Paddlers in kayaks and canoes form the rosette in the Connecticut River below the south side of the Arrigoni Bridge. Photo: Dortha Cool Willetts.
Canoists Perform Art on the River
MIDDLETOWN - â€"Over 100 souls” participated in a Performance Art on the Connecticut River Saturday, June 28, sponsored by the Jonah Center for Earth and Art working with MacDonough Elementary School and the North End Action Team (NEAT) Hiking Club.

       Forty-five of those souls were fourth-graders from Mcdonough School. The paddlers were Jonah Center members and their friends; a few kids who had the confidence also paddled.

       This was the third year that the Jonah Center has sponsored a paddle event for MacDonough fourth-graders. On May 26, 2012, eight children had the first thrill of a paddling adventure on the Connecticut River from the Harbor Park boathouse ramp. The next year, the number of students doubled and the padders and canoists explored part of the lower Coginchaug River before returning to Harbor Park.

       John Hall, executive director of the Jonah Center, said that most of the fourth-graders â€"experienced for the first time a close-up of the spectacular waterway that borders their neighborhood.”

       The event was supported by the MacDonough Elementary School PTA, NEAT, financial donors who helped provide $10 for insurance for each child and by many volunteers who did the paddling and canoeing.

       This year the public was invited to join the event and take part in a creative canoe and kayak paddle â€"Environmental Performance Art on the Connecticut Rive.” This involved the â€"creation of a living art work,”as descrbed by Hall, in which all the boaters rafted their boats into a rosette near the southern tip of Wilcox Island, just north of the Arrigoni Bridge. The boats floated in the rosette formation just south of the bridge, where about a dozen photographers leaned over the bridge railing to capture the impressive art work in still shots and video.

       â€"The still and moving images will promote protection of local waterways and the creative possibilities of Middletown’s riverfront,” said Hall.

       The boaters then paddled or canoed upstream and around Wilcox Island before regathering at the southern tip to return in close formation to the launch area, where photographers captured the boaters returning to Harbor Park. The boaters had a send-off from Mayor Dan Drew, the mayor’s Chief of Staff Joe Samolis, and members of the Middletown Police Department, who facilitated the movement of photographers from the boat ramp to the Arrigoni Bridge and helped launch the boats. MacDonough Elementary School and NEAT also volunteered their help to make this a truly memorable event.

       All paddlers provided their own boats, life jackets, drinking water, and sunscreen. All participants registered at the launch site and were asked to donate $10 to the Center to help cover insurance costs. The boats were launched from the boat ramp about 1:30 p.m. and the entire boating activity took about two hours. Everyone was blessed with a beautiful sunny day with picturesque clouds and a cooling breeze.

       The event had a great educationaleffect on the fourth-graders.

       â€"The important part of the paddle experience for the fourth graders is to get them off-shore and onto the spectacular waterways that surround their neighborhood,” said Hall. â€"Most of them had never been in a boat before, so this is a brand new environment of wonder Doing this in a large group adds excitement, plus [provides] social support and an extra measure of safety.”

       The activity also aimed to express the mission of the Jonah Center for Earth and Art, as well as have a positive effect on helping the Jonah Center grow.

       â€"We can’t expect the public to support waterways and wildlife if they have never experienced it first-hand,” said Hall. â€"The reason we are the Jonah Center for Earth and Art is because we need all forms of culture to engage people in a deeper and fresher way in the material world. Every time we have a paddle, we enlarge our network of people, and we deepen relationships within that network through shared activities out on the water.”

       Listening to the remarks of the youngsters who participated and observing their enthusiasm would make one think that much of that mission was moved forward, and perhaps some new wildlife and waterways enthusiasts were created that day.
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