On March 27, first-year students from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning carried on a 125-year tradition of leading Cornell’s Dragon Day, marking the culmination of their semester-long effort to design and build a dragon to parade through central campus. The planning process for the event alone takes several weeks, and usually takes place in late March on the Friday before spring break.
“Veiled” served as the chosen theme for this year’s celebration, as demonstrated in the see-through fabric attached to the wooden structure of the dragon. The red wooden frame was created with the help of recycled materials and encased in a fireproof coating, designed with the intent for visitors to walk underneath the creation once disassembled.
The theme of last year’s Dragon Day was “How to Build your Dragon,” featuring design elements including canvas and raw lumber. Like this year, there was also an opportunity for the audience to interact with the design, where guests could help paint the structure with powdered color after the parade had concluded. 2024’s Dragon Day featured a sleek, dark-gray dragon design made out of cardboard and wooden planks.
Originating as a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Dragon Day began in the early 1900s when architecture student Willard Dickerman Straight ’01 organized an event centered around building a large snake to symbolize the driving of snakes out of Ireland. Over time, the tradition evolved into the dragon-focused parade seen today, with architecture students designing and constructing elaborate structures to showcase their class’s creativity and collaboration skills.
This year’s parade route started outside of Rand Hall, going down Feeney Way and looping around Campus Road to return back to the Arts Quad through Ho Plaza. Students and audience members alike commemorated the walkthrough by shouting the iconic call-and-response chant “Dragon, Dragon, Dragon! Oi, oi, oi!” while many of the organizers donned creative costumes. This year, some of the students’ attire reflected the infrastructure of Ithaca, such as TCAT buses, road signs, tires, electric utility poles, clearance bars, grass and flowers.
When the crowd approached the end of Feeney Way and the Engineering Quad, The Phoenix Society joined the parade with a fiery red bird float, continuing another Dragon Day tradition from the Duffield College of Engineering. Additionally, the Cornell Physics Metal Unicorn sculpture made an appearance, another highly anticipated addition to the walkthrough crafted by graduate students in the Physics department.
After the parade finished, the dragon sculpture was disassembled into sections on the Arts Quad, followed by a celebration party. The Big Red Marching Band joined the fun and gave the crowd a post-parade concert outside of Goldwin Smith Hall.
Observers gather for the Dragon Day parade.
Additionally, for the first time in Dragon Day history, guests had the opportunity to walk through the body of the dragon after the celebration had concluded. The dragon itself, as a large-scale structure that stretched across the Arts Quad, was easily tall enough for visitors to walk beneath its frame.
The dragon’s red wooden skeleton was made up of curved arches and angled spikes, giving the creation a dynamic silhouette even while stationary. Dark, semi-transparent fabric was stretched across the frame in triangular panels, catching the light and shifting slightly in the wind.
The stark contrast between the black fabric lining and red-colored skeleton helped me to conceptualize the "Veiled" theme. In getting the opportunity to walk underneath the structure, I was able to take a closer look at the design and observe the refraction of light off the different panels.
Being able to look deeper into the physical design helped me to visualize all of the hard work that goes into the dragon creation process. I appreciate the decision to support audience involvement in the most recent Dragon Day events, because it strengthens the idea of connecting AAP with the broader campus community.
This year's Dragon Day was a great reflection of the artisanship that AAP brings to Cornell’s culture. The "Veiled" theme gave the 2026 dragon a distinctive look that set it apart from prior years, and the walkthrough experience offered a closer look into the work behind the build. As the semester winds down, Dragon Day continues to serve as one of Cornell's most anticipated and visually memorable campus traditions.
A group of Architecture students in front of the sculpture.
Richard Ballard is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is a staff writer for the Lifestyle department and can be reached at rballard@cornellsun.com.
