This summer, 2Rivers Festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. Whether it's in person or online is yet to be decided.
Festival organizers Wellington Water Watchers switched to a digital platform this year to promote their events prior to the festival on May 2 to June 26. If COVID restrictions allow, the festival will be held along the Speed and Eramosa rivers as usual. If not, the festival will use its digital platform which is ready to go.
The digital event calendar can be viewed here.
The festival’s theme this year is The Confluence of Rivers, Peoples and their Stories, and will be hosting over 40 free events such as the Moccasin Identifier Project, founded by Carolyn King of the Mississauga of the Credit, the Two Row on the Grand, founded by Ellie Joseph, a Mohawk woman from Six Nations and her paddle brother Jay Bailey, stories of strength and resilience shared by Denise Frances and Kween from the Guelph Black Heritage society through an event called History Bites - Reflections from the Black Community hosted by the Guelph Civic Museum.
“We extend our sincere thanks to all the participating host organizations.” said Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Wellington Water Watchers, in a news release.
“It is particularly challenging to organize an event in these ever-changing and uncertain conditions and we are deeply grateful to each event host for the flexibility and adaptability they have shown in the planning of this festival. We encourage you to RSVP for their listed events and also to visit their websites to join these groups and participate in their activities throughout the year."
“Our hope is that your participation in the festival will encourage the citizens of Guelph to advocate for the protection and conservation of these local waters and all the peoples who call this place home.” said Rob Case, chair of Wellington Water Watchers.
Online event information will be updated as the festival date approaches on the event website.
