Lighted Boat Parade on Ashfield Lake

Saturday, September 12, 2026

Ashfield's Lighted Boat Parade  is a celebration of art, culture, and our rural landscape meant to connect people at Ashfield Lake. After dusk, boats will complete a circuit on the water as an audience looks on. The parade will be free for spectators and all are welcome.

Applications are competitive: 12 selected projects will receive $1,000 each to create illuminated art installations for the parade. Applications due by March 31, 5pm.

Read the Call for Proposals

View the poster

How to Apply

• Read the Call for Proposals
• Complete and return the Application Form. Applications are due March 31, 2026 by 5pm.
• A Grant Agreement will be signed by selected artists and the Town of Ashfield in May 2026.

               Artwork by Dave Russo. Poster design by Nan Parati.

Lighted Boat Parade Supporters

• This project and the grants to artists are made possible by a grant from New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Making It Public for Municipalities Program.
• Thank you to Principal Sponsor Greenfield Savings Bank. Thank you also to local sponsors Ashfield Trails, Inc.; The Mill at Shelburne Falls; Ashfield Lake House; and the Ashfield Local Cultural Council.
• Become a prize sponsor! Businesses in and around Ashfield can show commitment to our community and promote your products or services by sponsoring a prize at the Ashfield Lighted Boat Parade.

Volunteer

Want to help make this event great in some way besides making art? Tell us about you.

Press

• Not Your Typical Public Art Project, These Pieces Must Float, Ashfield News, January 2026
• Ashfield seeks artists for Lighted Boat Parade on Ashfield Lake, Greenfield Recorder, Jan 2, 2026
• Call for Art - Press Release, December 22, 2025
• Lighted Boat Parade Concept - Press Release, August 21, 2025
• Ashfield, Northfield awarded $15k grants for art training, Greenfield Recorder, February 9, 2025
• Grant Award from NEFA - Press Release, February 6, 2025

Questions?

Write to publicart@ashfield.org 

Or call the Town Clerk at (413) 628-4441 x5