SUNY Potsdam Illuminates the North Country with the Festival of Lights

SUNY Potsdam Celebrates Launch of Deeply Rooted, Future Focused Campaign with Unforgettable Community Celebration

Potsdam, NY (10/30/2026) — An estimated 2,000 guests of all ages joined on campus for an evening of art, music and celebration, as SUNY Potsdam welcomed the community for the return of its beloved LoKo Arts Festival of Lights and the public launch of its historic $45 million fundraising campaign.

On a crisp, clear autumn evening, SUNY Potsdam's Academic Quad was transformed into a vibrant celebration of art and community. Thousands of twinkling lights illuminated the campus, original art installations invited exploration, and live music brought generations together, as students, faculty, staff, alumni and North Country residents gathered for the return of the Festival of Lights on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The evening concluded with a spectacular display of 200 synchronized drones soaring up to 400 feet above campus, providing a fitting finale to a weeklong celebration marking the public launch of Deeply Rooted, Future Focused: The Campaign for Potsdam.

The most ambitious fundraising campaign in SUNY Potsdam's history, the initiative has already secured more than $40.1 million in gifts and commitments toward its $45 million goal. The Festival invited the North Country community to share in this historic milestone, honoring the people, partnerships and traditions that have shaped the College for more than two centuries while celebrating the future they are helping to build.

"The remarkable turnout for the Festival of Lights demonstrated just how deeply SUNY Potsdam is woven into the fabric of the North Country. It was an incredible event I won't soon forget," said SUNY Potsdam President Dr. Suzanne R. Smith. "We are profoundly grateful to everyone who helped us reach this milestone and to all who helped to make our celebration so magical."

"What made the evening so remarkable was the sense of connection," said Haley Billings '13, LoKo Arts coordinator and assistant director of Public Learning, Arts and Community Engagement (PLACE). "Through art, music and light, we brought generations together to celebrate the community that has long defined SUNY Potsdam. The finale, pairing the rich musical legacy of the Crane School of Music archives with the innovation of a drone show, was a striking expression of Deeply Rooted, Future Focused, honoring the traditions that shaped us while illuminating the possibilities ahead."

A campus transformed through art, music and community

Regional artists transformed the Quad with imaginative light installations, from the glowing jellyfish of Lainie L. Calhoun-Bouchey's "Finding Your Crowd: 3D Edition" and repurposed glass flowers of Sherry Barkley's "Glass Blooms" to Laura Garnero '15's "Girlypop," an unassuming tent revealing a vibrant world of pink tinsel and light.

Liza Paige '12's "Night Vision" invited visitors into an illuminated, two-dimensional-style office, while five six-foot panels of "Rocks Revealed" lined Minerva Plaza. Erica Kelso '13's "One Hundred Tiny Universes: And You Are Here" featured a walk-through installation of more than 100 softly illuminated wooden circles.

Young artists also contributed through the North Country Children's Museum, showcasing collaborative work from its after-school Glow-in-the-Dark Art Program.

Visitors became artists themselves, as children used thousands of glowsticks and connectors to create illuminated designs. Glowing wands, bracelets and flashing bear ear headband giveaways added color and movement across the Quad, making guests part of the Festival's ever-changing display of light.

Families and friends enjoyed glow-in-the-dark mini-golf and Jenga at Glocade, explored the installations and posed for photographs throughout the evening.

Local rock cover band SFM, featuring Benjamin Todd, Marcus Alvarez, Matt Gayle '06 and Ben Lacy, headlined the celebration with a two-hour performance that transformed the Academic Quad into an outdoor concert venue. Barker Productions provided professional sound, dynamic concert lighting and blacklight effects.

College students and dancers from Potsdam Dance Company, dressed in illuminated wings and crowns, circulated through the crowd, posed for photographs with visitors and encouraged guests of all ages to dance.

Together, the music, performances and interactive artwork created a lively, welcoming celebration in which attendees were not simply spectators, but active participants.

A spectacular finale celebrating SUNY Potsdam's legacy

At 8 p.m., the crowd turned its attention skyward for the evening's highly anticipated finale.

Produced by Airloom Drone Shows, the custom-designed performance featured 200 synchronized drones flying up to 400 feet above the Lougheed Learning Commons, forming animated images inspired by SUNY Potsdam's history, traditions and iconic campus imagery.

The display was choreographed to a custom musical medley curated from the archives of the College's renowned Crane School of Music, pairing the institution's musical heritage with innovative technology.

The Festival of Lights was made possible through the generosity and artistic vision of LoKo Arts founders Kathryn (Kofoed) Lougheed '54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. '54), in partnership with SUNY Potsdam's Division of College Advancement.

Through the shared experience of art, music and celebration, the Festival honored those enduring connections while illuminating the possibilities of what comes next.

To learn more about Deeply Rooted, Future Focused, and how to participate in the campaign, visit www.potsdam.edu/deeplyrooted.

About LoKo Arts:

Founded in 2012, LoKo Arts is SUNY Potsdam's year-round arts initiative, bringing bold visual, performing, literary and interdisciplinary arts experiences to campus and the North Country through artist residencies, performances, exhibitions, workshops, educational outreach and community collaborations. Each year, programming culminates in the LoKo Arts Festival, a multi-day celebration of creativity and connection. The 2026-27 academic year marks LoKo Arts' fifteenth anniversary, celebrated through the theme "Illumination," with the 2027 Festival set to take place from April 27 through May 2, 2027. All LoKo Arts programs and events are free and open to the public. LoKo Arts is made possible through the generosity and artistic vision of Kathryn (Kofoed) '54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. '54). To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

About the Potsdam College Foundation:

Established in 1968, the Potsdam College Foundation is a nonprofit corporation charged with receiving gifts on behalf of SUNY Potsdam and stewarding the continued growth of private giving in support of the College. Its mission is to ensure a quality future for the College and its people by encouraging gifts of all types and stewarding endowments to support scholarships and campus programs. For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/giving/pcf.

Media Attachments