After the on-water performance, gather at Harbourfront Centre’s Concert Stage during Nuit Blanche for a celebration of A Lake Story. Enjoy a documentary chronicling the project’s creative journey, see the wind-activated colour field paintings up close, and honour the community partners, paddlers, and artists who brought this story to life.
Following the sweeping on-water performance, the celebration continues at Harbourfront Centre’s Concert Stage with a screening dedicated to the community, creativity, and collaboration behind A Lake Story taking place during Nuit Blanche 2025: Translating the City. Audiences are invited to experience a special documentary screening that captures the making of this ambitious project. From gathering materials along the Lake Ontario shoreline, to creating the colour field paintings, to the collective movement of over one hundred canoes painting the water and sky with colour.
The evening will also feature an in-person presentation of the vibrant colour field paintings, offering a closer look at these wind-activated works and the stories they carry from the lake itself. Together, film, art, and conversation will honour the partners, paddlers, and artists who brought A Lake Story to life.
Filmed and Edited by Andrew Williamson
Original Score by Mitchell Akiyama
Special thanks to Harbourfront Centre for supporting this event.
Made possible with support from Presenting Sponsor, Waterfront Toronto, along with Ports Toronto, Nieuport, Waterfront BIA, Redpath Sugar, and other generous supporters.
artist
A Lake Story
by Melissa McGill
Commissioned and presented by The Bentway
Principal Presenting Sponsor:
Waterfront Toronto
Presenting Sponsors:
Waterfront BIA
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
Nieuport Aviation
Ports Toronto
Lead Community Sponsor:
Redpath Sugar
Community Corps Program Supporter:
Toronto Foundation
Lead Watercraft Sponsor:
Nova Craft Canoe
With additional support from:
Cherry Street Bar-B-Que
City of Toronto
CreateTO
George Brown College
Harbourfront Centre
Ontario Arts Council
Paddle.ca
Salus Marine
TAS
T Dot Water Taxi
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Toronto Island Marina
York Bay Marine
The Bentway’s growing network of Bentway donors and supporters
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A Lake Story
Sep 27 & 28, 2025. Procession at 11am & 4pm
A procession of over one hundred canoes moves in unison across Toronto’s eastern Waterfront on September 27/28, each carrying colour field paintings made with pigments sourced from the lake/shoreline and activated by the wind. A Lake Story will articulate Lake Ontario’s colour story across the sky and water, amplifying the lake’s own voices of vibrancy, ecosystem, and community.
SOLAR
to
A mesmerizing encounter with light transforms the Gardiner into a glowing horizon. Guided by a robotic arm and synchronized beams, SOLAR performs a spectacle of sunset by merging the sun’s rhythms with digital choreography to create an immersive experience of light and motion.
The Bentway ‘takes to the water’ this September
Join the canoe procession: 500 Volunteers invited to bring an unprecedented artwork to life, and co-create with renowned artist Melissa McGill.