Milwaukee Water Commons holds annual We Are Water celebration at lakefront

There was music, poetry, puppetry, art and invocations of the spirit on Bradford Beach last Sunday evening. It was the third in what has become an annual event called "We Are Water" organized by the Milwaukee Water Commons. Billed as a "celebration of Milwaukee's waters," the event has become a mini-arts festival as well as a meditation on the importance of water to Milwaukee and all life on earth.

Jahmes Finlayson and Dena Aronson got things going with some lively drumming...

...as well as a ritual libation: reflections on water and life while pouring Lake Michigan water onto the sand.

True Skool entertained the crowd with a rap about water.

Three young artists with Still Waters Collective gave an impassioned spoken word performance.

Off to the side of the beach members of Exfabula set up a roving interview station and recorded water stories told to them by volunteers from the audience.

Margaret Noodin, faculty member at UWM, gave everyone a lesson in Ojibwe...

...as member of the Overpass Light Brigade, with help from the audience, spelled out Ojibwe words for water and water-related terms.

Puppeteers got into the act with LED-illuminated figures of a heron and several accurately depicted species of fish native to Wisconsin waters.

The event culminated in an audience-participation creation of a peace sign with lighted cups of water, directed by artist-in-residence Melanie Ariens.

This is the short version of the story. To see many more photos of the event go to my Flickr album.

Friends of the Monarch Trail invite you, your family and friends to the 7th Annual Migration Celebration!

As a friend of the Monarch Trail I am passing on the following invitation. Since its inception 7 years ago this celebration has become livelier and has drawn larger crowds each year. I hope you'll join me there!

Sunday, August 24, 2014, 4-7pm
See schedule of events below.

Sunset from the Monarch Trail

This FREE, family friendly event is dedicated to preserving and protecting Monarch butterflies and the fragile ecosystem they return to each year, the precious parcel of land known as the County Grounds.

The celebration takes place outdoors, rain or shine, at the Monarch Trail on the Milwaukee County Grounds, with plenty of parking available on Discovery Pkwy. and Eschweiler Dr. off Swan Blvd.  Just look for the colorful flags and you'll find us! Please visit www.theMonarchTrail.org for a site map and more information.

photo courtesy Moving for Monarchs

This year’s event begins with a special interactive dance performance by Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch of the touring project “Moving for Monarchs,” and includes guided tours of the monarch trail, monarch release, plein air artists, lively Irish music by Ceol Cairde (Music of Friends), educational displays about Monarch butterflies, face painting, milkweed plants for sale, butterfly boutique items to benefit the Friends of the Monarch Trail and snacks too.

This is a great opportunity for artists, photographers, and videographers, especially during the Monarch release!

Schedule for the Event:

1. 4-4:50 pm - "Moving for Monarchs" Program featuring dancer Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch www.movingformonarchs.org
2. 5 pm - Monarch Release
3. 5:15-6:45 pm - Lively Irish Music by Ceol Cairde "Music of Friends" www.CeolCairde.com
4. 5:30 & 6 pm - Guided Tours of the Monarch Trail
5. 7 pm - 7th Annual Migration Celebration ends

For more information, please call Barb Agnew at 414-454-0222 or visit www.theMonarchTrail.org

(Please share this information.  We hope that everyone of all ages and all communities will be able to experience the wonder of all the creatures that inhabit the special place we care for so dearly: The County Grounds Monarch Trail.)


To see a selection of images from the County Grounds, go to my flickr set.  

Milwaukee celebrates water at Bradford Beach

Months in the making, We Are Water: Beachfront Celebration of Milwaukee's Water had its debut last night on Bradford Beach. The celebration took many forms, including recitations of poetry and spoken word, a dance performance, and a solemn spiritual ceremony led by members of a local Indian community.

As dusk grew deeper the beach was set aglow. The culminating activity was a participatory temporary art installation created and led by environmental artist Melanie Ariens. The audience was invited to take a clear plastic filled with water  illuminated with small LED lights and to place them on the beach in a prearranged pattern that represented the Great Lakes. In the gathering darkness the radiance of the lakes were joined by illuminated words provided by members of the Overpass Light Brigade.

The event was organized by Milwaukee Water Commons, a network of individuals and organizations intended "to foster connection, collaboration and broad community leadership on behalf of our waters" that was inspired by plans to make Milwaukee a “fresh water hub." (The Milwaukee Water Commons is the local chapter of a larger initiative called the Great Lakes Commons.)

There were a wide variety of participants of all ages. I didn't hear an official estimate but it looked to me like over a hundred people. When the ceremony ended with everyone gathered around the glowing Great Lakes in the darkness a local pastor gave a blessing and said, "Go in peace." No one moved; no one, it seemed, wanted the moment to end.

Here is my visual meditation on the event.

I was delighted to be in the company of many talented photographers. To see more images from the event go to the Milwaukee Water Commons Facebook page.