Last Updated on January 30, 2024
This piece is co-contributed by the San Antonio River Foundation (River Foundation), the San Antonio River Authority’s nonprofit partner. Established in 2003, the River Foundation supports scientific and educational activities that promote and encourage the conservation, stewardship, restoration, preservation and enjoyment of the land and water resources of the San Antonio River Basin.
Warm Greetings from the staff at the San Antonio River Foundation!
In this edition, we’d like to keep you in the know about two super cool and unique events we have coming up at Confluence Park. The first is Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour 2023 (which also happens to be a BIG fundraiser for us), and the second is a free, all-accessible dance performance called Flutter: The Monarch Butterfly Project by the highly esteemed Open Dance Project based in Houston.
Mark your calendar for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Saturday, September 30!
We are having a blast planning for our upcoming fundraiser, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour, and are thrilled to invite you to one of the largest environmental film festivals in North America! The festival will take place Saturday, September 30, 2023, from 7:00–9:30 p.m. under the majestic pedals at Confluence Park. Tickets include dinner from Aloha Kitchen and beer provided by Viva Brewery!
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival works with environmental groups across the globe to host the film festival to reach their communities and bring together a diverse audience. The goal is to use film to educate and inspire activism. The River Foundation hopes to use the film festival to increase community understanding of the connection we share with our river systems and the planet and our role as stewards to keep our community and its surrounding waterways healthy for generations to come. For a sneak peek, check out the Wild & Scenic Film Festival Trailer!
Follow the link to PURCHASE TICKETS, and as a bonus, we are offering a 10% early bird discount for tickets through the month of August! Please visit www.sariverfound.org for more information about how this event supports our local efforts. To learn more about the festival, visit www.wildandscenicontour.org.We can’t wait to see you there!
Get whimsical with “Flutter: The Monarch Butterfly Project” on Sunday, October 15!
Get excited for this FREE upcoming event! On Sunday, October 15, from 2:30–5:30 p.m., Confluence Park will be transformed into “Flutter: The Monarch Butterfly Project,” a magical monarch experience with the help of dancers from the Open Dance Project and their fluttering counterparts of hundreds of live monarch butterflies flying above during their natural fall migration!
This family-friendly, all-inclusive, accessible event will celebrate and draw attention to the monarch butterfly’s approximately 3,000-mile migration, which passes through Texas each fall. The company Open Dance Project will present a series of three half-hour, immersive contemporary dance performances adorned in interactive costumes by Houston artist Natasha Bowdoin. The River Foundation has also planned a Monarch butterfly release in conjunction with the performance.
“Flutter” brings Open Dance Project’s theatrical approach outdoors, where the company takes on the natural phenomenon of the monarch migration with its signature athleticism and poignant wit. In addition to responding to the natural and architectural environment of Confluence Park, Open Dance Project choreographic director Annie Arnoult uses gestures and movement patterns inspired by the butterflies as the basis for an ensemble of quirky characters and personalities that seem at once totally human and yet also completely butterfly. Turning “immersivity” inside-out, “Flutter” beckons and entices viewers to follow these “butterfly-creatures” on mini-migrations through the landscapes of majestic Confluence Park.
Sounds AMAZING, right? Get a sneak peek now by listening to this Around-H-Town podcast interview with Houston Botanic Garden and Open Dance Project’s Annie Arnoult, where she talks about their Flutter performance that will be performed at the Houston Botanic Garden right before they travel to San Antonio to perform at Confluence Park!
Stay Connected with us!
Stay in the know about upcoming River Foundation events by signing up to receive our email updates. We look forward to seeing you at an event soon!
