riverMOUTH (2022)

riverMOUTH brings spoken word, song, music & soundscape to the lower Cobechenonk / Humber River. riverMOUTH is inspired by water and our desire to nurture sustainable, life-giving connection to the planet.

Scan the QR code and download the riverMOUTH audio walk at home and then explore the park as you listen — from plant medicine, ecology and architecture, to soundscape and song. Available year-round.

PAST Summer Events 2022:

Aug 27-28 & Sept 10-11, 2022

Opening our ears and eyes to the valley, riverMOUTH musicians and poets sing and sound with the whispering of bulrushes, the racket of passing streetcars, the groove of a fallen log, and the never-ending flow of the river. Watch out for site-specific dance installations featuring Meryem Alaoui, Nidhi Baadkar, Suzanne Barnes, Mai Duong, Molly Johnson, Terrill Maguire and Rebecca Hope Terry. Take off your headphones and listen to what’s around you or slow down and nap with the trees, guided by Julia Aplin.

  • Terrill Maguire: Tree Being — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Suzanne Barnes & Mai Duong: Tree Being — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Suzanne Barnes: Tree Being — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Molly Johnson: Beacon of Light — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Photo: Claire Harvie
  • Julia Aplin: Napping with Trees — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Rebecca Hope Terry: Beacon of Light — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Nidhi Baadkhar: Beacon of Light — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Terrill Maguire: Tree Being — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Meryem Alaoui: Beacon of Light — photo: David Langer
  • Nidhi Baadkhar: Beacon of Light — photo: Claire Harvie

Live at the Oculus: 6-7pm

Saturday August 27: Vocalists Andrea Kuzmich, Brenna MacCrimmon, Iryna Lozynska, Shalva-Lucas Makharshvili & Mario Morello

Sunday August 28: Vocalists Alex Samaras, Andrew Adridge, Sean Donaldson; saxophonist Karen Ng; and poet Braden Alexander

Saturday September 10: Vocalist and storyteller Sharada Eswar, spoken word artist Andrea Thompson, and nature artist and poet Sheniz Janmohamed

Sunday September 11: Vocalist Christine Duncan with The Element Choir

  • Sharada Eswar — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Andrea Thompson — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Sean Donaldson, Karen Ng, Alex Samaras — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Alex Samaras — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Andrew Adridge — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Sheniz Janmohamed — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Christine Duncan and the Element Choir — photo: Claire Harvie
  • Jocelyn Barth — photo: Claire Harvie

June 11 & 12

Biologist Clement Kent and avian ecologist Gail Fraser lead a leisurely nature walk sharing insights into the flying, fluttering, swimming, swooping, creeping and crawling creatures who inhabit the river valley. Rain or shine. June 11 & 12: 9-10:30am | Meeting point: Stephen Drive and Cloverhill

Architect Christie Pearson leads us on a walk through the forested valley of the Cobechenonk river, past the industrial hum of the sewage treatment plant, to the modernist Oculus Pavilion, an elegant relic of architectural futurism. Passing under the roar of the lakeside highways and railways, we follow the river south to the iconic Humber River Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge.Rain or shine. June 11 & 12: 11am-12:30pm | Meeting point: Stephen Drive and Cloverhill

  • A woman extends her arm to stroke the deeply fissured bark of a basswood tree. She wears turquoise and black bead bracelets.
    Basswood
  • Joseph Pitawanakwat plant medicine teacher holds a tendril from a bedstraw plant. He is wearing a black knitted tuque, glasses, jeans and a brightly coloured cotton shirt with a design of mushrooms. He has a pair of binoculars around his neck and a water bottle in his other hand.
    Joseph Pitawanakwat
  • Andrew Adridge looks into the camera smiliing as he records his track in the studio
    Andrew Adridge
  • Dancer Julia Aplin sleeps in a green hammock under a leafy tree.
    Napping with trees: Julia Aplin
  • Poet Sharada Eswar embraces the basswood tree, her eyes closed and arms extended. Branches lower themselves to the forest floor creating a sheltering room.
    Poet Sharada Eswar embraces the basswood tree.
  • Singer Alex Samaras smiles at the camera as he stands amidst bulrushes and willow trees. Behind him are a group of artists, one with pink hair.
    Alex Samaras
  • Architect Christie Pearson leads a group of walkers beneath the railway bridge that crosses the lower Humber river. She holds hands with a young boy while other people walk ahead of her.
    Christie Pearson

Creative Team:
Andrew Adridge, baritone & spoken word
Mingjia Chen, vocalist & composer
Christine Duncan, vocalist & improviser
Sharada Eswar, singer & storyteller
Gail Fraser, avian ecologist
Clement Kent, biologist
Andrea Kuzmich, vocalist & composer
Juliet Palmer, composer & artistic director
Christie Pearson, architect & writer
Joseph Pitawanakwat, plant medicine
Alex Samaras, singer & composer
Andrea Thompson, poet

Guest Artists:
Meryem Alaoui, dancer
Braden Alexander, poet
Julia Aplin, choreographer
Nidhi Baadkhar, dancer
Suzanne Barnes, dancer
Jocelyn Barth, singer
Elise Boeur, singer
Mai Duong, dancer
Sean Donaldson, vocalist & songwriter
Laura Gillis, singer
Michelangelo Iaffaldano, singer
Sheniz Janmohamed, poet & nature artist
Molly Johnson, dancer

Brenda Joy Lem, singer
Andrea Kuzmich, singer
Liz Lima, singer
Iryna Lozynska, singer
Brenna MacCrimmon, singer
Shalva-Lucas Makharshvili, singer
Terrill Maguire, dancer
Mario Morello, singer
Karen Ng, saxophonist & composer
Henry Paterson, singer
Hope Terry, dancer
Dinah Thorpe, singer
Lieke van der Voort, singer

Production:
Hazel Moore, production manager
Oliver Kealey, assistant
Emma Whitla, assistant
Claire Harvie, photography
David Langer, videography & photography
Omer Yukseker, photography

Volunteers:
John Bailey
Gail Fraser
Flora Mei Fushi-McIntosh
Clement Kent
James Rolfe
Maxwell Steppuhn

Thanks:
We are grateful for the support of our volunteers, advisors and board. A special shout-out for creative support from Junaid Khan, Misia Robins, Olivia Shortt and Natasha Myers. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts Digital NOW Fund and the Toronto Arts Council’s Arts in the Parks program for their support of this project.