This year, it is all about Fools at the Mummers Festival.

Though it has been years since their last appearance, Christmas Fools are still remembered for their elaborate crêpe paper and tinsel outfits as well as their mischievous antics around town on Old Christmas Day. In Pouch Cove ominous Fools would emerge from the forest of Shoe Cove and, whipping ropes in hand, chase anyone and everyone in sight. Hiding under the fish flakes was the only choice to ward off the Fools who wore giant headdresses too tall to crawl into small spaces.

There are plenty of opportunities to learn more about the Fool tradition, or to act Foolish yourself!

“Fool’s Paradise”: A Lecture and Public Forum about the NL Fool tradition
December 9 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
The Rooms

Finding Fools: Researching NL’s Fool Traditions
December 10 at 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
The Rooms

Pouch Cove’s Ribbon Rig Workshop
December 10 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
December 12 AT 1:00 pm– 5:00 pm

Victoria Park Poolhouse, St. John's

Ship (Hat) of Fools Workshop
December 16 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

December 17 at 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Victoria Park Poolhouse, St. John's

Volunteer opportunity with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee

Are you interested in Newfoundland and Labrador culture, traditions, folklore, or oral history? Are you passionate about the skills, knowledge, and stories that contribute to local heritage and our sense of place? Do you want to be involved in the work of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage? We have an opportunity for you!

Heritage Foundation of NL is looking for interested volunteers to serve on its Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee. The ICH Committee will meet 4-6 times a year in St. John’s, to advise the foundation on projects related to safeguarding local traditions. The Committee is interested in recruiting 2-3 volunteers, and we would welcome volunteers from youth to seniors and everyone in between. Volunteers from across the province are invited to apply, as there will be opportunities to participate online or by teleconference.

If you are interested, send an email stating why you want to get involved, along with a copy of your resume or CV by December 18th to:

Dale Jarvis, ICH Development Officer, ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Build your own Hobby Horse and Christmas Bull

The Mummers Festival is hosting a Hobby Horse and Christmas Bull Workshop this Saturday, December 5th from 1pm to 5pm. No longer a common sight, the hobby horse is a most peculiar breed. Even more mysterious is the christmas bull, an old time holiday companion to the hobby horse. Come to a session, build a hobby horse or christmas bull, and then ride it over to the Mummer’s Parade on December 19th. We want a cavalry of holiday beasts and we need your help! The workshop takes place at the Victoria Park Poolhouse. Workshops are free and donations are welcomed. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Space is limited so get there early. For more information visit mummersfestival.ca

Living Heritage Podcast Ep020 Upper Island Cove memories with Ralph Barrett

Ralph Barrett was born in Upper Island Cove and is founding member of the Avalon Sail Squadron who served as the Commander of the Avalon for 4 years and was inducted into the Volunteer Hall of Fame as a result of his work with numerous organizations. Ralph is also a painter and has an avid love of fossils. We discuss Ralph’s memories of growing up in Upper Island Cove, Conception Bay North, including chores, children’s games and activities, nicknames to distinguish families with the same surnames, and folk beliefs. Ralph also explains Teak (Taig) Day, and describes Bonfire Night.

The Memory Store: A part of everyday life...

The Memory Store post this week is another video from the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. Executive director Anne Manuel explains why the Craft Council chose to buy Devon House and why it is important to make craft visible in the community.

Watch the video below or click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL.

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Local researcher looking for stories about the taverns of old St. Johns

Local author Sheilah Roberts is looking for stories about one of our oldest traditions - hanging out in St. John's pubs and taverns! She writes:

Does anyone have any memories they'd like to share about the old taverns in St. John's? Their physical appearance, the people that used to frequent them, events that occurred in them. Perhaps you were a bartender or a server in the Belmont? The Green Lantern? Or perhaps you were a policeman, a medical person, who had to deal with the results of the frequent altercations that occurred in these establishments. I'm writing a book about our colourful drinking history and would love to included some 'real life' flavour. You can contact me through email at sheilahr@mun.ca.

Photo via nlbeerhistory.com  - for all your historic Newfoundland and Labrador beer trivia!

Sources for diverse Canadian folklore and folktales, for #FolkloreThursday.

There was a request on Twitter this morning for some diverse resources on Canadian folktales and folklore. It's a bit of a tall order, given the incredible diversity of ethnocultural communities in Canada, but here goes.

A good place to start, for children's literature anyway, is the Aboriginal authors & illustrators page curated by the University of Saskatchewan library.  And if you are in Toronto, check out the AMAZING Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books.

In terms of printed book collections, a couple of my favourites sources to check out would be (in no particular order):

• Edith Fowke's Folklore of Canada (1976) and Folktales of French Canada (1979)
• George Arsenault's Acadian Legends, Folktales and Songs (2002)
• A Kayak Full of Ghosts, Lawrence Millman (2003)
• Little Jack and other Newfoundland Folktales (2002), available through Memorial University's Department of Folklore
• Helen Creighton. Bluenose Ghosts. (1957)

If you like audio collections, check out the StorySave project by Storytellers of Canada - Conteurs du Canada, a very important project working to preserve the voices of storytelling elders from a wide variety of Canadian communities, everything from Chinese stories and stories in Irish, to tales from the Omushkigo and Kainai people.

Heritage NL undertook a project called "Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" which you can download for free!

And, because I love Newfoundland folklore so much, every folklorist/storyteller/book lover needs to own Peg Bearskin, printed by the fabulous Running The Goat Books and Broadsides. Tell Marnie I sent you!

This list is pretty Atlantic coast heavy, and I'm sure there a lot more resources out there specific to Francophone and Indigenous communities. Comments and suggestions welcome!

And if you are in the mood to listen to a Canadian folktale, sit back with a cup of tea and let my favourite storyteller Alice Lannon tell you the story of Open, Open, Green House. 

- Dale Jarvis

Living Heritage Podcast Ep019 Aboriginal Engagement with Catharyn Andersen

Catharyn Andersen is an Inuk from Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador. She is the Special Advisor to the President on Aboriginal Affairs at Memorial University. Before joining Memorial, she worked with the Small Craft Harbours program with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. She was the Director of the Torngâsok Cultural Centre, the cultural arm of the Nunatsiavut Government, from 2003 to 2008, and also worked as the Inuttitut Language Program Coordinator with the cultural centre. She is an alumna of Memorial University. In this episode, we talk about Catharyn’s position as Special Advisor, her work with the Torngâsok Cultural Centre, aboriginal language and cultures, and the construction of an aboriginal house at Memorial University’s St. John’s campus.

Labrador Memories, Fools, and Stepping Out - The ICH Update

In this edition for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador: our Living Heritage Podcast goes national on CBC radio with a spotlight on the Labrador memories of Dave Paddon; an article by Dale Jarvis on the link between tangible and intangible cultural heritage; notes from the Mummers Festival's Sharna Brzycki on the tradition of Christmas Fools; and an overview of a new research project looking at step dance traditions in the province.

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