ICH Update for Feb/March 2015: Youth, Games, and Play.

In this month's edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador: Dale Jarvis gives a brief overview of the activities the ICH office has been up to in February and March; Alanna Wicks summarizes the Youth Heritage Forum held March 7th; and Sharon King-Campbell gives the details on the "Looking Back: Games We Played" booklet, and interviews Paula Roberts about her childhood memories of Clarenville.

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Photo: Paula Roberts and her brother Robert, 1977.

Looking Back; Games We Played - now online!

Terra Barrett looks on as Teresa Boland reads her original
poem, featured in Looking Back; Games We Played

Well, the sails have been hoisted: Looking Back; Games We Played has been launched - and what a launch it was!

About 35 people gathered at MacMorran Community Centre on Tuesday morning to hear speeches from Dr. Cory Thorne and Dr. Jillian Gould (MUN Department of Folklore) and student Jacquey Ryan, and a reading by participant Teresa Boland. Cake was cut, a game of hopscotch was played, and the booklets were passed around, signed, and admired.

If you weren't able to come out on Tuesday to pick up a hard copy of the booklet, never fear! Your local NL Public Library will be receiving a copy or two in short order, or click here to see the whole thing online.

Looking Back; Games We Played is the product of the Hoist your Sails and Run project, pairing senior tradition bearers with student folklorists to talk about games and pastimes.

This project has been funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.

Come play! 16th annual Sharing Our Cultures event this Sunday

You are invited to Sharing Our Cultures, a fun-filled family event, at The Rooms, Sunday March 22, at 2-4 pm. Learn to play Shadow Puppets from China, Ludo from India, La Rana from Colombia, and many other games from around the world. Interact with school youth from diverse cultural backgrounds residing in St. John's and learn about their cultures. Admission to Sharing Our Cultures is FREE (fees apply for The Rooms exhibits). Contact Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe at lloydetta@sharingourcultures.com or www.sharingourcultures.com.

Rescuing a stranded sailor, or breaking a neighbour's window: World Storytelling Day #WorldStory15

World Storytelling Day. Logo by Mats Rehnman.

At ICH, we're in the business of stories.

When it comes right down to it, stories are what many of us value the most. When we walk into a centuries-old home, we think "If these walls could talk, what stories would they tell?" Our most cherished moments are remembered as stories.

The best thing about stories is that they multiply in value when shared. It's fun to tell a story, and fun to hear one. Storytelling has been around since humans came up with language.

Today is World Storytelling Day, an global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, recognized every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. You can read more about it here.

In honour of this day, I want to share my very first oral history interview ever, and the first interview in the Hoist your Sails and Run project (available on the DAI here). I spoke with Winston Fiander, from Portugal Cove-St. Philips, over Skype, and amid descriptions of games he used to play, he told me a couple of particularly notable stories.

To hear how his father rescued a stranded fisherman, go to 15:28.

To hear how he got up to mischief with a homemade slingshot and got away with it, go to 28:10.

And don't forget to check out Looking Back; Games We Played - the published result of the Hoist your Sails and Run project - set to launch Tuesday, March 24th.

"A rising tide lifts all boats" - Living with heritage in Bonavista

Notice - Annual General Meeting – Newfoundland and Labrador Historic Trust

Thursday March 19, 2015, 7 - 9pm
The Plantation, Quidi Vidi Village, St. John's, NL

Parking is limited so carpooling is recommended. New members welcome
Light refreshments will be served

Following the meeting there will be a special presentation by John Norman:

BONAVISTA LIVING / BONAVISTA CREATIVE: 'A RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS'

John Norman grew up in the historic community of Bonavista. During his university years, Norman purchased various pieces of vacant land and historic properties throughout Bonavista, which he believed were worth preserving. In 2014, blending formal education and professional work with a passion for built heritage, Norman (with Mark and Chantal Dickson) founded a new group of companies: Bonavista Living; Bonavista Creative; and Bonavista Creative Workshop.

The companies’ core principles are to restore and preserve the existing built heritage of Bonavista, systematically protecting and capitalizing upon its heritage resources, while creating a more livable community for all. They intend to restore numerous residential heritage properties, while fostering and promoting new and unique businesses that will contribute to the local economy, thereby enhancing the community.

Mr. Norman’s presentation will discuss the various ways in which his group of companies is making an impact in the region.

Looking Back; Games We Played: new booklet to launch March 24

Memorial University’s Folklore department has teamed up with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador to launch Looking Back; Games We Played, a booklet exploring the childhood games of Newfoundland’s past.

Folklore graduate students spent the month of February with seniors at the MacMorran Community Centre to discuss the games they played as children, and to partake in a few of those games together. During the weekly gatherings at the community centre, the games remembered ranged from the classic Hide and Go Seek, to Cat’s Cradle, to sliding on pieces of wooden barrels or car bonnets in the winter months.

Looking Back; Games We Played documents the interviews and memories of childhood play that the students collected. The booklet will launch at the MacMorran Community Centre at 10am on March 24th, 2015. Refreshments will be available and there will be games to be played!

This project has been funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.
For more information, please contact:
Andrea McGuire
(709) 771-2216
andrea.mcguire@hotmail.com

Reframing and Extending Tradition: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Public Folklore in Newfoundland and Labrador

Last year, I was asked to write an article on the role of brokers and mediators in enacting Newfoundland and Labrador's Intangible Cultural Heritage Strategy. That article was included in a special edition of the folklore journal Volkskunde, which has now been released online.

My article outlines three approaches where ICH safeguarding strategies in Newfoundland and Labrador utilize guided facilitation by professional folklorists: community-based training initiatives; safeguarding ICH within heritage districts; and, the development of public programs as part of folklife festivals.

You can download and view the article in pdf format here.

Or you can download the entire journal here.

Taking in Strangers - Quebec and Newfoundland Stories with Louise Moyes

TAKING IN STRANGERS - Quebec and Newfoundland Stories

MARCH 17-21, 2015 @ 8pm at the LSPU HALL
Call the Hall 753-4531 or Book online at rca.nf.ca
Tickets $28/ $22 seniors, students, artists, groups of 5+

On the road from Montreal to St. John's via ‘forgotten coasts’, Louise Moyes finds threads of Newfoundland and Quebec, home and the road, deceptions and truth. Kept company by a ‘bag lady’ beloved by many, Louise weaves "a bit of history and a lot of humanity" (The Telegram) in this one-woman tour de force.

"A series of priceless gifts...a delicate blend of movement, monologue, music and sound. A great evening of entertainment." (The Telegram)

Taking in Strangers is based on interviews with residents of the isolated south coast in Newfoundland and the Lower North Shore of Quebec (into Labrador), by way of Montreal and St. John's.

An updated version of a show that sold-out at the LSPU Hall 15 years ago (and has since been performed in Quebec, Vancouver, Germany, and Brazil and toured NL schools), Taking in Strangers reflects on themes of rural development, homelessness and mental health, woven through funny and moving stories on everything from quitting smoking and how to have fun in an ice storm, to the tragedy of losing one's child . The beloved 'bag lady', the proud and beautiful Marilyn (Trixie), accompanies Louise throughout this story of their 15 years on the road between St. John's and Montreal.

On Tuesday March 17, stay for the artists and rural community developers panel: Anne Troake, Tom Gordon, John Fisher, moderated by Michael Clair, with the theme: Re-imagining Rural NL: “Making our rural communities viable into a bright and vibrant future.”  Co-sponsored by Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador

Well done, Mr. Ackerman - a cherished memory from Cupids

On Tuesday, Peter Laracy took some time out to talk to us about having fun when he was a kid. Here he is at the beautiful Cupids Legacy Centre, telling us a story about getting from his home in Cupids to Harbour Grace to play on the hockey team.

Peter's interview was part of the Hoist your Sails and Run project about traditional Newfoundland and Labrador play and games. If you're interested in knowing more about this project, please give me a call at 739-1892 ext 3 or email me here.