Saturday, September 17

BY LUCAS CHAN

For months Still Moon Arts Society has been preparing for the 14th annual Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival, held this year on Saturday, September 17.

The moon festival celebrates the nature and beauty of Renfrew Ravine and Still Creek. For many decades the ravine was abandoned by the salmon due to the polluted water and ecosystems caused by the neglect of this natural space. But the salmon have been returning to spawn in our community since 2012, thanks to the hard work of many community stewards and local governments collaborating to restore health of the stream and the ecosystem.

On the Wild Salmon Caravan in June, youth from Still Moon Arts were honoured to join in singing many First Nations songs for the salmon all along the Fraser River. Still Moon wants to extend the idea to our community that we, too, can have songs for the salmon as yet another way of caring for our local stream, Still Creek.

Make your own lantern

The month of September will be busy in preparation for the Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival to be held at Slocan Park and Renfrew Park. You are welcome to come out to Slocan Hall and make a lantern to carry in the parade:

• Tuesday and Wednesday, September 6 and 7: Globe lanterns, 4–8 pm
• Thursday and Friday, September 8 and 9: Salmon lanterns, 4–8 pm
• Saturday and Sunday, September 10 and 11: Advanced Sculptural Lantern Making 10 am–1 pm
• Monday and Tuesday, September 12 and 13: Globe lanterns, 4–8 pm
• Wednesday and Thursday, September 14 and 15: Glass jar lanterns, 4–8 pm

The big day

Festival day, Saturday, Sept ember 17, consists of two main components that take place at Slocan Park and Renfrew Park.

At Slocan Park from 4–7 pm there will be a Harvest Fair to showcase community harvests alongside family-friendly activities, community booths and musical performances.

At 7:15 pm a twilight lantern procession will lead the community from Slocan Park to Renfrew Park along the edge of the ravine.

At Renfrew Park you are guaranteed to be wowed by the community and artist made lanterns decorating the site to highlight the natural beauty of Still Creek. There will be refreshments, activities, interactive local art pieces as well as a fireworks finale to bring the night to a close.

More ravine celebrations

Still Moon Arts will end the month with an Equinox labyrinth walk on Thursday, September 22 and a World Rivers Day art and water celebration on Sunday, September 25.

Still Moon Arts Society is also in the process of putting together Still Creek Stories, a collection of stories from the community that share their stories and experiences in the ravine. These stories will be compiled into an art book as a representation of the memories and hopes of what Still Creek was in the past, is in the present, and hopefully will be in the future. Pre-orders will be available at the Renfrew Park portion of the Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival on September 17!

For more information find Still Moon Arts on Facebook as Still Moon Arts Society and on Twitter and Instagram as stillmoonarts.

Copyright (c) 2016 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News