Sherbrooke Historical society heading to Ottawa
Local project wins Governor General’s award
Four representatives of the Sherbrooke Historical Society will be at Rideau Hall next week to receive the Governor General's history award for excellence in community programming. The programming in question is the society’s annual “L’histoire fait son marché” activity which has take place for the last five years at Sherbrooke’s Marché de la Gare.
“Everyone comes out a winner with L’histoire fait son marché,” said Michel Harnois, Director of the historical society, “the population discovers the history of public markets and benefits from historical prices on certain items while the merchants increase their sales and see market visits increase significantly.”
Harnois explained that the activity aims to recreate the atmosphere of a public market in the year 1900 at the modern day site. Historical re-enactors are on hand to share perspectives from the past and a kiosk helps to increase visitors’ access to historical information over the course of a weekend.
The project is now preparing for its sixth year in operation, and has seen attendance increase from 500 in year one to nearly 3000 people over the last few years. The activity takes place annually in conjunction with provincial public market week in the month of August.
The Governor General’s History Awards were created to recognize the excellence of innovative projects across the country that encourage people to share and learn about the history of Canada. Cultural organizations, teachers, students, and community groups are all eligible for the awards in eight different categories every year.
“I am deeply touched to see just how much our history arouses the interest of teachers, young students, academics, writers, community institutions, and museums,” said Janet Walker, President and CEO of Canada’s History, the organization which administers the awards. “All demonstrate a real passion that is expressed through a desire to share the memory of places, people, and events.”