Avona & River Blessings at Greenman Festival

On Sunday 17th August 2025, at golden hour, Green Man festival witnessed a confluence of rivers as the celebrations drew to a finale. The River Wye, represented by artist Kim Kaos as the Goddess of the Wye puppet, met Avona - goddess puppet of the river Avon outside the Cinedrome.

Our documentary film Rave On For The Avon had just finished screening and came alive when the river bride Mrs Meg Avon stepped off screen and led the audience outside to meet the river puppets and lead the crowds through the festival to gather at the river Usk.

Avona, created by a group of river guardians in Bristol met her River Spirit sister and inspiration, the Goddess of the Wye.

For us to protect our rivers, we need to transform our relationship with them. From viewing rivers as a commodity, for us to own and extract from, to viewing rivers as living natural entities. Our relationship can change to that of reciprocity, where we relearn how to give back as much as we take.

In order to change our understanding, communities across the country are beginning to build river spirit puppets to represent their rivers as 'bodies' of water that need love, care and protection.

Avona meets the Goddess of the Wye, photo by Oliver Chapman

The Rave on For The Avon parade danced to disco and drum and bass, beside flitting shoals of fish puppets, gathering crowds to watch them honour the Green Man as he was being prepped for the big burn later that night.

By the time they arrived at the river, a large crowd had gathered to witness the ceremony between these three rivers and their artistic representations. Mrs Avon united the audience in song - a translation of the Maori saying ‘from the mountains to the sea, I am the river and the river is me’ and Lady Wye then led the ceremony with a sharing of gratitude and acknowledgement of grief for the health of all UK rivers.

Green Man Festival's Nature Nurture Manager Ria Butler participated in the ceremony along with the Bristol river guardian community. Ria told us

I’ve been working with the Green Man Festival for nine years, arriving onsite at the same time each summer. My visits to the River Usk have become cyclical, intertwined with celebration, joy, and the creativity that comes with being part of the Green Man team.

As a Londoner I also have a very strong love for the river Thames. Its sheer size, the way it makes light dance, the sense of history that it holds. It always inspires me. 

What I loved about this ceremony was hearing all the participants calling out their own rivers from the bridge. It emphasised the sense of connection that we all share through our rivers and streams. Our rivers are in great need of our focus and attention. Ceremonies like this help to strengthen our bonds with our environment, our shared beliefs and collective intentions. It was a real pleasure to be invited to join you. 

Thank you Greenman Festival for having us and to the incredible curator Jason Solomons for bringing our film and parade to your Cinedrome venue.

Photos by Oliver Chapman