Friday, August 27, 2010

The English Harbour Lithoskiff

I mentioned in a previous post the dry stone walling course that the English Harbour Arts Centre had offered this summer. One of the participants, Jerry Mcintosh, has pulled together a series of photos showing the construction of a piece of environmental art which the group calls the "Lithoskiff".

Check out the Lithoskiff on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmyiKl1PlOw or watch the embedded video below.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Job Posting: Intangible Cultural Heritage Assistant!

The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) program of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is looking for an enthusiastic, organized, and outgoing folklore graduate to help run ICH, folklife and oral history projects!

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Program Assistant will work closely with HFNL staff, partner organizations, and the general public in the planning and development of programs related to the collection, conservation, transmission, and celebration of living history, oral history, folklore/folklife and the intangible cultural heritage of NL. The Program Assistant will work on the organization of the annual folklife festival and mummer’s parade. The Program Assistant will work to organize and plan ICH related training workshops, public talks and other events as required. The Program Assistant will use ethnographic methods to document and identify key informants for research, as well as interview event participants. The job will also include some report writing, grant proposal writing, and taking minutes of committee meetings.

Good note-taking skills, organizational abilities and a keen interest in the folklore and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador are essential. Must be willing to wear a pillowcase over your face, drink Purity syrup, and act foolish as required.

Salary: $25,000 per year

This one-year position is pending funding, and the applicant MUST have graduated from a folklore program (or related discipline), either at the undergraduate or graduate level, within the last two years.

Please send a print copy of your resume, along with a photocopy of your degree and/or academic transcript to:

Mr. Dale Jarvis
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador

PO Box 5171

St. John’s, NL A1C 5V5

Applications must be postmarked by Friday, September 3, 2010

Hooking Our Heritage Book Launch

In August 2009, a group of twenty-eight women came together to design and hook rugs under the guidance of organizer/initiator Laura Coultas and artist/rug hooking consultants Sheila Coultas, Frances Ennis and Maxine Ennis. Inspired by the strong Irish heritage on the Southern Shore, known as the Irish Loop, the women decided to create a body of work that would illustrate Newfoundland and Labrador’s strong connection with Ireland.

Hooking Our Heritage uses text and pictures to trace the progress of the rugs and tell the story behind each one. Within these pages, you will find rugs displaying the words, traditions, landscapes, songs and history shared between the country of Ireland and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The finished rugs show Irish blessings, a farrier and his horse, fairies playing in a garden, Celtic symbols and many other examples of the links between Ireland and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Book Launch and Authors' presentation
Thursday, September 9th
7pm
LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria Street
for more information call 709-739-4477

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Photos from the Dan Snow Dry Stone Wall Workshop and Talk




For 35 years Dan Snow, a Mastercraftsman with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. For the past couple weeks, he has been in English Harbour teaching his craft. I interviewed Dan last night at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton, and this morning checked out what he and his students have been working on.

Pictures are up on flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalejarvis/sets/72157624760091740/
I will be posting the audio of the interview later on, so check back for more details. For more info on Dan's work in English Harbour, or to listen to the CBC podcast featuring Dan, check out his blog at:

http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/2010/08/english-harbours-fearless-adventurers.html

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Dry stone wall building and its place in Newfoundland's heritage

For 35 years Dan Snow has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. From the practical to the fantastical, his works in stone fuse vanguard vision with old world techniques and traditions. His work has been the subject of articles in numerous journals, including “This Old House”, "Vermont Magazine" and “Vermont Life” magazines, and the “New York Times" and the "Boston Globe.”

This Wednesday, August 18th at 7pm, Dan and provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis will chat at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton about the tradition and the art of stonework, and the place that dry stone wall building holds in the heritage of Newfoundland.

For More Information Please Contact:
Two Whales Coffee Shop (709) 464-3928
English Harbour Arts Centre (709) 464-2424

A joint project of the English Harbour Arts Centre, Two Whales Coffee Shop, and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Read more about Dan's work at:
http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/
http://whisperingcraneinstitute.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/dan-snow-on-forgotten-stone-fences/

Remembering Great Eastern Oil - a story from Donna Bishop



I sat in a restaurant along Water Street yesterday, and looked out across the street towards Templeton's Paints. It took a second for me to realize that I was seeing a viewscape I'd not really looked at in quite the same way before. The southeast corner of Bishop's Cove and Water Street is now empty, the building that stood there for a couple generations is gone. I had never been able to see Templeton's in quite that way, because there had always been a building in my line of view.

Best known recently as Fabulous Fifties, the building was once the home of Great Eastern Oil. Sitting in front of the now vacant lot is one of the speech-bubble shaped signs for HereSay, the narrative map project that was curated by myself and local radio documentary producer Chris Brookes. It is now the only tangible reminder of the building that was once there, and if you stand on the spot, dial the HereSay phone number on your cell phone, and punch in the three digit code on the sign, you can hear Donna Bishop's memory of the place.

Our physical landscape can change almost overnight. Although the Great Eastern Oil building was perhaps no architectural gem, its loss is a good reminder to us that the places in which we live are peopled with stories, and those stories, those memories, are important to preserve.

You can share in Donna's memory of Great Eastern Oil on the HereSay website at:
http://www.batteryradio.com/Heresay/331%20Water.html

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

UNIQUE VENUES WANTED FOR DOORS OPEN ST. JOHN’S

Call for Applications to Participate in Doors Open St. John’s, Sept. 25th & 26th, 2010

Doors Open St. John’s is looking for your input as they offer the public a once-a-year chance to fully explore St. John’s from the ground up! Doors Open St. John’s offers the public an opportunity to explore buildings and spaces- many of which are not normally open to the public. Participants tour buildings, and experience the past and present life of the building not usually accessible to the public. All doors open events are delivered at no charge to visitors.

Doors Open St. John’s is seeking sites and buildings that celebrate the City’s rich architectural and cultural history. Buildings or sites that can offer a unique user experience – where visitors can witness (or join in) with the past or present use of the building – are favoured. These may include commercial and industrial buildings, museums, cemeteries, schools, factories, private homes, hotels, government buildings, historical sites, private galleries, or others. Gardens and natural heritage sites are also eligible.

Doors Open St. John’s is about reflecting on the past and present and making that vital link between people, buildings, stories, and natural landscapes. Buildings, whether modern or old, reinforce community identity and pride. They turn "space" into "place." If you know of a building or a site that would be a great place to include in the Doors Open St. John’s program, go to www.doorsopendays.com and download a Building/Site Application Form, or call Kristine at 739-1892, ext. 3. Deadline for applications is August 6, 2010.

Doors Open St. John’s is scheduled for September 25th and 26th, 2010. Over 23,000 people participated in this event last year.

If you would like more information please call Kristine Nolte at 709-739-1892 ext. 3, or email Kristine at doorsopenstjohns@gmail.com.

Second World War veterans will gather in Newfoundland to preserve their stories with The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War

On Monday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 11, Second World War veterans will gather in St. John’s and Corner Brook respectively to participate in a new nation-wide oral history project.

An initiative of The Historica-Dominion Institute, The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War is creating an unprecedented record of Canada’s participation in the Second World War as seen through the eyes of thousands of men and women who were there. It is providing every living Canadian Second World War veteran with the opportunity to preserve their memories through recorded interviews and digitized memorabilia. Their stories are available, in both official languages, at www.thememoryproject.com.

Second World War veterans will be available to share their unforgettable stories with the media.

What: The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War
Lunch and refreshments will be served.

Who: The Historica-Dominion Institute
Second World War veterans and their families and members of the public.

Where: St. John’s: Monday, August 9, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Murray Premises Hotel, HMS Briton Room, 5 Beck’s Cove, St. John’s, NFLD

Corner Brook: Wednesday, August 11, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
The Glynmill Inn, Tudor Room, 1B Cobb Lane, Corner Brook, NFLD

The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War is made possible by a contribution from the Government of Canada through the Celebrations and Commemorations Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

For more information:

Davida Aronovitch
Communications Coordinator - The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War
(416) 506-1867 ext 222, cell (416) 460-3284
daronovitch@historica-dominion.ca