19th
Gila River Festival
After taking a break in 2023, we’re back with the 19th mostly-annual Gila River Festival!
As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gila Wilderness in 2024, the Gila River Festival will not only celebrate this important milestone in protecting America's first Wilderness River, but will also look to the Gila’s future. By exploring themes of long-term protection, climate resilience, cultural exchange, and stewardship, we will envision together the Gila River’s next hundred years and beyond.
This year’s festival features a keynote presentation by Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr., the San Carlos Apache leader who has worked tirelessly to prevent the desecration of Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site in what is now southeastern Arizona, from a mine operated by international mining giant Rio Tinto.
Friday night a diverse panel of community leaders, including Guadalupe Cano, Ray Trejo, Michael Darrow, Martha Cooper, Joe Saenz, Corina Castillo, and Luke Koenig will discuss their perspectives on the future of the Gila River and its watershed.
Other presentations will take place on Saturday afternoon September 28 at the Silco Theater. Michael Robinson starts the afternoon off at 1pm with a talk on jaguar reintroduction. At 2:15 pm, the Mogollon Concerned Citizens will present efforts to protect the watersheds that flow from the western slope of the Gila Bioregion. Diné filmmaker Tony Estrada will follow at 3:30 with the world premiere of his documentary “Untrammeled: MCC’s Pursuit of the Wilderness Ideal.”
The L&J Ranch’s Airstream Mobile Lab will be on hand throughout the Festival with its Gila River Project that will challenge participants to explore the relationship between place and the life it enables. Opening reception with Open Space Brewing, music by Colt Stragoon and guided tours on Thursday, Sept. 26 from noon - 5:30 pm.
Recuerdos de Nuestra Gila with The Semilla Project is a photo gallery that captures the voices of our communities and the impact the Gila has had on their identity, culture, and practices through 20 multigenerational storytellers who shared stories from different parts of their lives, the interactions that brought their family closer, and what strengthened their relationship with the land while reflecting on the importance of protecting these places for future generations.
In keeping with tradition, the Festival will host a series of field trips. Alex Mares, of Diné and Mexican heritage, is an ever-popular interpreter of rock art. Luke Koenig, New Mexico Wild’s Gila Grassroots Organizer, will lead a free family-friendly hike to the Gila River. Geologist Dylan Duvergé will take participants to Mogollon Box to discuss weather and climate impacts on the Gila River. As always, the Festival will host birding, wildlife tracking, native plant hikes, horseback riding, restoration and composting tours, and more!
Field trips taking place on U.S. Forest Service land have been permitted by the Gila National Forest.
