Storytelling Fest Brings Historic Sites to Life
The premise is simple and thoroughly compelling: during the summer of 1847, 38,000 poverty-stricken Irish immigrants passed through Toronto, then a city of 20,000. Responding to the tragedy, innkeeper Thomas Montgomery hosted a benefit to aid the refugees. Tomorrow night at 8 pm, storyteller Nan Brien, left, and historical music ensemble Gin Lane recreate that night 163 years later in the very same room at Montgomery’s Inn.
Titled No Irish Need Apply, Brien relates the stories of seven women ranging from an Irish tenant farmer’s wife, to a sea captain’s wife to a midwife and soothsayer. Some storytellers are very clear about a distinction between what they do and theatrical performance; not so for Brien who spent her career teaching high school drama, acting and directing amateur theatre.
“Because of my background, it’s easy for me to step into a different voice or mood,” says Brien. “I like being close to the audience and as a storyteller I feed somewhat off their reactions.” Brien has been telling stories in the historic Montgomery’s Inn for about 15 years and says the rustic rooms “are like a live stage setting.”
WinterCity Feast on Flickr
Life conspired to derail my WinterCity plans last weekend — fortunately there were lots of local photographers who did make it out to capture the spectacular and spectacularly cold first weekend. I found a superb cache of photos on Flickr and have taken the liberty of pulling a few of my favorite shots to share with you here. Artist/photographer Alfred Ng shot the Flaming Lotus Girls‘ Angel of the Apocalypse, above, just as daylight faded into darkness. Jugolic captured the installation on video.
WinterCity Turns Up the Heat
The City of Toronto’s annual WinterCity festival kicks off tonight in Nathan Phillips Square with the first of many spectacular performances. The City’s Special Events programming team scoured the globe to select talent from near and far; France’s Compagnie Les Passagers and San Francisco’s Flaming Lotus Girls (see above) headline tonight beginning at 6 pm, plus there’ll be skating parties, ice sculptures and a host of tandem indoor events dubbed the Warm Up Series taking place around town through Februrary 7. Pictured left is Ottawa’s Jesse Stewart who’s inventive Ice Orchestra makes its world premiere Sunday (5 pm, 6 pm and 7:40 pm) in Nathan Phillips Square. A professor of music composition at Carlton University, Stewart also has a background in fine art, which helped enormously when it came time to create his ice instruments. Stewart will also play the waterphone: “I’m very interested in elemental things,” he says, “water, fire, metal, ice. And if you want to make music using those things, you pretty much have to make the instruments yourself.”
Toronto’s own Peter Jarvis, above, will also be on the square Saturday and Sunday offering a series of performance pieces including The Cube, the Subtonic Monks (”Dr. Suess meets Stomp”), the Three Legged Man, and the world premier of something called the Tubafish. Best known as his alter ego, Silver Elvis, Jarvis trained with renowned Canadian clown Richard Pochinko. “I’m a performance artist,” says Jarvis. “What interests me is the interactive and emotional elements of clown and mime. I’m also fascinated by the surreal.”
Dress warm and don’t forget your sense of wonder — see you at WinterCity.
Family Day at the Gardiner This Sunday
The Gardiner Museum’s impressive Viola Frey exhibit wraps up a four-month run this Sunday with free admission to children under 12 years of age (January 10, 11 am – 5 pm): a range of kid-friendly activities includes hands-on crafts and scavenger hunts. Frey’s monumental and colourful ceramic sculptures will dazzle the little ones.
For the rest of 2010, the second Sunday each month (excluding Easter) will be Family Day at the Gardiner (111 Queen’s Park, 416.586.8080).
Christmas Eve Carols by Candlelight
Local gospel great Ken Whiteley (above) is back at Emmanuel Howard Park United Church (214 Wright Avenue, 416.536.1755) Christmas Eve to lead one of the city’s most spirited seasonal celebrations. Whiteley and guests Amoy Levy, David Wall and Ben Whiteley join the congregation for the annual “Carols by Candlelight” service December 24 at 6:30 pm. Last year’s performance drew a standing-room-only crowd so be advised that if you want to be comfortable, get there early!
WHERE/WHEN: Emmanuel Howard Park United Church, 214 Wright Avenue (at Roncesvalles Avenue), 416.536.1755; 6:30pm.
Photo by Patrick Parent Photography
