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Williamson Herald article Posted on: 12/28/2006 The Tennessean.com posted on December 22, 2006 News-Press.com posted on February 16, 2007 The Tennessean.com posted on March 14, 2007 The Tennessean.com posted on December 31, 2007 The Tennessean.com posted on January 7, 2008 The Tennessean.com posted on January 29, 2008 The Notables, Williamson County article Flicker.com photos |
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Ed James leads The Light the World Parade during the recent Franklin Christmas Parade. |
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| Franklin design group hopes to ship 'portable parade' to Beijing Light The World made debut at 2004 Olympics in Greece By BONNIE BURCH Staff Writer FRANKLIN -- With one Olympic Games under its belt, The Light The World Parade is looking forward to bringing its colorful assembly to China in 2008. ARK 2 Studio, a Franklin design group, is producing the self-contained parade complete with banners, costumes and an 800-member, all-volunteer squad to entertain during the next Olympics in Beijing. "We're really trying to get Franklin and Williamson County behind us. The overall effort presents an opportunity by schools, businesses and organizations to show good will between nations in a creative way," Director Ed James said. "The Light The World Parade was created specifically to be a gift to the world." That gift is packed in crates, complete with power systems. All the producers need on site are volunteers to make it all come alive. The Light The World Parade was created and shipped overseas to take part in the cultural celebrations during the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. In an effort to show the connection between the people of Nashville -- also known as "The Athens of the South" -- and other nations competing in the athletic contests, more than 200 college students and young adults in Greece brought the parade to life there. Parade materials consist of banners, flags, costumes, giant puppets and inflatable pieces as well as special effects and surround sound. Volunteers perform various functions in the parade making up a color guard, a drill team, dancers and street performers. In China, the parade will add marionettes of children representing several different nations, James said. And parade organizers will be busy in the next few weeks as well. On New Year's Eve, The Light The World Parade will be a part of the larger Dallas New Year's Parade. Then in February, the parade will make a stop in Fort Myers, Fla., during the Edison Festival of Light, a celebration commemorating inventor Thomas Edison. "This parade is not just for international display, but also for domestic performances. It's always fun to make people smile," James said. The parade also has already been booked to the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa. A set and event designer, James' work has appeared on Amy Grant's DVD and CD release of Time & Again and he's worked with George Strait, Wynonna and Kenny Loggins. He's also been involved with a number of community projects including Nashville Summer Lights, the Saturn Homecoming and a halftime show for McDonald's. "My parents took me to see The Music Man starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones when I was just a kid. It left a lasting amount of happiness and joy in my heart. It became my inspiration to build The Light The World Parade. That's part of what I believe the world needs right now -- bold love and happiness in the form of real action," he said. In addition to James, the ARK 2 team includes Mark Neubauer of Franklin and Matt and Dawn Davidson of Orlando, Fla. The biggest challenge isn't finding places to perform. It's finding sponsors who can finance the portable parade. So far, places such as The Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams, Chick-fil-A, Glazier Mills and Ultimate Support Systems have stepped forward to offer help. Huskey Building Supply provides the shipping crates. Yamaha will supply portable generators to power the super-sized inflatables, special effects and surround-sound systems. "We want to send a message of joy and hope that inspires people, especially with so much negative going on in the world. We really are the Volunteer State," James said. For more information, visit www.thelighttheworldparade.com or call 591-9339. Contact Bonnie Burch at 771-5421 or bburch@tennessean.com. posted on December 22, 2006 |
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| A grand time for everyone Parade highlighted by dance and marching group of local teens By Mary Wozniak mwozniak@news-press.com Originally posted on February 16, 2007 The 2007 Edison Festival of Light dives into its final weekend with a flourish, launching one of the largest Grand Parades in the 69-year-old festival's history plus an expanded stadium show designed to keep the crowd riveted and rockin' in their seats. The parade features about 150 units, including 35 floats, 14 bands and 21 dance or marching units, said Gerry Ginsberg, festival executive director. The parade kicks off at Edwards Drive and Hendry Street in downtown Fort Myers' River District at 7 p.m. and travels along a nearly 2-mile parade route to the Fort Myers High School Stadium. The Grand Parade Marshals are four former Miami Dolphins from the team's glory years, along with current member Channing Crowder. The four former members are Earl Morrall, Nat Moore, Mark Duper and Kim Bokamper. The Dolphins' cheerleaders will accompany the players to help rev up the crowd. Ensuring that the parade path is all positive energy will be a new dance and marching group called The Light The World Parade Project. The group's coordinators are from Nashville, but the performers will be 100 to 150 volunteers from Fort Myers area high schools. The parade project, a nonprofit organization founded by Ed James of ARK2 Studio in Franklin, Tenn., near Nashville, aims to be a fully portable parade with an all-volunteer cast of dancers, athletes, drum line, color guards, performers, special effects, production and security. Their ultimate mission is to be able to send the parade out anywhere in the world to areas trying to recover from a disaster, "to encourage people not to give up, they're not forgotten, there's hope around the corner," James said. The group already has nearly $500,000 in donations and gifts-in-kind from individuals, organizations and corporations like Home Depot, Sherwin Williams, Chick-Fil-A, and Glazier Mills. Some people understand the concept and jump on board, James said. "Other people scratch their head and say, 'Why in the world are you building this thing?" Light The World first performed at the cultural celebrations preceding the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, James said. Now James is preparing the group to perform at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. The Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade has been on his radar for three years as a site to test perform with the group, he said. There are two reasons: Edison was a famous inventor and entrepreneur, and the project celebrates the American entrepreneurial spirit. Second, the light bulb is a symbol of the group, James said. "I can't tell you how excited we are to be coming to Fort Myers this weekend," he said. James will be in town starting Friday to practice with the volunteers, recruited over a Web site. Light The World will perform a five-minute dance to an Earth, Wind and Fire tune during the Edison Grand Parade, he said. When the parade enters the Fort Myers High School stadium at 2635 Cortez Blvd, it will take a final "victory lap," Ginsberg said. A two-story screen, new this year, will video the action live to provide a better-than-bird's-eye-view. By this time, the audience should already be pumped up from a performance by Blessid Union of Souls at 5:30 p.m. and a spectacular 15-minute fireworks display at 7. When the parade's victory lap finishes, the headliner, Sister Hazel, takes the stage at 9:30 p.m. without missing a beat. The band, which is from Gainesville, has sold more than two million albums. Ginsberg suggests that parade-goers get downtown early — by 2 p.m. There will be lots to do, and food and drink to keep folks happy, he said. Check out the Saturday schedule of events in and around Centennial Park. |
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| Portable parade continues its trek toward China ARK2 Studio's 'Light' parade helps celebrate Edison By BONNIE BURCH Staff Writer FRANKLIN — Fresh from a showing at the Edison Festival of Light, the Light the World Parade is well on its way for a trip to China next year. The portable parade, produced by Franklin design group ARK 2 Studio, performed for the Fort Myers, Fla., festival honoring electric light bulb inventor Thomas Edison last month. "We've now got a much longer entourage. And it gives us practice for Beijing," director Ed James said. The group hopes to bring its colorful, musical assembly to the Cultural Olympiad in China, which will run parallel to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At its height, the parade will grow to include 800 volunteers and included puppeteers, street performers, a color guard and a drill team. But the Edison Festival was a nice forerunner. Previously, a much smaller version could be seen dancing down Main Street during last year's Franklin Christmas Parade. In Fort Myers, the audience was treated to bright costumes, music and dance from the more than 100 performers — mostly teenage and young adult volunteers from a Florida high school and college. And there have been some additions to the traveling assembly, such as 8-foot balloons that light up at night and choreography arranged by Ballet Magnificat!, a Christian dance company. Beijing is second Olympics appearance The Light the World Parade was created and then shipped overseas to take part in the cultural celebrations held during the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. The parade elements are made possible by business and corporate contributions coming from such sources as The Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams, Chick-fil-A, Glazier Mills and Huskey Lumber. A recent donation of Yamaha generators will provide power systems for 28 Vertitubes — inflatable tubes of fabric that bob and dance — in the Light the World Parade. "That's a big one for us because it makes the parade more flexible. We can have it in city parks, in plazas or even on big, wide sidewalks without any difficulty," James said. A full-scale "test date" to continue to secure the parade's logistics is planned for sometime in May in the Nashville area. "This is done to help us decide how the parade will operate. We want the most efficient portable parade we can have," he said. For information, visit www.thelighttheworldparade.com or call 591-9339. posted on March 14, 2007 |
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| Franklin-based Light The World to appear in Cotton Bowl
By BONNIE BURCH FRANKLIN — The Light The World Parade, a Franklin-headquartered goodwill ambassador to the Beijing Olympic Games, makes an appearance today in the Comerica New Year’s Parade, which is associated with the AT&T Cotton Bowl celebrations. Designed and created by ARK 2 Productions, the Light The World Parade features large helium balloons, flags and cultural costumes from various nations and live dance performances. This is the group's second appearance in the Dallas, Texas festivities as a preview to the bowl game, this year between the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri. The traveling parade is expected to perform one of 12 production numbers scheduled for this summer’s Olympic Games Cultural Olympiad celebrations in China. posted on December 31, 2007 |
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| Take a Bow: Local group set to shine in Beijing
By MISSY MCADAMS For me, the start of a new year brings on feelings of hope and joy. And I don't think I'm alone. The fresh start creates an overall sense of renewal and happiness that can't be denied. Ed James, director of The Light the World Parade in Franklin, wants to capture those good feelings every time his group puts on a performance. The self-contained parade — complete with banners, costumes and a 600-plus, all-volunteer squad — most recently was part of the Comerica Bank New Year's Parade held Dec. 31 in association with the AT&T Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The next step for the portable parade, produced by Franklin design group ARK 2 Studio, is the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "We are very excited about being part of the Beijing Olympics," James said. "We've been in the process of getting our approval to participate since about this same time last year." James even enlisted the help of Vanderbilt University professor Yong Chen to assist in the proposal, which was sent in English and Chinese. The extra effort paid off. He received the approval letter last September. According to James, Light the World will participate as the centerpiece cultural event in the Cultural Festival Square, a 250-acre center in the heart of Olympic Village. The group will be in Beijing Aug. 1-24. James said the group will bring a high-energy performance that he hopes will engage the international crowd. The performance will include a specially created opening tribute to the host country, a collection of international flags and costumes, inflatable floats and much more. Volunteers will perform various functions in the parade, including a color guard, a drill team, dancers and street performers. "The theme for the Olympics is One World, One Dream, and that fits us like a glove," James said. "We believe that our performance is truly a gift of joy and happiness in a time when the culture is skeptical." For James, the performance is no small undertaking — and neither are the expenses. He said he is looking for some assistance in paying the deposit on close to 600 airline tickets being held for the cast and crew. While many cast members have already signed up, there may still be space for more. "This has taken a whole lot of momentum to get to this point, but we still have some hurdles in front of us," he said. "But I think we're onto something very, very big." For more information on The Light the World Parade, go online to www.thelighttheworldparade.com. posted on January 7, 2008 |
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| Local group takes parade to Beijing Olympics By VIVI HOANG • Staff Writer • January 29, 2008 Not far from where entertainers in The Light of the World Parade will be standing in August, Olympic athletes will be competing in Beijing for their place in history. And the parade's still looking for performers to fill its ranks. Helmed by Franklin design group ARK 2 Studio, the parade has been asked to perform in the cultural plaza of Olympic Village near Olympic Green. The gigantic green, which is about 2,724 acres, is where much of the athletic action will be taking place. "We really want to represent our city and invite people to our city from all over the world to see what Music City's all about," said parade organizer Ed James. James and his colleagues Matt Davidson and Mark Neubauer began discussing in the fall of 2001 the idea of a portable parade with an all-volunteer cast. The parade has performed around the country, but its Olympic break came in 2004, when it took part in the opening night cultural celebrations of the Summer Games in Athens, Greece. The parade organizers cast about 385 college students from around the world for the performance. Next came the complicated process of earning an invite to the Beijing Olympics. Getting the gig Light the World was so serious about making a good impression that it asked Yong Chen, a Vanderbilt University lecturer in East Asian Studies, to translate its parade proposal into Chinese. "There's a fine balance between being a Goodwill ambassador and not looking like you're Yankee Doodle coming down the street," James said. "We're definitely proud to be American — I just think, in this case, it requires a more diplomatic approach and more forethought and more consideration on how much to push down on the gas pedal." Nine months after its first inquiry, Light the World scored a formal invitation in the fall. With that in hand, James is busy seeking corporate sponsorship and filling out his massive cast. A look at the big picture Playing off the Summer Olympics' theme of "One World, One Dream," parade organizers are going for song choices and a design that urges spectators to do their part to change the world. "We're trying to build a message that they can make a difference just by taking action," James said. "I think there's a lot of anger all over the world that can be addressed by stopping for a second and realizing it's not all about you, it's about the bigger picture." It will feature dance, stunts, gymnastics, athletics, puppets and world flags as well as digital video. James expects to cast 600 volunteer performers from the United States plus 200 from China. In addition to twice-daily shows, cast members will go in smaller contingents to visit places such as children's hospitals, orphanages and schools. Among the motley crew will be 18-year-old Bethany Bulla, a longtime dancer with the Green Hills School of Dance who's taken part in past The Light of the World parades. The Beijing trip, she said, combines many of her interests: the Olympics, dancing, travel and giving back to the community. "I'm really looking forward to being in the same vicinity of all these amazing athletes," she said, "and bringing our element of dance to the Olympics."
The Light the World Parade, which is produced by a Franklin-based group, will perform in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Parade organizers are still casting open spots. |
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| Read The Notables, Williamson County article | |
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Other Events where The Light The World Parade has performed:
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