April 28, 2012 Schedule
Harriet Island Grounds and Pavilion, Saint Paul, MN
Schedule
11:30 Hands-on EcoArts Activities
12:30 Opening Pageant with 3-D art work from 22 schools
12:45 Honoring the Waters by Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli
1:00 Saint Paul Civic Symphony performance of “The Animals Search for Water: A Folktale from Mozambique”
composed by Jan Gilbert and narrated by Nothando Zulu with drummer Papis Diop
1:30-5:00 Hands-on EcoArt Activities
Environmental Demonstrations
Multi-cultural Dance and Theater Performances by youth and professional artists
Special Features:
Tributes to the Mississippi River and Minnesota by poets and storytellers
Interactive Sculpture by Matthew Farley
Free recycled books from the Saint Paul BookMobile
Performances by groups from Lifeworks Services Inc.
Food Vendors
Make sure to stop by and enjoy our public art installation by Matthew Dominic Farley in collaboration with Kirstin Wiegmann and Forecast Public Art, honoring the Mississippi River!
A FREE AND ZERO WASTE EVENT
Matthew Dominic Farley, in collaboration with Kirstin Wiegmann of Forecast Public Art, will create a one-day, public art installation for festival attendees. Drawing on themes of the EcoArts Festival, they have created a concept for a public art sculpture inspired by the Mississippi River watershed and the bald eagle, one of the river’s many inhabitants. Using materials that directly relate to a site fosters a relationship between the artistic materials and the locations of his site-specific works of art. For the EcoArts Festival, materials sourced from previous sculpture projects as well as from the local watershed (ie. discarded water bottles and plastic bags) will be repurposed to mimic an eagle’s nesting habitat. Festival attendees will be invited to explore the eagle’s nesting site and habitat as well as offer assistance to the installation process. This installation is made possible through a partnership between ArtStart and Forecast Public Art
This activity is funded, in part, by appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund, and its arts and cultural heritage fund that was created by a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008 through appropriations to the Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. Additional funders include COMPAS and Travelers Arts and Diversity Fund.
Thank you to all of our collaborators who have made this event an exciting and dynamic experience for youth.
Forecast Public Art
East Side Arts Council
Ramsey County-Saint Paul Public Health Department
Esse Reusable Bags
Kate Frye, Saint Paul Department of Parks and Recreation, City of St. Paul
Contact Carol Sirrine or call 651-698-2787 for more information.
ASL interpreter available upon request
ArtStart hosted its first ever River Writing Poetry contest in conjunction with the Children’s EcoArts Festival thanks to poet Margaret Hasse, who served as the project facilitator and Joyce Sutphen who judged the entries. A special thanks to all those who participated and congratulations to the winner, Michael Dennis Browne, whose poem “Give Her the River” appears below.
Give Her the River (a father’s wish for this daughter)
If I could give her anything, anything at all in all of the world to show how I love her, I’d give her the river.
Give her the river at dawn when it shines, when the swans are gliding.
Give her the swallows that flicker flicker flicker over the river their home.
Give her the old stone steps leading down to the river and the little blue wildflowers that are starting to grow there.
Give her the fresh shiny leaves of the oaks and the elms, make her a May basket from their fluttery shadows.
Give her that line of geese headed upstream; they’re honking so hard, I think they think they’re pulling that barge behind them.
Give her the way the soft green water slides, like sleepy us sometimes after reading and reading.
Give her that small wooden bench where we can sit and watch the river do all the work for a while.
Give her the tinkle of the bell on that Scottie’s collar and the grin of the Scottie’s owner as they jog by.
Give her that one white cloud in all the blue sky–my girl will find some game to play with it.
Give her the river at evening, for stroking its silk.
Give her the heron floating over alone, and the moon, Queen of the Herons, behind her.
Give her the quiet canoe that gleams like a piece of the moon.
Give her her very own dream of the river where she sails with friends all summer till she comes to the sea.
Give her the last of the light, silvery, silvery, little waves, little leaves, little scales, little gleams.
Her river.
RIVER WRITING
By children visiting the Word Flow Tent
The water is a roaring part of nature.
The river goes whoosh, whoosh, as boats fly by.
Cold, cool, dazy, crazy crystal river.
Blue as becoming waterfall.
The river is a magnificent blue dream waiting to come true.
The crazed blue eyes this river has looking over the river
Guarding and keeping it safe.
You can just see the breeze kissing my warm cheeks.
My face pressed against the cold condensating windows.
The eagle watching over the river for prey singing.
I can hear it speaking to me
The seaweed as green as a lilac bush.
Smells like the creation of life and the eco-friendly world.
Tastes like cranberries and apples.
The trees talking to me
And only I believe we can make
The Mississippi River the best it can be!
- Ben K
I like the Mississippi River because it’s cool.
- McKenna
I like the river
The Mississippi River
The reflection in the river.
I like the Mississippi River.
- Jacob J.
I like the Mississippi River because it gives me fresh water and keeps me alive.
- Madie S.
My wish for the Mississippi River
Is that people stop
Putting their garbage
All over its shores
And help keep it
Clean.
- Carolyn
I like the Mississippi River
Because it is beautiful.
- Bailey
Mississippi River,
You are bigger
Than Lake Itasca
Where you start
And go to the
Gulf of Mexico
And run to the ocean.
- Kalia
The River
An Original Poem
The river is such a giver.
The river gives us fish so we
May make a wish.
People, the river is a glitch,
But it makes everybody rich.
The flow of the river
is like the blow
of a sweet scent.
People say the river bluffs
will wear
but they are very tough.
- Trent H.
I like the Mississippi River
because you get to swim
and go fishing,
go on a boat and it is such
a river that’s nice and clean and it is
very long, it is 2,350 miles long,
and there are nice little waterfalls
and so much more.
- Ashlan W.
Dear Mississippi,
I like your current
and waves.
I wonder if the Mississippi likes
the rain.
And my wish is for all the water
in the world to come
to the river for Mississippi.
- Emma
Dear Mississippi,
I love the fishes in you.
I wish you were cleaner
and my gift is
I will clean you
if I can.
- Meron
gives us water so I would like to give something back. If I
got to give something, I would give you no pollution.
- Ginseng V.
Mississippi River,
I wish I wish
nobody would pollute in you and
I like the Mississippi River
because we can ride boats in it.
It looks very pretty.
- Kablia L.
Mississippi Wish
I wish nobody would pollute
In you and they would care about you
So that you would stay very clean.
- Yee
I like the Mississippi River
because it gives me
new fresh water
and I wish it is very clean
to drink.
- Love, Maikau H.
Mississippi Memories
I forgot my shoes on the boat.
I caught a catfish in the lock and dam.
The fireworks were gold waterfalls.
- Abby S.
The Mississippi River
is big and long.
The Mississippi is hooked on the Gulf of Mexico.
It lets the fish swim.
- Michael
My wish
is for the
Mississippi
River to
shrink back
so we can
swim in it
again.
- Brendan R.
The river is big and
long and many fish
live in the river.
There are different fish,
big ones and small ones.
I like catfish.
- Chris T.
Dear River,
I love the Mississippi because it always looks
so clean. The water feels good.
I love the Mississippi River because when
you’re on a boat, birds race you down the river.
I love watching barges cross the river
because they’re so big.
When you’re hot, you can just jump into
the river and cool down.
- Danielle K.
River is like mother.
Feeds every being on the earth
Feeling thirsty – you have water.
Feeling hungry – have fruits from across the river.
Nature lover – have free water birds across the river.
Sports – enjoy water sports.
Countless – just go to the river.
Mississippi is the longest river, starts in Minnesota…
Spreads fun, life to human beings, animals birds…
I love the Mississippi.
- Jadher R.
Dear Mississippi River,
How long is your river?
Is your water clean
because I always see boats on you.
- Madanna
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