Join rare and Musagetes for the third annual Long Dash Festival, a collaborative event bringing together the worlds of art and science. On rare lands, you will find a series of programs over two days that explore the interconnections and overlaps between arts and science while showcasing the talents of various artists, musicians, naturalists and scientists.

See below for program details. All activities are free to attend.
Please RSVP to ensure you receive email updates and event information, as well as to help us determine numbers.
Please note that registration is required for certain activities as supplies are limited. 

Saturday, July 25th

Installation - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Santee Smith
Experience all four seasons at rare with a durational experience by Santee Smith incorporating performance and film.  

Lunch - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Event participants are invited to join us for a light lunch provided by Cedar Spoon Indigenous Catering.

Sound Walk: A rare Experience - 1:00 - 4:00pm
Curated by January Rogers
As you walk along the trails, discover how the sounds of Indigenous musicians and sound artists intermingle with the sounds of nature.  This year's sound walk features a diverse range of musical styles, from traditional flute and hand drum to electronic and experimental.

Featured Artists:

Kelly Kiyoshk - Native American flute
Nathan and Maggie Powless-Lynes - keyboard and standup bass
Jai King-Green - hand drum vocalist
Wes Day - experimental looping and rap
Gladwyn Badger - surf guitarist with 3 piece band
January Rogers - participant station - make music with found/natural objects

Sunday, July 26th

Explore and Discover - 10:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Festival participants are encouraged to explore the Slit Barn and surrounding area as well as rare's Springbank Farm Hub to discover workshops, demonstrations and participatory activities. 
Shuttle service will be available between event sites. 

Explore and Discover at the Slit Barn:

Southfield
Led by Annie Dunning
Southfield is an illustrated field guide /poster of some of the butterflies I observed at the Southfield tract while doing butterfly monitoring in 2025. During the Long Dash Festival, visitors will have an opportunity to see the original illustration installed with some abstract, clouds of letters that react to UV light. Butterflies can see the UV spectrum and this project is, in part, a speculation about how butterflies see the world. UV flashlights will be available for examining the artwork and wildflowers that butterflies might visit. Copies of the poster will be available for visitors to take home.

There will also be an opportunity to learn about the scientific procedures of butterfly monitoring by joining a butterfly walk (see below for details).
Drop-in between 10:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. at Resource House.

Butterfly Walks
Led by rare Research
Butterflies have long inspired artists and scientist alike through their beauty and contributions to pollination and other ecological services. Join members of the rare Research staff for a hike to learn more about butterfly monitoring at rare and help spot, view, and identify butterflies up close. Hikes will leave from Resource House at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, and 12:00 pm. The hike will follow the ECO and Osprey Trails down to the river (~ 1.3 km roundtrip).

Earth Pigments
Led by Danielle Petti
In this earth pigment workshop, attendees will learn how to make their own paint from rocks and soils. Danielle will walk you through her process; from foraging tips and crushing rocks to mixing the perfect paint. Processing the pigments will be done together with Danielle’s tools, alongside a brief history of earth pigments and an overview of sustainable art practices. This workshop is great for artists who want to have more of a connection to the materials they work with, but also for non-artists who are curious about this prehistoric way of making paint.
It is not mandatory to bring anything with you to the workshop, but it is encouraged to bring any soft rocks or soils you may have found. Not all rocks work great for pigment, your foraged samples can be tested out on the day of the workshop.
Please Register. Runs from 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. at the rare Slit Barn.

A Puzzle at the Confluence of Two Rivers
led by Andrew Maize
A puzzle at the confluence of two rivers is a large-scale prototype puzzle of the local area and we need your help to put it back together! This puzzle is challenging, because it uses the roads, highways and railroads as the matrix to cut out the pieces. These lines dissect the earth into grids and private property, bisecting ecological connectivity and controlling species movement. Rivers and waterbodies are the elements that often come together first - as they are more resistance to the colonial/capitalist desire to control and order nature. The act of puzzling is a fun and collective hands-on activity for all ages, one that asks us to actively puzzle together, in relation and with our hands, about the ways our stories and shared histories have shaped the land and our communities, with all it’s layers and complexities. So if you have an interest in puzzles, treaties, ecological connectivity, landback, anti-capitalist and decolonial ways of imagining our relationships to land - please drop by and let’s puzzle!
Drop-In between 10:00 - 1:00 p.m. at the rare Slit Barn.

Explore and Discover at the Springbank Farm Hub:

rare Sketches: A Landscape Drawing Workshop
led by Shelley Niro
This two-hour workshop will be a glorious way to spend time outdoors, sketching flowers, trees, insects and some of the outstanding vistas that can be seen at the rare gardens. Allowing yourself to explore this subject matter in a basic foundational perspective is the first journey towards peace and good mental health.
Art supplies will be provided.  A sun hat is recommended to add protection from the sun.
Please Register. Runs from 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. at the Garden Pavilion.

The Buckthorn Project
led by Don Russell
Join artist Don Russell for a land restoration project at rare. We will be identifying buckthorn trees in a specified area and removing all that we find. Rubber mats will be placed over the area of the removed tree and will remain for one year, ensuring that the tree does not regenerate. Buckthorn is an invasive species that has a detrimental effect on the health of our forests here in southern ontario. It does this through a variety of ways but the most significant way is in its ability to harm and reduce naturally occurring mycelium that grows within the soil. Native species trees flourish when mycelium levels are healthy and when that is affected the trees are limited in their ability to grow. Buckthorn tends to choke out any competing trees and this is an ongoing problem within our forests. This project aims to eliminate the invasive species buckthorn while creating an opportunity for native trees, such as Walnut, Maple and oak to take root.
Please RSVP to ensure adequate supplies. Runs from 10:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. at the the Springbank Farm Hub.

Lunch & Learn: Live, Love & LandBack - 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Terri Monture
Workshop participants are invited to join us for a light lunch from Cedar Spoon Indigenous Catering as they learn from a member of Six Nations of the Grand River about our responsibilities to the natural world, and the true meaning of LandBack.

Why the Long Dash?

The Long Dash Skipper, Polites mystic, is a brown and orange butterfly found in grassy habitats like meadows, marshes, stream banks and forest edges including on rare lands. Named after a butterfly like its sister programs - the Eastern Comma Artist in Residence and the Question Mark Fellowship - the Long Dash Festival also brings to mind punctuation, in this case em-dashes though also perhaps en-dashes and hyphens, all marks of connection that bring two parts into relationship with each other.

Similarly, the Long Dash Festival brings together the worlds of art and science—as well as those of Musagetes and rare—to explore what happens in the overlap.

Accessibility

• A portion of the Sound Walk will take place along the Grand Trunk Trail which features flat gravel trails. The side trails, which include the Woodland and River Trail, feature soil/rocky substrate, areas with narrow footpaths and moderately rugged terrain with roots and rocks. The Slit Barn has ground level entry and an Accessible washroom is located outside of the Slit Barn at ground level.
• Resource House has an accessible ramp and automated door.
• The Springbank Farm Hub is located at the top of an inclined path requiring a 5-min walk.  Accessible parking will not be available on site during the Festival due to foot traffic.  Natural/grass terrain in most areas. An outhouse is available on site.

Parking & Travel

• Limited space is available for parking at the event site.  Please consider carpooling if possible.

Presented By

Community Partners