Rillito River Project on NPR
Listen to Patmore Lewis discuss the Rillito River Project and our work.
» Listen Now
Rillito River Project by Patmore Lewis
Learn all about the Rillito River Project CD and find out where to buy it.
» Learn about the CD
Watch the Introduction
View the introduction by Ellen Benjoya Skotheim, Creative Director, Rillito River Project (Video).
» Watch the Intro
Rillito River Project artists composed bat rhymes for distinctive pink road signs and placed them along Campbell Avenue between Roger and River roads. The Burma Shave inspired campaign featured these creative announcements for Bat Night:
Eating Bugs
You might say Ugh
But a thousand bats
Just call ‘em snacksVisitors from out of town
Hanging huddled upside down
Acro-bats!
The results were impressive. More than 2,000 people gathered near sunset in the Rillito Riverbed East of Campbell Avenue Bridge to witness 45,000 Mexican free-tail bats fly out from their home in the crevices underneath the bridge to forage for food – particularly the delectable mosquito.
An hour prior to this natural phenomenon, Rillito River Project Creative Director, Ellen Skotheim opened the event with The Bat, a poem by Theodore Roethke, and then invited everyone to raise their water-filled glasses to join her in a toast to the soul of the river.
Bat expert Yar Petryszyn presented a lecture on bats and answered several questions from the crowd. Yar contrasted the dark and mysterious portrayal of bats in folklore and mythology with the facts, including their important role in plant pollination along with a voracious appetite for insects.
Critically acclaimed musicians, percussionist Pete Swan and guitarist Matt Mitchell played inspired sonic accompaniment as the bats began to emerge against the setting sun. Children excitedly ran under the bridge, following the bats as they fluttered into the darkening western sky. A full moon was rising over the eastern horizon helping people find their way back to the ramps leading to the Rillito River Walk.
Rillito River Project was happy to welcome so many people – including lots of families – to the riverbed to enjoy the moderate temperature and be part of a natural art happening.
Rillito Bat Limerick
There once were some bats from Rillito
Who thought dropping guano was neat-o
They flew high in the sky
Eating bugs on the fly
You can thank them for fewer mosquitoes