River Clyde Pageant

River Clyde Arts announces programming for the 10th edition of The River Clyde Pageant, with performances running July 23–26 and July 30–August 2 in New Glasgow, PEI, and a series of free public workshops.

The 2026 Pageant will build on stories and characters introduced last summer, drawing inspiration from the collective movements of plants, animals, and people, and the responses such movements provoke. This year, the Pageant will be performed at a new site in New Glasgow that will serve as River Clyde Arts’ long-term home. The public is invited to a free Pageant Welcome Picnic on June 27 from 2–6 pm for an afternoon of arts and ecological activities introducing the new site and inviting collective dreaming about its future. Details are available on RCA’s website and social media.

Throughout June and July, the Pageant will offer free arts workshops led by professional artists from across PEI and beyond. Participants of all ages and experience levels can contribute to this milestone production through weekly workshops and standalone sessions.

Stilt director Laura Astwood will offer an Introduction to Stilt Walking workshop, June 20–21. Playwright Mike Geither returns to lead a bird watching workshop and a four-day ecological creative writing workshop.

Pageant collaborators Garry Williams and Marti Hopson return to helm two music workshops. The Pageant Choir, starting June 2, led by Garry and Marti, invites participants to co-create and learn choral music for the show, while Garry’s music workshop, which launched May 27, gathers instrumentalists to explore improvisation and composition for the Pageant’s sonic world. 

Puppet Ensemble, led by Evan Medd, Sebastien Labelle, and Franziska Glen, brings a collection of puppets to life through ensemble-based performance training. Flocking Together, a creative movement workshop led by choreographer Reequal Smith, draws from Afro-Contemporary dance traditions and Calypso Fusion to explore the patterns of birds in flight.

The Bee also returns as the Pageant’s signature weekly drop-in workshop, offering a relaxed space for crafting, costume-making, and socializing while contributing directly to the design and costume elements of the 2026 production. Danielle Moore-Rayner from the Lennox Island Cultural Centre will lead an afternoon medicine bag making workshop on June 13, and the Hunter Clyde Watershed Group are leading a community planting workshop on June 14. 

No previous experience is required for any workshop, and all are welcome to participate in the creation of the 10th River Clyde Pageant, especially those new to the event. Workshop spaces are limited and early registration is a must. 

Tickets for the 2026 River Clyde Pageant go on sale June 24 at 10 am and June 25 at 7 pm. Volunteers are needed to help bring the production to life. For tickets, workshop registration, volunteer opportunities, and more information, visit riverclydearts.com.