Dear friends,
As we move through the Covid19 pandemic, many of you have been asking about the status of this summer’s River Clyde Pageant. After careful consideration of the directives from PEI’s chief public health officer and the federal government, as well as consultation with our funders and community partners, we have an update for you.
We have decided to cancel all workshops and pre-Pageant events planned for this summer, along with the five performances of the 2020 Pageant. We are heartbroken to have to make this decision but we are certain it’s the right thing to do. We desperately want to gather and create with our community, but planning a full-scale production, even in an outdoor setting, poses too much risk to our participants and audiences. Our community is the beating heart of the Pageant, and we have realized that we must do our part to protect the people and places that have enabled this project to thrive for the past five years in New Glasgow.
While the creative team and I are mourning this loss, we remain hopeful. I want to assure you that as soon as the moment arises when it is safe to reconvene, the River Clyde Pageant will be there. We will be ready - with bold visions, giant puppets, celebratory songs and spectacle on land and water. We will extend an invitation to you all to gather with us as performers and collaborators, as audience members, and as community supporters. We are dreaming of that moment, and letting our imaginations play freely until then.
The River Clyde Pageant community extends love and gratitude to everyone working on the frontlines of the pandemic: doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, essential service workers, and government leaders. We applaud the daily efforts of Islanders who are caring for children, the elderly, and are showing up to help friends and community members in need.
Islanders are demonstrating incredible resilience and compassion through this time, and because of those efforts, we will come through this.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. On behalf of the entire Pageant creative team, I send our love and fortitude. I look forward to the day when we return to the river.
Megan Stewart
Artistic Director & Producer
The River Clyde Pageant