Sunday’s 19th annual Grand River Environmental Festival will honor the woman whose passion was to keep the city clean.
The festival’s founder, Tracey Bucci, died in March after a battle with cervical cancer. Her family, including husband Tim Bucci and their seven children, are committed to continuing the event in her memory.
“We plan to keep it an annual event,” said Tim. “We’re really proud of her and all the community work she did.”
The festival will be held, rain or shine, on Sunday from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the pavilion at Brant’s Crossing Park, behind the casino. Volunteers will pick up litter in and around the river. A barbecue lunch will be served to volunteers around noon, and entertainment is scheduled until 2:30 pm
Tracey was the president and force for nearly 20 years behind the Grand River Environmental Group, which organizes the river cleanups that dredge up mountains of garbage, including shopping carts, old bicycles and tires, from in and around the river, Mohawk Lake and other city rentals. Tracey’s cleanup eventually became the festival.
“She wanted to have a central location to promote awareness, to get people to stop littering and to keep the streets and waterways clean,” said Tim.
Grand River Rafting will donate two rafts on Sunday to pull garbage from the river. Volunteers will congregate at 9 am at Wilkes Dam, at the end of Dufferin Avenue, and will travel down the Grand collecting debris.
Until 2018, Roger Chandler, owner of Blue Heron Rafting, assisted Tracey with the cleanup. Chandler died in August 2018. Due to her illness, Tracey was unable to organize the festival for the past two years.
Tim said he hopes at least 100 volunteers turn up for Sunday’s cleanup event. Children are encouraged to participate but must be accompanied by an adult. High school students can accumulate hours toward their community service requirement.
All volunteers are required to sign waivers. Gloves and garbage bags are provided, along with fluorescent tape to flag areas where needles, broken glass and other hazardous material area found so they can be safely disposed of.
Volunteers should come dressed for the weather and wear proper shoes to prevent sliding.
Concerned about the growing problem of homelessness in the city, and believing “nobody should ever feel alone or lost in the world,” Tracey also established a group in 2018 known as the Brantford Guardian angels, distributing gift cards, water, food, tents and sleeping bags to those in need.
The city plans to honor Tracey for her longtime volunteer work with a permanent memorial, likely by the river.