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 2 | National Mississippi River Day Program | Rivers Edge Plaza | 10 AM – 2 PM
Mississippi River Blessing | Maryellen Baker and her daughter Karen Donahoe. Maryellen Baker is the Foundress and Director of the Abiinooji Aki Cultural Healing Center, Hayward, WI and initiator of the Women & Water Indigenous International Clean Water Summit.
Shalom Spirituality Center ⏐ Organizer – https://shalomretreats.org/
June 5 ⏐ First Friday Opening
Installations
100 Rivers: Signals of Repair ⏐ Victoria Bradford Styrbicki | Dubuque sites and parks
Cyclist ⏐ Gail Chavenelle ⏐ Dubuque Bike Coop
Still Life with Wrecking Ball ⏐ Peter Flanary ⏐ Voices Studios
7.4 Hogs Mural (Community Project) ⏐ Andonia Giannakouros ⏐ Downtown Dubuque
Ice Terrain ⏐ Derek Kiesling / Kara Edelstein ⏐ June 16 | Dubuque Museum of Art
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
Exhibitions
Queer Ecologies ⏐ Dubuque Area Arts Collective⏐ June 5 – 28
Who is the River? ⏐ 919 Main Street Gallery⏐ June 5 – 28
Community Climate Show ⏐ 919 Main Street Gallery ⏐ June 5 – 28
Pride & Planet ⏐ Planted⏐ June 5 – 28
Dubuque Camera Club ⏐ Dubuque Museum of Art⏐ June 26 – 28
Project Art for Nature ⏐ Bluff Strokes Art Center⏐ June 26 – 28
June 12 ⏐ Dubuque Area Writers Guild – Nature Anthology Release Party | River Lights Bookstore | 6 – 7:30 PM
The Dubuque Area Writers Guild will release its annual anthology, this year focused on nature. The event will include public readings by multiple authors plus drinks and snacks. Copies of the anthology will be available for purchase.
Dubuque Area Writers Guild ⏐ Organizer – www.facebook.com/DubuqueAreaWritersGuild/
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 three 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
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)
Kaytlan Moeller ⏐ Storytelling
John Schroeder ⏐ What is going on with the timber? Use, abuse and restoration of forests in Iowa.
Additional programming TBA
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
Water Program
Gathering ⏐ National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium ⏐ 2 – 5 PM
Additional programming TBA
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
Bluff Strokes Art Center ⏐ Artist talks – 6 PM ⏐ 5 – 7 PM
Project Art for Nature ⏐ Vera Ming Wong, Bonnie Ploger, Christine Olson ⏐ St. Paul – MN
Aggregate Channeling ⏐ Sara Meredith ⏐ Madison – WI
Voices Studios ⏐ Artist Talks – 8 PM ⏐ Music 7 – 9: River and Megan Breitbach ⏐ 6 – 10 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? ⏐ Main Street Storefront Community Show⏐ 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 ⏐ 2 – 5 PM
Nature hikes, Climate playdate, Birdwatching, Clothing up-cycling workshop – Additional programming TBA
Fire Program
Celebration ⏐ Dubuque Museum of Art | Dubuque Area Arts Collective ⏐ 6 PM – 11 PM
Dawry Ruiz – Cue the 608 Art Collective ⏐ Spoken Word
DJ Papi ⏐ Community Dance Party!
Aluminum Performance Pour ⏐ Pouring the Moon
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 Ceremony – Appreciation ⏐ 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.