Charlotte Gray speaks at Canoe Museum event
Award-winning writer will discuss The Promise of Canada at Elmhirst’s
The Canadian Canoe Museum will be holding a Books & Brunch event on Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Elmhirst’s Resort, 1045 Settler’s Lane, on the shores of Rice Lake in Keene, at a cost of $75 per person. Guests will enjoy Sunday brunch, with host Michael Peterman and author Charlotte Gray who will be talking about her new book The Promise of Canada.
In her book, Gray brings history alive through stories about the people and ideas that have shaped the country, focusing on nine people, from Oji-Cree politician Elijah Harper and politician and founder of medicare Tommy Douglas, to groundbreaking artist Emily Carr and author, poet, critic Margaret Atwood. Gray says that throughout her research she discovered that “Canadian history is littered with visionaries and eccentrics, dynamos and dreamers.”
A biographer, historian and member of the Order of Canada, Gray has won many awards for her work including the Pierre Berton Award for her historical writing, the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction, and the CAA Birks Family Award for Biography.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 705-748-9153 ext. 211 or go to http://canoemuseum.ca/event/books-brunch/
The museum is offering many artisan workshops this fall where participants can learn a variety of skills, including Make a Trail Toboggan on October 19; Weave a Pair of Snow Shoes on October 20 and 21, Make a Pair of Snowshoe Bindings on October 22, Make a Pair of Leather and Wool Mittens on November 1 and 2, Make Your Own Anorak on November 3 and 4, Make a Pair of Winter Moccasins on November 10 and 11 and Make a Hudson’s Bay Blanket Coat on November 23. To register, please visit canoemuseum.ca/artisan-workshops, call 705-748-9153 x218 or email workshops@canoemuseum.ca
Continuing at the museum is the exhibit Just Add Water – Little Boats with BIG Stories, which showcases several unique canoes from their collection that have not been viewed before, along with the stories behind them.
Wildlife artist and environmentalist Robert Bateman’s 12-foot canoe is exhibited alongside a print of his painting “Rocky Point October” where it is featured. The museum acquired the canoe when Bateman was closing up his Ontario studio and moving to British Columbia. Bateman says that some of his most formative experiences were the summers he spent working in Algonquin Park, where on his time off he would paddle to picturesque spots to paint. His canoe is of interest, not only because it belonged to him, but because it was built by May Minto, a female canoe maker, who owned Minto Marine in Minden.
Premier’s Awards
Fleming College has announced the six alumni nominees for the Colleges Ontario Premier’s Awards to recognize outstanding Ontario college graduates in business, community health services, creative arts and design, health sciences, recent graduates and technology.
The nominees are: Business - Tim McClure (Sporting Goods Business, 1986); Community Services - Kathi Curtin-Williams (Social Service Worker, 2009); Creative Arts and Design - Bill Deba (Parks and Forest Recreation, 1985); Health Sciences - Graham Bashford (Personal Support Worker, 2002); Recent Graduate Dylan Trepanier (Business Administration, 2018); Technology - Brian Coones (Electronics Engineering Technologist, 1994).
The winners in each category will be announced at the Premier’s Awards Gala, hosted by Colleges Ontario, on Monday, November 26 in Toronto.