GILA RIVER FESTIVAL 2022

One River: Many Faiths, Many Cultures, Many Voices

Gila River Blessing Ceremony

Sunday, September 25th, 10 am - 11 am; The Nature Conservancy Iron Bridge Preserve, FREE, no registration required

Difficulty: Easy

Directions: From Silver City – Take US Hwy 180 west toward Cliff. In approximately 27.5 miles, take a left onto Iron Bridge Road (just after you cross the Gila River). This is the second turn off to Iron Bridge Road (3.5 miles past Bill Evans Lake Road and about 1.8 miles past the first Iron Bridge Road turnoff). Proceed about 0.4 mile from the intersection and you’ll see a parking area on the left.

The ceremony will be led by faith leaders from several traditions, including to date Claudia Elferdink (Unitarian Universalist), Norma Santos, Daniel Hernandez, and Athena Wolf (La Escuela de Curanderismo), Gwen Lacy (Gila Meeting of the Society of Friends), and elders and tribal leaders from the Nde (Chiricahua, Warm Springs, Bidanku, and Ndendaai). The Fort Sill Apache Fire Dancers with the Gooday Family will open the ceremony with a river blessing song. Former Grant County Poet Laureate Elise Stuart and Silver City poet Kit West will read selections of their Gila poetry.

Please note that no seating is provided, so please bring a folding chair if you think you’ll need one.