Heading into its 10th summer in P.E.I., the River Clyde Pageant still delights spectators

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 29, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 29

What started arsenic a effect of an thought a decade ago has since blossomed into a flourishing spectacle connected the banks of a stream successful cardinal Prince Edward Island. 

As the organizers of the River Clyde Pageant archer it, though, the occurrence of the yearly show arts festival was ne'er truly successful uncertainty from twelvemonth one. 

Theatre artists Ker Wells and Megan Stewart archetypal brought the thought to radical successful the New Glasgow country successful 2015. They got astir contiguous buy-in. 

"We were wholly shocked by the vigor and the engagement and however we got to the extremity of the archetypal summertime and everybody was like, 'You're coming backmost adjacent summer, right?'" Stewart, the pageant's creator director, told CBC's Island Morning. 

"We gathered a batch of truly absorbing radical with galore hidden originative talents — and you know, galore of those radical are inactive progressive successful the pageant today, which is beauteous amazing." 

The River Clyde Pageant is an outdoor theatre production, performed by assemblage members and artists since 2016.

The performances often woody with themes of biology stewardship and the earthy world, and see the usage of stilt walkers, choirs and puppets ample and small.

The shows travel unneurotic successful astir six to 8 weeks successful July and August each year, and tally successful two-year cycles. 

The rhythm allows the performers to research a peculiar taxable and show structure. By the 2nd year, the pageant could alteration somewhat and let for deeper exploration of show elements. 

This summertime marks a caller cycle, the pageant's 5th overall. 

"We're truly inspired by flocks and swarms and the antithetic kinds of question patterns that antithetic taxon benignant of question successful together," Stewart said of this year's production. "We're reasoning astir antithetic kinds of carnal migrations and however these movements evoke antithetic responses successful america arsenic humans." 

Radiating with energy

On the evening of the pageant, spectators stitchery astatine the apical of a elevation successful a New Glasgow field. They past task down the hillside and get astatine the show tract adjacent to the Clyde River. 

From there, a radical of astir 85 performers ranging successful property from 8 to 80 volition unfurl an imaginative communicative for the audience. 

Tickets typically merchantability retired rapidly each year, said Stewart, calling that a testament to the continuing assemblage enthusiasm for the pageant. 

"Seeing the mode assemblage members are conscionable pouring truthful overmuch vigor and creativity into each portion of it — whether it's a portion of euphony they're performing oregon question or… a emblem oregon a puppet that's been made — the full portion truly radiates with that peculiar benignant of energy," she said. 

"I don't deliberation there's thing other similar it that is happening connected P.E.I., and there's not truly thing other similar it that's happening successful Atlantic Canada."