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2Rivers Festival offering a bucket full of events

Events start Tuesday evening with a garlic mustard pull and continue to through to mid-June

Five years in, the 2Rivers Festival is flowing out a series of river-related events over the next three weeks, starting Tuesday evening and continuing to mid-June. All events are free.

The festival, which began in 2012, has brought in a number of partner organizations to host events this year. 2River is an annual festival that celebrates the Speed and Eramosa rivers, the two rivers that have been at the heart of local culture, economy and environment for centuries. 

Bringing attention to the vital importance of the rivers helps foster their protection.

An event was to have taken place over the weekend, but the Garlic Mustard Pull and Pesto Making Workshop has been rescheduled for Tuesday evening from 6-8 p.m. It’s hosted by OPIRG Guelph and presented by Wellington Water Watchers.

Garlic mustard is a fast-spreading invasive herb, native to Europe. It interferes with the growth of native plants. Picking it back is good for the ecosystem. It’s high in vitamins and workshop organizers say it makes great pesto. After picking it, native species will be planted in its place.

Bring your own container and a trowel if you have one. Meet up is at the Eramosa River Trail at the end of Brockville Avenue off York Road.

On Saturday from 1-3 p.m., the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation will host Bridge’s and a Pint, a cycling tour of the city’s bridges. It starts at the Enabling Garden in Riverside Park and ends at Royal City Brewing Co. on Victoria Road S., where participants will meet beverages.  

GCAT wants to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Gow Bridge, and the 25th year of the Covered Bridge. As the pedals pump from bridge to bridge, riders will hear a bit about the history and importance of the structures, and experience the sense of connection the bridges give us to our rivers. One impetus behind the ride is to promote alternative modes of transportation.

There are two events on Sunday, May 28. Bridges to Our Past is a walking tour of the cities bridges. It starts at 1 p.m. at the historic, unique Norwich Footbridge near Goldie Mill Park, and runs for an hour. The soaring Heffernan Bridge will be crossed, as will the Gow and the Covered.  

The tour guide will be Susan Ratcliffe of sponsor organization Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, Guelph Wellington. She will tell stories about the bridges and the rivers they cross. There may also be a visitation by the ghost of Peter Gow, who owned the land along the river back in the 1860s.

The walking tour will end at the Royal City Park Gazebo, where singer-songwriter, and Guelph city councillor, James Gordon will give a 45-minute concert starting at 2:30 p.m. He will sing songs and tell stories with a river theme, just down from the spot where the two rivers converge.

The 2017 2Rivers Festival offers 16 events this year. Learn about the others coming up in June at www.2riversfestival.org. While the events are free, you are invited to register in advance so organizers have a better idea of the numbers to expect. 

The annual 2Rivers Cleanup happens on Saturday, June 03 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meet up is at the Royal City Park gazebo. Hosted and sponsored by OPIRG Guelph and Wellington Water Waters, this is the 38th year for the annual cleanup, where everything that doesn’t belong in the river is picked, hauled, and dragged out of it.

Teams will be dispatched to various parts of the river. Snacks, refreshments and discussion will follow. Bring work gloves, a hat, sunscreen, and waterproof footwear.

 


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Rob O'Flanagan

About the Author: Rob O'Flanagan

Rob O’Flanagan has been a newspaper reporter, photojournalist and columnist for over twenty years. He has won numerous Ontario Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Award.
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