MOVIE NIGHT! Monday, September 13th at 6:00 pm...

Screening of SFU Tla’amin Field School – Summer 2008

36.34 minutes, Documentary Film, General

Presented by the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives

The Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives invites you to attend a screening of the documentary film “SFU Tla’amin Field School – Summer 2008”on Monday, September 13^th at 6:00 pm. Working on the beautiful British Columbia coast within the Tla’amin First Nation’s traditional territory, SFU archaeologists and Tla’amin community members uncover some of the fascinating history of this people and this land. Learn more about community-bridging and collaborative partnerships as Archaeologists and First Nations work together on this project. The film also looks at the effect of logging on archaeological sites in the region, clam gardens and other inter-tidal features of the area, and traditional herring fishery and conservation. Meet the director of the film, Dr. Barbara Winter and one of the project directors, Dr. John Welch. Both will be in attendance and available for questions and discussion after the screening.

Barbara Winter is the director of the SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology with research interests in museology, visual archaeology, video and new media, artifact conservation, ethnology and ethnoarchaeology, heritage legislation and issues in the curation of archaeological and ethnological collections. Dr. Winter explores ways to enhance exhibits in the museum gallery with new media, and creates complex award winning websites and short videos on various topics in archaeology, ethnology and forensics.

John Welch is an anthropologist and social archaeologist with research and policy interests grounded in broad questions about how communities develop, employ, and sustain environmental and cultural conservation precepts and practices. In pursuit of indigenous heritage stewardship, Dr. Welch facilitates partnerships that formalize and advance community agendas to explore what archaeology can do - how archaeological sites, methods, perspectives, and data can enhance land and place histories, stewardship practices, Indigenous community capacities, wellness, education, and intercultural reconciliation.

Seats here at the museum are limited so be sure to arrive a few minutes early. We are located at 716 Winn Road, right across from the Post Office in lower Gibsons. For more information about the event, contact us at 604-886-8232. To learn more about the project, check out the award winning website:

http://www.sliammonfirstnation.com/archaeology/index.html

"...Sew Like Your Mother" and so much more!

We’ve had a busy summer so far with new staff, new exhibits, some exciting community collaborations, and a whole lot of curious visitors!

In conjunction with the upcoming 2010 Fibre Arts Festival (August 19^th-21^st), we collaborated with Alaina Russell of Carola’s Quilt Shop to create our new temporary exhibit. Alaina loaned us a portion of her collection and we now have a FABULOUS display of 26 toy sewing machines, in mint condition, dating from 1910 up to the 1970’s, along with some beautiful featherweights, treadle and hand-operated machines. The oldest machine on display was manufactured in 1886 - 124 years later and it still works.






The opening reception for "...Sew Like Your Mother" will be this Saturday, August 14^th, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. Join us for some lemonade and a lively chat with the collector!

Yesterday we had the Summer Reading Club come from the Gibsons Public Library for a scavenger hunt. The kids, ages 4 to 10, wandered through the museum in search of certain artifacts, historical names, and other hidden treasures. It also happened to be Super Hero Dress-Up Day so our Summer Assistant, Devon, dressed as Super Girl and had fun helping the kids find clues, spell words, and learn about the museum in the process.

Before flying off to save the day, she took some time to pose with some of the staff and sign autographs – thanks Super Girl!!

Earlier this month, Sherry Cooper dropped off a painting, “Orchard Ghosts”, to hang in our Gift Shop for the duration of the Coastal Lives Exhibit at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery. The theme of her show is pioneer life, circa 1886, with a focus on the Hjorthoy family of Gambier Island and their apple orchard. Next time you’re in G-town, drop by GPAG and check out the show, then walk on over to the museum for the finale piece, “Orchard Ghosts”.

Look for our booth at the upcoming Salmon and Ocean’s Day on September 11^th and at the New Moon Festival on September 24^th. We will have some interesting and informative on-site displays at both events.

Also, coming up on October 2^nd, we will be having our Community Oral History Workshop. This will be a one-day workshop that will take place at Christenson Village in their Activity Room. I will post more info as we get organized but the date is confirmed so check back soon!

Success at Sea Cavalcade

This year, the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives hosted the Heritage and Hand-Crafted Wooden Boat Festival on Sunday, July 25th. With the help of Larry Westlake, 19 small wooden boats were put on display in Holland Park for visitors to Sea Cavalcade.


There was a constant flow of people admiring the selection of boats and chatting with the boat builders. Under the SCMA tent, the Hubert Evans Handliner acted as our off-site exhibit. This historic handliner is on permanent display in the museum.

During the day, visitors were given an opportunity to vote on their favorite boat in the show. The crowd responded with enthusiasm. At around 3:30 in the afternoon, the ballots were counted and the winner announced. Art Perry was given the People's Choice Award for his beautiful Cedar-Strip Chestnut Prospector Canoe to the delight of the audience.

The Handliner replica "Anna" also participated in the Sea Cavalcade parade on Saturday the 24th as the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives float, accompanied by Jon Hird, Larry Westlake, and Phil Jones.

Thanks to everyone who came by, watched the parade, or had a boat in the show! We hope to see you again soon.

Coming up - Heritage and Hand-Crafted Wooden Boat Festival!

This year's Sea Cavalcade will feature the return of the museum's Heritage and Hand-Crafted Wooden Boat Festival! Come on down on Sunday, July 25, to see a unique collection of new and vintage handmade wooden boats from all over the Sunshine Coast. They'll be shown from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM on the flat, easy-access Sunday market area in Holland Park in Lower Gibsons, within view of Gibsons' historic harbour. There'll be something there to please everyone with an interest in boats, handcrafted woodwork, or local history and traditions.

If you have a small (under 18 feet) wooden boat that you'd like to include in this exhibition, contact the organizer, Larry Westlake, as soon as possible! He can be reached at 604-885-0744, or at info@larrywestlake.com. You can also pick up registration forms right here at the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives.

We'd love to see you down here.

Digitize!

This has to be one of the most satisfying tasks I've taken on here at the museum:


Missing from the picture are the three boxes of cassette tapes that I'm digitizing, using the equipment pictured here! The cassette tapes contain recordings of oral history interviews that date back to 1978. The interviews were conducted by Elphinstone Pioneer Museum (Gibsons' original museum and an SCMA precursor) staff and volunteers, and feature the voices of an array of long-time locals, many of whom are no longer living. There are stories about logging, fishing, homesteading, housework, schoolteachers, one-room schools, social life, and much more. They're absolutely precious - and vulnerable, too. Cassette tapes don't last. The tape is extremely fragile (especially when it's old), the mechanisms inside them can get all gummed up. They're not a stable medium for storing such important information.

So, one by one, I'm digitizing these old cassettes. The tape deck in the picture is equipped with a USB connection. A cable connects the deck to the computer, which records the sound coming out of the tape deck using a simple, free program called Audacity. Once the tape's played out, I save the sound file in both .wav and .mp3 format, burn the works to a DVD, and voila - accessible oral history!

It's a fairly time-consuming job, since everything has to be recorded in real time, as the tape plays back. No shortcuts here. But things are coming along pretty decently. So far, nearly half of the cassettes have been digitized, and about a third burnt to DVD. Well. Now we need some folks to transcribe a few of the interviews that never were transcribed before! Can you use a computer? Can you type quickly and accurately? Send us an email! We'd love to hear from you.