The Saskatoon River Rendezvous 150 Festival is an exciting new multi-dimensional event celebrating the South Saskatchewan River, a Canadian Heritage River flowing through the heart of Saskatoon. The three-day festival is an exciting combination of river-side heritage exhibitions and daily paddling activities and creative interpretations of the river through the arts.
Day One (July 13) will feature our marquee event with arrival of the canoeing teams from the Voyageurs’ Rendezvous 2017 to compete in sprint racing in fur trade-era voyageur canoes along with traditional northern entertainment. On the recreational paddling front there will be youth instruction in canoeing combined with short river tours in a voyageur canoe. Throughout the day at River Landing there will be entertainment and a multi-purpose trade show/exhibition including the Uof S Art Department’s digital photo booth “We are the River” with the imposing Delta River interactive display. River-related visual art exhibitions will be located at various galleries throughout Saskatoon in addition to the screening of Ian Towes river films. Late night River Café with live music caps off the evening at Sir Toby’s Tavern at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan site.
Day Two (July 14) afternoon will present youth kayaking lessons and short river tours. Throughout the day there will be on-going visual art exhibitions city-wide as well as story-telling in various locations. In the evening River Landing (east) comes alive with Music & Dance. Songs of the River, an intimate concert of ‘river’ music and, as the sun sets, Dancing the River where indigenous traditional and contemporary dancers come together to interpret the spirit of the river. River Café with live music will again round out the evening under the Shakespeare tents.
Day Three (July 15) will send off a canoeing party to explore the Trails of 1885 along the South Saskatchewan River. This ticketed, fully guided and packaged canoe tour with one-day and overnight wilderness camping options will feature short hikes and interpretive stories at stops en route to Batoche. Back in town, local story tellers will weave tales of the past in Stories from the River Bank at various locations along the Meewasin Trail. On the water, the Saskatoon Canoe Club will be running their annual marathon Cranberry Punch Canoe Race. Visual art exhibitions are on-going throughout the day and the late evening live music at River Café under the Shakespeare tents will wind up the excitement of the River Rendezvous 150 Festival for 2017!
For more a more detailed schedule of Festival activities (to be posted soon) go to http://bit.ly/2rZFiDO