Happy Giving Tuesday!
Okay, so it’s been a big weekend of your inbox being filled with one million emails about Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals and yadda yadda yadda…and now Tuesday’s here and it’s one more day where you’re being asked to spend money. We get it!
Here’s the thing - Giving Tuesday doesn’t come with buyer’s remorse, or the worry of something fitting poorly or being the wrong colour or the wrong gift. Hopefully, what it does come with, is lots of good feelings and excitement from supporting a community project that brings many people together in the summertime on PEI, to build something big and ambitious and strange and spectacular. Something larger and wilder than our individual imaginations ever thought could be possible. So, if you’ve emerged from this weekend of spending (or not spending!) with some money left in your wallet, consider supporting the 2019 River Clyde Pageant. A donation of any size helps us get next summer’s project off the ground and into the fields and waterways of New Glasgow and the River Clyde.
But you don’t have to just take my word for it. Read on to hear from some of the folks who are part of the big Pageant family, about why this project is so important to them, and why it’s worth supporting.
Tara Callaghan
farmer, Little Victory Microfarms
“What I love most about the Pageant is the life it brings to the village of New Glasgow in the weeks leading up to the performances. Like the arrival of high tide, the village is flooded with creativity. Working in the garden, I’ll hear a chorus of kids’ voices echo over the river or spot a masterpiece of papier-mâché unfold from a hedgerow, and it lifts my spirit. Even something as simple as seeing the cast and crew walk and bike between buildings during rehearsals and workshops is like stepping back to a simpler time, when villages were not quiet relics of the past but thriving with a sense of place and community.”
Ian McFarlane, Pageant Puppet builder
“Theatre has always felt necessary to me, but always in an abstracted way. Whether it has been staging Shakespeare or touring an original work, making theatre felt as if I was pretending that my voice was reverberating beyond the walls of the theatre and into the world around me. Working on the Pageant is a different experience. I see the work emerge from the world around us: the stage is made out of earth, the songs come from the mouths of our neighbours, the story is told by our children. Working on the Pageant reminds me that I am shaping and being shaped by a community, and that the act of performing is about more than pretending, it is about moving with others into a collective imagining of how we can exist together.”
Marianne Rendòn, lead vocalist & choir
“The River Clyde Pageant has completely changed my life. Collaborating with the community members around New Glasgow has given me faith in the future of storytelling. I had been working in commercial theater, on TV & in films for years before my summer in New Glasgow. I loved arriving to work everyday in the fields on Robin & Debbie & Tara's farm. I was inspired by kid's firecracker instincts on stage. I was moved singing in a choir with both trained & untrained voices. I believe everyone has the impulse to sing, dance, and tell stories of their surroundings. Megan, Ker, & the citizens of PEI have restored my faith in the performing arts.”
Joanna Caplan, guest artist in 2016 & 2018
“While there are many reasons why I believe in the River Clyde Pageant I think that at its core the Pageant brings people together in a pure and important way; to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. This “something” is a necessary vitality that inspires and nourishes everyone that comes into contact with it. The River Clyde Pageant is an extraordinary and life-affirming project that I am grateful to be part of.”
Jane Wells, associate director & kids drama leader
“On one night last summer, the performance was delayed because of heavy rain. Ker and Megan decided that if the rain stopped by 7:30pm, we could go ahead with the show. As audience huddled faithfully in their cars, waiting for the rain to stop, the cast sheltered under tarps and trees (and some of the children danced heedlessly in the great wide open). The bulk of us were collected under a large tarp, and we started chanting, continuously, “Rain, rain, go away!” It kept pouring, truly thunderous on the suspended tarp: and then, at what felt like the height of the chant, it stopped. And it stayed stopped. And we all stared at each other, astonished, joyous, at our power. The show went on.
It’s not that I actually believe that we stayed the rain spirits. (Although they must have been impressed by our tenacity.) But the moment represents to me something essential about the Pageant, what keeps us coming back to it each summer: the power of people together, speaking singing dancing paddling, can lead us to elemental transformations.”
Anne Paulus, guest artist in 2017 & 2018
“The culture of the Pageant is one of generosity and one of reverence— reverence for the place and a deep respect for those who inhabit it throughout the year. Sunset on The River Clyde should have always been honored with the slow and steady approach of a large and luminescent whale puppet gliding steadily across the river on a scrappy catamaran, attended by a raft of drummers and greeted by a small party of slow-flying dancers clad in watery fabric. But it takes the generosity of many, many imaginations and many, many hands to actualize this sort of thing. And that is exactly what happens in this ambitious, loaves-and-fishes enterprise.”
Emily Wells, Chef & Pageant community supper coordinator
“Over the past 3 years in early June, we year-round residents of New Glasgow start to hear the sights and sounds of the awakening River Clyde Pageant. We've come to expect it and we look forward to it. It begins with the sight of the fledgling stilt walkers in the Gardens of Hope, then the quiet evenings on the river with the sounds of song, drums, gamelans, trumpets, trombones and kids’ laughter echoing across the water. Red rowboats, rafts and canoes floating down the river, often with a bagpiper or larger-than-life puppet attached. People in costumes and masks running and walking across the bridge. Our community has come alive again. For weeks, we see snippets of the performance in creation. Then the performance weekends are upon us, we're all frantic and excited. I'm cooking food for after the show and then while serving it, I eavesdrop on the audience reacting to what they've just seen. Two weekends and five shows later, it's all over. Us year-round residents start to miss the excitement and the buzz and the people. This Fall, I've been delivering lunch once a week to Gulf Shore School, where many of the young Pageant participants go to school. Almost every day, I see at least one student wearing a River Clyde Pageant t-shirt and my heart swells and I feel so proud of the lasting impact this annual event has had on my community.”
Debi Phipps Stevenson, farmer, Little Victory Microfarms
“The River Clyde Pageant is the highlight of the summer in New Glasgow. It brings our community together in a creative and educational way and provides an opportunity for people of all ages to experience the many layers of performance art. The river bank echoes with laughter and music. A truly joyful experience!”
Volunteer at this year's Pageant!
Tickets for this year's River Clyde Pageant, Catch a River by the Tale, are now sold out! A limited number of tickets have been made available for our dress rehearsal on July 27, which you can buy on the Tickets page.
However, we really need volunteers to help out. Volunteers can assist on any night of the show with parking, food prep and serving, and as paddlers for two multi-person canoes on the river.
Volunteers will receive a pair of tickets to any night of the performance.
Shifts are available on July 28, 29 and August 3, 4, 5. Times are as follows:
--> food prep & serving for the community supper, 6pm-10pm
--> Paddling on the river (on a double canoe rig with 3 others), 6-10pm
--> Parking lot attendant, 5:45pm -7:15pm (you can watch the show after)
To sign up for a volunteer shift, email: riverclydepageant@gmail.com
A special presentation in June!
We are very excited to be producing a special presentation of The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut, a tabletop toy-theatre play written and performed by Mike Geither and Amy Schwabauer from Cleveland, Ohio.
Mike and Amy have been touring this show to homes around the United States since this past fall, and are bringing their toy actors to PEI for three performances on June 23 and 24 in New Glasgow and Charlottetown.
The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut follows the citizens of a small town as they maneuver through an evening of chaos at the local fairgrounds. In the last days of summer, mechanics, teenagers, carnival workers and musicians long for better lives.
The show runs 50 minutes, and material is suitable for adults and teens.
DATES:
7:00pm Saturday, June 23 at The Mill in New Glasgow
2:00pm Sunday, June 24 at The Vessel in Charlottetown (171 Great George Street)
7:00pm Sunday, June 24 at The Vessel
Limited tickets available - purchase online here: https://warrencountyfair.bpt.me
We're back for 2018! Here's what's up!
The River Clyde Pageant is returning to the rolling hills and riverside of New Glasgow this summer, and artistic directors Megan Stewart and Ker Wells are excited to share a reimagined performance and a series of new workshops for the public.
In 2018, The River Clyde Pageant will be presented as a single-site performance in the fields of the Little Victory Microfarms, using the natural amphitheatre of the farm and the River Clyde as playing space. Each performance will conclude with a family-style long-table meal in the field, organized by Emily Wells and the team at The Mill restaurant, featuring food from local farmers. This year’s performance dates are July 28-29 and August 3, 4, 5.
Public workshops begin in June and continue through July. These artist-led workshops are free of charge and teach participants skills such as puppetry, stilt-walking, music and more. Workshop participants can then join the Pageant as performers, puppeteers, and musicians, or take on other production roles.
BC-based puppeteer Ian McFarlane is back to lead the creation of several large-scale puppets that will move on water and land. Puppet building sessions will occur twice a week in July, with Wednesday evenings reserved for small puppet projects and Saturday afternoons for bigger, outdoor puppet-building projects.
Laura Astwood, of the Ottawa Stilt Union, will be training a group of new stilt walkers alongside alumni stilt performers in early June. Theatre artist and educator Jane Wells is returning to teach a kids’ drama workshop exploring theatre and ecology. These weekly sessions in June will lead to the creation of scenes and stories for the Pageant performances.
New Orleans musicians Kathy Randels and Sean LaRocca are visiting New Glasgow to present a workshop July 2-8 at Gulf Shore School in North Rustico, exploring vocal song writing and music improvisation inspired by the natural environment. This workshop is open to musicians and vocalists of all ages and experience levels, and it aims to gather a group of musical performers to take part in the Pageant performances.
Cleveland-based playwright Michael Geither is offering a new take on playwriting with his weeklong workshop, “The Electric Eclectic.” This workshop, for beginner to advanced playwrights, will explore approaches to writing for the stage that will surprise and reward both writer and audience. This workshop runs June 16-23 at The Mill in New Glasgow.
The public is encouraged to take part in these workshops and in the creation of this magical community event. Advanced registration is required for all workshops, and you can sign up here.
Opening Night
a personal essay by Celeste Maynard
It was the day I had been dreading (and anticipating) since I was told I was going to be a river kid (one of the main roles) in this year's River Clyde Pageant. It was opening night. I had been practicing almost every day for two months to memorize eight scenes and three songs yet it still didn’t feel like long enough. Nervously reciting lines in my head, I got in the car and we headed to New Glasgow where the traveling performance was to take place on the bank of the river. Almost immediately I started rambling, saying things like “I’m going to mess up” and “We are all going to die” in typical nervous Celeste fashion. My brother, playing the part of a troll, kept telling me to shut up which I did, eventually. Before I knew it we were at the church.
The church was, as usual, a whirlwind of activity as herons and water spirits applied makeup, foxes pinned on tails and our directors, Megan, Ker and Jane, were trying to organize everyone. A quick line run and choir practice later we set off to the Gardens of Hope to do warm ups and greet the audience. Joe and Eiffie ( the other river kids ) seemed just as nervous as I was as we played theatre games such as Hep Hep Bang. We did a cheer and then it was time to go up the hill to direct the audience. As we were waiting, we discussed the life span of jellyfish and rambled nervously. We directed the huge (around 150 people) crowd down the hill and then the foxes jumped out of the bushes. That was our cue to go. We ran down the hill singing and all eyes were on us. It was now or never.
Fiona, Celeste & Joe run down the hill at the beginning of Wake the River Clyde, 2017
The scenes seemed to blur together, the troutlets, the farmer and the mermaid, the herons and the crow, the trolls, more mermaids and suddenly we were taking our bows. Everyone was celebrating. We made a beeline towards the food knowing it would be gone in no time. All the kids sat on the damp ground behind The Mill and ate. Then we ran around laughing like lunatics, climbed trees and played cards until long after dark. People trickled away until it was just my mom, Ker, Megan, a few other cast members and myself. These people were now like my second family. We bid them goodbye and we headed home knowing that tomorrow we would do it all over again.
Celeste performed as a River Kid in the 2017 River Clyde Pageant, and as a Crankie Kid in 2016.
If you have a story to share about your Pageant experience, let us know!
2017 Pageant News!
Musicians and performers in a scene at The Mill restaurant in last year’s River Clyde Pageant. From top left are Marti Hopson, Michael Fuller, Krista Wells, Fiona Moak. Descending the stairs are Noah Maynard, Celeste Maynard. Photo by Richard Chapman
Canadian and international artists will lead a series of free public workshops in preparation for this year’s River Clyde Pageant, titled Wake the River Clyde, in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island.
Members of the public can learn how to walk on stilts, build puppets, try their hand at playwriting, and participate in a week-long music workshop exploring the New Orleans Jazz Funeral tradition and its connections to PEI musical traditions. It’s all part of the early creation work for the Wake the River Clyde, co-directed by Megan Stewart and Ker Wells. Workshop participants can join the Pageant as performers for the five performances taking place July 29, 30 and August 4, 5 and 6.
Last year’s River Clyde Pageant was a collaboration between artists and volunteers from across PEI, who came together to create a travelling spectacle about the river at the heart of New Glasgow, and the environmental issues that affect its sustainability. This summer, Wake the River Clyde will use a similar model of collaboration but will tell a new story, featuring new and returning characters.
Stilt walking workshops run June 3-11 in Charlottetown and New Glasgow. These sessions are open to anyone age 12 and up, and are led by Ottawa-based stilt teacher and performer Laura Astwood. All participants receive a pair of stilts to keep.
Professional playwright Michael Geither, from Cleveland, Ohio, will teach a creative writing workshop called “Fifty Ways to Start A Play,” from June 11-17. This workshop will include sessions to develop personal creative writing as well as writing for the Pageant. It will focus on writing scenes, monologues and other material for the stage. Sessions take place at The Mill in New Glasgow.
An exciting new addition to this year’s Pageant is the River Clyde Jazz Funeral band that will process over the New Glasgow bridge in a solemn and celebratory scene. Local musicians of all ages, instruments and skill levels are invited to take part in a week-long workshop led by New Orleans performing artists Kathy Randels and Maurice Turner, who will explore the intersections of PEI music with jazz funeral music. This workshop runs July 4-9 at Gulf Shore School in North Rustico.
The Pageant will also feature puppet workshops, led by Nova Scotian puppet builder Ian McFarlane, and a choir led by New York musician and actor Marianne Rendón.
Members of the public are encouraged to get involved in the Pageant and take part in these workshops. To sign up, send us a message via our contact form!
Another campaign milestone!
Today we reached 75% of our crowdfunding goal! And with twelve days left, we have renewed energy and confidence as we head in to our final weeks of the campaign. To celebrate, we made this video update with Ian McFarlane, who will be leading puppet workshops for the Pageant this summer. Special thanks to Marianne Rendón, who directed, shot & edited this!
If you haven't yet made a donation to the 2017 River Clyde Pageant, now is the time! Help us reach our goal of $10,000 - which will cover basic costs of the Pageant: artist fees, workshop costs, materials, and food for the community suppers that conclude each night of the Pageant.
And if you've donated already, keep the Pageant on people's minds by sharing updates on social media, and emailing and telling your friends! Let's get all the way up the river!
Halfway up the river!
The crowdfunding campaign for the 2017 River Clyde Pageant has reached a major milestone in less than a week of its launch!
Megan Stewart and Ker Wells, co-directors of the River Clyde Pageant, are organizing the second event after the remarkable success of the first Pageant, which drew 100 community performers, artists and volunteers and an audience of 500 for three performances. They have set a $10,000 goal to raise money to cover the costs of the event. They were astonished by the widespread support for their crowdfunding campaign on Chuffed.org, which surpassed 30% of its fundraising target in under two days, and 50% in six days.
“The early success of the campaign is a reminder of the incredible enthusiasm, dedication and generosity of the community that showed up to participate and attend last year,” remarks Ker. “It reaffirms the importance of the Pageant, which brought together a diverse group of participants to create a celebratory performance about a tidal river that also addressed waterway issues concerning all Islanders.”
Last year’s River Clyde Pageant featured stilt walking great blue herons, a gigantic trout puppet operated by 7 children, a choir, a Mi’kmaq drum group, mermaids, trolls, and much more. Each performance concluded with a free community supper on the lawn of The Mill Restaurant, prepared by award-winning Chef Emily Wells. Ker and Megan are excited to bring back many of these much-loved characters in 2017, and introduce new elements to the performance.
“We have several guest artists coming to lead workshops to create new music and scenes – including a Jazz Funeral band for the river, puppets built from junk and found materials, and a script by community members in collaboration with professional playwright Michael Geither,” explains Megan.
To help raise the next portion of money to reach their $10,000 fundraising goal, Ker and Megan are encouraging people to contribute a donation of any size to the online campaign, which ends on March 31st. Local businesses such as Receiver Coffee, Upstreet Craft Brewing, The PEI Preserve Company, and YouMeal have come on board and are offering gift certificates as incentives for donors. All the money raised as part of the campaign goes towards workshop fees, materials, and costs for the post-show community suppers.
The fundraising campaign and video from last year’s Pageant can be viewed at: www.chuffed.org/project/river-clyde-pageant.
Help us Wake the River Clyde!
We’ve officially launched our 2017 Fundraising Campaign to make the River Clyde Pageant happen again in New Glasgow this summer! Hooray!
Our Campaign Launch coincides with the release of a short video from last year’s event, which you can see on our campaign page - click the image below to take a look.
Help us reach our fundraising goal!
$10,000 is a lot of money. But, to put it in perspective: approximately 500 people experienced last year’s River Clyde Pageant, as audience members, volunteers, performers, and workshop attendees. If each of those 500 people gave $20, we would hit our goal! So, if you experienced the Pageant in some way last summer, and would like to see this inspiring event happen again, please consider a donation, large or small, to Wake the River Clyde.
We need your help in other ways, too!
Big campaigns like ours this rely on strong word of mouth to reach their targets. So, if you believe in this project, we invite you to SHARE the campaign on social media, email your friends, and tell people all about it!
We will be posting frequent updates on our facebook page - ‘Like’ us and follow along!
We’re grateful for the amazing team backing this project already.
On the Campaign page, you’ll notice an array of awesome perks you can get in exchange for your donation. We’ve partnered with local businesses and restaurants such as Receiver Coffee; The PEI Preserve Company; YouMeal; and Upstreet Craft Brewing, who are offering gift certificates and meals for special perk levels. Other sweet perks include tickets to the Pageant, Pageant t-shirts, and even a chance to PERFORM as an original character with your friends or family in this summer’s event!!!
We are also working on the campaign with a dedicated team of River Pilots: 11 people who were involved in the Pageant in some way last summer, and have generously signed on to help us fundraise. Along the way, we’ll be posting photos and testimonials from some of these folks, who shared their thoughts on what the Pageant means to them.
So, we invite you to join us on this month-long fundraising journey, to Wake the River Clyde and make theatre magic happen again again in New Glasgow!
Puppet Workshops!
Starting these week, Jamie Shannon & Branda Dale will be leading puppet and lantern making workshops in Charlottetown and New Glasgow!
Jamie is leading the creation of puppets for the School of Giant Luminous Jellyfish. These will be individually operated, luminous jellyfish puppets that will join the Pageant procession. Jellyfish making will take place at the New Glasgow Christian Church. Branda is leading Ghostly Fish lantern making, with one upcoming session in Charlottetown at The Dominion Building (97 Queen Street, use side entrance at Richmond street) and all other sessions in New Glasgow at the Church.
These workshops are open to the public – so drop in when you can and help us make some extraordinary jellyfish and lanterns. If you want to participate in the Pageant as a Jellyfish or lantern operator, all the better – come to a workshop and personalize your puppet!
- Tuesday July 12, 6-9pm: Jellyfish making in New Glasgow
- Thursday July 14, 6-9pm: Fish lanterns in Charlottetown
- Sunday July 17, 2:30-6pm: Jellyfish making in New Glasgow
- Tuesday July 19, 6-9pm: Jellyfish& Fish lanterns in New Glasgow
- Thursday July 21, 6-9pm: Jellyfish & Fish lanterns in New Glasgow
- Saturday July 23, 1-4pm: Jellyfish & lanterns in New Glasgow***
- Sunday July 24, 2-4pm: Jellyfish & lanterns in New Glasgow***
***we will work in the Gardens of Hope for Saturday July 23 and Sunday July 24 sessions***
Upcoming Sewing Bees!
This weekend we will be sewing in the New Glasgow Christian Church. We have Great Blues Heron costumes on the go, and we will also be working on costume elements for the Three Sisters, the Mermaids and the Trolls. If you have some free time and want to help with sewing and costume assembly, please join us. Times are as follows:
- Saturday July 16, 2:00-5:00pm
- Sunday July 17, 2:30-5:00pm
- Saturday July 23, 2:00-5:00pm
- Sunday July 24, 2:00-5:00pm
Rosemary works on a heron wing at our first Sewing Bee!
Susan builds another heron wing from a pattern created by our costume designer Arnold Smith
Garden Party Fun at The Mill!
We had a lovely afternoon and evening of music, socializing, games and delicious food at Sunday's Garden Party at The Mill. We're thankful to everyone who came out to join us, and to the incredible staff at The Mill, who volunteered their time to prepare and serve the locally-sourced, four-course meal. It was scrumptious!
Catherine Hennessey was our roving historian and star of our "Who's Your Father/Mother?" booth, telling stories to our guests about their Island family history.
Catherine Hennessey, gin in hand, gleefully spills Island secrets
We had live music throughout the evening from local musicians, including some of our Pageant performers. Brad Trivers and Party Mix got the party started with rollicking cover tunes, Scott Parsons and Gerry Edge kept the music going on the deck, and then Sarah Segal-Lazar and Nick Doneff serenaded us throughout dinner.
The event was an enormous and inspiring success, and we were lucky to spend the evening with friends, neighbours, collaborators, family members and supporters. We're so excited by the generosity and spirit of the community, and last night felt like just a taste of what's to come.
We've posted a whole album of photos over on our Facebook page...take a look!
Stilting around Charlottetown
Stilt Workshops are happening this weekend with Ottawa-based stilt teacher and performer Laura Astwood. Workshops are free, and stilts are included! The workshops will take place in Charlottetown at the following times:
- Saturday June 4, 2pm-6pm
- Sunday June 5, 10am-1pm
- Wednesday June 9 & Thursday June 10, 6pm-9pm
- Saturday June 11 & Sunday June 12, 12pm-4pm
To sign up for the workshop, send us an email (riverclydepageant@gmail.com) and provide details including age and contact information. We’ll send you location details.
Upcoming Pageant Events
It’s happening!
It’s been a year of planning, but here we are, about to dive into the creative work of making the River Clyde Pageant. We’re so excited to start rehearsals and workshops, and we wanted to share some important dates and upcoming events with you.
Making a bit of a scene in Charlottetown on a Sunday afternoon
Get Involved!
There are lots of opportunities to participate in this year's River Clyde Pageant! We are seeking performers, musicians, puppeteers and puppet builders, dancers, costume makers, stilt walkers and more. Production volunteers will also be needed. There are roles for all ages and levels of experience.
We are hosting two info sessions in the coming weeks, and we encourage you to attend one! These meetings will outline the process, the schedule, and the various opportunities for involvement, and will be a chance to ask any questions you might have about getting involved. The first meeting is in Charlottetown on May 29, from 2-4pm at the Schurman Family Studio at Confederation Centre for the Arts. The second meeting is in New Glasgow on June 5, from 2-4pm at The Mill. Here's the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/475239915998543/
The next thing on our schedule is our first stilt workshop! Ottawa-based stilt teacher Laura Astwood is leading a six-day workshop for people interested in performing on stilts in the Pageant. Laura will teach the group how to walk and move safely on stilts, and we will begin to create performance material on stilts together. The workshop dates are:
Saturday June 4 2pm-6pm
Sunday June 5, from 10am-1pm
Wednesday June 8 and Thursday June 9, from 6-9pm
Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12, from 12-4pm
To sign up for the workshop, send us an email at riverclydepageant@gmail.com and include your age and contact information. We’ll get back to you with information on the location and other details.
And last but not least: We’re having a Fundraiser Garden Party and dinner at The Mill on Sunday June 26, from 3-8pm. There will be live music by Nick Doneff, Scott Parsons, Sarah Segal-Lazar, and local band Party Mix, as well as outdoor games and a delicious three course buffet dinner prepared by Emily Wells. Socializing, games and entertainment will happen throughout the afternoon, with dinner served at 6pm. Tickets are $50 per person and $100 for a family. Share a meal, share your New Glasgow stories, and meet some of the folks involved in the making of the Pageant. Mark your calendars – we’ll have more info on tickets and reservations in the coming weeks.
If you can’t make it to the Garden Party, but have stories, recollections or anecdotes related to Island rivers and waterways, please get in touch with us via email. We’re gathering material for possible use in the Pageant, and your stories could be part of that!
We look forward to seeing you soon – at an info session, at our garden party, in rehearsal, or at the performance!
The River Clyde Pageant is a Go!
We are excited to share some updates about the River Clyde Pageant, including great news about funding, date changes for the pageant performances, and a request to help us with a Spring Funding Drive to make this exciting community arts event happen in the most spectacular and satisfying way possible. So, the great news first:
- We were successful in our application for a Canada Council grant! Last month we received word that we’ve been awarded a grant from the Canada Council Artists and Community Collaboration program. Although we received less than we applied for, it’s enough to cover the basic costs of the pageant, and it means that for the first time since we started dreaming over a year ago about a magical community performance on the beautiful River Clyde in New Glasgow, we know for sure it’s going to happen! Another great thing about the grant – it wouldn’t have been possible with out the many letters of support we received from project collaborators in the local community, expressing their commitment to the project. CBC broke the news about our successful funding application a couple weeks ago.
- The dates of the Pageant have changed slightly. Originally, we had planned to have pageant performances in mid-August 2016. We have adjusted the performance dates to Saturday July 30th and Sunday July 31st. That means we’ll start workshops for the various aspects of the pageant on June 25th, with stilt-walking workshops beginning earlier in June.
- We’ve launched a Spring Fundraising Drive to cover the difference between our original project budget and what we received from the Canada Council. We’re hoping to raise $10,000 by May, and we have already received $1500 towards this goal. If you’d like to donate, or you know someone else who might want to support the River Clyde Pageant, please let Megan know at riverclydepageant@gmail.com. Any size donation helps!
We will be posting further updates and news about the many options for pageant participation. In the meantime, if you have questions or ideas about any aspect of the pageant, please get in touch with us, via email or using the handy contact form on this site.
We also have a brand new facebook page! Like us to follow along as we begin this exciting process!