Riddle Fence #6: An unexpected take on some old cultural icons

The sixth issue of Riddle Fence, hitting newsstands now, takes an in-depth, eloquent and not always easy look at John Guy’s colony as the Cupids settlement celebrates its 400th birthday.

Launched recently as part of the province’s Cupids 400 celebrations, this issue includes a fascinating and detailed essay by archaeologist Bill Gilbert on written records of the colony’s early days.

Also in this issue, we offer saucy samplings in our Fakelore (as in “fake folklore”) series, including artwork by Jackie Alcock and Robin McGrath's homegrown version of Grey's Anatomy. Meanwhile, 17th century Newfoundland comes alive as Patrick Warner takes a peek at Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets, believed to have been the first book of English verse written in the so-called New World.

Other highlights include:

• an intimate essay on leaving, belonging and outport churches by Amanda Jernigan, with photographs by John Haney
• poems by Griffin Prize winner A. F. Moritz and others
• fiction by Shane Nielson, who takes a sideways swipe at hockey culture
• artworks by Grant Boland and Jonathan Green that illuminate the issue and make Riddle Fence as marvelous to look at as it is to read.

Riddle Fence, a journal of arts and culture, is available for purchase at bookstores and magazine stands around Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada.

For more information on the journal, visit www.riddlefence.com, or contact managing editor Michelle Butler Hallett at mbh@riddlefence.com.

Subscription rates and details are available on the website.

Doors Open, Culture Days, Sound Traditions, and a visit to the dump! September's ICH Update

In this month's edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update, provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis brings you up to date on ICH activities over the summer months, news on the Canada-wide Culture Days event scheduled for September, a peek at what our intern has been up to with Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative, sound traditions, and an invite to participate in Doors Open St. John's and Doors Open Petty Harbour with sites ranging from the divine to the disgusting!

Download the PDF of the update at:
http://tinyurl.com/ICHSept2010

The English Harbour Lithoskiff

I mentioned in a previous post the dry stone walling course that the English Harbour Arts Centre had offered this summer. One of the participants, Jerry Mcintosh, has pulled together a series of photos showing the construction of a piece of environmental art which the group calls the "Lithoskiff".

Check out the Lithoskiff on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmyiKl1PlOw or watch the embedded video below.

Job Posting: Intangible Cultural Heritage Assistant!

The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) program of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is looking for an enthusiastic, organized, and outgoing folklore graduate to help run ICH, folklife and oral history projects!

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Program Assistant will work closely with HFNL staff, partner organizations, and the general public in the planning and development of programs related to the collection, conservation, transmission, and celebration of living history, oral history, folklore/folklife and the intangible cultural heritage of NL. The Program Assistant will work on the organization of the annual folklife festival and mummer’s parade. The Program Assistant will work to organize and plan ICH related training workshops, public talks and other events as required. The Program Assistant will use ethnographic methods to document and identify key informants for research, as well as interview event participants. The job will also include some report writing, grant proposal writing, and taking minutes of committee meetings.

Good note-taking skills, organizational abilities and a keen interest in the folklore and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador are essential. Must be willing to wear a pillowcase over your face, drink Purity syrup, and act foolish as required.

Salary: $25,000 per year

This one-year position is pending funding, and the applicant MUST have graduated from a folklore program (or related discipline), either at the undergraduate or graduate level, within the last two years.

Please send a print copy of your resume, along with a photocopy of your degree and/or academic transcript to:

Mr. Dale Jarvis
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador

PO Box 5171

St. John’s, NL A1C 5V5

Applications must be postmarked by Friday, September 3, 2010

Hooking Our Heritage Book Launch

In August 2009, a group of twenty-eight women came together to design and hook rugs under the guidance of organizer/initiator Laura Coultas and artist/rug hooking consultants Sheila Coultas, Frances Ennis and Maxine Ennis. Inspired by the strong Irish heritage on the Southern Shore, known as the Irish Loop, the women decided to create a body of work that would illustrate Newfoundland and Labrador’s strong connection with Ireland.

Hooking Our Heritage uses text and pictures to trace the progress of the rugs and tell the story behind each one. Within these pages, you will find rugs displaying the words, traditions, landscapes, songs and history shared between the country of Ireland and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The finished rugs show Irish blessings, a farrier and his horse, fairies playing in a garden, Celtic symbols and many other examples of the links between Ireland and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Book Launch and Authors' presentation
Thursday, September 9th
7pm
LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria Street
for more information call 709-739-4477

Photos from the Dan Snow Dry Stone Wall Workshop and Talk

For 35 years Dan Snow, a Mastercraftsman with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. For the past couple weeks, he has been in English Harbour teaching his craft. I interviewed Dan last night at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton, and this morning checked out what he and his students have been working on.

Pictures are up on flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalejarvis/sets/72157624760091740/

I will be posting the audio of the interview later on, so check back for more details. For more info on Dan's work in English Harbour, or to listen to the CBC podcast featuring Dan, check out his blog at:

http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/2010/08/english-harbours-fearless-adventurers.html

http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/2010/08/cbc-interview.html

Dry stone wall building and its place in Newfoundland's heritage

For 35 years Dan Snow has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. From the practical to the fantastical, his works in stone fuse vanguard vision with old world techniques and traditions. His work has been the subject of articles in numerous journals, including “This Old House”, "Vermont Magazine" and “Vermont Life” magazines, and the “New York Times" and the "Boston Globe.”

This Wednesday, August 18th at 7pm, Dan and provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis will chat at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton about the tradition and the art of stonework, and the place that dry stone wall building holds in the heritage of Newfoundland.

For More Information Please Contact:
Two Whales Coffee Shop (709) 464-3928
English Harbour Arts Centre (709) 464-2424

A joint project of the English Harbour Arts Centre, Two Whales Coffee Shop, and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Read more about Dan's work at:
http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/
http://whisperingcraneinstitute.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/dan-snow-on-forgotten-stone-fences/

Remembering Great Eastern Oil - a story from Donna Bishop

I sat in a restaurant along Water Street yesterday, and looked out across the street towards Templeton's Paints. It took a second for me to realize that I was seeing a viewscape I'd not really looked at in quite the same way before. The southeast corner of Bishop's Cove and Water Street is now empty, the building that stood there for a couple generations is gone. I had never been able to see Templeton's in quite that way, because there had always been a building in my line of view.

Best known recently as Fabulous Fifties, the building was once the home of Great Eastern Oil. Sitting in front of the now vacant lot is one of the speech-bubble shaped signs for HereSay, the narrative map project that was curated by myself and local radio documentary producer Chris Brookes. It is now the only tangible reminder of the building that was once there, and if you stand on the spot, dial the HereSay phone number on your cell phone, and punch in the three digit code on the sign, you can hear Donna Bishop's memory of the place.

Our physical landscape can change almost overnight. Although the Great Eastern Oil building was perhaps no architectural gem, its loss is a good reminder to us that the places in which we live are peopled with stories, and those stories, those memories, are important to preserve.

You can share in Donna's memory of Great Eastern Oil on the HereSay website at:
http://www.batteryradio.com/Heresay/331%20Water.html

UNIQUE VENUES WANTED FOR DOORS OPEN ST. JOHN’S

Call for Applications to Participate in Doors Open St. John’s, Sept. 25th & 26th, 2010

Doors Open St. John’s is looking for your input as they offer the public a once-a-year chance to fully explore St. John’s from the ground up! Doors Open St. John’s offers the public an opportunity to explore buildings and spaces- many of which are not normally open to the public. Participants tour buildings, and experience the past and present life of the building not usually accessible to the public. All doors open events are delivered at no charge to visitors.

Doors Open St. John’s is seeking sites and buildings that celebrate the City’s rich architectural and cultural history. Buildings or sites that can offer a unique user experience – where visitors can witness (or join in) with the past or present use of the building – are favoured. These may include commercial and industrial buildings, museums, cemeteries, schools, factories, private homes, hotels, government buildings, historical sites, private galleries, or others. Gardens and natural heritage sites are also eligible.

Doors Open St. John’s is about reflecting on the past and present and making that vital link between people, buildings, stories, and natural landscapes. Buildings, whether modern or old, reinforce community identity and pride. They turn "space" into "place." If you know of a building or a site that would be a great place to include in the Doors Open St. John’s program, go to www.doorsopendays.com and download a Building/Site Application Form, or call Kristine at 739-1892, ext. 3. Deadline for applications is August 6, 2010.

Doors Open St. John’s is scheduled for September 25th and 26th, 2010. Over 23,000 people participated in this event last year.

If you would like more information please call Kristine Nolte at 709-739-1892 ext. 3, or email Kristine at doorsopenstjohns@gmail.com.

Second World War veterans will gather in Newfoundland to preserve their stories with The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War

On Monday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 11, Second World War veterans will gather in St. John’s and Corner Brook respectively to participate in a new nation-wide oral history project.

An initiative of The Historica-Dominion Institute, The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War is creating an unprecedented record of Canada’s participation in the Second World War as seen through the eyes of thousands of men and women who were there. It is providing every living Canadian Second World War veteran with the opportunity to preserve their memories through recorded interviews and digitized memorabilia. Their stories are available, in both official languages, at www.thememoryproject.com.

Second World War veterans will be available to share their unforgettable stories with the media.

What: The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War
Lunch and refreshments will be served.

Who: The Historica-Dominion Institute
Second World War veterans and their families and members of the public.

Where: St. John’s: Monday, August 9, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Murray Premises Hotel, HMS Briton Room, 5 Beck’s Cove, St. John’s, NFLD

Corner Brook: Wednesday, August 11, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
The Glynmill Inn, Tudor Room, 1B Cobb Lane, Corner Brook, NFLD

The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War is made possible by a contribution from the Government of Canada through the Celebrations and Commemorations Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

For more information:

Davida Aronovitch
Communications Coordinator - The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War
(416) 506-1867 ext 222, cell (416) 460-3284
daronovitch@historica-dominion.ca

Landscape, Narrative and New Media: The Boreal Poetry Garden Project

Last November, the Intangible Cultural Heritage program sponsored our Place, Narrative and New Media symposium, a gathering which examined using technology to explore the ways and whys of where we live.

One of our presenters was then-ICH intern Jedediah Baker, and one of the attendees was artist Marlene Creates. Since that first meeting, the duo, along with visual artist, filmmaker and poet Liz Zetlin, have been hard at work. They have recently released a new web-based narrative project.

A Virtual Walk of The Boreal Poetry Garden (http://marlenecreates.ca/virtualwalk) was conceived by Creates. The project uses words in situ to commemorate certain fleeting moments of Creates' interaction with the place where she lives in a ‘relational aesthetic’ to the land.

The virtual component, featuring web design by Baker, is comprised of an aerial photograph of the landscape, with a series of poem titles to one side. When the online visitor moves the mouse over the list of poems, a dot shows up on the photograph, and when clicked, opens up one of a series of short, location-specific video poems directed, shot and edited by Zetlin.

Within the six acres represented on the map, there is a multitude of microhabitats: dark spruce and fir thickets; a steep wooded droke; a windblown tolt with goowiddy and tuckamore; a rattling brook called the Blast Hole Pond River; an overgrown bawn; and moss-covered volcanic rock up to 1,000 million years old.

“I have become more and more aware that my experience of the landscape includes language," says Creates. "I cannot walk this terrain without local names for landforms and vegetation sounding in my head."

The project was produced with the support of The Canada Council for the Arts.

Traditional Newfoundland Dance Interview Podcast

This is a recording of an interview conducted by Dale Jarvis, Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer for Newfoundland and Labrador, as part of the traditional dance symposium held in Old Perlican on Saturday, July 17, 2010. Interview introduced by Dr. Kristin Harris-Walsh, Centre for Music, Media and Place, Memorial University. Interviewees are (left to right in the photo) Wendy Wagner, Feather Point Dancers, Harbour Grace; Elizabeth Tuttle, Baccalieu Square Dancers, Old Perlican; Alice Cumby, Mizzen Heritage Square Dancers, Heart's Content; and, Sheila Power, Baccalieu Trotters of North River.

Pardon the noise in the recording!

You can download the interview podcast as an MP3 here:
http://www.archive.org/download/NewfoundlandTraditionalDanceInterview/TradDanceInterview17July2010OldPerlicanEDITED.mp3

Or listen to a streaming audio version (or find other recording formats) at:
http://www.archive.org/details/NewfoundlandTraditionalDanceInterview

Some photos now online on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=259756&id=509323297

Learn to make a Newfoundland ugly stick - A How-To Guide!

Early in 2010 the ICH office held a workshop on Festivals & Folklife in Cupids. One of our participants was Yvonne Fontaine, the Development Co-ordinator for the Southern Avalon Development Association. Yvonne left the workshop full of ideas, went back to Trepassey, and put some of them to good use!

2010 was Trepassey's Come Home Year, and in celebration of one aspect of local intangible cultural heritage, the organizers planned an Ugly Stick Workshop during the week of the Come Home Year Celebrations. The workshop was held 2:00 PM Thursday July 29th. They provided the beer caps and the juice cans, participants provided the mop (and the decorations of their choice).

Unless you have a time machine, you can't go back to Trepassey for the workshop. Have no fear! Here are our tips for making the ugly stick of your dreams.

7 Steps to a Beautiful Ugly Stick

1. Gather your materials.  A mop, broom handle, or cut off hockey stick works well for the base. Then you’ll need screws or bolts, beer caps or roofing felt tins, soup cans, bells, noisemakers, and anything else you can think of to decorate your ugly stick. A boot is great to add to the bottom. Try looking at second hand shops, and you can often fins good materials at dollar stores.

2. Pre drill holes in your stick where you want to place your beer caps. Space them out, and leave yourself some room so you can grip the stick while you play it.

3. Punch or drill holes in your beer caps. Make the holes a bit larger than your screws, so they rattle.

4. Assemble your beer caps on your screws or bolts, then screw them into the pre-drilled holes on your stick.  Five or six per screw is good. You can use a combination of caps and felt tins if you wish; hard-core builders boil their beer caps to remove the rubber lining.  The beer caps are the most important thing, that’s what makes your music for you.

5. Attach the bottom of your stick to an old boot. Drill a hole in a piece of wood, put the mop handle into that, and then screw the whole thing into the base of the boot, to give it stability.

6. Add a tin can somewhere to the stick. Try putting a soup can on, lower down, so that way, if there is a point in the music where you bang it, it is like hitting a drum, to get that extra sound to go along with the sound of the beer caps.

7. Decorate your ugly stick! Give it a personality, a face, some hair, a hat. Make it ugly!  Once it is done, you are ready to go mummering.

And here is a how-to makers video, from one of our long-time Mummers Festival participants!
https://youtu.be/C8Mgzr-kwnw




Want more help?

The Do-It-Yourself junkies at The Scope can help you make your own:

http://thescope.ca/diy/diy-ugly-stick

There is also a handy free downloadable pdf with instructions right here. You can print it off, and get to work building your own ugly stick.

Ugly Stick on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_stick

Mike Maddigan of The Sharecroppers shows how it is played:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBxZJWnca14

Send us a picture of your finished ugly stick, and we'll share it in a future post! Email dale@heritagenl.ca

Job Posting: Doors Open St. John’s Coordinator

Job Posting: Doors Open St. John’s Coordinator

Doors Open (http://www.doorsopendays.com) is a unique opportunity for the citizens and visitors of Newfoundland and Labrador to celebrate our architecture and heritage through the exploration of some of our hidden historical, architectural and cultural gems. The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is hiring a coordinator, who will work with participating sites to ensure they are able to offer visitors well-interpreted access to sites normally unseen, or accessible by fee only. Doors Open this year will run the last weekend of September.

Job will run from July 19^th - October 1^st, 2010

Based on a wage of $14/hour, dependant on funding.

Skills:  Applicant must have exceptional organizational skills, event planning, excellent organizational skills, strong communication skills, liaising between institutions/organizations, promotions, computer skills including word processing, email, knowledge of Newfoundland and Labrador history, interest in or knowledge about heritage and culture.

Eligibility Requirements:

Pending funding, the position is open to youth aged 19-30.

Deadline:  Monday, July 12th

To apply: Please review eligibility criteria carefully before applying. Send resume and cover letter, with 3 references, by mail or email to:

Mr. Dale Jarvis

Heritage Foundation of NL

PO Box 5171, St. John’s, NL A1C 5V5

doorsopenstjohns@gmail.com

Symposium of Music, Dance and Place

Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place (MMaP)
July 2, 2010

Session I: 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.
PETTAN, Svanibor
(University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Dance House – A European Model of Folk Music and Dance Revival in Urban Settings; A Case
Study from Slovenia

HARRIS WALSH, Kristin
(Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada)
Identity, Community and Irishness in the Diaspora – Step Dancing in Ireland and
Newfoundland and Labrador

KIDULA, Jean
(University of Georgia, USA)
Nostalgia, Memory and Currency in the Music and Dance of Kenya Rugby Sevens Events

[15-minute break]

Session II: 9:45-11:45
ARAÚJO, Samuel
(Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Expressive Praxis and Political Action: Perspectives from a Participatory Action-Research
Experience in Rio de Janeiro

HEMETEK, Ursula
(University of Music and Performing Arts, Austria)
Imagined and Concrete Places in the Music of Migrant Communities: “Home” in Different
Manifestations

BLAIR, Graham
(Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada)
It Rings True: Verisimilitude in Post-Revivalist Recreations of Oldtime Music and Dance in a
Canadian Coastal City

TRAN QUANG Hai
(National Center for Scientific Research, France)
Throat Singing: Western World vs. Siberian World

Lunch: 11:45-12:30

Session III: 12:30-2:30
TAN Sooi Beng
(Science University of Malaysia, Malaysia)
Articulating Multi-Locality: Eclectism in the Musical Cultures of the Peranakan of Penang

WILD, Stephen
(Australian National University, Australia)
Dislocation and Revitalisation in Central Australia: Music and Dance in the Identity of Place

VAN ZANTEN, Wim
(Leiden University, The Netherlands)
Space and Time in the Performing Arts of the Baduy Minority Group in West Java

KAEPPLER, Adrienne
(Smithsonian Institution, USA)
Indigenous Knowledge of Placenames as Perpetuated in the Story of the Volcano Goddess
Pele

[15-minute break]

Session IV: 2:45-4:15
SHEEN Dae-Cheol
(The Academy of Korean Studies, Korea)
Royal Shrine and Confucian Shrine in Seoul, Korea: To Be Called What Place?

CASTELO-BRANCO, Salwa El-Shawan
(New University of Lisbon – FCSH, Portugal)
Regionalism and Expressive Culture in Portugal

TULK, Janice Esther
(Cape Breton University, Canada)
Sound, Place, and Identity: The Corner Brook Mill Whistle as Soundmark

[15-minute break]

Session V: 4:30-5:30
Newfoundland Traditional Singers: Pat Byrne, Eleanor Dawson, Jean Hewson


For more information, contact:

Dr. Kristin Harris Walsh
Project Coordinator
Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place
School of Music
Memorial University of Newfoundland
(709) 737-2051

Help track down a mystery recitation from Bell Island or Conche

We have a mystery for you to help solve!

I got an email from Mr Ray Byrne, a native of Conche on the Northern Peninsula, now living in Edmonton. He is trying to find the words to a recitation his father used to do.

"My father's name was Jim Byrne and he worked on Bell Island in the early part of the 20th century," says Ray. "I mention this because I wonder if that's where he found it and if so there may be a possibility that someone out there is familiar with it."

Jim Byrne's title for the recitation was "The Trawler". Some of the lyrics his son remembers are:

(OPENING VERSE)

Now the capelin have struck the beach
And the time has come for spawning
See the trawler there with his oilskins on
He's been there since the dawning

Aw, he says, it's fishin' I'll give up
And I'll go berry pickin'
I'll sell them and get the cash
And it's the merchants I'll be trickin'

There is also a mention of Baccalieu in one line, according to Ray. If you have any thoughts, or know the piece, comment here, or email your friendly neighbourhood folklorist at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Job Posting: Preservation Advisor

The Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives (ANLA) is seeking an individual for a contract to provide preservation-specific advice to member institutions for a maximum of 199 hours over the year 2010-2011.

The individual selected to carry out this project will perform duties as
follows:

• Inquiries: responding to member inquiries by phone and arranging follow up consultations (69 hours)
• Site Visits: it is anticipated that there will be visits to central Newfoundland, as well as locations in the St. John's area. Time spent in each location will be subject to member needs (105 hours)
• Administration: Preparing reports, gathering statistics and meeting with Professional Development and Outreach Officer and ANLA Executive (5hours)
• 'Blog Updates: Providing useful information and references, based on incoming inquiries, through use of ANLA's archival 'blog (10 hours).
• PDO (Professional Development Officer) Assistance: Providing training to the PDO for responding to future inquiries from member institutions about preservation needs (10 hours).

The successful applicant will have graduated from a recognized conservation training program and will have a background in preventative conservation and in the treatment and handling of a variety of paper and digital media. Experience in working with community groups would be an asset. A driver's license would also be an asset.

The position will run for 199 hours, these hours to be allocated by the ANLA executive in consultation with the preservation advisor.

The successful candidate will be expected to work independently from home and report on a regular basis to the ANLA executive.

The competition closes on July 2, 2010.

Please submit applications to the ANLA office (address below) or via email at anla@nf.aibn.com .

Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives
P.O. Box 23155
St. John's, NL
A1B 4J9

Storytelling, Digital Media, and Intangible Cultural Heritage - June Update

In this month's edition of Newfoundland and Labrador's ICH Update, SmartLabrador and its project partners launch a CD of stories and songs entitled Between the Wind and the Wave; the community of Rigolet is in the process of creating the My Word: Storytelling and Digital Media Lab, the first Northern centre in the world dedicated to using digital media and storytelling to share information about Inuit culture, history, and lifestyle through personal narrative; we release a sample tape log form for people indexing and transcribing oral history interviews; updates on the Digital Archives Initiative; and Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada announce a scholarship for young storytelling enthusiasts in Newfoundland and Labrador.


Download the newsletter in pdf format at: http://tinyurl.com/26x5rp3

Sample Tape Log Form for Folklore and Oral History Interviews

Earlier this week, I had a conversation with a historical society. The group is planning on digitizing and organizing some old taped interviews. When they said they didn't really know what was on the tapes, I suggested a good place to start might be with a Tape Log for each tape. Basically, a tape log is an index of topics that the interview covers. It is easier than doing a full transcription, and makes it easier for later researchers to go directly to that section of tape and listen to the part of the interview they are interested in.

"With this tape log, you will later be able to go back and select portions of the tape to listen to and transcribe (word-for-word translation of the tape-recorded interview). Complete tape transcriptions are important, but they are also very time-consuming. A good compromise is to do a combination of logging and transcribing: log the general contents of the tape and transcribe, word for word, the parts that you think you might want to quote directly."

- taken from "The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide" available online at:
http://www.folklife.si.edu/education_exhibits/resources/guide/introduction.aspx

While you can certainly do this with tapes themselves, digitizing the material makes things easier in today's digital age. It is also helpful from a conservation perspective.

"I'd digitize first and work with the digitized copies," says Mary Ellen Wright, Professional Development and Outreach Officer with ANLA. "That would be better from a preservation perspective -- save wear and tear on the original tapes."

We've developed our own version of a tape log form, based on the example given by the Smithsonian. The forms can be downloaded, along with other sample forms such as consent forms, at:
http://www.mun.ca/ich/resources/

Or you can download the pdf version directly at:
http://www.mun.ca/ich/resources/TapeLogFolkloreInterviews.pdf

Or the word document version directly at:
http://www.mun.ca/ich/resources/TapeLogFolkloreInterviews.rtf

The US-based Veterans History Project has a similar form on its website at:
http://www.loc.gov/vets/forms.html

Student Job Posting: Archival Interviewer

Admiralty House Museum and Archives, Mount Pearl

9 week summer position, minimum wage. Must be student returning to school in the fall.

Duties: Collect, transcribe and add interviews to archival collection, catalogue Mount Pearl archives, collect and host community event interviews on CICQ Tourism Radio 92.3fm, perform summer student duties such as guided tours, opening and closing site, and site maintenance.

Please apply by sending resume to info@admiraltymuseum.ca

"Buy a broom in May, and you will sweep your family away."

I got a phonecall yesterday from a friend who happened to be at a shop on Stavanger Drive. She was pondering buying a broom, but knew that there was one month when she wasn’t supposed to. A friend with her was trying to talk her out of buying it.  I told her that it was, indeed, May month that was said to be bad luck for buying a broom. Off she went, broomless, with plans to go back June 1st. All in a day’s work for your friendly provincial folklorist.

A brochure printed by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1955, titled "Historic Newfoundland and Labrador" included buying a broom in May in a list of things thought to bring bad luck. The belief is an old one, and not specific to Newfoundland; folk beliefs about brooms are found in many places. The 1873 Folk-Lore Record [I. 52] included this English belief:

The old gentleman‥strictly forbade green brooms being used in his house during the month of May, and, as a reason for the prohibition, used to quote the adage—‘If you sweep the house with broom in May, You'll sweep the head of that house away’.

According to Punjabi folk belief, “care is taken to see that no broom remains lying anywhere in that room [where a child is born] because it will sweep off all the luck of the newborn baby.”

Are you familiar with this tradition in Newfoundland? If so, which communities had that folk belief? Leave a comment!

Links:

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/folk-lore.shtml

http://crimsonwolfe.tripod.com/id26.html

http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/punjab/the-sikh-way-of-life-punjabi-culture-the-folk-beliefs.html

Folksongs and Folk Revival at the Water Street Book Club

This Thursday, May 27th at 7:00 p.m., the Water Street Book club will have a special presentation by Anna Kearney Guigné on her book,"Folksongs and Folk Revival; The Cultural Politics of Kenneth Peacock's Songs of the Newfoundland Outports".

Anna holds a Ph.D in folklore from Memorial University, and this book looks at one of the most famous collections of Newfoundland songs, the three volume work "Songs of the Newfoundland Outports". Kenneth Peacock collected the songs over six years on behalf of the National Museum of Canada. Folksongs and Folk Revivial provides a critical review of Peacock's Newfoundland fieldwork to understand better his motivations for creating Outports and his treatment of the materials he collected.

Anna is also bringing some of Peacock's actual recordings to share with the audience. Copies of the book for sale at the Water Street Heritage Shop as well.

309 Water Street, second floor
7:00 p.m. Thursday, May 27th.

Gravel Pit Camping and Newfoundland Culture?

It's the 24th of May and we likes to get away
Up in the woods or going out the bay
There's all kinds of places but the place we likes to get
Is up on the highway in the gravel pits

Recorded by: Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers
Written by: Wayne Chaulk
http://www.buddywasisname.com

The May long weekend is fast approaching, which means the ongoing debate over the legality of gravel pit camping is back in the news. I woke this morning to CBC radio’s interview with one MHA, and the idea was mentioned, again, that camping in a gravel pit is part of Newfoundland’s culture.

Well, a quick internet search reveals gravel pit camping aficionados in Alaska, Oregon, Maine, Russia, Sweden and Venezuela! So while it may be part of local culture, it seems it is something that is not unique to here. I’m not sure how readily available Vienna sausages are in Venezuela, however…

Sound like a thesis topic for a future folklore graduate student? Here are a few articles to get you started:

Bates, Wanda
Summer in the pits [re gravel pit camping]
Canadian Geographic, July/August 2003, Vol. 123(4), pp. 100-101.

Collins, David N.
Foe, Friend and Fragility: Evolving Settler Interactions with the Newfoundland Wilderness
British Journal of Canadian Studies, May 2008, Vol 21(1), pp. 35-62.

Furlong, Jim
Rain, fog and Vienna sausages
Newfoundland Herald, May 18-24 2003, Vol. 58(20), p. 36

Ruby, Winston
Gravel pit camping Labour Day weekend, Sept. 3, 1984
TickleAce, Spring - Summer 1986, (12), pp. 55-57.

Young, Ron
Gravel pit camping [and gov't. policy]
Downhomer, April 1997, Vol. 9(11), pp. 29-30.

Podcast & Video - Jerome Canning makes a sculling oar

The Canadian Museums Association conference has been running this week, and one of the demonstrations was by Jerome Canning, a boatbuilder working with the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador in Winterton.

I spoke with Jerome about the sculling oar he was working on at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland. In the podcast, Jerome describes what a sculling oar is, and how he is making it.

You can listen to a streaming audio version of the interview here:


Or you can download the podcast in MP3 format from:
http://www.archive.org/download/MakingAScullingOar/JeromeCanningMay13_2010.MP3

I have placed a very short video clip on YouTube of Jerome using a spokeshave to thin down the handle of the oar. You can see that video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGWk-JA4we4

or check out the embedded video here:

Folklore and Education Newsletter for 2010 Online

This just in on the PUBLORE listserv:

The annual newsletter for the Folklore and Education of the American Folklore Society is is completed. You'll find a report of the section's meeting, info on new resources for folklorists, a report from the "Local Learning" component of the AFS meeting, an index for various workshops on folklore and oral history, reviews of books that are relevant to folklore and education, and various and sundry reports and announcements. Plus, a cool picture of T-Model Ford, MS bluesman talking with students awaits your gaze, glance, twink, blink or whatever visual code you are using these days.

Anyone is welcome to use the newsletter, and the education section welcomes one-and-all to the next section meeting at AFS in Nashville.

Here's the link:

http://www.afsnet.org/sections/education/Spring2010/

Stories, Kids, Dancing, and Wooden Boats! ICH Update for May 2010

In this issue of the ICH Update, Dr. Gerald Pocius, Chair of the Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee gives a review of ICH in Newfoundland and Labrador; Cape Bonavista Interpretation Centre wants your stories about the Cape; Grade Four students and Cape St. Francis School, Pouch Cove, start work on a community oral history project; dancers hit Quidi Vidi Village; and the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador invites you to help them restore a vintage Gander River boat.

Download the pdf at:
http://tinyurl.com/2ec5ukt

ICH Update for April 2010

In this month's edition of the ICH Update, the community of Branch adds a photo collection to the Digital Archives Initiative, the Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC) launches a community project which will document the life stories of culturally diverse seniors, Canadian Second World War veterans are given the opportunity to preserve their memories, our Digital Archives intern works on digitizing boatbuilding interviews, and three writers talk about the importance of preserving oral history.

Download the pdf at:
http://www.archive.org/download/IntangibleCulturalHeritageUpdate015April2010/ichupdate015.pdf

Happy Easter from the Intangible Cultural Heritage office

The ICH office is closing down for Easter, and will re-open on Tuesday, April 6th. In honour of Easter (and April 1st), I present this happy holiday photo, courtesy of former HFNL staffer Lara Maynard. Have a good Easter,  Newfoundland and Labrador! (click photo for larger version)

Riddle me this, folklore boy: Two traditional riddles from Forteau Labrador

More proof that I have a truly fun job: I just finished a very lively, funny session in Blanc Sablon, complete with an impromptu Lower North Shore Square set, rhymes in English and French, local insults and folk beliefs, and about 10 women all instinctively making the sign of the cross in the air when I put up a picture of a single crow as part of a power point presentation on intangible cultural heritage.

We also talked about riddles. Here are two collected from Clara Buckle, who learned them from her father, James Buckle, of Buckle's Point, Forteau, Labrador:

Riddle #1.

As I was walking up London Bridge
I met a London scholar
And drew off his coat, And drew off his cap
I told you the name of that scholar.

Riddle #2.

It is in meadows not in fields
It is in mountains not in hills
It is in me not in you
It is in men and women too.

Guess away!

If this is Saturday, I must be going to Blanc Sablon...

It is Saturday morning, and I am (yet again, it seems) at the St. John's airport, ready for another flight to another workshop, this time on the Lower North Shore of Quebec.

I've been invited by the Quebec Labrador Foundation to the Lower North Shore Heritage Forum. This event is intended to bring residents from all across the region together to share, learn, and plan activities that will help preserve the rich heritage and culture of the Quebec shore and the Labrador Straits. Presentations and small workshops will provide residents with some basic tools to adapt to their community plans, and some motivation as they take steps toward the preservation and promotion of local heritage. Through partnerships with Parks Canada and the Minister of Culture, Communications and Women’s Issues, there will also be presentations made that will assist local communities in their development and preservation efforts.

I'll be leading an afternoon workshop on intangible cultural heritage, and how community groups can start to think beyond the walls of a traditional museum to safeguard their living heritage. I will keep you all posted as to how it goes!

DanceNL announces its Road Map Project

DanceNL, the province’s first sectoral association for dance, is pleased to announce the beginning of its Road Map project.

DanceNL is looking to contact people and groups involved in dance activities across the province.

“We are looking to hear from everyone. If you’re a dancer, a dance teacher, a choreographer, a dance writer, a social dancer, we want to learn more about you and your dance activities,” says Kristin Harris Walsh, chair of DanceNL. “This is our first step at connecting people involved in all kinds of dance across the province and to spread the word about DanceNL. It’s a great opportunity for dancers to make their voices heard and share their activities.”

You can participate in the Road Map by visiting www.dancenl.ca and filling in the online form, or by e-mailing info@dancenl.ca.

The mandate of DanceNL is to preserve, promote and support all forms of dance and dance activity throughout the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The DanceNL Road Map document and website will serve as a vital reference to ensure our organization is inclusive of all forms of dance being practiced in our province. As well, it will act as a catalyst to network dancers, practitioners and dance enthusiasts giving dance a stronger presence provincially, nationally and internationally.

For more information, please contact Lynn Panting (coordinator of DanceNL Road Map project) or Kristin Harris Walsh (Chair, DanceNL) at info@dancenl.ca.

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program Deadline April 15th

This program supports Aboriginal projects that involve the safeguarding of traditions and culture, including language; traditional knowledge and skills; storytelling, music, games and other pastimes; knowledge of the landscape; customs, cultural practices and beliefs; food customs; and living off the land.

Guidelines (37 KB)
http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/heritage/ach_program_guidelines_2010_11.pdf

Application (49 KB)
http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/heritage/application_form_ach_program_2010_11.pdf

Eligible Projects

• Documenting and inventorying cultural traditions
• Passing on cultural knowledge through teaching, demonstrations, publications, websites and other educational and awareness-raising activities
• Recognizing and celebrating traditions, and those with traditional skills, through awards and special events
• Identifying and supporting cultural enterprises that employ aspects of traditional culture (for example, craft production and cultural tourism)
• Professional Development for cultural workers, educators and knowledge holders

Eligibility

Established Aboriginal organizations with a cultural focus are eligible to apply. Professionals (Aboriginal artisans, cultural workers and educators) can apply for professional skills development if they have a demonstrated background in culture and have community support.

An Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee, with representatives from the Innu, Inuit, Mi’kmaq and Metis, reviews proposals and makes recommendations to the Department on project funding.

Program Deadline

There is one deadline annually: April 15

Project Funding

The maximum project funding available is $15,000. For projects that involve recognizing and celebrating traditional culture in events of short-term duration, the maximum funding is $1,000. While projects can be funded up to 100% of eligible costs, applicants are strongly encouraged to show other contributions, either financial or in-kind.

Aboriginal groups that are thinking of applying are encouraged to contact Lucy Drown, Program Officer or Dale Jarvis, Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer

Serendipity St. John's - A User Created Map of St. John's Tales

This map was created March 25th as part of the ICH Technical Workshop Series. This a rough map, made by the class as we went along, so it is more of an experiment than a finished project! Enjoy the stories!


View SERENDIPITY ST JOHN’S in a larger map

Fun With Google Maps! Website Examples

On March 25th, Jedediah Baker and yours truly are giving a day long workshop on how community groups can use Google Maps to help share local folklore (see previous post).

Below are various examples of historical/ethnographic/archival websites using Google Maps, many of which were found through the super cool Google Maps Mania blog (a source of endless procrastination):

• Twixt Aire and Calder Google Map
• Mapped historical photos, film, and audio | SepiaTown
• Fotocollectie Huis Doorn: Kaart
• The World's Creepiest Places
• Wayfaring Map - Historical San Francisco
• The National Collection of Aerial Photography

Two very different maps of the District of Columbia:

• District of Columbia Boundary Stones: Photos; Locations
• YELLOW ARROW :: CAPITOL OF PUNK

A basic, collaborative Google Map project:

• The Great War 1914 - 1918 Pool, with geodata - Google Maps

Other cool stuff:

• Atlas - Atlas of Historic NM Maps
• www.soundseeker.org
• Oral History of Route 66 (seems to be missing)
• Accents and Dialects - British Library website (links broken)

And, just because I love it, check out the HereSay project.

Dematerialization, illegal cassette dubs, and intangible cultural heritage

Spark is CBC's weekly audio blog of smart and unexpected trendwatching. As its website states, "it’s not just technology for gearheads, it’s about the way technology affects our lives, and the world around us."

ICH Development Officer Dale Jarvis spoke with Spark host Nora Young about the digital shift in cultural fieldwork, and how we are using digital technology in Newfoundland and Labrador as a tool to better record, share, safeguard and transmit our province's intangible cultural heritage.

You can find the Spark blog entry at:
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2010/03/spark-106-march-21-23-2010/

Or you can download the podcast as a MP3 directly from:
http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/spark_20100321_29504.mp3

Tradition Bearer officially recognized by NL Government

The Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, has announced designations under the newly-established Provincial Historic Commemorations Program, which recognizes and commemorates distinctive aspects of our province’s history, culture and heritage.

Importantly for the field of intangible cultural heritage, the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program includes a category for "Tradition Bearer."  This marks the first time that a bearer of a living tradition has been commemorated as a historic resource in the province.

"This program is unique to the country," said Minister French. "In addition to recognizing persons, places and events of provincial historical significance, the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program also acknowledges our customs, practices and traditions – the intangible cultural heritage that defines us as a people and makes us who we are."

Kelly Russell, well-known fiddler and tireless promoter of Newfoundland and Labrador’s traditional music, is the first Newfoundlander to be recognized under the category of Tradition Bearer.

Born in St. John’s, Kelly Russell has been a professional musician since 1974. An original member of such iconic Newfoundland and Labrador groups as Figgy Duff and The Wonderful Grand Band in the 1970s, and more recently The Plankerdown Band, he also spent 10 years working closely with the late, great fiddle masters, Rufus Guinchard and Emile Benoit. Recognizing a need to preserve the music of older performers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Mr. Russell founded Pigeon Inlet Productions in 1979. The label has since produced more than 30 full length recordings on LP, cassette and CD. 

With wife and partner Tonya Kearley, Mr. Russell also runs music and dance events in Trinity such as Dance Upand the popular dinner theatre show A Time in Pigeon Inlet in Bay Roberts. He has performed locally, nationally and internationally, bringing the unique music of Newfoundland and Labrador across Canada and around the world. Most recently, Mr. Russell performed in Vancouver, British Columbia, at BC Place on February 26 – during Newfoundland and Labrador Day at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

"This event is just the beginning for the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program," said Françoise Enguehard, Chair of the Historic Commemorations Board. "We are hoping that people from all over Newfoundland and Labrador will take a close look at their community’s heritage and will nominate the people, places, events and living traditions that they value.　The important thing to consider will be how these aspects of our heritage and culture demonstrate a broader provincial importance."
Administered by a board of six individuals, the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program is citizen-driven, in that residents of Newfoundland and Labrador can make nominations that they feel are provincially significant and worthy of commemoration.

Establishment of the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program was among the objectives outlined in the province’s cultural strategy, Creative Newfoundland and Labrador: The Blueprint for Development and Investment in Culture (2006).

For more information about the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program, including nomination criteria, please visit: www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/heritage/commemoration_program.html or call the Commemorations Office at 709-729-6901.

Using Google Maps for Community Folklore Projects

This workshop will teach you how to use the Google Maps feature My Maps to create dynamic, interactive maps for your organization or classroom. During the course of the afternoon you will be introduced to My Maps, and explore its use on a neighborhood-, city-, country-, and world-wide-scale. You will learn how to add text, links, photos, and videos to placemarkers on your map, and how to share it with others. (See Accents and Dialects - Archival Sound Recordings for an example of a project using Google Maps to share audio files.)

Instructor: Jedediah Baker is a graduate of Memorial University's Folklore Department and has worked in at City Lore in New York City, where he worked on the website City of Memory. For the past year, he has been employed as Memorial University's Intangible Cultural Heritage Intern, working with the Digital Archives Initiative.

Note: Participants must provide their own wi-fi enabled laptop for use. This workshop limited to 12 attendees. Preregistration mandatory. RSVP to Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or phone 709-739-1892 ext 2.


Tuition: $50
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010. 9am - 4pm
Location: St. John's, TBA

ICH Update Newsletter for March 2010

In this issue of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update newsletter for March 2010: Newfoundland prepares for a visit from Cecile Duvelle, Chief of the Intangible Heritage Section of UNESCO and Secretary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage; the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador introduces its technical workshop series with workshops on digital audio and Google maps; schoolchildren on Newfoundland's west coast learn the traditional art of spruce root basket making; poetry and storytelling; a snowshoe exhibit at the Labrador Interpretation Centre in North West River, Labrador; and an invite to a public lecture on spatial knowledge.


Download the pdf version of the newsletter here:
http://tinyurl.com/ycxzace

Digital Audio Recording for Ethnography and Oral History

Description: Both novice and experienced ethnographers and oral historians are often mystified by digital jargon and by the increasing array of options and equipment available for audio recording. Aimed at the requirements of field researchers, this workshop will provide a thorough introduction to: 1. fundamentals of digital audio 2. the selection and use of digital audio equipment for recording interviews. Attendees will have opportunities for hands-on work with recorders and microphones.


Instructor: Andy Kolovos is the Archivist and a staff Folklorist at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, Vermont. He earned an MA in Folklore and an MLS, both from Indiana University. He has worked as an Instructor for the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, a researcher and archivist for Traditional Arts Indiana, a fieldworker for the Polis Center at IUPUI, project assistant for the Folklore volume of the MLA International Bibliography, and the librarian and archivist of the American Society for Psychical Research. His research interests include audio field recording, audio preservation and the history and development of folklore and folklife archives. He maintains the Vermont Folklife Center's Audio Field Recording Equipment Guide.

This workshop limited to 12 attendees. Preregistration mandatory. RSVP to Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or phone 709-739-1892 ext 2.


Tuition: $50
Date: Thursday, March 11, 2010. 9am - 4pm
Location: The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John's

Gander and Marystown Folklore and Oral History Workshops

In the first week of March, the ICH program will be offering two more workshops in its ongoing project planning workshop series.

Entitled “How to Plan an Oral History or Folklore Project,” the workshop will take participants through the process of planning a project, from establishing goals, doing preliminary research, addressing issues around ethics and consent, choosing personnel, documentation methods, processing collected materials, equipment, and budgets.

This workshop will be beneficial to people who are contemplating folklore and oral history projects of all sorts, ranging from short-term projects involving a single researcher to complex, long-term projects involving many researchers.


Instructor for the workshop is folklorist Dr. Anna Kearney Guigné. Guigné holds a Ph.D in folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland where she is currently an adjunct professor for the M.A. and Ph.D. Programs in Ethnomusicology, at Memorial’s School of Music. From 2006 to 2008 she was the initiator and Artistic Director for the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (NAFCO), which crossed over to St. John's, August 2008.

Guigné currently works as an independent folklorist and conducts research in the areas of community history, biography, contemporary legend, ship building, heritage gardens, traditional folksong and family genealogy.

Through her community work with such organizations as the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (1980-81), the Grace General Hospital (1982-1988), and the Seniors Resource Centre Association (1989-1991), she has considerable hands-on experience in such areas as fund-raising, project planning, and volunteer organization. Since 2000, she has owned and operated Kearney’s Watch Repair, a small family business located in the Avalon Mall, St. Johns.

Tuition for each workshop is $25.

Gander Workshop
Date: Monday, March 1st, 1pm – 4pm.

Location: Salon "A", Hotel Gander, Gander.

Marystown Workshop
Date: Wednesday, March 3rd, 1pm – 4pm.

Location: Salon "C", Marystown Hotel, Marystown.

To register, call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 ext 2, or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca
For a full list of folklore and oral history workshops, visit our webpage at: http://www.mun.ca/ich/classes/

What is in your pancake? Explore the history and folklore behind Pancake Day

What is Pancake Day? Where does it come from? What do you put in a pancake for Shrove Tuesday?

Listen in to find out!





As part of his Archival Moments series, Larry Dohey, then with the Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s, wrote:

Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," or hear confessions) or Pancake Tuesday. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.

GIVE HIM “SHORT SHRIFT”

On Shrove Tuesday, Catholics were encouraged to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began. To shrive someone, in old-fashioned English (he shrives, he shrove, he has shriven or he shrives), is to hear his acknowledgement of his sins, to assure him of God's forgiveness, and to give him appropriate spiritual advice. The term survives today in ordinary usage in the expression "short shrift". To give someone short shrift is to pay very little attention to his excuses or problems. The longer expression is, "to give him short shrift and a long rope," which formerly meant to hang a criminal with a minimum of delay. 

WHAT IS IN THAT PANCAKE? 

Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.
Pancakes were a simple way to use these foods, and one that could entertain the family. Objects with symbolic value are cooked in the pancakes, and those who eat them, especially children, take part discovering what their future will be as part of the meal.
The person who receives each item interprets the gift according to the tradition: a coin means the person finding it will be rich; the thimble finder will be a seamstress or tailor, a pencil stub means he/she will be a teacher; a holy medal means they will join a religious order; a nail that they will be (or marry) a carpenter, and so on.

image:  The pancake woman, Rembrandt, 1635.

Oral History Planning Workshops in Port Union, Gander, Marystown

How to Plan an Oral History or Folklore Project
The workshop will take participants through the process of planning a project, from establishing goals, doing preliminary research, addressing issues around ethics and consent, choosing personnel, documentation methods, processing collected materials, equipment, and budgets. This workshop will be beneficial to people who are contemplating folklore and oral history projects of all sorts, ranging from short-term projects involving a single researcher to complex, long-term projects involving many researchers.

PORT UNION WORKSHOP
Instructor: Dale Jarvis, ICH Development Officer
Tuition: $25
Date: Thursday, February 18th, 1pm – 4pm.
Location: The Factory/Advocate Building, Coaker Foundation, Port Union.

GANDER WORKSHOP
Instructor: Dr. Anna Guigne, Folklorist
Tuition: $25
Date: Monday, March 1st, 1pm – 4pm.
Location: Salon "A", Hotel Gander, Gander.

MARYSTOWN WORKSHOP
Instructor: Dr. Anna Guigne, Folklorist
Tuition: $25
Date: Wednesday, March 3rd, 1pm – 4pm.
Location: Salon "C", Marystown Hotel, Marystown.

For a full list of workshops, visit our webpage at:
http://www.mun.ca/ich/classes/

To register, call Dale Jarvis a 1-888-739-1892 ext2 or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Intro to Interviewing Techniques Workshop

On February 12th, the Intangible Cultural Heritage program of the Heritage Foundation of NL will be offering a beginner’s workshop for researchers doing folklore and oral history interviews. The session will cover selecting informants, doing a pre-interview, applying the best interviewing techniques, tips for recorded interviews, and suggestions on processing the interview data for preservation and dissemination.

The workshop will be run by Dr. Philip Hiscock of Memorial’s Folklore Dept. Hiscock specializes in the folklore of Newfoundland and Labrador with active interests generally in language, folksong, the relationship between folklore and popular culture, and the evolution of custom.

Hiscock was editor of Foaftale News, the newsletter of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research. For two decades he was Archivist of the MUN Folklore and Language Archive and retains an active interest in field research, archival organization, and conservation. In 2006-07 he was President-Elect of the Folklore Studies Association of Canada (L'Association canadienne e'ethnologie et de folklore).

Dr. Jillian Gould teaches in the Department of Folklore, and argues that interviewing is the heart of any folklore or oral history project. “It is how we learn first-hand about people’s experiences, thoughts, and beliefs,” says Gould. “While we all have had in-depth conversations with friends, family, and community members, interviewing requires different skills – since you will be documenting with purpose.”

“These skills not only will pave the way for smooth and substantial interviews, which will become important community documents, but also, should make the interview experience an enjoyable one for both the interviewer and the interviewee,” she says.

Dr. Hiscock’s workshop will take place Friday, February 12th, 2010, from 1pm - 4:30 pm. It will be held at The Lantern, on Barnes Road in St. John's. Participants are asked to bring notebook and writing tools. Call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 ext 2 to register, or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca. Tuition is $25.

For a full list of workshops see:
http://www.mun.ca/ich/classes

A Look at Classical Native Music through Indigenous Eyes

MMaP, the Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place is pleased to announce that Dawn Avery of Montgomery College will be spending the month of February in residence at the MUN School of Music.

About her visit to MUN, Ms Avery said: “I’m delighted to be at MUN with such enthusiastic students, talented faculty, and the brilliant mind and generous spirit of Bev Diamond. I look forward to exploring ideas of tradition and modernity in the sounds and sentiments this place evokes as I work with the World Music Ensemble on a new classical Native composition and collaborate with Bev on a scholarly paper on Indigenous composition.”

While she is here, Ms Avery will be actively participating in the teaching, performance and research life at the MUN School of Music, as well as pursuing her own research. Her activities while at MUN include:

· Participating in a workshop and concert at the Newfound Music festival

· Teaching a module in the World Music Ensemble where students will learn several of her own compositions that draws in Native American musical elements

· Giving a lecture in MMaP’s Music, Media and Culture lecture series on February 16: Tekeni – two worlds: a look at Classical Native Music through Indigenous Eyes

· Collaborating with Dr. Beverley Diamond on a research project on Indigenous composition

· Editing a manuscript for Mohawk Elder Janice Longboat on a project sponsored by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation using culture as a means for healing aboriginal women from the legacy of residential school abuse.

· Writing a string quartet

Ms Avery specializes in the performance of contemporary Native American music. Her recent recording Tulpe was nominated for a Grammy award in the classical crossover and chamber music categories. She has also produced an annual World Arts Festival for the past seven years. She also has two CDs that feature a unique combination of classical music and Native American music.

A composer, cellist, vocalist and educator, Ms Avery is equally comfortable performing at Lincoln Centre as she is in a sweat lodge. She specializes in the performance of contemporary Native American music with her own ensemble, as a soloist for the North American Indian Cello Project and in her native classical trio, Three Sides Taagi.

Working with musical luminaries from Luciano Pavarotti to Sting, Ms Avery has spent years honing her musical talents, collaborating and performing with the likes of John Cale, John Cage, David Darling, Reza Derakshani, Sussan Deyhim, Ustad Sultan Kahn, Karsh Kale, Mischa Maisky, R. Carlos Nakai, Baba Olatunji, Joanne Shenandoah and Glen Velez.

For more information, or to get in touch with Dawn Avery, please contact: Kristin Harris Walsh, Project Coordinator at MMaP, kharriswalsh@mun.ca, 737-2051.

Festivals & Folklife Workshop RESCHEDULED

RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, FEB 13TH
This workshop is designed for groups planning cultural festivals, or for organizers of existing festivals who wish to incorporate some aspect of intangible cultural heritage into their events. It will addresses key issues in how to plan for a successful festival, how to engage tradition bearers, and how to showcase local culture, heritage and traditional knowledge.
Instructors: Dale Jarvis, ICH Development Officer; and Ryan Davis, 2009 Mummers Festival
Tuition: $20 (includes lunch and materials)
Date: Saturday, February 13th, 2010, 9:00am – 3:00 pm
Location: Prince of Wales Loyal Orange Lodge, Cupids
To register, call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 ext 2 or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca