2026 Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk

Quick Links: Route Map | Ways to Participate | Safety Guidelines | Volunteer | Donate

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 14, 2026 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 the intersection of Talbot Ave. and Lanier Dr.
Address: 2111 Porter Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
See route map

All participants are invited to join us afterwards for refreshments, music, kids’ art activity, and warm mingling at a community reception inside Rosemary Hills Elementary School’s All Purpose Room.

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

COST: Free (thanks to community members’ generous donations of time, funds, materials and more!) If able, help support the event with a tax-deductible donation.

Thank you in advance for RSVP’ing. Knowing how many people to expect greatly helps us with planning a fun, safe, and successful event!

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.

* 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! Local thrift stores are also an excellent place to find inexpensive secondhand lanterns. Extra lanterns and tea light candles will be available for those who need them, as supplies last.

More Event Information

A Little Background

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. In 2024, a new Talbot Avenue Bridge opened, reconnecting the neighborhoods again. For more information about the Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk click here.

Map of 2026 Route

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Please gather at end of the school parking lot closest to the intersection of Talbot Ave. and Lanier Dr.

After a short opening circle, the Lantern Walk will proceed up Talbot Avenue, cross the bridge, go around the North Woodside block closest to the bridge, cross back over the bridge, go around Lyttonsville block closest to the bridge, and then return to the starting location. Participants are then invited to proceed into the community reception, held in Rosemary Hills Elementary School’s All-Purpose Room.

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.

Ensuring 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

We welcome local community members to join our event planning group and/or assist with one or more of the following event components:

• Arts and Crafts: Create lanterns and decorations for along the route and inside the community reception.
• Safety: Help direct participants along the route and ensure safe road crossings. A fun perk: volunteers get to brandish light wands!
• Program: Work with our program team and Washington Revels’ Heritage Voices to support a smooth program flow woven together with song and centered in community.
• Refreshments: We welcome donations of sweet and savory food items–homemade or store-bought–and drinks for the community reception.
• Miscellaneous Tasks: Help with set-up, greeting attendees, serving food, and/or clean-up

If interested in supporting the event in any of the above ways or if you would like to volunteer your time and skills in some other way, contact us at the email address below.

Note: Middle and high school students may earn SSL hours for volunteering at the event. If interested, please contact us at least a week in advance.

Questions?

Email us at 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.