Celebrate Emancipation Day 2022!

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Heritage Singers Canada

Hello Everyone,

This guest post is provided by Ontario Heritage Trust.

Join us for Emancipation Day at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site – an annual celebration of hope and freedom commemorating the end of slavery in the British Empire. This year is extra special as we unveil a new name that better reflects the true history of the site – don’t miss out!

Date: Saturday, July 30, 2022

Time: 10:30am to 2:30pm

Location: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site
29251 Freedom Rd., Dresden ON N0P 1M0 (formerly 29251 Uncle Tom’s Road)

Everyone is welcome for this free, fun and educational day featuring music, poetry and presentations. Seating is available or you can bring your own lawn chair. 

Can’t join in person? We’ll be sharing a livestream on the Ontario Heritage Trust’s social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Speakers and Performers:

Debut of new name – Join us for the unveiling of the new site name at Noon 

Tracy Cain – Gospel musician Tracy Cain is a fifth-generation Black Canadian with roots in North Buxton, St. Catharines and the Queen’s Bush settlement. Her warm, smooth vocal stylings are influenced by gospel, jazz and R&B. 

Amaria Phillips – Amaria Phillips is the co-founder and President of Concordia University’s Black Student Union. She’ll present two original works of poetry. 

Terrence Vick – Great-great-grandson of Josiah Henson, Reverend Terrence Vick will bring remarks on behalf of the Henson family. 

Kwame Delfish – An artist and designer commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mint to design the Underground Railroad commemorative coin for Black History Month 2022, Delfish will speak about his creative process and his work in commemorating Black history and the Underground Railroad. 

Susan Cooke Soderberg – A public historian and freelance writer from Maryland, Soderberg is the author of an upcoming biography entitled The Real Josiah Henson: One Man’s Journey from Enslavement to Celebrity. 

Heritage Singers Canada – A crowd favourite, Heritage Singers Canada return to Emancipation Day to conduct a musical journey from slavery to freedom. 

An Enduring Dawn: Dresden’s Black presence in the 19th century – A photographic exhibit highlighting the role people of African descent have played in the early development of the town of Dresden. 

Culture Craft – An art activity for kids. 

Lunch available for purchase, with food and desserts from Dresden Sidestreets Youth Centre. 

About the Ontario Heritage Trust

The Ontario Heritage Trust (the Trust) is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The Trust conserves, interprets and shares Ontario’s heritage. We conserve provincially significant cultural and natural, tangible and intangible heritage, interpret Ontario’s history, celebrate its diversity and educate Ontarians of its importance in our society. The Trust envisions an Ontario where we conserve, value and share the places and landscapes, histories, traditions and stories that embody our heritage, now and for future generations.

Embro Highland Games – Canada Day 2022!

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Hello Everyone,

Once again the Embro Highland Games are being held. This is their 83rd year! They are the oldest Highland Games in Ontario!

Come and join in the fun of the Scottish games to celebrate Canada Day in Embro ON, on Friday, July 1st, 2022!

This year’s event includes a special group from the Toronto Taiwanese Community, complete with a choir and dancers. It is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of George Leslie Mackay, a Presbyterian Minister from Embro, who went on a mission to Taiwan in 1872. It was in his honour that the County of Oxford citizens donated funds to build the first school in Taiwan. To this day Mackay is still revered in Taiwan! 

To learn more about this event visit their website: Embro Highland Games

Thanks to Janice & Doug Ferguson for providing the information for this post.

National Indigenous Day with Tillsonburg District Historical Society on Tuesday, June 21, 2022!

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Hello Everyone,

Please see this guest post from the Tillsonburg and District Historical Society (TDHS).

The TDHS would like to invite you and your family and friends to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on Tuesday, June 21st, 2022, at 4 pm at the Tillsonburg Soccer Club. In honour of Attawandaron people who settled these lands in the 14th and 15th Century, the entrance to the Soccer Park will be named Attawandaron Way.

After the ceremony, there will be an opportunity to enjoy some traditional Indigenous foods.

The image above contains more information about this event.

Use this link for more information about National Indigenous Peoples Day.

GL Mackay Symposium! June 23 & 24, 2022

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Hello Everyone,

Please see the guest post from Janice Ferguson.

The Beachville District Museum was one of 8 out of 19 presenters that was chosen to present at this symposium from York University being held on Thursday, June 23 and Friday, June 24, 2022.

Dr. Stephanie Radu, and her assistant David, will be presenting about Mackay and Oxford County. Edward Chung, our representative for Oxford County, from the Toronto Taiwanese community will also be presenting.

It is free, but PRE-REGISTRATION is necessary to attend the Zoom programs.

The above image contains more information about this event.
To register for the event: www.tinyurl.com/Mackay2022

Grand Day Out – Saturday, June 25, 2022 – Last Chance to Register for this Event!

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Castle Kilbride

Hello Everyone,

The OxHS is quite pleased to announce the return of our Grand Day Out event! This year’s event includes a visit to Castle Kilbride, lunch in New Hamburg, and the Plattsville & District Heritage Society’s (PDHS) exhibit at the Chesterfield United Church.

The Grand Day Out will take place on Saturday, June 25, 2022 beginning at 9:30am and ending between 4 and 5pm. The group will meet at the Woodstock Public Library parking lot and carpool together to the various locations.

Our first stop on the tour is Castle Kilbride, the former home of James Livingston: flax industrialist, politician and entrepreneur. It was named Castle Kilbride after his birthplace in East Kilbride, Scotland. The tour is scheduled for 11am and tickets will be purchased in advance by the Society. Admission price is approximately $11.00 – 12.00 and tickets are non-refundable. Reimbursement for the tickets will be collected on the the day of the event. If you do not wish to be part of the tour group to view the inside of Castle Kilbride you may explore their grounds while the tour is going on, there is no charge to view the grounds.

After Castle Kilbride the group will make their way to Huron St. in New Hamburg to view the dam and waterwheel located in Scott Park. Lunch reservations will be at the Imperial Market & Eatery in New Hamburg. Individuals are responsible for their own lunch costs.

Following lunch will be the exhibit at Chesterfield United Church by the PDHS. Admission is free for the exhibit but donations are always welcome.

RSVP is required for this event. To reserve your spot please respond by Wednesday, June 15.

To RSVP: email the OxHS at info@oxhs.ca. Put Grand Day Out 2022 in the subject line. In the body of the email include your contact information and if you wish to be part of the Castle Kilbride tour group, thank you.

Event costs are the responsibility of each participant.

PDHS Exhibit Summer 2022