Mummers Parade looking for a few good men (or women, it's hard to tell under the padding)

A request from Mummer-In-Charge Ryan Davis:

We are still looking for a few more volunteers to help us on Parade Day, Saturday, December 17th.
We need:

• People to carry a parade banner (must be at Bishop Feild by 1:00) 
• Helpers to set up the school gym and hang signs (start time: 12:00 pm)
• "Parade marshalls" who will be scattered throughout the parade and will keep an eye on traffic flow. (briefing at 12:00 pm).

If you can help out with any of this, please let me know! Tell me what you're able to do to help and then just show up at the correct time. I will not be emailing you back unless there are questions you need answered.

Bishop Feild is located at 46 Bond Street.

Ryan Davis - volunteer@mummersfestival.ca

More info about the parade can be found here: www.mummersfestival.ca

Mummers in the Schools - a Legacy Activity

Earlier this year, the Provincial Historic Commemorations Board designated the Christmas tradition of mummering and janneying as as a Distinctive Cultural Tradition or Practice of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As part of that commemoration, the province set aside funds for some type of Legacy Activity project which would promote the tradition.

We started off with a series of questions. We all know what mummers look and sound like, but there’s much more to it than dressing up and dancing around. What do mummers do? What is a hobby horse? Where do mummers come from? What are the best ways to disguise yourself? And does the current generation of students, particularly urban students, know much about the tradition at all?

With those thoughts in mind, HFNL's ICH office sponsored a Mummers in the School program as part of the 2011 Mummers Festival (www.mummersfestival.ca). The program is designed for grades 4-6, and this year is lead by Ryan Davis, who is the coordinator of the annual festival.

All this week, Ryan has been touring schools in St. John's, Goulds, Paradise and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's with a slide show on mummering, his own hobby horse, and a tickle trunk of mummers costumes to get kids excited about this old Newfoundland tradition. Kids (and teachers) have been given a chance to dress up and give their classmates a chance to guess who is under that old lace tablecloth.

Feeling left out? No problem, the Mummers Parade is this Saturday, and we want YOU to be in it, in costume! See you there!

Some comments so far:

Hi Dale, I just wanted to send you an email to say Thank you for setting up the presentation for today. The kids and teachers absolutely loved it. It was very well done and interesting. Tell Ryan how much we enjoyed it!!! Thanks again.
Krista Molloy, Larkhall Academy

Thanks for an interesting and timely presentation for our students.Ron Parrott, Principal, Larkhall Academy

Thanks so very much!! Great sessions today! The kids are so very excited.
Several want to go home and make a hobby horse, including a few teachers!!
Thanks again!
Jill Moores, Paradise Elementary

The photos below are from Larkhall Academy in St. John's:

Tales of Town at Christmas. Wed, Dec 7th, 7pm

Working on History - Tales of Town at Christmas: 

Wednesday, December 7th, at 7:00 p.m.
The Rooms Theatre

Christmas in St. John’s is a very special time. Join folklorist Dale Jarvis as he sits down to chat with author Helen Porter about her memories of Christmas in Southside St. John’s, and with local businessman Bruce Templeton, who for the past three decades has been a very special assistant to Santa Claus himself!

This presentation is part of a series of programs connected with the Working on History exhibition at The Room. 

Tickets $5, free for members; a cash bar will follow the presentation.

SPOILER ALERT: may not be suitable for young children, or those not initiated into the mysteries of Santa Claus!

I need help getting Mummers Festival postcards out to local businesses

The 3rd annual Mummers Festival is already underway, with events taking place throughout December. Everything leads up to our fabulous Mummers Parade on Saturday, December 17th! 

I've got stacks of Mummers Festival postcards, with details on all the events, which I'd love to get out to local businesses around town. If you can take a stack and help distribute them, please call me at 739-1892 ext 2, or drop me an email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Craft Enterprise Facilitator wanted

Craft Enterprise Facilitator

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:  December 19, 2011

The Anna Templeton Centre for Craft Art & Design is seeking a full-time Craft Enterprise Facilitator to manage a new craft studio incubator being established in Quidi Vidi.

Job Description:

Working under the guidance and direction of the ATC Board, the Craft Enterprise Facilitator will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for the long term management and operation of the craft incubator.  S/he will also research and define a training framework that will allow tenants within the craft incubator to grow and develop their enterprises.   

Activities will include, but may not be restricted to the following:

- Coordinate strategic planning activities to determine long term management structure, financing and operational methodology

- Build relationships with funding partners, creating applications, reports, and supporting documentation as required

- Liaise with community organizations and agencies with an interest in the development of craft enterprises including the Anna Templeton Centre, City of St. John’s, Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, College of the North Atlantic, Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development, Quidi Vidi Community Association, and others

- Develop and implement a promotional plan

- Develop and/or finalize policy documents defining the criteria for selection of tenants, leases, operating manuals, and other documents that may be required

- Coordinate application process for tenant selection

- Develop and implement programming for the benefit of the tenants

- Carry out any necessary administration tasks

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate for this position will have a dynamic combination of skills and abilities gained through educational and work experiences, and hold the following attributes: 

- Diploma and/or degree in craft, business and/or adult education or any combination of relevant education and experience

- Knowledge of craft, the Newfoundland and Labrador craft community, and the resources available

- Knowledge of business practices

- Training or experience in teaching and facilitating

- Experience in writing successful grant applications and seeking support from public funding organizations

- Experience using social media tools, writing & designing brochures & promotional materials

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

- Ability to work independently and efficiently; and within the structure of a steering committee and board of directors

It is expected that the successful candidate in this position of Craft Enterprise Facilitator will contribute their available time, skill, knowledge and resources to the overall success of the craft business incubator.

Remuneration:  $37,500 annually

Please note this position is dependent on funding approval.

To apply, e-mail your resume and a letter of application to bevbarbour@hotmail.com

Applications may also be mailed or hand delivered to:

Anna Templeton Centre for Craft Art & Design

278 Duckworth Street

St. John’s, NL

A1C 1H3

Newfoundland trout basket from Tors Cove

Thanks to Anne Manuel at the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, I've got more photos for my current obsession project on traditional basket making in the province.

This one is a woven trout basket, made by Gladys Linegar, who I believe now lives in Tors Cove. When I put out the original call for names of people who are making baskets, several people mentioned the Linegars who sell baskets along the road in Tors Cove.

I like the blending here of tradition and modernity, with the basket being made of traditional materials with the shoulder strap being made of seat belt material. A few more pictures of the basket below.

If you know of a basket maker in the province, or have a basket I can photograph, give me a call at 1-888-739-1892 ext 2, or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Volunteers needed for Mummers Festival! #newfoundland

We need your help! Volunteers play a vital role in these events. Even the smallest efforts have big effect. We hope you find as much joy as we do by participating in this community event!

Below is a list of roles we need filled. To sign up, please send an email to:

volunteer@mummersfestival.ca

Be sure to include:

• your full name
• your phone number
• the role(s) you would like to take on
• your email address

Many thanks! We look forward to working with you.

Hobby Horse Training:Learn how to make a hobby horse and then help us as a trainer. You will show others how to make them at our workshops. You will need to attend our training session on Tuesday, November 29 from 7:00-9:30 pm. Then sign up for at least 1 of our 3 Hobby Horse Workshops: Dec. 3 (10am-2pm), Dec. 6 (7-9:30pm), Dec. 10 (10am-2pm). *If you have made a hobby horse before, you can skip the training session.

Postering:This one requires many hands! We REALLY need help with this one by putting up posters and distributing postcards. We need help with the following areas: Throughout St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Torbay, Flatrock, Pouch Cove, Portugal Cove/St. Philips, Bell Island, CBS, Goulds, Southern Shore, Placentia/Argentia, Conception Bay North. This will happen late November/early December.

Materials Collecting:Help us gather up the needed materials for our workshops. You will need a car for this one. We have a list of items and locations for pick up. This will be ongoing between now and mid-December.

Sign Making:Help us paint and design various signs for the Festival. This will be ongoing between now and mid-December.

Parade Marshals:We need mummer marshals at our Rig Up and Parade. Various tasks include: setting up clothing stations, offering directions and information, monitoring the parade as we move along. Marshals will be briefed on Parade Day (Dec. 17) at 11:30 am.

Mill lunch basket from Botwood, Newfoundland

As part of our new project on traditional basket making, today I met up with Kristin Harris Walsh, who owns a mill lunch basket made in Botwood. She acquired the basket from Jane Burns, who researched mill baskets as part of her folklore thesis.  You can download a copy of Jane's article on mill baskets in pdf format here.

I've included a few more examples of this Botwood mill basket below. If you know of someone still making this type of basket, or have an example you'd let me photograph, you can email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Moravian architecture slides added to Memorial's Digital Archives Initiative

We are in the process of adding a series of scanned photographic slides to the ICH Inventory on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. The Moravian Architecture of Labrador collection is from folklore thesis fieldwork I did along Labrador's north coast in the summer of 1995. At the moment, there are photos from Hopedale, North West River, and Happy Valley, with more photos to be added shortly from Nain, OKaK, Hebron, and beyond. All photos were digitized by DAI staffer Chris Mouland.