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2026 Program

The Long Dash Festival is a two day, free event that explores the creative overlaps between art and science. Hosted at rare ’s Slit Barn and ECO Centre in Cambridge, Ontario, it features a diverse array of programs—from a Sound Walk and Percussion Karaoke to eco printing and participatory mapping workshops.

Why the Long Dash? The Long Dash Skipper, Polites mystic, is a brown and orange butterfly found in grassy habitats like meadows, marshes, stream banks and forest edges including on rare lands. Named after a butterfly like its sister programs — the Eastern Comma Artist-in-Residence and the Question Mark Butterfly Fellowship — the Long Dash Festival also brings to mind punctuation, in this case em-dashes though also perhaps en-dashes and hyphens, all marks of connection that bring two parts into relationship with each other. Similarly, the Long Dash Festival brings together the worlds of art and science—as well as those of Musagetes and rare — to explore what happens in the overlap.

Land Acknowledgement: The rare Charitable Research Reserve stewards over 1,450 acres of land, but we are not the first to do so. Most of the land currently in our care is located within the Haldimand Tract, which spans six miles on either side of the Grand River and is the territory of the Onkwehon:we Peoples of the Six Nations of the Grand River. It is also territory of the Anishinaabe Peoples Mississaugas of the Credit. In addition, rare stewards land at the border of the Upper Canada Treaty No. 3 and Treaty 19 from 1818 which is also territory of the Anishinaabe Peoples Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We honour and respect the sovereignty of these First Nations and their ancestors. The lands we steward are home to many other First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have moved to the area from across Turtle Island.

2026 Schedule at a Glance

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Saturday, July 25th

Kaie:ri Niwakenhnhake (4 Seasons)

10am – 4pm, Slit Barn
By Santee Smith

Lunch

12pm – 1pm, Silt Barn

Sound Walk: A rare Experience

1pm – 4pm, starts at Silt Barn.
Curated by January Rogers

Sunday, July 26th

Explore and Discover at the Slit Barn:

Southfield

Drop-in between 10am & 12:45pm, Resource House.
A project by Annie Dunning; facilitated by sophia bartholomew

Butterfly Walks

Hikes will leave from Resource House at 10am, 11:00am, and 12pm.
Led by rare Research.

Earth Pigments

Runs from 10:15am – 12:15pm, Slit Barn
Led by Danielle Petti. Please Register.

A Puzzle at the Confluence of Two Rivers

Drop-In between 10am – 1pm, Slit Barn
Led by Andrew Maize.

Explore and Discover at the Springbank Farm Hub:

rare Sketches: A Landscape Drawing Workshop

Runs from 10:15am – 12:15pm, Garden Pavilion
Led by Shelley Niro.
Please Register.

The Buckthorn Project

Runs from 10am – 12:45pm, Springbank Farm Hub

Please RSVP to ensure adequate supplies.
Led by Don Russell.

Lunch & Learn: Live, Love & LandBack

1pm – 2pm, at the Silt Barn.
Led by Terri Monture.

Photos from the Archive

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rare's Slit Barn & ECO Centre

Location

Long Dash Festival is hosted at rare’s Slit Barn and ECO Centre in Cambridge, Ontario at 768 Blair Rd.