Testimonials from Past Participants

"The Triangle Procession of the Species proved to be an incredible addition to the 2003 Durham Earth Day Festival. This dynamic and energetic pageant full of intricately designed masks and costumes succinctly captured the spirit and meaning of Earth Day. What a fantastic way to bring the community together to celebrate and honor our environment!"

Alison Fiori
Waste Reduction Coordinator & Earth Day Coordinator
City of Durham, Dept. of Solid Waste Management

"What a delight to work on the Procession of the Species! I loved seeing folks jump in wholeheartedly, but what was even more exciting was to see the children, some hesitant, make a mask, put it on and become TRANSFORMED into their creation."

Ellen Cassilly
Ellen Cassilly Architect, Inc
Durham

"The Procession was a delightful, fun, educational event for our community. What fun it was to gather with a diverse, intergenerational group of people to share ideas for and then create inventive, whimsical animal costumes. Even more fun was the parade itself - an exhilarating display of puppets and people in colorful costumes. What a wonderful way to educate people, especially children - our future planetary caretakers- about the importance of considering our relationship with plant and animal species."

Sue Anne Solem
Enrichment Specialist
Glenwood Elementary School, Chapel Hill

"The Procession of the Species provided a terrific opportunity for our entire school to work on a community-oriented project. Each class was able to integrate the arts visual arts, drama, and music into their earth science study of plants and animals. All 120 students made a costume, and because of their delight and pride in their work, 50% of the students turned out for the City of Durham Earth Day Festival, along with their parents. In addition, we had our own whole school Procession the day before from school to Central Park, led by 2 Eartheal volunteers. One of our teachers commented that it was a touching moment for him, feeling a real sense of pride and school unity. We also received many comments from people who work in the businesses along Foster Street that seeing the children in costume parading down the street brightened their business day and enhanced their sense of being part of a great community."

Juliet Jensen
Art teacher
Central Park School for Children, Durham

"The Procession of the Species is extremely important for Earth Day because it makes people stop and think about how we are handling the Earth. It’s a great mechanism whereby people’s memories are jogged, hopefully into some kind of action. The Procession reminds us to be good caretakers and stewards of the Earth and that it is up to us."

Alice Sharpe
Downtown Development Coordinator
City of Durham

"Participating in The Procession in 2004 was a very enriching experience for my samba band. This event provided a great opportunity for artists to gather in community and express themselves through music, dance and fabulous visual creations.  The feeling of community connection and pride in artist expression was very strong."

Cathy Kielar
co-founder and member
Carolina Samba School

"The workshops on puppet making offered during the weeks leading up to the Procession of the Species are a wonderful opportunity for members of the community of all ages to come together to experience the joy of working together to honor the animals and to learn new skills.  Donovan Zimmerman and Jan Burger show participants how to transform simple materials like cardboard and scrap fabric into a fabulous array of animals that dance in the Procession.  Children and adults alike were thrilled with the process and the products that came out of the workshop,

and

Delight is one word that describes the feeling of participating in the Procession of the Species. As artists and activists come together to celebrate the spirit of each of the animals in color, texture, movement, and dance, it is simply exhilarating."

Jane Bergman, Art teacher
Saint Mary’s School, Hillsborough

The Triangle Procession is dedicated to Tracey Delta Shea, who embodied the spirit of creativity, play, celebration and care for the natural world that this event is all about. See Tracey's spirit celebrated in a poem.