A River Runs Through Us//Walking the waters home

As this country commemorates 250 years on the 4th of July, we seek to offer another commemoration – to the waters themselves that made this land and will one day take it back.

Join us for a water procession from Pier 26 and Catherine Slip to Collect Pond Park, will we will ceremoniously fill the fountain at the site of the former Collect Pond.

Organized by Jo-Wood Brown, Marion Yuen, beth maria, Julia Meeks and Dhira Rauch

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Collect Pond was once a freshwater oasis that appeared at the end of the last ice age, circa 11,000 BCE. The glacier in retreat left behind a landscape diverse with forests, fields, hills, streams and freshwater ponds, that came to be known as Manahatta/Manhattan. The natural diversity that once existed here still echoes in the people who have come and continue to come to live here. Waters from the Collect Pond flowed through streams, past salt meadows, and into the North River that drained to the Hudson, and to the East River. At exceptionally high tide, the waters of the two rivers mingled into Collect Pond. Today, the underground springs continue to flow below New York City’s streets and buildings.

Date: July 4th, 2026

Meeting Time:

10:am- 10:30 – at the rivers

11am – 12pm - at Collect Pond Park

Locations:

By Pier 26 on the Hudson R. or

By Catherine’s Slip on the East R.

Bring:

A container/vessel to carry water from the river to the fountain (a 20-minute walk)

A scarf or river-like material to knot together to form a flowing procession as we walk along streets where the streams once flowed.