CUSHING — Join Georges River Land Trust (GRLT) for the final SEED event with artist Lihua Lei Farley on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 2 - 4 p.m.

At this immersive closing performance, backdropped by the rising tide at Olson Field Preserve in Cushing, audience members are invited to participate and observe as ‘'seed sculptures' are delivered to the water where the river meets the sea. Each lightweight, biodegradable sculpture contains a letter, poem, or drawing for the St. George River, authored by a Cushing Community School 4th grade student.

GRLT asks that audience members who wish to participate in the performance to please wear white, according to GRLT, in a news release. At the event, a select number of these self-identified volunteers will be invited by Farley's performers to carry a sculpture for a portion of the performance.

"You are welcome to come as a participant or as an observer," said GRLT.

GRLT provides the following information:

Parking and Arrival: Please arrive and park in the Olson House parking lot no later than 2 p.m. We will walk to the southern end of the Olson Field together, where Act I of the performance will begin. From there, the performers and audience will walk together to the beach for Acts II-V. 

Accessibility: The performance will involve walking and standing on mowed grass paths and on a flat beach with mixed surfaces (seaweed, rocks, mud flat). We will have some chairs available but also invite audience members to bring blankets or other easy-to-carry seating.

Videography/Photography: Please note that this event will be filmed and photographed for the purposes of a documentary film. Attendance constitutes your consent to be photographed and/or filmed and to the use of your image, voice, or likeness in the documentary and related promotional materials.

In case of rain, this event will take place on Saturday, August 29 (time TBA)

SEED is a multi-site art project by Cushing-based artist and Maine Visual Arts Fellow Lihua Lei Farley, which invites the community to draw closer to the St. George River and respark childlike wonder. Comprising a sculpture installation in Bernard Langlais’s workshop at the Langlais Art Preserve in Cushing; two events along northern and central sections of the St. George River in Thomaston and Searsmont; and a closing performance at a special site where the river meets the sea at Olson Field Preserve in Cushing, the project will span nearly 50 miles and include participatory opportunities for community members.

Farley and Georges River Land Trust hope SEED will inspire participants to see themselves as part of the river’s living system—and to care more deeply for its future.

Georges River Land Trust has been conserving and caring for the St. George River watershed since 1987. The land trust has conserved more than 5,600 acres of forest, farm, and shoreline, and maintains over 80 miles of public trails in 19 towns from Montville to Cushing. This conservation work is supported by over 1,000 community members. Visit georgesriver.org to join the community and learn more.