by Lauren Flaum
APG of East Central Minnesota/Monticello Times
Ready, set, glow!
One of Monticello’s brightest traditions is set to shine light into the dark days of winter. MontiArts will hold its annual Glow Fest on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 24, with a glow parade, interactive art, quirky costumes, food, fun, fire and more.
“The whole celebration is really about a dull time of year, when people have cabin fever and are really sick of winter,” said MontiArts Director Sue Seeger, the event’s brainchild and driving force. “Spring is on its way, so come on out and have some fun.”
Seeger and her team at MontiArts are hoping to make the city’s fourth Glow Fest the biggest yet.
Since starting up in 2020, when it drew just a couple hundred people, the event has expanded exponentially each year, Seeger said.
“Last year, we had about 1,200 people,” she said. “There were many lining the street watching.
It was just a really fun night.”
Anyone is welcome to march in the Glow Parade, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the Monticello Community Center and follow Walnut Street all the way to West Bridge Park.
“Literally anyone can show up at the last minute and march in the parade,” Seeger said, noting there’s no registration or sign-up necessary. “Once the parade starts, it’s just a big chaotic blob of glowy people marching down Walnut Street.”
The route, which is less than half a mile long, is about five blocks, with a safe crossing provided at West Broadway.
“It is very cool to come walk down Walnut Street at night with everything glowing,” Seeger said.
The MCC gym will serve as the parade staging area, where parade-goers will assemble and MontiArts staff will be handing out glow gear and glow art that folks can borrow for the night.
“We have this whole massive collection of glow art that we hand out to people to carry,” Seeger said.
These include colorfully decorated lanterns, a bright yellow sun, sail boats, troll-hair hats and various animals, including swans, naturally — all of which light up in various ways.
Those more interested in observing the parade can bring chairs down to Walnut Street, or get there early to stake out a parking spot if they would rather watch from the warmth of their car.
The parade will culminate in a Glow Party at West Bridge Park, which will run until about 9 p.m.
“There will be a bonfire, a vendor selling hot cocoa and mini donuts,” Seeger said. “There will be food and beverages.”
In addition, the art club at Monticello High School will be making some decorations for the park.
Get your glow on
For those looking to get a glow-up, there will be items available for purchase, such as glow headbands, glow glasses, wands and more.
“This year, we purchased a bunch of LED wearables that are really fun,” Seeger said. “They’ll be very inexpensive, maybe $2 to $5 each.”
Many people turn up already decked out in their own glow costumes, which run the gamut.
“We’ve had some pretty elaborate things show up at past festivals,” Seeger said, such as a group of jellyfish that used umbrellas as part of their costumes.
“One year, someone made a baby yoda that was pretty elaborate,” she continued. “We’ve had other people who made homemade glow costumes by taping glow sticks all over themselves.”
Pets are also welcome to attend — and many folks deck them out as well.
“Some people bring dogs dressed up in glow gear,” Seeger said.
MontiArts staff have been gearing up for weeks, making new glow art and finding items from past festivals to reuse.
“Every year we try to add to the collection of the city’s glow art that we use in the parade,” Seeger said.
To that end, MontiArts will be hosting a free lantern decorating social on Thursday, Feb. 22 from 6 to 9 p.m.
All are welcome to give it a shot. “You don’t have to be an artist or anything,” she stressed. “It’s for the whole community.”
Those who attend will be given premade blank white lanterns that they can put their own mark on, adding colorful tissue paper, yarn, glitter and other embellishments.
“We’re trying to encourage and inspire people in Monticello to get creative and add to the fun,” Seeger said.
These lanterns and other glow art will be collected at the park at the end of the event and re- used in future festivals.
Illuminated sculptures
Eager to add something a little different this year, Seeger has been experimenting with a new art form, crafting illuminated sculptures made out of willow, which is a natural fiber, along with blank newsprint, Japanese Washi paper and hot glue.
“It’s paper, so it’s delicate, but it’s also kinda weirdly sturdy,” Seeger said of these light, portable sculptures.
Filled with battery-operated LED lights, each one takes many hours to build, proving to be a labor of love for the artist.
“Since I’m a sculptor, I thought this is an art form I can provide and hopefully it will inspire people for next year.”
It took around 30 hours for Seeger to create a dog she named “Hoozie,” embellished with heart designs and matching pink pipe cleaner heart-shaped glasses.
“I wasn’t super confident of my skill level. I wanted to make something fun and approachable that kids would like,” Seeger said. “She was my first try at making something detailed.”
The paper pooch will ride a longboard in the parade and will appear as though she’s out for a stroll with Seeger.
The artist was also working on making a large fox to be carried in the parade.
These unique illuminated sculptures are similar to ones crafted in Truro, a city in Cornwall, England, which is home to the City of Lights, a long-running tradition that inspired Glow Fest here in Monticello.
“They’ve been working in this art form for many years,” Seeger said. “They make things like a giant ship that has to be carried by like six to eight people. They make really colossal things.”
While the art here is on a smaller scale, so is the event itself, in comparison to Truro’s, which runs for the entire Christmas season.
“We like to put our own Monticello twist on it,” Seeger said. “I hope people continue to embrace it. And there’s new fun stuff every single year as we’re always adding to it.”
If you go
What: Glow Fest
When: 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24
Where: Parade begins at Monticello Community Center and runs along Walnut Street; Glow
Party held at West Bridge Park
More info: www.montiarts.com/events/glow-parade
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