Every year, millions of people tune in to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s one of the biggest communal spectacles in the country—a reminder that art and play have the power to bring strangers together, even if only for a moment.
The Macy’s Parade is a national tradition, but the impulse behind it—sharing joy in public space—isn’t tied to a holiday. Atlanta reflects that same instinct through a year-round parade culture built by the people who live here.
One of the leaders shaping that culture is TEDxAtlanta 2025 speaker and parade artist Chantelle Rytter. Her talk, “How parades can build community,” is a reminder that joy is public and that neighborhoods become stronger when we step outside and build something together.
This talk was also selected as a TEDx Editor’s Pick, a distinction given to roughly 500 talks out of more than 4,000+ TEDx events and tens of thousands of talks worldwide.
How Parades Shift the Way We See Each Other
In an age where loneliness is on the rise, Chantelle makes the case that parades offer far more than entertainment—they’re a civic wellness program.
She describes illuminated creatures gliding through the Atlanta night, thousands of handmade lanterns drifting along the BeltLine, and strangers cheering for people they’ve never met. In her words, “Parades create a space above and away from the fray where we come together simply to delight one another.”
And something shifts in that space. For an hour, the city becomes a place of possibility; a reminder that playfulness isn’t frivolous at all, but something that restores us.
The Journey That Brought Parade Magic to Atlanta
Chantelle spent a decade in New Orleans, where parading is woven into the rhythm of the city. When she moved to Atlanta, she immediately felt the absence of that ritual. Not the spectacle, but the shared joy, the sense of belonging that happens when people gather in public to create something together.
So she decided to build it.
What started as longing became one of Atlanta’s most beloved cultural traditions: the Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade. Over the past 15 years, her work has invited more than half a million people into the streets to create, march, dance, and witness one another in a way that feels both ancient and entirely new.
What We Learn When We Celebrate Together
Atlanta traffic and the daily headlines may test our optimism, but parade nights show something different—the version of ourselves that’s kind, creative, and willing to show up for each other.
You see it in the way someone lights up when a cheering crowd calls out their lantern or costume. You see it when newcomers realize they don’t need to be “born into” parade culture to claim it; it grows simply because people build it together.
As the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade captures national attention, it’s a good prompt to look at what makes parade culture meaningful. These gatherings don’t rely on tradition alone—they take shape because people commit time and creativity to them.
Parades connect people to people, and people to their place. They’re open invitations to bring your imagination, your effort, and your presence to create a moment that belongs to everyone.
In a season defined by gratitude and gathering, Chantelle’s talk is a reminder that community doesn’t happen on its own.
We create it—lantern by lantern and moment by moment.
