Gas drilling draws crowds to river towns

Boats, candles, cameras, poets, puppets, planes, popcorn and a movie

By SANDY LONG

NARROWSBURG, NY — A 330-mile-long celebration along the banks of the Delaware River last weekend manifested locally in a mélange of interesting and informative activity in Narrowsburg and other locations. The Light Up the Delaware River Party, spearheaded by Liz Bucar and Leni Santoro, encouraged people along the Delaware River Basin to organize events focused on raising awareness of issues related to natural gas extraction coming to the region.

The local event began with a River Regatta in Narrowsburg’s Big Eddy. Participants displayed signs and carried bottles of water symbolizing chemicals associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing, with labels such as “toxic soup” and “hydraulic horrors.” In town, poets read water-related works on the Main Street deck, while information was provided at booths on Bridge Street.

On the bridge, volunteers displayed signs that read, “Do not frack our river,” as they promoted a free evening showing of the documentary-in-progress, Water Under Attack ( www.waterunderattack.com ) by local filmmaker Josh Fox. The film was shown on a mobile movie unit created by Dan Brinkerhoff, who also provided free popcorn on a mobile popcorn maker he devised.

A troupe of puppets, representing “Big Business” and “Government,” paraded through town followed by a “Witness” who drew attention to their wiley ways with the sign, “Slippery—Not to be Trusted.”

Television cameras rolled as photographs were shot from a plane overhead. At dusk, participants lit the span of bridge in a glowing arc of candlelight as “a brilliant beacon of conservation not exploitation.”

According to Bucar, 15 million people depend on the Delaware River Basin for their water. She and Santoro said they are seeking increased national attention on the dangers posed to it by drilling and fracking.