N.B. celebrates its colourful history
FREDERICTON— It was a rainy day in New Brunswick’s capital city, Fredericton, but that wasn’t stopping local celebrations.
Under tents in the city’s historic Barracks Square there was a lively band playing, local vendors and community activities. Drawing special attention was a restored chestnut canoe from the 1970s, the subject of a community art project. Its colourful design, created by teacher and librarian Lisa Robinson, evokes New Brunswick’s history and is being painted in by passersby in a paint-bynumber style.
“There’s the violet, which is the official flower of the province,” Robinson said. “There are also musicians for the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival here every fall, a dream catcher to represent our First Nations history, our city hall and the fiddlehead pictured as an infinity sign to show the continuity of life and nature.”
The canoe was to be finished Satur- day and will then be displayed at a convention centre downtown.
Others were celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday by finding a bit of shelter at The School Days Museum, just a block away from the outdoor festivities.
Collection manager Doreen Armstrong has, for 19 years, been committed to the volunteer-run muse- um, which commemorates the schools of New Brunswick dating back to 1888, and the education of teachers in that very same building.
Today, children are able to enjoy quiet indoor activities at the historic site, which is always open on Canada Day, with a school-themed beaver craft from brown paper lunch bags and a museum-wide scavenger hunt.