Ann Altstatt and Joshua Muir‘s trompe l’oeil scuptural installation “River Ghosts” depicts various elements from the river’s past, including fishing grizzlies, pre-colonial canoers, and the orchard windbreak of the old Riverside Hotel
The Ebb & Flow River Arts Project, an initiative of the Arts Council Santa Cruz County, aims to build our local arts community in the context of further engaging the people of Santa Cruz with the San Lorenzo River. The project funded sculptural installations by local artists along the levee ‘Riverwalk’, and culminated in a Kinetic Sculpture Parade along the river from the basketball arena to the Tannery.
(I am always thrilled to see people recognizing and exalting the health and biodiversity of the lower San Lorenzo river, where I administer the San Lorenzo River Urban Wilds citizen science project for this reason.)
This colorful and light-hearted event drew together several hundred people to enjoy a tranquil Saturday noontime on the river and the creativity of several dozens of their kinetic fellows. The paraders featured a variety of eccentric bicycle remixes, outlandish costumes, and a healthy contingent of papier-maché toting, conservation-minded youth.
Above three: A “Save Our River” youth brigadeCabrillo College students and their “Larry the Lamprey” highlight a lesser appreciated creature of the watershed
Kyle Lane-McKinley pedals a mobile camera obscura/story recording unit for his work (with Chelsea Wills) “A Field Guide to Bottlenecks”
Sandino Gomez (Museum of Art and History) and youth displaying wildlife banners
Seabird float
Bubble blowing sunfish float
Drummers of Bateria Samba Cruz set the beat
Flying fish faeries
The amphibious bicycle
(L) Debora Wade and (R) Karsten Wade of the Santa Cruz Pedicab Company
S2C Clean Machine youth float bearing slogans “Litter’s Bad for Critters” and “We’re a Revolution Against Pollution”
Above: The costumed characters of the River Quest Living Treasure Hunt. Right: The frog man.
Luke Wilson and his two-wheeled, self-righting “Dragon Egg” nestFlowing like the river
Cycling shark family
Tall bike Tawn and Monarch Mira
The fish bike
Doug Ross receives visitors at the Tannery with a hands-on screenprinting demo, featuring his logo design for the Ebb & Flow arts initiativeGiant salmon puppet recalls a time when salmonids were abundant in this watershed
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