Rivers and Trails Festival combines with Bliss Yoga Festival for Culture Days

The Port Coquitlam River and Trails Festival took place at Lions Gate Park and Peace Park on September 27 as part of the culture days.
The festival started at 10:00 am at Lions Gate Park. Throughout the festival attendees participated in activities such as a salmon release, environmentalist booths, and concession. A local band played original songs such as, “The Echos” who played original songs “Maps” and “The Sun Never Sets on Us.” The events at Lions Gate Park ended at 2:00 pm and the festival continued at Peace Park.
The events at Peace Park started at noon and ended at 4:00 pm. The activities included several paddle wheeler river tours, art activities, and children’s games. The paddle wheeler tours were two dollars per person, with limited tickets only available at Peace Park.
To encourage festival attendees to bike from park to park, the festival organizers developed a free bike valet system for participators to bike on the Port Coquitlam Traboulay Trail from park to park. The festival also organized people to use a shuttle bus to get from the Traboulay Trail to Peace Park.
The New Playground beside the festival provided a great place for children to play while parents participated in the Bliss Yoga Festival at Lions Gate Park, also part of culture days.
2015 is the fifteenth year for the Rivers and Trails Festival. This year was the first time both the Bliss Yoga Festival and the Rivers and Trails Festival were on the same weekend. This was also the first year the Rivers and Trails Festival expanded to Peace Park.
The river and trails festival focused on the eco-system and had many stands and booths going in depth about different aspects of our environment and how people are connected to it. “The environment is connected with our mind, body, and soul,” said Angela Girard, one of the culture day organizers.