Greenfield, MA, May 19, 2009. The Connecticut River Watershed Council’s Executive Director Chelsea Gwyther will deliver river protection remarks at the Connecticut River Valley Great Spring Water Event held at the Unitarian Meetinghouse in Bernardston, MA, which begins at 9 am, Saturday, May 30, 2009. And, to cap the all-day celebration of community water through art, music, education and activism, Pat LaMountain, local musician and Finance Director at the Watershed Council, has put together a concert at the Meetinghouse featuring organic Connecticut River Valley music and musicians from 7 – 10 pm.

As part of that concert, the three winning composers from CRC’s “Living along the River” song contest held in 2008 will each perform live. John Currie of Orange, MA, will deliver his first-prize song “The River.” Easthampton’s Claire Dacey, second place finisher, will also sing, as will Charlie Conant of Greenfield, the third place winner. Among other 2008 “Living along the River” contestants performing will be Russ Thomas and Roland Lapierre of Greenfield, Emily Samuels of Gill, Sarah Pirtle of Shelburne Falls and Katie Clarke of Conway. Each songwriter will also perform a tune that incorporates the Great Spring Water Event’s theme of water and/or nature.

“We’re delighted to be part of this event highlighting our wealth of water,” says the Council’s Chelsea Gwyther, “Any time people focus on protecting our community water resources, we all win.” Pat LaMountain, designer of CRC’s Living along the River contest, says a second annual contest has just been announced, “We want new songs and songwriters to help highlight our river riches and educate the public through music.” Entry forms and rules for the 2009 Living along the River Songwriting contest are on the Council’s website at ctriver.org, LaMountain says.

The Connecticut River Valley Great Spring Water event is open to all. Information, food, and fun for people of all ages will be available at the all-day community celebration. The Bernardston Unitarian Meetinghouse is located at 58 Church Street in the center of Bernardston. For further information on the concert contact: Pat LaMountain 413-772-2020 x203 or go to www.bernardstonunitarian.org for information about the event.

Download the poster. (PDF 650KB)