Thursday, October 18 - Day & Evening Schedule:
All events are taking place inside at Museum London, except where otherwise noted.
******Registration Opens at 9:00 AM at Museum London, following the Water Ceremony******
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, City of London, & London Arts Council will have ongoing interactive activities and booths taking place outside & inside the Museum from 9:00AM - 4:00PM. The Booth Space inside is sponsored by the City of London.
Want to learn more about a speaker or a presentation? View all the Speaker & Topic descriptions for Thursday here.
Please Note: There are 60 high school students attending the Scott Gillingwater session at the Centre at the Forks. These sessions are still open to the public, but seating is limited (max. 70 public seats).
All day - Weaving a River with Tricia Edgar & Sheri Cowan
Join artists Tricia Edgar and Sheri Cowan to help co-create a large cloth river, by weaving together recycled materials. Tricia and Sheri are artists and arts educators with a passion for the Thames River.
9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., Harris Park
Words to the Water with Lefty Smudges
Join Lefty Smudges in Harris Park to co-create a large river of words installation. Allyson Proulx, working under the name Lefty Smudges, is predominantly a paper artist, written communication enthusiast, and writer. Utilizing a combination of paper, ink, imagery, and text, Lefty investigates the many ways in which we as human beings use language to reveal ourselves.
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Harris Park
7:30 AM - Sunrise Ceremony at Harris Park - meet at the riverside. Please note there is no seating available for the ceremonies. If you require seating please bring your own chair or blanket. Led by Michael Hopkins, Sr.
8:30 AM - Water Ceremony at Harris Park - immediately following the Sunrise Ceremony. If you identify as female - please wear a skirt to the water ceremony. Feel free to bring a copper vessel and lawn chairs/blankets to sit upon if desired. Led by Tracey Whiteye.
10:00 AM - Keynote Speaker: Chief Myeengun, Chippewas of The Thames First Nation
All of the following presentations & discussions are 50 minutes in length:
10:30 AM - Concurrent Presentations
- Dan Ebbs - Historical Walking Tour along the Thames (1st Walk) (Outside) @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
- Scott Gillingwater - Mounting Pressures and Recovery Efforts: Can We Save Ontario's Declining Reptiles?
- Victoria Deleary & Brandon Graham - Land, Relationships & Records
11:30 AM - Concurrent Presentations
- Dan Ebbs - Historical Walking Tour along the Thames (2nd walk) (Outside) @ @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
- Dr. Patricia Corcoran & Kirsty Màiri Robertson - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Plastics Pollution in the Great Lakes and its Tributaries -- a science/arts perspective from the Synthetic Collective
- Tom Porter - Presentation on Indigenous Water Teachings
12:30 PM - Lunch is not provided, please pack your own lunch or visit one of London's amazing lunch spots downtown!
1:30 PM - Concurrent Presentations
- Tara Tchir - Thames River (Deshkan Ziibi) Shared Waters Approach to Water Quantity and Quality: A Component of the Thames River Clear Water Revival (TRCWR)
- Group Discussion: River Currents: Discussion on Our Waterways
2:30 PM - Concurrent Presentations
- Mark Drewe - More Passion than Sense: A Beginner's Tale of Paddling the Entire Thames River
- Kings Social Justice Club Workshop - The Inequality and Irreversibility of Water
3:30 PM - Concurrent Presentations
- Dr. Fatih Sekercioglu (Middlesex London Health Unit) - The Application of Two-Eyed Seeing and Reciprocity for a Healthy River and Community
- Claim Your Leisure Inc. - Bloom Lagoon Film Screening
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM - Artistic Performances by Tom Cull (Poem) followed by Anishinaabe Drumming by Summer Bressette, Storm French and Shawna Redskye
7:30 PM - 8:00 PM - The Source Exhibition Talks - Rethinking Water Through Contemporary Art
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM - Panel Discussion of The Source Exhibition Talks
Friday, October 19 - Day & Evening Schedule:
All events are taking place inside at Museum London, except where otherwise noted.
******Registration Opens at 8:30 AM at Museum London******
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, City of London, & London Arts Council will have ongoing interactive activities and booths taking place outside & inside the Museum from 9:00AM - 4:00PM. The Booth Space inside is sponsored by the City of London.
Want to learn more about a speaker or a presentation? View all the Speaker & Topic descriptions for Friday here.
All Day - Weaving a River with Tricia Edgar & Sheri Cowan
Join artists Tricia Edgar and Sheri Cowan to help co-create a large cloth river, by weaving together recycled materials. Tricia and Sheri are artists and arts educators with a passion for the Thames River.
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Harris Park
Words to the Water with Lefty Smudges
Join Lefty Smudges in Harris Park to co-create a large river of words installation. Allyson Proulx, working under the name Lefty Smudges, is predominantly a paper artist, written communication enthusiast, and writer. Utilizing a combination of paper, ink, imagery, and text, Lefty investigates the many ways in which we as human beings use language to reveal ourselves.
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Harris Park
9:00 AM - Keynote Speaker: Meredith Brown - Ottawa Riverkeeper
All of the following presentations & discussions are 50 minutes in length, unless otherwise noted:
10:00 AM - Concurrent Presentations
- Dan Ebbs - Historical Walking Tour along the Thames - @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
- CityGreen - River Stories (Pat Donnelly and Daniel Hsia)
- Deep Dive Discussion - Indigenous Perspectives
11:00 AM - Concurrent Presentations
- CityGreen - River Stories (Adrienne Sones and Barry Orr)
- Deep Dive Discussion - Indigenous Perspectives (continued - ends at 11:30AM)
12:00 PM - Lunch is not provided, please pack your own lunch or visit one of London's amazing lunch spots downtown!
1:00 PM - Concurrent Presentations
- Flood Walk - Tree Hike (Outside) @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
- Ian Rae & Michael Darroch - How River Festivals Reimagine Cities
- Raj Gill - From toxic algae to micro-plastics, Lake Erie Guardians are stepping-up!
2:00 PM - Concurrent Presentations
- ReForest London - Tree Hike (Outside) @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
- King's Students - Gender, Justice, and the River: Student Panel
- Zero Waste Forest City - Deep Dive Discussion: Plastic & Pollution
3:00 PM
- ReForest London - Tree Hike (Outside) @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
- Vanessa Gray - Environmental Justice in Aamjiwnaang First Nation
- Mehek Mahzar - Merging Voices: Journey of a Podcast on the Thames River
4:00 PM
- Flood Walk - Tree Hike (Outside) @ Please meet at the front of the Museum doors on the outside)
6:30 PM - London Arts Council -Artistic Performance by Michael Trudgen, Connor McPhail, Hannah Goldberg, and Sile Englert. Combining music, movement, and spoken word, this collaborative arts performance will be debuted for the first time at The River Talks.
7:00 PM - Keynote Speaker: Autumn Peltier - The Struggle for Clean Drinking Water
Saturday, October 20 - Morning Events Schedule:
While we are not requesting an RSVP to attend Saturday events, we invite you to check out Saturday's events below. These events are happening around the river, are primarily outdoors, and are family-friendly.
River Cleanups
There will be a river cleanup in Blackfriars area along the Thames as well as at Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.
- Chippewa's of the Thames First Nations River Cleanup. Time: 8:30-lunch. Meeting Place: Heritage Centre, 300 E River Rd, Muncey, ON N0L 1Y0 Notes: cleanup will be followed by a lunch.
- Blackfriars Bridge Area River Cleanup: Time: 9:30-11:30. Meeting Place: Meet at the west end of Ann Street where it meets the path. Notes: cleanup will include a brief historical talk about Blackfriar's Bridge at the beginning.