SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
June 2026
Dubuque Rendezvous! a cooler world gathering, will be a cultural platform, community gathering and climate forum in Dubuque, Iowa in June 2026. The Rendezvous will be a multi-disciplinary meeting of environmental perspectives, creative dialogue and sustainable practices to support the Mississippi River system and its communities. Everyone is welcome!
June 5 – 28 ⏐ Installations
100 Rivers: Signals of Repair ⏐ Victoria Bradford Styrbicki | Dubuque sites
Cyclist ⏐ Gail Chavenelle ⏐ Carnegie-Stout Public Library
An Artifact of Connection ⏐ Shelby Cole ⏐ Dubuque Bike Coop
Still Life with Wrecking Ball ⏐ Peter Flanary ⏐ Voices Studios
7.4 Hogs Mural ⏐ Andonia Giannakouros ⏐ 1000 Iowa Street
Aggregate Channeling ⏐ Sara Meredith ⏐ Bluff Strokes Art Center
Inland Buoy ⏐ Bill Mitchell ⏐ National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium
Ribcage and Wormhole in the Apploid ⏐ Terry Rathje ⏐ Voices Studios
Right of Water ⏐ Tamsie Ringler ⏐ Dubuque Museum of Art (June 17)
Voyageur ⏐ Jac Tilton ⏐ Dubuque Museum of Art ⏐ Fundraiser (June 17)
June 5 – 28 ⏐ Exhibitions
Pride & Planet ⏐ Planted ⏐ June 5 – 28
Who is the River? ⏐ 919 Main Street Gallery⏐ June 5 – 28
Kelsey Benton, Megan Carbonelli, Stina Hensley, K Kriesel, Hendrica Regez, Ron Tigges
Shelby Cole, Erica Wilson and Community ArtistsDubuque Camera Club
Vera Ming Wong, Christine Olson, Bonnie Ploger and others ⏐ St. Paul – MN
June 20 – 21 | Bluff Strokes Art Center – From Stone to Color: Making Pigment from Place | 9 AM – Noon
From Stone to Color: Making Pigment from Place (Dubuque) ⏐ A two day workshop for Youth and Adults, 14 +.
This two-day workshop introduces students to the origins of pigment by transforming locally collected stone into usable watercolor paint. Participants will explore geology, material history, and collaborative artmaking while creating pigment sourced directly from downtown Dubuque. Students will take home watercolor they made. The workshop culminates in a collaborative striation collage made from hand-painted papers using place-based color.
Instructor – Erin Kono ⏐ Register⏐ This event presented by Bluff Strokes Art Center, a partner of Dubuque Rendezvous!
June 22 – 26 | Bluff Strokes Art Center – Youth Art Rendezvous | 9 AM – Noon (daily)
Inspired by Nature. Powered by Imagination: Youth Art Rendezvous ⏐ A five day workshop for Youth entering or currently in Middle School.
Spend a week creating fun, imaginative art inspired by nature. Campers will experiment with a wide range of materials, learn new techniques, and share ideas as they develop their own creative voices. Along the way, campers will build confidence, connect with others, and enjoy the simple joy of creating together.
Instructor – Jess Ochoa ⏐ Register ⏐ This event presented by Bluff Strokes Art Center, a partner of Dubuque Rendezvous!
Dubuque Rendezvous! a cooler world gathering
June 25 – 28
Thursday – June 25th
Air Program
Performance ⏐ Eagle Point Park – Riverfront Pavilion ⏐ 6 – 10 PM
Dubuque Audubon Society ⏐ Wings of the Wild: A Birding Adventure at Eagle Point
Treehaus Studios ⏐ On the Wing: Mississippi Flyway Workshop
Aerial Agroglyphs ⏐ Marc La Pointe and Jean Marshall
Dubuque Interfaith Green Coalition ⏐ Cosmic Walk
Groundswell Joy Collective⏐ Community Singing
Driftless Guild ⏐ A Midsummer Night’s Dream (selections)
Dubuque Area Writers Guild ⏐ Poetry
Kaytlan Moeller ⏐ Storytelling
John Schroeder ⏐ What is going on with the timber? Use, abuse and restoration of forests in Iowa.
Air is existential, as breath and atmosphere, giving us the beauty of the evening sky and carrying the expression of music. Air surrounds us and inspires us. The importance of the atmosphere and air quality, the significance of airborne communities – birds and insects, and carbon absorbing landscapes – forests and oceans. How our atmosphere is changing and its impact on our lives.
Friday – June 26th
Make Your Mark With Nature
Workshop ⏐ EB Lyons Interpretive Center – The Mines of Spain ⏐ 10 – Noon
Project Art for Nature ⏐ Outdoor sketching and art workshop with artists Vera Ming Wong, Christine Olson and Bonnie Ploger
Make Your Mark With Nature In this outdoor sketching/art workshop, choose from two options for gathering clues from plants or animals, and exploring their relationships with each other, us, and their surroundings: 1) Delve into plant secrets by sketching with traditional materials and techniques; or 2) Arrange gathered natural materials (twigs, leaves, stones) in 2- or 3-dimensional patterns, guided by their characteristics and your intuition. Intrigued? Try both!
In Collaboration with Dubuque County Conservation and Mines of Spain
Woodland Restoration
Workshop ⏐ Rabbit Hollow Conservancy ⏐ 10 – Noon
John Schroeder ⏐ Director of Conservation at Rabbit Hollow Nature Conservancy
Hands on demonstration of restoration work to restore a woodland at a neighboring nature conservancy.
Rabbit Hollow Nature Conservancy south of Grandview road.
We will be clearing invasive species- make sure to wear appropriate clothing – pants and close toed shoes. Bring bug spray, sunscreen, a hat, water and snacks as appropriate.
Water Program
Gathering ⏐ National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium ⏐ Outdoor Campus – Enter at Gate ⏐ 2 – 5 PM
Boyd T. Miller, PhD⏐The Compact Clause & Aftermath of Poor Policy
Christine Curry ⏐ Pure Iowa Water ~ Save Mississippi River
Dubuque Area Writers Guild ⏐ Poetry
Land Justice Futures of Dubuque ⏐ Doctrine of Discovery and How it Affects the World Today
Dubuque Interfaith Green Coalition ⏐ Cosmic Walk
Dane County Department of Waste & Renewables ⏐ Dane County Trash Lab
Dubuque County Watershed | Soil Tunnel Program
Dubuque County Conservation | Greenhouse Talk: Monarchs, Native Plants, & Pollinators, Oh My!
Iowa Learning Farms & Water Rocks! | Conservation Station Mobile Learning Lab – Water
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium | Dock Talk: Freshwater Mussels & A Healthy River
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium | EnviroScape Interactive – Watershed Pollution
This stream reflects our relationship with the forms of water, as clouds and rain, as the Mississippi River and cupped in our hands. The significance of the water cycle and weather patterns, rainfall, sea levels and marine communities. How our experience of water brings us joy and how the effect of the climate crisis on our water systems affects our sense of well-being.
Night Program
Openings and events ⏐ 5 – 10 PM
Earth, Sky, Water, Fire⏐ Bluff Strokes Art Center⏐2 – 8 PM ⏐ Opening 5 – 8 PM ⏐ Artist talks – 6 PM
Project Art for Nature ⏐ Vera Ming Wong, Bonnie Ploger, Christine Olson and others ⏐ St. Paul – MN
Aggregate Channeling ⏐ Sara Meredith ⏐ Madison – WI
Voices Studios ⏐ 6 – 10 pm⏐ Music 7 – 9: River and Megan Breitbach ⏐ Artist talks – 8 PM
Still Life with Wrecking Ball ⏐ Peter Flanary ⏐ Mineral Point – WI
Ribcage and Wormhole in the Apploid ⏐ Terry Rathje ⏐ Long Grove – IA
Who is the River? ⏐ 919 Main Street Gallery⏐ Create a Fish Workshop 5 – 9 PM
Community Climate Show ⏐ 919 Main Street Gallery⏐ June 5 – 28⏐ 5 – 9 PM
Saturday – June 27
Earth Program
Exchange ⏐ Dubuque Main Street, Farmer’s Market⏐ 9 – Noon
Additional programming TBA
The earth sustains us and infinite communities of plants and animals. We all know the fresh smell of dirt and the feel of soil in our hands, the transformation of seeds into fields and forests. Every cell in our body is formed from the earth and returns to the earth. This stream supports sustainable living and organic farming practices, conservation and reuse, biodiversity and species protection.
Afternoon Program – Living ⏐ Experience, Activism, Contemplation, Play ⏐ 12 – 5 PM
Clothing Swap⏐Dubuque Museum of Art⏐ 1 – 3 PM
Angela Ventris, Ali Levasseur, Erica Wilson, Lizzie Sulla
Earth, Sky, Water, Fire ⏐ Bluff Strokes Art Center⏐ 12 – 6 PM
Project Art for Nature ⏐ Vera Ming Wong, Bonnie Ploger, Christine Olson ⏐ St. Paul – MN
The Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice ⏐ Dubuque Museum of Art ⏐ 4 PM
Metamorph Films⏐Kathy Kasic
Fire Program
Celebration ⏐ Dubuque Museum of Art, Downtown | 6 PM – 11 PM
Dawry Ruiz – Cue the 608 Art Collective ⏐ Hip Hop/ Spoken Word
Matt Gregory ⏐ Community Dance Party!
Additional programming TBA
The sun is everything. We are living on a sunlit garden in infinite night. Fire is energy, it is electricity, it is the spark of life. This stream considers the dual nature of fire, as destroyer and creator, the good of technology – solar and wind farms, and the damaging – data centers and burning forests. The importance of conservation and the responsibility of energy sources. Energy is life.
Sunday – June 28
Sunrise Gathering – Gratitude ⏐ Mt. Carmel Bluffs ⏐ 5 – 6 AM
Community Climate Council – Action ⏐ Steeple Square⏐ 9 – Noon
Generate community and climate action ideas and resolutions. Open-mic forum and dialogue.