The 12th Star
The 12th Star Fire & Water Ceremony was a community-based ceremonial project created by artists George Ferrandi and sTo Len in collaboration with residents of Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
The project took inspiration from Kappa Draconis, a star positioned to one day become Earth’s North Star, but destined to be eclipsed by larger neighboring stars. We used this celestial “almost” as a framework for exploring resilience, surrender, adaptation, and the ways individuals and communities navigate disappointment and change.
Developed through a series of public gatherings, storytelling events, and participatory actions, the project unfolded across the city throughout the summer of 2023. Residents shared stories of resilience, created river-themed video postcards, learned ceremonial chants, and participated in collective processions and symbolic actions along the Susquehanna River.
The culminating Fire & Water Ceremony took place at Sunbury’s riverfront on September 9, 2023. Participants received white silk flags from a small regatta and carried them in a downriver procession before transforming them through acts of mark-making and erasure into symbols of endurance and renewal. The ceremony concluded with a celebratory return journey.
The 12th Star Fire & Water Ceremony was made possible through the generous funding of MapFund, and through the support, skills and advocacy of: Peterson Tuscano, Glen Retief, Cindy Peltier, Julie Hagenbuch, Jody Ocker, Gidget Matuszewski, Viktoria Romania, Sam DeVries, Matt Wilson, Andrew Stuhl, Laura Libert, Daniel Nienhuis, SaraJane Snyder, Meghan Beck and Alexandra Zsigmond.
With particular thanks to the residents and city of Sunbury, Shikellamy State Park, George's Lovely Variety subscribers, the Herman Family, Theresa and Todd Kendall, and Team Troisi: Nick, Carol, Rose, Mimi, John, Jessie, Aaron, Marlo, Jovian & Keil.
Photos by Keil Troisi with navigational assistance by Aaron Troisi.