In the Wake of the Tale
The fourth year of The River Clyde Pageant, in New Glasgow, PEI.
Co-directed by Megan Stewart, Ker Wells, Jane Wells, Ian McFarlane & Annie Therrien-Boulos
Artistic & Production Support from: Emily Wells, Joanna Caplan, Marti Hopson, Andrea Ellis, Evan Medd, Dominique Hat, Kyla Gardiner, George Rahi, Robyn Jacob, Arnold Smith, Sebastien Labelle, Sue Leblanc, Laura Astwood, Kathy Randels, Robin & Debi Stevenson, Tara Callaghan, Maikayla MacPhail, Krissi Ewing, Kristian Brevik, Norah Pendergast, Mark Carr-Rollitt, Patrick Brunet, Alyson Smythe, Virginia Harris, and many, many others.
In the Wake of the Tale received financial support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, the PEI Arts Grants program and Innovation PEI.
“The river teaches us about movement and change. It is forever in motion – a reliable agent of change, and a powerful reminder of the forces greater than us in the universe. It does not make us any promises; it especially does not promise its constant presence. That is one reason why Ker and I initiated this project five years ago, when we became acquainted with the River Clyde and the drastic, accumulating changes it was undergoing. We sensed the river was revealing how ephemeral it could be, a presence not to be taken for granted; and so, we started from there. Along the way, we gathered an extraordinary community that has reached out far beyond their own lives to support this project and support the River Clyde. Both the river and the Pageant community have taught me many things in four years of making art here. This summer, I learned the particular struggle of holding immense grief alongside great joy. There’s so much to grieve; the absence of our co-director and dear friend Ker, the deaths of eight North Atlantic right whales this year, the atrocities inflicted daily upon the planet and each other. And yet, joy persists, appearing each day to keep us moving forward. A red dory gliding across still waters. Bald eagles soaring above. Eighty people lifting their voices up to sing loud. Admitting that we don’t know what will happen in the end, but at the very least, it is a great privilege and a great joy to be here together right now.”
– Megan Stewart, 2019 Pageant Director’s Note
Photos by Robert Van Waarden. Video by Millefiore Clarkes.