Celebrate Our Local Waterways

 

World Rivers Day celebrations return to the Burnaby Village Museum on Sunday, September 25, 2016 from 11:00am to 4:30pm with entertainment, demonstrations, displays, tours, plus lots of activities for children and adults.

Children’s entertainers include the vibrant and fun ventriloquist Kellie Haines with her menagerie of puppets. The Nylon Zoo will be back with their brightly coloured costumes and stories in the ‘whale’. Watch for Squiddy, a friendly giant squid roaming the village singing his fishy songs. Be here early to start your day with a giggle. The Stories on Wheels first set is at 11:15am.

The Kerplunks headline this year’s musical program. This talented foursome has a wide variety of musical styles that appeal to multi-generational audiences. The all-day fun also includes face-painting at the Volunteer Burnaby tent, button-making with the Burnaby Public Library folks, and completing the World Rivers Day Passport activities.

Over 25 environmental exhibitors with hand-on activities, demonstrations, and educational sessions will be on-site. Evergreen BC has great information on caring for urban streams and watersheds. Again this year, they will be leading small groups to help remove invasive ivy growing on the banks of Deer Lake Brook. Join an Aboriginal Medicinal Plant tour lead by Coast Salish educators. The Britannia Creek Clean Up’s Lego model of the creek and their water cleaning demonstrations are always popular. Check out the displays from Reptile Rescue, O.W.L. Orphaned Wildlife, and the Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society.

Be sure to pause on the bridge that crosses Deer Lake Brook to take in the beauty of this ecologically significant waterway that runs through the village site. For the past two years, Coho salmon have been returning to this brook.

World Rivers Day is celebrated by millions of people around the globe. The event was created by Burnaby resident and internationally renowned conservationist, Mark Angelo. Mark will be onsite and speaking during the ‘Welcoming Remarks’ at 1:00pm. In 1993, the City of Burnaby was the first municipality in BC to proclaim BC Rivers Day.

Special thanks to our event sponsors: CIBC Metrotown and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.