The Rural We: Leslie Gabriel
The Becket resident's goal is to touch, move and inspire humanity to revere and protect water.
A first-generation Hungarian American, Leslie Gabriel was raised in Queens. As a kid, he went to camp in West Copake, and as an adult, moved to the area (Hillsdale). He’s always been an activist and worked on the political campaigns of Democratic candidates from Howard Dean to Barack Obama. Gabriel is passionate about the protection, conservation and sharing of water, and created The Water Celebration Foundation to fund cultural events and conversations about the value of water. To that end, he’s organized the Water Celebration Foundation Awards on January 26 at the Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield, a combination social and informational event that will culminate with a screening of the film “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Years ago I started an e-commerce company dedicated to water. I sold filters, dispensers, and other water gadgets. When the supply chain shut down, I began making content about water, including a blog, podcast and some videos. I sold my home in Hillsdale, went to the Hudson Valley and spent time in the woods in the Adirondacks. After an Indigenous Peoples Day in Great Barrington, I ended up staying in the Berkshires, and started my podcast, “And So It Flows” back up on WTBR — Pittsfield Community Radio.
I’ve always been politically active in New York State — locally, regionally, nationally. But I started to realize that people were just interested in being right, and I had enough of that. I began to focus on water, because it’s bigger than any personal point of view. It’s life. It’s the only element that we don’t understand but sometimes take it for granted. My ultimate message is to have people interact with the vastness and simplicity of it at the same time.
I think the film “Avatar: The Way of Water” is a cultural gift. A lot of people will be paying attention to water in this film; James Cameron has done a lot of activism.
The event at the Beacon Cinema will take place in the lobby before the screening. There will be tabling by local artisans and vendors, finger foods from local chefs, a performance by Berkshire Irish dancers, music, and a show of water images by artist Kate Knapp. US Marine Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger will talk about his journey to bring accountability to one of the largest water contamination incidents in American history.at Camp Lejeune.
My hope is that the event will connect all of us to the things that are most important to us, using water as a prism where conversations can be had — spiritually, politically, medically, culturally — all different ways.
