Heliconian Hall

Toronto historian, author and story teller Adam Bunch opens our Heliconian history series with an evening of unusual and little- known stories from the city's past. From Yorkville's beginnings as a nineteenth-century village to the colourful history of Toronto at the time Heliconian Hall came to be, discover the surprising events, eccentric personalities, and forgotten…

Toronto Women and the Underground Railroad: Freedom, Faith and Community Award-winning author Karolyn Smardz Frost explores the rich and often overlooked history of Black communities in Toronto. In 1985 she discovered the Blackburn site, the first Underground Railroad site in Canada. The only archaeologist in Canada with a PhD in the history of race and…

Before Heliconian Hall became a centre for women in the arts, it stood at the heart of a rapidly changing Yorkville. This illustrated lecture explores the site's earliest decades, from the establishment of the congregation that built the structure through the social, cultural, and architectural history of the building's first generation. Angie Littlefield: author of…

Former Heliconian member, recipient of the Order of Canada, and creator of the internationally acclaimed television series and novels Murdoch Mysteries, Maureen Jennings discusses the intersection of historical research and crime fiction, and how Toronto's past inspired one of Canada's most successful mystery franchises. Maureen Jennings: creator of 14 crime-fiction books, including the Detective Murdoch…