23-05-2025
Trout-themed parade in Burlington May 30
BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – 'Who is going to forget building a 14 foot trout puppet?'
Something fishy will be happening in the streets of Burlington next week. The Flynn theater in downtown Burlington is partnering with the Burlington School District and its Sustainability Academy to create an event 'celebrating trout and the watershed where they live.'
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Community members will assemble at the Flynn at noon on Friday, May 30, and leave to start the parade at 12:30 p.m., then head north to Sustainability Academy to join students, and continue to Battery Park on the waterfront, a walk of about a mile and a half. The parade will be followed by a short exhibition of the life cycle of trout by students. Organizers expect the event to end no later than 2:30 p.m..
Community members and local artists held workshops earlier in the month to create watershed-themed puppets and flags. Their paintings, sculptures, and prints will be on full display Friday during the hour-long march to Battery Park. Members of the public are encouraged to join in 'trout-themed outfits', but all interested people are welcome.
The event is connected to the Trout in the Classroom program, which has students at the Sustainability Academy spend six months raising brook trout all the way from eggs to full-sized fish. In the past, the school held only a small celebration, but this year for the first time they want to get the larger community involved. The Flynn's Director of Education says she expects the new, larger parade 'will be a joyful, fun way for the Burlington community to gather and celebrate the home we share with the natural communities of the Lake Champlain Watershed.'
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Sustainability coach Kestrel Plump says she just wants the scale of the celebration to reflect how much her students already care about the project. 'The students spend January to June developing an emotional connection to the trout that they see every day at school. An event at this scale… shows them that the larger Burlington community is invested in the trout and the watershed that nourishes our region.'
'Plus, it's just really fun. They will remember it for the rest of their lives. Who is going to forgetbuilding a 14 foot trout puppet?'
The event will be cancelled in the case of inclement weather.
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