds resulted in hundreds of participants making and decorating their own lanterns. Teachers Emlyn Harris, Tory Moeckel, and Rachel Ingle led workshops with both stick built and paper globe lanterns.
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Foundationsart students created an array of amazing and creative lanterns that were featured in all of the realms.
PERCUSSIONISTSaccompanied each realm, playing instruments that evoked water, air and land. Musicians were coordinated by Jeff Vick, Stephen Versaevel, Kris Olsen, Cierra Wallace, and Mark Brown.
PERFORMERSfrom Illumindance and Bozeman Belly Dance brought the parade to life with swirling lights.
THE WIZARD OF LIGHTalso known as Cody Henderson led the parade.
