"Living Spaces" book launch Monday, March 18th

Most new students spend their first weeks of school in stuffy classrooms. But in a new program through the Department of Folklore at Memorial University, new graduate students spent their first days exploring a small Bonavista Bay fishing community. During the last three weeks of September 2012, the Department of Folklore introduced a new course for incoming graduate students on cultural documentation techniques.

“I decided that I would focus on the community of Keels in Bonavista Bay,” says course organizer Dr. Gerald Pocius. “Unlike previous field courses, this one would actually take place outside the classroom, with students living away from their usual environments, focusing on a place and people different to most of them.”

Timed to coincide with this year’s 20th anniversary of the cod moratorium, the field school examined how outmigration and gentrification affected the traditional cultural landscape of the Bonavista region, focusing on the last two inshore fishing families in the community of Keels. Students lived in the town, and worked to document buildings, including homes, fisheries buildings and root cellars. Along the way they interacted with and interviewed locals about their lives and work. The results of the field school, including architectural drawings and descriptions of some of the spaces studied have been put together in a booklet, “Living Spaces: The Architecture of the Family Fishery in Keels, Newfoundland,” edited by Pocius.

“Both the field school and the booklet have been a cooperative project between Memorial University and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Dale Jarvis, folklorist with the foundation. “These types of partnerships are a great way to help students develop real-world skills, and to demonstrate to communities the type of research that is going on within the university. It also helps us with the foundation’s mandate of promoting and preserving the important architectural and intangible cultural heritage of this province.”

The booklet will be launched at a public event at 6pm, March 18th, 2013 at Bianca’s, 171 Water Street, St. John’s. The event is open to the public, though people are asked to RSVP with Christina Robarts at 739-1892 ext 7, or by email at christina@heritagefoundation.ca

Creating Cultural Landscapes: Including Culture in Development

On Wednesday, March 20th, from 12:00 to 1:30, Julian Smith will be leading a discussion on cultural landscapes as a "Synergy Session" put on by the HFNL and MUN's Harris Centre. While the session is now full, Julian Smith's talk will still be accessible as a free webinar. To learn more about this presentation, and to register for the webinar, please visit the invitation provided by the Harris Centre.

 
Julian Smith is an educator, architect, and planner. He founded the graduate program in heritage conservation at Carleton in 1988, and later helped create the joint Carleton-Trent Ph.D. program in Canadian Studies. He is currently Executive Director of the Willowbank School and Centre for Cultural Landscape in Queenston, Ontario. He is also a practicing architect and planner--his recent projects include restoration of the Vimy Memorial in France.  He is co-author of the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscapes.

Folklore Photo: Masonic Temple in Twillingate

This photo is of the Masonic Temple in Twillingate, built by Joshua Roberts in 1906. Dated 1908, this photo was found while cleaning up the Heritage Foundation's heritage structure designation files. Click here if you'd like more information about the Masonic Temple in Twillingate.  -Nicole

Root Cellars Rock The Rooms

Coffee and Culture: Root Cellars
March 14, 2:30pm
The Rooms Theatre

How do you keep vegetables fresh without electricity? In a root cellar of course! From use in years past to modern day, root cellars have become iconic in Newfoundland and Labrador. Folklorist Crystal Braye and Sarah Ferber from Root Cellars Rock will be at The Rooms to tell you all about them. Presented in collaboration with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

Root cellar photos courtesy of Crystal Braye.

Lectures, launches, and living spaces

In the March 2013 edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador: we announce the launch of "Living Spaces: The Architecture of the Family Fishery in Keels, Newfoundland,” a report based on the 2012 Keels Folklore Field School, edited by Dr. Gerald Pocius; researchers Lisa Wilson and Christina Robarts provide articles celebrating International Women’s Day; we announce a series of March events related to cultural landscapes and root cellars; and we gear up for “Newfiki – A celebration of Eastern-European cultures in Newfoundland” with stories, music, art, and a pierogi-making workshop with instruction by the Department of Folklore’s Dr. Mariya Lesiv.

Contributors: Dale Jarvis, Lisa Wilson, Christina Robarts, Crystal Braye. 

Download the pdf version of the newsletter

How to Make Your Own Sauerkraut

Fermenting your own sauerkraut is simple to do and takes very little preparation time--all you need is a head of cabbage (or more if you wish), salt, and a fermentation pot. I made some last week to help get excited for our Newfiki Festival. This Celebration of Eastern-European Cultures in Newfoundland takes place from March 20th-23rd. I myself am from an Eastern European family in Alberta and so had access to homemade sauerkraut throughout my childhood. When I was older, I realized that I would have to learn how to make it on my own in order to help keep our family tradition going. Mine is nowhere near as delicious as my grandmother's, but I am getting there. Here's a photo-guide of what I do:

Step 1: Clean and chop or shred cabbage (shredding is ideal but if you don't have a shredder, a sharp knife will do the trick).

Step 2: Mix chopped cabbage with salt until each piece of cabbage is lightly covered (I try to use the least amount possible, but too little will be detrimental).

Step 3: Put the cabbage into a fermentation (stoneware) pot, a large glass container will do nicely as well. A lid is not necessary.

Step 4: Pack the cabbage down as much as possible, until its natural juices leave the cabbage. I pour in a little bit of cabbage at a time, and punch it down in layers. I am using an official sauerkraut puncher here, but you can utilize any kind of blunt tool, as long as it has been cleaned in very hot water.

Step 5: Once punched down, place a large heavy weight (such as a plate with a heavy sterile stone on it), onto the cabbage. This helps push the cabbage under the salty juices which is very important to prevent rotting--it cannot be exposed to air. If you weren't able to extract natural juices, that is no problem, you can add salted water and keep it submerged under that. Cover the top with a clean kitchen towel to keep dirt and dust out, then store in a warm place

For fermentation to take place, there must be adequate salt and the pot must be stored in a warm place. In about 4-6 weeks the cabbage should be fully fermented and ready to eat. When it has started doing its job, it will take on a sour smell (which you will notice throughout your house), and it will also start bubbling. Be sure to check on it once a week to remove any 'scum' that might be forming on or around the plate. If there are signs of mold, simply remove before it takes over the whole pot. I once met a Bulgarian woman in St. John's who claimed that she could save any ailing sauerkraut, so if something goes wrong, there's always hope.

Good luck making your own sauerkraut and let us know how it goes.
 Contact: lisa@heritagefoundation.ca.

-Lisa

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Family Photo

 

 



This photo was sent to me by Josie, one of the many people I have had the pleasure to interivew for the Newfiki project. The photo was taken in St. Stajn, Austria,  in 1969 during period of time when her and her family were waiting for their Canadian sponsor papers to be approved. Pictured in the photo is her father Jozef Springer, herself Jozica-Nevenka Springer and her mother Dragica Grandovec-Springer.

Can you Date these Photos?

Can you help the ICH Office date these photos? They were taken by Richard Stoker outside Christ Church in Quidi Vidi Village, St. John's.

L-R: Bob Phillips (Executive Director of Heritage Canada),
 Shannie Duff, Bev Miller and Shane O'Dea

Shane O'Dea and Bob Phillips

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program grant deadline April 15

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program program supports initiatives that involve the safeguarding of traditions and culture.

There has long been awareness among Aboriginal groups of the increasingly urgent need to preserve their culture by passing along knowledge to the next generation. In some cases, this program may build on efforts already initiated by Aboriginal organizations. These initiatives include: language programs that build pride and establish identity; traditional music programs for children; and events that encourage the interaction of elders and children through storytelling, craft, and going out on the land.

This program aims to build capacity among Aboriginal groups in Newfoundland and Labrador in the areas of knowledge and skills development related to the safeguarding of ICH.

What types of projects can be funded?
· Documenting and recording cultural knowledge through research, collecting oral histories, and inventorying aspects of cultural heritage

· Passing on cultural knowledge through teaching, demonstrations, publications, and websites

· Educating and raising awareness of cultural traditions

· Recognizing tradition-bearers through awards and special events

· Celebrating with festivals and events, or incorporating cultural activities into existing events

· Identifying and supporting cultural enterprises that use aspects of traditional culture (for example, craft production; cultural tourism)

· Professional development for Aboriginal cultural workers, educators and knowledge holders

What is the program deadline?
The deadline for the receipt of applications is April 15, 2013. Projects must be completed by March 31, 2014.

For more information and application forms, contact:

Lucy Alway, Heritage Program Officer
Tel: 709-729-1409
Email: lucyalway@gov.nl.ca

Dale Jarvis, Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer
Tel: 1-888-739-1892
Email: ich@heritagefoundation.ca

(photo: canoe under construction, Conne River)