Saturday June 18, 2016: Six art projects celebrate and explore the history and future of the San Lorenzo River and enliven the Santa Cruz RiverWalk. Join community members, volunteers, and local artists for the second annual Ebb & Flow festival, culminating in the Tanniversary celebration. Schedule below!

Arts Council Santa Cruz County, the City of Santa Cruz, Coastal Watershed Council, and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History announce the return of Ebb & Flow, a free community celebration of the San Lorenzo River and the Tannery Arts Center culminating on June 18^th, 2016. Ebb & Flow includes community artmaking, the unveiling of new murals and family activities along the riverwalk, and the installation of a major public art piece on the Water Street bridge. The day will end with Tanniversary, a full afternoon and evening of performances and arts experiences at the Tannery Arts Center Campus.

This year’s public art project is being designed and led by local artist Heidi Cramer, who is creating her piece as part of her summer residency in the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History’s Art Works program. S almon-shaped banners will highlight the myriad of River characteristics using poetry in haiku form and stretch for 500-feet upstream along the Riverwalk. "These white salmon symbolize the spirit of the endangered coho and steelhead salmon and honor the hundreds of lives that depend on the health of the river" explains Heidi.

Community members are invited to join Heidi at the MAH throughout June to learn about her work and help create the Ebb & Flow art piece. She will be there Monday through Thursday 12-4 PM, and Fridays from 5-9 PM.

June 18^th will be a full day of river revelry and celebration. The public is invited to start their day with a stroll along the Riverwalk from the arena to the Laurel Street Bridget to see six new wheat paste murals by local artist Elijah Pfotenhauer.

From 12-2:30 PM at the Water Street bridge, the community is invited to enjoy:

Hands-on artmaking and installation of the public art piece on the Water Street bridgeRiver Tours by local river experts and storytellersChildren’s art booths led by SPECTRA arts instructorsPhoto booth under the bridge with Geoffrey Nelson’s Guardian of the RiverFun and games with Eb, Flo, and other costumed river creatures

At 3 PM, the community is invited to the Tannery Arts Center for Tanniversary, a celebration of the creativity and art with food, fun, and free performances all afternoon and evening. At XX PM, there will be an artist reception at Radius Gallery for “All Hands On Deck”, a raffle of beautifully decorated skateboard decks to benefit Arts Council Santa Cruz County.

Ebb & Flow is a movement that transforms and enlivens the San Lorenzo River and the Tannery Arts Center. Its goals are to

This year’s Ebb & Flow is supported by the City of Santa Cruz’s Economic Development Department and Arts Council Santa Cruz County. Project partners include Coastal Watershed Council, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, Radius Gallery, and the Tannery Arts Center. Sponsors include Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center and Santa Cruz County Bank.