Esplanade not done celebrating the country’s milestone 150th birthday
Canada’s history will be on display in a unique way this weekend at the Esplanade, as the group hopes to help Hatters celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday in yet another way.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Hatters will be able to swing by the Esplanade’s lobby to take part in a free Sesqui Meridian Virtual Reality event, which is aimed at telling six unique stories of Canada’s past.
“We’re really looking forward to having the exhibit at the Esplanade for the weekend,” said volunteer coordinator Sandi Reimer. “This is a really great event that’s free and really family friendly. We feel like it’s going to be a lot of fun for people to come out and learn a little more about Canada.”
The stories will be told through virtual reality headsets, which allow people to look all around them and to be fully immersed in a completely different world for the duration of the story clips.
“There’s going to be six different experiences to choose from at six different stations around the lobby,” said marketing and promotions assistant Melissa Stockton. “The pieces were collaborated on by artists and musicians and other artistic people. They all came together to tell these great stories.”
People are able to watch all six pieces for free, but there will be a lineup system in place so wait times will vary depending on how busy the event is. Stockton says she hopes people will learn a lot from the exhibit.
“These delve into everything that is Canadian and really touch around Canada’s 150th birthday,” Stockton said. “We know there’s a lot more to Canada than just the last 150 years, but we still feel it is important to teach everyone about these years.”
Though virtual reality is something fairly new, Reimer says people young and old will have good time with the exhibit.
“I think this will be great for people of all ages and not just for younger people,” she said. “I think the more experience-based virtual reality pieces will immerse people into the stories and will give everyone the same 360-degree view no matter what age they are.”
To learn more about the event go to esplanade.ca and look for the Sesqui Meridian Virtual Reality event page.