GUELPH POLITICAST #77 - The 2Rivers Festival

Water is very important to Guelph, and to prove it we have a two-month long festival dedicated to the awesomeness of our city being here at the intersection of two rivers. Hence, the 2Rivers Festival, which is now running through the rest of the month and on into June, and will now be discussed on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast.

Now you'll recall that water was a big subject of conversation last fall, hundreds of people made themselves known that they were concerned about the protection of water resources from those that want to exploit it. But that's politics, the theme of 2Rivers is more about celebration and education, marking the beauty and significance of the Speed and Eramosa Rivers. It's a pretty important spot this place where the rivers meet, two months worth of commemorations important!

The 2Rivers Festival is now in its fifth year, spanning the months of May and June with a variety of outdoor activities including educational programs about the local birds and bugs, appreciation in the forms of hikes and bike tours, and right in the middle there's one of the oldest annual environmental activities in the city, the 2Rivers Clean-up (formally known as the Speed River Clean-up). The people putting together all this on an annual basis are volunteers, and two of them are guests on this week's podcast, Sue Rietschin and Paul Botros.

In talking about the 2Rivers Festival for this week's Politicast, I asked Sue and Paul about organizing the festival every year, how they co-ordinate the various groups and volunteers that take part, and why they think Guelph's rivers are so central to its identity. So if you haven't already, download this podcast and take it with you for a sunny walk or stroll down by the river with this new Guelph Politicast.

Festivities are currently underway, and will continue through May and June. For a full schedule of events for the 2Rivers Festival check the website for details and the program guide by clicking here.

The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.

Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.