2025 Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk

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Begun in 2018, the Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk is an annual family-friendly local community event that weaves together neighborhoods once divided by racial segregation and fittingly takes place during Montgomery County’s Remembrance and Reconciliation Month.  All are welcome!  Come join us in shining our lights in the darkness, promoting unity over division, remembering the past and taking steps toward a brighter future…

WHEN: Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 5:00pm.

• Gather: 5:00-5:15 pm
• Short Program & Lantern Walk: 5:15-6:00 pm
• Community Reception: 6:00 – 7:30 pm

WHERE: Rosemary Hills Elementary School parking lot, just below intersection of Talbot Ave. and Lanier Dr.
Address: 2111 Porter Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910

The route will start and end at the same place, crossing over the new Talbot Avenue Bridge twice and going around the two blocks closest to it, one in North Woodside and one in Lyttonsville. Scroll down to view route map.

BRING: Warm clothing, comfortable walking shoes, and a lantern*      

RSVP: CLICK HERE

Scroll down for a map of the route, ways to participate, and safety guidelines.     

The Lantern Walk will conclude with an indoor community reception at Rosemary Hills Elementary School.  All participants are invited to join us for refreshments, music, an art activity for kids, and warm mingling! The reception will be held in the school’s all-purpose room, which is accessible from the Lanier Dr. side of the school, right next to where the Lantern Walk will start and end.

* Any type of lantern will do, from a tea light candle in a glass jar to something more elaborate, either handmade or store-bought. You can find many ideas online: bit.ly/HomemadeLanterns. If you have the time and energy, we encourage you to get creative!  Extra lanterns and tea light candles will be available for those who need them.

The Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk is organized by the Talbot Avenue Bridge Committee and co-sponsored by the Lyttonsville Civic Association, North Woodside Citizens’ Association, and Rosemary Hills Neighbors’ Association.

Support the 2025 Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk! Make a tax-deductive donation to support this and future Talbot Avenue Bridge-related events and programs and/or volunteer to help with day-of tasks or provide a refreshment via our SignUpGenius Form.

More Event Information

A LITTLE HISTORY: Lyttonsville, a historically African American community founded in 1853, and North Woodside, where racist deed covenants once prohibited Black people from living in the neighborhood except as domestic servants, were connected by the historic Talbot Avenue Bridge for over a century until its demolition in 2019 to make way for the Purple Line.  For more information about “The Bridge”, click here. For more information about the Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk click here.

MAP OF 2025 ROUTE
Note: Please gather at end of the school parking lot closest to the intersection of Talbot Ave. and Lanier Dr.

WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

• Join for the whole Lantern Walk: The length of the route, a figure-of-8 loop, is 0.7 mile.
• Join for a portion of the Lantern Walk: Join anywhere along the route.
• Watch the Lantern Walk pass by: Neighbors who live along the route can come out of their homes to watch, wave, and hold a candle or lantern of their own in solidarity.  Neighbors who live elsewhere can come stand or sit along the lantern walk route and do the same.
• Join us at the community reception afterwards: All community members, whether or not they are able to participate in the Lantern Walk, are invited to attend the community reception afterwards in the Rosemary Hills Elementary School All-Purpose Room.

TO ENSURE A FUN AND SAFE EVENT:

• Wear good walking shoes and bundle up, if the temperature is chilly.
• Young children are welcome and should be closely supervised by adults.
• Walk or bike to the event, if able; otherwise park at the school. If driving to the event, please park in the Rosemary Hills Elementary School parking lot, NOT along the Lantern Walk route (see map above). 
• Walk on the sidewalk and pay attention to safety volunteers instructions along the route.
• Contact us if you have any special needs. If you use a wheelchair and/or have any special needs, please contact us in advance to discuss how we can support your participation. 
• Please RSVP ahead of time, so we have a good sense of expected numbers, and can adjust safety measures accordingly (and make sure to have enough food at the reception!). To do so, fill in the RSVP form and click the “Submit” button at the very bottom.

VOLUNTEER: Go to our SignUpGenius form to sign up for tasks and refreshments.

Note: Middle and high school students may earn SSL hours for volunteering at the event. If interested, please contact the event organizers ahead of time at the email below.

QUESTIONS? Email talbotavenuebridgecommittee@gmail.com

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.