Invitation to the Conversation Cafe

On March 10th, join us at the NL Arts and Culture Centre from 10:00am - 12:00pm for some discussion and refreshments.

Nets drying in the sun in Makkovik, NL.
(picturesque tradition, but not one at risk in Makkovik!)

As the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office plans its direction for the next year, we are looking to community members, groups and organizations across Newfoundland and Labrador to share their thoughts on local intangible cultural heritage at risk across the province. This conversation cafe is one part of the broader effort to identify and understand heritage at risk.

A conversation cafe is exactly as it sounds: a themed conversation among guests over light refreshments. In this case our conversations will be guided by questions on the theme, "What traditions, skills and knowledge(s) are at risk in NL?"

This is an opportunity to explore what "heritage" means in 2016; to share your thoughts on traditions and skills important to you; to discuss what our living heritage(s) may grow to be in the future!

To check-out the event details and to register, click here: registration.

Space is limited so register early! Deadline for registration is March 8th. 

Folklore Photo: Non-youth attend #YHF2016 this Year!

Photo credit: Jeremy Harnum

Today's photo is a great shot of participants listening to the youth heritage panel from last year's Youth Heritage Forum! This year's forum, on March 19th, is a little different. There will be a panel of mentors that the Public Folklore program at Memorial University are interviewing before the forum. At the forum, they will be having an open discussion with the mentors for participants to learn about what they do and how they started in the heritage field.

There will be the opportunity to ask questions and get involved with the mentors who are all established in different fields. Stay tuned for some sneak peeks of who the mentors are!

Visit www.youthheritagenl.wordpress.com for more information and updates or

Create your own Newfoundland Hobby Horse for #makermonday!

Do you want to know how to make a Hobby Horse? Look no further!

It's no secret we love the tradition of Newfoundland and Labrador Hobby Horses here at the Intangible Cultural Heritage office.  So we are delighted to report that our friends at the Mummers Festival, with funding from the Helen Creighton Folklore Society, have recently completed their step-by-step guide for making your own hobby horse.

These aren't the children's toy hobby horses, but a large, fearsome folk puppet, an element of chaos which was part of the Christmas mummering tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador.

You can check out their new video on YouTube, or watch below!




There is also an earlier video about the Hobby Horse making workshops, filmed by NTV.




You can read a description of the DIY process here and download a pdf of the template here.

If you want some inspiration from across the pond, check out these cool hobbies from The Wantsum Hoodners at The Banbury Hobby Horse Festival 2010, on Vimeo.

Registration for the Traditional Newfoundland Sock Knit-Along is OPEN!

As part of the Grey Sock Project, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the City of St. John's are presenting Knit Some Socks Knit-along.

Come knit a traditional pair of Newfoundland socks found in Operation Homespun among fellow knitters! Knit-along with a group as you rib, turn heels and graft toes. If you are unsure of how to do something, there are two wonderful instructors to help or ask your neighbour. Once finished, you can donate your socks to those in need or take them home! Snacks and refreshments provided.

When: March 5th and March 12th

Where: A.C. Hunter Children's Library

Time: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Participants will be required to bring:

• 2 sets of double pointed needles - 3.75 mm and 4 mm
• 2 skeins of Briggs and Little Heritage worsted weight 100% wool (or equivalent worsted weight wool)
• Optional: Small portion of yarn for stripes

Proposed Audience: Some experience to intermediate

Biography of presenters:
Christine LeGrow lives and works in Outer Cove, Newfoundland. She enjoys designing patterns as well as knitting traditional patterns. Many of her designs are inspired by Newfoundland early knits. LeGrow shares her designs with twenty-five knitters who contribute to her company Spindrift.

Shirley Scott, or Shirl the Purl, lives and works in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She spends much of her time knitting and preserving traditional patterns. Scott wrote Canada Knits: Craft and Comfort in a Northern Land and has since been known as Canada’s knitting historian.

Project Updates: What traditions are important to you?

On February 17^th we launched the TRADITIONS AT RISK survey. The project has been warmly welcomed by over 100 people! Thank-you! 

On February 18^th we reached the 50 mark! In less than 24 hours, we had 50 people take part! Well done, Newfoundland and Labrador! Check out the map to see where the responses have come from (updated every day at 4:30pm).

Photo courtesy of CBC CrossTalk

On February 22nd I spent the noon-hour with Pam Hall (pictured right) and Ramona Dearing on CBC's Cross Talk. Sarah Baikie, a grasswork artist from Rigolet, and many others across the province shared their thoughts on traditions at risk. You can check out that conversation HERE. To get a peek at the beautiful (and onerous) process behind grass work art: check in with Them Days HERE.  

On February 23^rd I began tracking the locations of survey responses using Google Maps. Check out the MAP (pictured below) on the ICH at Risk page! Don’t see your community? Complete the survey to make sure the intangible cultural heritage in your community is represented!

Living Heritage Map

On February 24th we hit the 100 mark! Thank-you to everyone who has participated so far. We reached our first goal! Our next goal is 200 respondents by March 2nd! We can do it!

Living Heritage Podcast Ep033 Student Internships and Textile Heritage with Stephanie Micikyan

Stephanie Micikyan is a graduate of the University of Ottawa with a BA in History, and of Fleming College’s Museum Management and Curatorship Graduate Certificate program. She has worked as an intern with The Rooms history division in St. John’s, working on a textiles-based project, and is the Intangible Cultural Heritage Intern with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, working on the Grey Sock Project, inspired by the First World War-era Women’s Patriotic Association. We talk about internships and Fleming College’s certificate program, the work of archiving and preserving textiles, work to safeguard traditional knitting skills, and her recent research on the life and work of Anna Templeton, a craft pioneer in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Memory Store: Well it's not a burial place...

This week’s Memory Store video is a clip of Elisabeth Laverty from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Elisabeth describes the cathedral’s weekly organ concerts and the daily summertime tea in the crypt.  You can check out an organ concert on Wednesdays or enjoy some home baked goods in the crypt during the summer time!

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

Exploring Industrial Chic - an interview with Mike Barneveld of Square Peg Designs

I spent the last two days at the Willowbank School for Restoration Arts, in Queenston, Ontario, teaching the Heritage Conservation Program students about the world of intangible cultural heritage. It was my second year at Willowbank, and it is always a great deal of fun introducing new people to ICH, and demonstrating the link between living traditions and heritage conservation.

For the second year, I was also able to conduct a demonstration interview with one of the artisans associated with the school. This year, it was with Mike Barneveld of Square Peg Designs, an alumnus of the program.

Square Peg Designs is a small, Niagara-based company which creates one-of-a-kind furniture and accessories with an “industrial chic” feel using vintage and reclaimed materials.  I sat down with Mike in front of the students, and we chatted about his work trajectory, the establishment of his business, what he learned from the Willowbank program, his creative aesthetic and process, and the business side of his art.

Listen in below, or click here to download the interview in various audio formats.

- photos courtesy www.squarepegdesigns.ca

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Last Year's Youth Heritage Forum

Today's photo was taken at last year's Youth Heritage Forum by Jeremy Harnum. This is a member of the First Nations Eastern Owl Women's Drum Circle. The group was part of last year's opening ceremony and are back again this year!

Saturday March 19th is the 2nd Annual Youth Heritage Forum in St. John's. This year, the forum is focusing on heritage skills, networking, and mentorship. There will be mentors established in different fields such as archaeology, folklore, archives, and much more!

Youth will have the opportunity to ask the mentors questions, network with fellow youth in the heritage field, and take part in exciting events like the heritage skills competition.

Visit www.youthheritagenl.wordpress.com for more information and updates about the forum and register today!