Ste. Genevieve Elementary First Graders Welcome Relay of Voices

Ste. Genevieve Elementary first graders strolled down to Main Street Park to participate in the Relay of Voices on Thursday, Sept. 5. Relay of Voices is a research expedition led by Victoria Bradford, a creative performance artist and athlete. The project encompasses a four-month-long journey from the headwaters to the mouth of the Mississippi River. 

A relay team of artists, athletes and researchers travel down the river each day, stopping in communities along the water for interactions and one-on-one exchanges with local residents. According to the Relay of Voices website, the goal of the project is to gather “voices” from the landscape of the river region in order to understand how people are moved by the river itself and how proximity to water-based natural resources shape our way of life.

Victoria Bradford and her husband, Tom Styrbicki, stopped by Ste. Genevieve to meet community members and students. Ste. Genevieve Elementary Music teacher Lacey Bauman composed a song, “Welcome to Our Town,” which the students sang. They finished their performance with “This Land is Your Land, this Land is My Land.” Sara’s Ice Cream donated vanilla wafer ice cream sandwiches to the students after their performance.