The Ontario Historical Society

Myseum Intersections 2021: ChinaTOwn: Future Heritage(s) of Toronto’s Chinatowns
2021-05-27 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Toronto) | online
A digital symposium exploring the past, present, and possible futures of how we define and develop chinatowns.
What could the heritage future of chinatown look like? The ChinaTOwn digital symposium, presented by Prof. Linda Zhang of Ryerson School of Interior Design at FCAD, will begin the discussion by looking at the history and origins of architectural motifs that we now recognize in chinatowns today.
From the first Chinatown in San Francisco, to the world’s fairs that fascinated visitors with false portrayals of Chinese culture, the symposium will explore exactly what defines the “Chinatown-ness” that we know today, and how we arrived at that definition.
The symposium will also introduce some of the realities and challenges faced by Toronto’s existing chinatowns today, as businesses are forced to move out and new policies affect the livelihood of these communities. These findings will be presented as part of our speakers’ bodies of work, art and activism.
Throughout the symposium the project will connect back to the exhibit installations to help us respond and develop what a heritage future might look like for chinatowns in Toronto.
For more information and to register please visit: http://www.myseumoftoronto.com/programming/myseum-intersections-chinatown-future-heritages-of-torontos-chinatowns/

Toronto's First Post Office: Into the Vault Collections Tour
2021-06-03 19:00 - 19:45 | online
Explore Toronto’s history without ever having to leave the comfort of your home, as you go behind the scenes at our Museum! Tucked away on the upper floor of Toronto’s First Post Office is an area dedicated to our collection, a storage room that’s home to objects currently not on display. Few but our Curator have ever ventured into this space.
Join her for an intimate chat as she gives a rare peek into the Vault. Along with learning about the types of artifacts we collect, you will find out about their life behind the scenes – who uses them, who borrows them, and what current projects we have under way. You will also get an opportunity to ask her all your pressing collections questions!
This event is free and will take place June 3 at 7pm via Facebook Live.

The Historical Society of Ottawa: Project 70,000: Canada Welcomes the Refugees of Southeast Asia 1975-1980
2021-06-16 19:00 | online
Guest Speakers: Michael Molloy & Robert Shalka, Co-authors “Running on Empty” Canadian Immigration Historical Society plus Rivaux Lay, former Cambodian refugee
Mayor Marion Dewar rallied all of Ottawa behind Project 4000 and similar outcries of compassion echoed in communities across Canada. Learn about the largest and most ambitious resettlement effort in Canada’s history and how Canadian immigration policy was forever changed.
This speaker series will take place via Zoom. Register using this link.
All are welcome to attend without charge.

ICAP Chat with Adriana Davies on "Alberta's Italian History"
2021-06-16 19:00 - 20:00 | online
Join ICAP members Antonella Fanella and Maria Cioni as they engage Adriana Davies in discussing her findings. 5pm Alberta Time (7pm EDT)
“I want to make the people who lived ‘Alberta’s Italian history’ come alive,” says the author and ICAP member. Inspired by her family’s story and her new book, Dr. Davies will talk about why it is important to contribute to the Italian-Canadian historical narrative and how her research went beyond archives and museums to weave community histories and family material into her book. Adriana’s work– to find, identify and bring together a vast array of materials– ensures that Alberta’s Italian-Canadian narrative will not be lost.
Join ICAP members Antonella Fanella, author of “With Heart and Soul Calgary’s Italian Community” and Maria Cioni, author of “Spaghetti Western How my Father brought Italian Food to the West” as they engage Adriana Davies about her new book, “From Sojourners to Citizens, Alberta’s Italian History”.
ICAP members free. Non-members, donation or membership please.

The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball's Love Affair with the Railway
2021-06-17 19:00 | online
Join us for the next online lecture in our 2021 series! Discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada.
Join us on June 17 for the next online lecture in our 2021 series: The Crowd Went Wild! Presented by Canada’s premier baseball historian, William Humber, discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada.
Canadian baseball’s biggest myth is how Americans imposed it on us. Not so! We shared with them the modern game’s evolution from its folk roots. In some ways, Canadians had an even bigger role. The railway system brought this early role to full maturity. Its independent growth in Ontario, between 1854-1873, was railway reliant. Railway porters were likely the first African-Canadian team in 1869. In 1934, Babe Ruth started his epical trip to Japan with a rail stopover in Moose Jaw. The crowd on a Saskatchewan platform went wild!
To this day the GO train or subway takes most people to Blue Jays games and the VIA stopover in St. Marys Ontario is a homerun drive to Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame.

Town of York Historical Society Presents Natasha Henry on "Emancipation Day in 2021: The History, the Present, & National"
2021-06-17 19:00 - 20:30 | online
Join us for an evening with author and historian Natasha Henry as she discussed her books on the history of Emancipation Day in Canada!
Along with looking at the history of emancipation in Canada, she will highlight the commemoration of Emancipation Day during the last year in the context of social unrest and the global COVID-19 pandemic. Henry will also discuss the recently passed bill, M-36, that was unanimously passed to have Emancipation Day recognized federally and share what it should mean for Black Canadians.

The Toronto Railway Museum's Online Lecture: "The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball's Love Affair with the Railways''
2021-06-17 19:00 - 20:30 | online
The Crowd Went Wild! Canadian Baseball’s Love Affair with the Railway
Join us on June 17 for the next online lecture in our 2021 series: The Crowd Went Wild! Presented by Canada’s premier baseball historian, William Humber, discover the role the railways played in popularizing baseball in Canada.
Canadian baseball’s biggest myth is how Americans imposed it on us. Not so! We shared with them the modern game’s evolution from its folk roots. In some ways, Canadians had an even bigger role. The railway system brought this early role to full maturity. Its independent growth in Ontario, between 1854-1873, was railway reliant. Railway porters were likely the first African-Canadian team in 1869. In 1934, Babe Ruth started his epical trip to Japan with a rail stopover in Moose Jaw. The crowd on a Saskatchewan platform went wild! To this day the GO train or subway takes most people to Blue Jays games and the VIA stopover in St. Marys Ontario is a homerun drive to Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
About William Humber
William Humber of Bowmanville entered Canada’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 for championing the game’s history in Canada. Author of 12 books including five on baseball, he is often asked to comment on baseball by amongst others the CBC and the Rogers Sportsnet. For the past 43 years he has taught a “Baseball Spring Training for Fans” course, (on-line this year), preparing fans for the season ahead. He is a respected member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s 19th century research community.
About the Toronto Railway Museum (TRM)
The Toronto Railway Museum (TRM) brings people together by telling stories of Toronto’s railway heritage. The Museum is located in the heart of downtown Toronto and is typically open year-round. TRM presents exhibits, tours, educational programs and publications that broaden the understanding and appreciation of Toronto’s rich railway history. TRM is committed to telling the stories of the railways, and welcoming conversations of its varied experiences through its lecture series, exhibits and integrated programming with a mission to learn from the past to make the future better.

Writing Family History – The Anatomy of a Legacy Family History Book - Part 2
2021-06-19 13:00 | online
Dream of creating a family history book that you can hand down to generations to come. In this presentation, learn the anatomy of a great family history book with example pages. Discover the options for creating and printing your book. Learn how to take your book from conception to completion in a reasonable amount of time.
What attendees can expect to learn:

How to determine the scope and span of your book
Explore a variety of page styles to include in your book
Learn to create a book budget
A brief look at copyright and permissions
Learn how to create a plan and keep your project on deadline
Examine a variety of publishing options

Register for this free event: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EeMBKG40RhC87SXIskuklA

Coptic Museum of Canada Workshop (on Zoom): Making Music with Bottles!
2021-06-19 13:00 - 14:00 | online
Join us in a fun and creative experience!

Sitting at home during lockdown looking for a fun activity to do with friends and family?
Wanted to play music but not sure how to start?
Don’t read music notes and don’t have a musical instrument?

Not to worry, we can teach you how to make your own instrument, tune it and enjoy playing your own music!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

5, 6 or 7 glass bottles (pop, beer, water)
355 ml (12oz) bottles, should all be the same size
Water jug
Download free app: Tuner Lite

To safely resume its activities during the pandemic, the Coptic Museum of Canada has decided to offer workshops through the Zoom platform.
The first workshop will be held on Saturday June 19 from 1-2pm: Making Music with Bottles! facilitated by Nagaty Banayoty who together with his friends came up with the idea of playing music by whistling into bottles when they were university students in Egypt and could not afford an instrument. The idea was an instant success! They performed concerts for over five years and were eventually able to purchase a set hand bells.
Once in Canada, Nagaty joined the Ingram Ringers. He also runs groups of hand bell ringers and bottle whistlers! Handbells and bottle whistling are not a Coptic heritage but Nagaty’s story illustrates his creativity and is an example of cross-cultural engagement.
The workshop is free for anyone from Grade 7 to seniors.
This is an introductory workshop with demonstrations of how you can make music with (recycled) bottles! There will be breaks to ask questions.
Preregistration is required: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdw8yJ9faSeF4_V2Oa9PQfRPVVkpmSNS932JeRX1sCIBzOkgA/viewform
Registration deadline: June 13, 2021

Myseum: From Weeds We Grow: Birch Bark Basket Workshop
2021-06-19 13:00 - 15:00 | online
Join us for a Birch Bark Basket making workshop which is part of the STEPS Public Art “From Weeds We Grow” series.
Led by First Nations artist Lindsey Lickers, this workshop is a reflective exercise that not only allows participants to not only participate through creation, but to dive deeper into their current relationship with the land base they reside on and the environment at large. This workshop will also explore how this relationship with the land has been strengthened by the knowledge learned and shared during the workshop.
Rooted in an expanded understanding of the importance of connecting to land, creation utilizing natural materials combined with personalized symbolism of these learnings, will be actualized through the medium of basket making.
The aim of this workshop is to share one way that Indigenous peoples honour this relationship through craft and provide an opportunity for participants to experience first-hand the interconnectedness in all things, while also honouring their own experiences, histories and relationships with the basket serving as the keeper of this new awareness.
We welcome those who don’t want to or are unable to participate in the making process, but want to learn more, to join.
Following this workshop participants will have created a miniature birch bark basket used in medicine gathering. An online exhibit will present the final work alongside the creative process and learnings.
For more information and to register please visit: http://www.myseumoftoronto.com/programming/from-weeds-we-grow-birch-bark-basket-workshop/.

Myseum Intersections Festival | Reimagining ChinaTOwn in 2050: Virtual Book Launch
2021-06-19 15:00 | online
What will become of Toronto’s Chinatown(s)? Reimagining ChinaTOwn is a collection of eleven speculative fiction stories set in 2050 that boldly reimagines the future of Chinatown as a shared and collective vision.
Written during the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020, each story explores a personal relationship to Chinatown in the context of the rising anti-Asian sentiment and growing uncertainty for Chinatown’s future. As the community authors speculate on the future in 2050, their stories offer a visionary act of resistance by uncovering new possible futures and bringing to light untold pasts. Chinatown itself is an illumination of the histories of diasporas for those who know how to see. It is both a place and a condition; between generations, between patterns of immigration, between identities, between others, between countries. By envisioning Chinatown anew, the stories create a radically more generous and expansive present moment by building a collective and shared vision for the future of Toronto’s Chinatowns.
With contributions by Eva Chu, Helen Ngo, Amelia Gan, Emperatriz Ung, Michael Chong, Georgia Barrington, Tiffany Lam, Razan Samara, Amy Yan, Evelne Lam, and Robert Tin. Each short story is illustrated and accompanied by a virtual reality (VR) companion. Organized by Linda Zhang.

Virtual Video Tour of Woodland Cultural Centre (Mohawk Institute Residential School)
2021-06-23 19:00 - 20:30 | online
The Mohawk Institute is one of a handful of Residential School buildings left standing in Canada; one of two in Ontario. It is the only one that offered in-person guided tours of the building until its closure for repairs in 2016. To meet the demand for tours and continue to fulfill our mandate to educate, Woodland Cultural Centre pivoted to offering virtual video tours.
The virtual tour follows our guide, Lorrie Gallant, into the school, where she provides insight and information into the 140-year history of Mohawk Institute Residential School. During the tour you will see inside the building as Lorrie takes you through the girls’ and boys’ dormitories, the cafeteria, laundry room, and more. In addition, you will hear first-hand accounts from five Survivors of the Mohawk Institute.
During the tour you may hear things that some viewers will find traumatic. We ask that you prepare yourselves for what you are about to witness and take time for self-care. For those of you working from home please be aware this tour is not suitable for children under 14 years of age and ask that you find a location in your home where you may watch the video without the presence of any children in your care.

There is no need to pre-register. Please join North York Historical Society on the day!
Join the Zoom meeting by computer:
https://zoom.us/j/95741361539?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 957 4136 1539
Passcode: [REDACTED]
-or-
Join by phone:
+1 647 374 4685 Canada
+1 647 558 0588 Canada
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aSPosq1tk
Meeting ID: 957 4136 1539

Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society PRIDE 2021 Panel Discussion
2021-06-24 19:30 | online
Please join the GenNext, the Rainbow Collective, and Thunder Bay museum for an evening of shared history from local members of the 2SLGBTQ community who will provide insight and local context of historic events.
What was the experience of living in Thunder Bay as rights progressed? What were the local movements and individuals that have helped make changes here?
TO VIEW THE PANEL DISCUSSION: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88570933593?pwd=[REDACTED]
Moderators:

Jessy Bogaki – Rainbow Collective
Colleen Peters – United Way – GenNext

Panelists

David Belrose – Author: Answering a Different Call: My (Queer) Thunder Bay Life
Michel Dumont – Two-spirited Metis mosaic artist
Donna Nagy – Realtor & Thunder Pride Committee Organizer

This lecture session is part of a the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society’s long tradition of holding free public lectures.

Packaged Toronto: Vintage Food Packaging & The Companies Behind Them
2021-06-24 19:30 - 21:00 | online
Vintage historic food & drink packaging and the companies behind them from Toronto’s early days. From the exiting new book Packaged Toronto!
Researcher and writer Jamie Bradburn will talk about historical food and drink packaging and the companies behind them as featured in a new book from the publishers of Spacing magazine: Packaged Toronto: A Collection of the City’s Historic Design.
In Packaged Toronto, Spacing’s writers teamed up with City of Toronto museum curators to reveal a treasure trove of early local package design from the City’s vast collection. Through detailed photography and historical essays focused on an underserved period of Canadian design, Packaged Toronto takes readers on a journey back in time to the period between 1870 and 1950 to witness the emergence of the city’s aesthetic. Jamie Bradburn focuses on some of the companies and products from this period, from Mr. Christie’s Cookie Tin for Soldiers to Harry Horne’s Double Cream Custard Powder, and much more.
Ticket holders will receive a coupon good for a $5 discount on the book, good through June 30.

Port Hope & District Historical Society 2021 Three-Day Fundraiser Yard Sale
2021-06-25 08:00 - 15:00, 2021-06-26 08:00 - 15:00, 2021-06-27 08:00 - 15:00 | Dorothy’s House Museum, 3632 Ganaraska Rd., Port Hope, Ontario, L0A 1B0, Canada

Myseum Intersections 2021: Akanzyla (Durational Performance)
2021-06-25 10:00 - 17:00 | online
A virtual livestream performance on the future of Women’s work where audience members can drop-in anytime to watch and interact.
About this Livestream Performance
Synopsis
Akanzyla is an Indian climate refugee living in T’karonto, located in the Northeast region of Turtle Island, on the shores of Lake Ontarí’io in 2050. The government has offered climate refugees housing in the run-down condos that flooded the land’s infrastructure in the early 2000s. Akanzyla is a polyworker, offering spiritual caretaking services for online communities, participating in algae cultivation and transformation experiments as a creative biologist in the Almanac Cooperative, all while being the second parent to two children conceived through hybridized surrogacy in a nurture pod and making content to increase the value of her namesake coin. Given the climate circumstances, she is only able to safely venture outdoors 1-2 times a week, leaving her physically isolated, yet weaved through digital realms of care and collectivity.
In this 7-hour live durational performance (attend for as little or last long as you’d like) you are invited into her apartment to witness a work day from a possible future where feminine principles such as interspecies communication, ancestral intelligence, ecological healing, care and cooperation reign, but conflict with the residue of destructive legacy systems including colonialism, white supremacy and capitalism.
Audience members will be invited to participate in collective work throughout the day, sensing into what futures of how we labour are available to us.
This work is informed by Memory Work, a foresight research project on the future of woman’s work led by FromLater and At The Moment (ATM).
*Please note as this is a durational performance you can tune-in/watch for as long as or as little as you choose. Join during a break or have a window/tab open throughout the day. There is also a participatory option while you watch, which isn’t required but recommended.
For further information and to register please visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/myseum-intersections-2021-akanzyla-durational-performance-tickets-150972104629.

Changes to the Ontario Heritage Act: What it Means for You
2021-06-28 13:00 - 14:30 | online
A presentation and Q&A session about recent changes to the Ontario Heritage Act.
Heritage staff from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries will explain recent legislative and regulatory changes to the Ontario Heritage Act and what they mean for you.
This is a technical briefing for practitioners familiar with the Act. An additional session has been added for June 28th.

Hastings County Road Trips: In Search of Historic Plaques
2021-06-29 15:00 | online
The back roads of Hastings County are sprinkled with historic sites, if only you knew how to reach them.
Fortunately, the Hastings County Historical Society has created an on-line guidance system to show you the way.
Orland French, the Society’s “historic sites man”, will present an illustrated on-line discussion on at 3 p.m., Tuesday June 29 to lure you into the deepest recesses of Hastings County. His talk will feature descriptions of road trips into Hastings County in search of historic plaques.

Coming to Halifax: A Conversation with Italian Women
2021-06-29 18:00 - 19:00 | online
ICAP invites you to attend the Pier 21 launch of Coming to Halifax: A Conversation with Italian Women. This is in support of our ICAP member, Nancy Spina.
Beginning with a screening of the short documentary, Coming to Halifax, and followed by a conversation with filmmaker Nancy Spina, join us via Zoom Webinar for an evening of film!
Coming to Halifax is a closer look at female Italian immigration experiences, focusing on those settling in Halifax. Opening remarks provided by Carrie-Ann Smith, Vice President of Audience Engagement at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, and Maria Cioni of the Italian Canadian Archives Project.
Partnered with the Italian Canadian Association of Nova Scotia and the Italian Canadian Archives Project.

Caledon East & District Historical Society June 2021 Presentation
2021-06-30 19:00 | online
Topic: Major Dave Borrett Presents ​The History of ​the Sandhill Pipes & Drums

Local Garden Walk and Activity With Communities in Bloom (Napanee)
2021-07-12 13:00 - 14:00 | online
Be inspired by our local Communities in Bloom group who keep Napanee looking beautiful. See if you can follow along their map to check out the different community gardens that they plant and tend to.
A special gardening kit for #hopeisgrowing will also be available for pickup to enjoy at home. This program is being done by Communities in Bloom organizations across Canada by planting yellow flowers. Kits are limited, so reserve yours today!

Uxbridge Historical Centre - Heritage Crafts
2021-07-13 - 2021-07-17 | Uxbridge Historical Centre, 7239 Concession Rd 6, Uxbridge, Ontario, L9P 1N5, Canada
Stop by the UHC any weekday between 9am-5pm to pick up a fun heritage craft kit to work on at home! This week’s activity is a Hanging Quilt Craft and next week’s activity is a Bookmark Weaving Craft. Heritage craft kits include all materials needed and instructions. Kits are available by donation; suggested donation is $3.

Stay tuned on our social media for instructional videos and more craft kits throughout the summer!
HERITAGE CRAFT KITS.

An Introduction to the History of Canadian Residential Schools
2021-07-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2021-07-15 12:30 - 13:30 | online
This presentation will explain the history of the residential school system in Canada, its origins, policies, and impacts. It will explain the role of both the federal government, as well as the missionaries and churches who ran the schools.
We will discuss the experiences of children who attended the schools, and the impacts this system had on Indigenous communities.
The presentation will also look specifically at the history of the Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario, the oldest and longest-running residential school in Canada, and will consider the unique history of the institution, as well as the important work of survivors to educate the public about their experiences today.
Speakers: Elder Rick Hill, Dr. Alison Norman, Ryan Shackleton

Rails Through Aurora
2021-07-21 19:00 - 21:00 | online
Next up in our 2021 lecture series is “Rails Through Aurora” presented in partnership with the Aurora Historical Society! Presenter Adam Peltenburg will dive into the history of the railways through Aurora including Canadian National Railway, Ontario Northland Railway, and the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway.
The community of Aurora, Ontario has a long and storied history of railways dating back before Canada’s Confederation. This presentation will offer a comprehensive history of the railways of Aurora and its surroundings from 1853 to the present day.
Adam will cover the important people and events involved in the construction of these railways supported by captivating visuals including maps and photographs.

Paper Mache Creatures With Andrea Malus (Napanee)
2021-07-26 13:00 - 14:00 | online
What is better than getting your hands dirty and creating something that can be found within your imagination?
Artist, Andrea Malus, is going to teach us about the artistic creations known as paper mache.
Tales of Fantasy and Folklore are filled with creatures and characters beyond our world and we can’t wait to see the creature you come up with!
This free kit will contain the materials required to make your paper mache creature in addition to common household items. Reserve yours now as quantities are limited!
An instructional zoom video will be available to help registrants create their creature.

Mrs. Dalgairns's 1830 Kitchen – Mary F. Williamson with Elizabeth Baird
2021-07-27 19:30 - 21:00 | online
Mary Williamson talks about the extraordinary mix of cuisine and culture in an 1830 cookbook, with updated recipes demo’d by Elizabeth Baird
In her new book, Mrs. Dalgairns’s Kitchen, Mary Williamson examines an unusual 19th century cookbook, The Practice of Cookery. The book was unique not only in being wholly original, but for its broad culinary influences, incorporating recipes from British North America, the United States, England, Scotland, France and India.
Mrs. Dalgairn was thought by her contemporaries to be Scottish, but she had lived for over 20 years on Prince Edward Island in Canada. In Mrs Dalgairns’s Kitchen, Mary Williamson reclaims Dalgairns and her book’s Canadian roots. In addition to the author’s experience of Acadian and Mi’kmaq foodways, Mrs. Dalgairns lived in Scotland for a number of years and added recipes there to her repertoire. Her mother had come from Boston, inspiring the cookbook’s several American recipes; Dalgairns’s brothers-in-law lived in India, reflected in the chapter devoted to curry recipes.
When The Practice of Cookery first appeared in 1829, reviewers went into ecstasies and it was a top seller for nearly 30 years, until it was finally eclipsed by Mrs. Beeton’s famous cookbook.
Mary Williamson will be joined by Elizabeth Baird, who adapted some of the recipes in the book for modern kitchens. Baird—who found Dalgairns’s recipes extremely practical—will demonstrate two of the updated recipes from the book. A Question & Answer with both women will follow.

Shaping Sustainability in Ontario
2021-07-28 09:15 - 18:40 | online
Since taking on the position of Lieutenant Governor in 2014, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell has travelled provincially and internationally, with a focus on hearing and sharing stories of sustainability.
As Her Honour’s mandate reaches seven eventful years, the office will be hosting a one-day virtual conference. Shaping Sustainability in Ontario is an opportunity to explore not only what Her Honour has learned but how Ontarians are laying the groundwork for continued positive change for the future, bringing together some of her most memorable and fascinating experiences.
Join us for a day of discussion, critical thinking, and art as we take a deep dive into the work being done across Ontario to shape sustainability. This one-day conference will feature experts, thought leaders, and youth from around Ontario, all with a deep commitment to sustainability. Panels will explore various cross-sections of our society and how sustainable thinking can apply to all aspects of our lives, shaping where and how we live, work, and play.
