ASSEMBLY: A Procession of American Luminaries
Saturday, July 4
8:00PM - Check-in
8:30PM - Procession Begins
JOIN US FOR A COMMUNITY PROCESSION
Highland Lights returns to celebrate five years of illuminating Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s landscape through community-built processions. Processional Arts Workshop and award-winning composer Heather Christian (Animal Wisdom, Oratorio for Living Things) are coming together to create an ambulatory performance that reflects on 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Everyone can get involved! Local participants are invited to be an active part of the procession as they journey at dusk as revolutionary figures from the distant and recent past emerge to form a growing luminous serpentine puppet inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s iconic “Join or Die” image. Grab a lantern or lift your voice as you join a Community Choir performing a five part score composed by Heather Christian specifically for the event. No preparation required.
Join Us
ASSEMBLY is created through a series of free community conversations and hands-on workshops. Hudson Valley residents of all ages and backgrounds were invited to participate. We've concluded our weekend workshop offerings for 2026.
If you missed the workshops but want to get involved, all audience members attending the event can become active participants, carrying small lanterns and joining in choral refrains as the procession unfolds.
About Assembly
When asked what form governance the newly minted nation would assume, Benjamin Franklin famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin knew that sustaining democracy would be a never-ending task.
Assembly evokes the foundational act of gathering and building. Through light, movement, and voice, the performance offers a moment of reflection on common values, civic imagination, and the ongoing work of forming a more expansive “we.” Rather than presenting a single argument or narrative, Assembly creates space for many histories, many perspectives, and the possibility of shared celebration.
