NLIS 1
June 5, 2000
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

FULL CIRCLE:
First Contact Vikings and Skraelings in Newfoundland and Labrador
exhibit officially opens

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada and the Honourable Brian Tobin, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, officially opened the FULL CIRCLE: First Contact, Vikings and Skraelings in Newfoundland and Labrador exhibit at the St. John�s Arts and Culture Centre today.

Also participating in the ceremony were Gerry Byrne, Member of Parliament, Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte representing Herb Gray, deputy prime minister and minister responsible for the Government of Canada�s Millennium Partnership Program (CMPP), and Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Eva Bugge, Director General, Nordic Council of Ministers and Peter Penashue, President, Innu Nation. Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister, Charles Furey, acted as host for the event where there were more than 400 invited guests.

"FULL CIRCLE: First Contact presents an ancient story of human exploration and settlement. The voyage of the Vikings and their arrival in Newfoundland 1000 years ago is not only a significant milestone in human history but yet another chapter to the province�s rich cultural heritage," said Premier Tobin. "FULL CIRCLE is an undertaking of which the province is very proud and magnificently illustrates our significance within one of history�s most intriguing episodes of the past."

"This inspiring and educational exhibit goes beyond the Arts and Culture Centre stage offering a very rich program of events throughout the summer for families, children and adults. We�ve developed the Full Circle exhibit to make it more than a one-time experience," said the premier.

"It was natural that we should become affiliated with the FULL CIRCLE: First Contact exhibit," said Mr. Soren Christensen, Secretary General, Nordic Council of Ministers. "The exhibit is based on new knowledge and theories. It presents new questions about the history of North America and Northern Europe a thousand years ago and the Viking�s place in history, particularly in L�Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland."

"The success of this undertaking highlights the enduring partnership between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Canada, designed to preserve the province�s rich cultural heritage," said Gerry Byrne. "The Government of Canada is proud to support �Full Circle: First Contact� by providing a substantial financial contribution through the Canada Millennium Partnership Program (CMPP) and by partially funding three staff positions with the exhibit."

CMPP-supported projects promote our history, our youth, our arts and culture, our environment and the development of our communities. The program funds up to one-third of eligible project costs, while other organizations and the private sector provide the remaining two thirds.

"As the people who were here to meet the first European visitors to our shores, the Innu are pleased to be part of this commemoration," stated Peter Penashue. "We hope the exhibit will serve to create a better understanding of the history that we all have shared over the past 1000 years."

FULL CIRCLE: First Contact is a travelling exhibit of the Newfoundland Museum and is presented under the patronage of UNESCO. The exhibit displays an array of 300 Nordic and Aboriginal artifacts, Viking legends and artistry. It is presented in English and French. Visitors are guided through the exhibit with a self-directed personalized audio unit and headset. International journalist and historian, Gwynne Dyer, narrates the contact story. After the exhibit closes in St. John�s, it will open for six weeks in Corner Brook and then travel to museums throughout North America.

FULL CIRCLE: First Contact is an event of Vikings! 1000 Years: Make the Journey, a project of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation, Parks Canada and the Viking Trail Tourism Association. The Government of Canada, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canada Millennium Partnership Program are the funding partners for Vikings! 1000 Years. The three major corporate sponsors for the Vikings! 1000 Years celebrations are Petro-Canada, NewTel and Newfoundland Power. Supporting sponsors include Dominion, Eimskip, FMC Kongsberg Subsea, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, Interprovincial Airlines and JVC Canada. The Nordic Council of Ministers has provided generous financial support to FULL CIRCLE: First Contact.

Visit the three partners web sites:

Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador www.gov.nl.ca/vikings/ or www.gov.nl.ca/tourism/Viking Trail Tourism Association www.vikingtrail.orgParks Canada www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca (See L�Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site)

Canada Millennium Partnership Program www.millennium.gc.ca

Media contact:

Heidi Bonnell, Premier�s Office, (709) 729-3564

Tara Laing, Communications, Vikings! 1000 Years, (709) 729-3813

Jane Brewer, Communications, Parks Canada, (709) 458-2417

Marcel Gaumond, Communications, Millennium Bureau of Canada, (613) 943-3239

Full Circle web-site www.gov.nl.ca/fullcircle/

In the early summer of the year 1000, Leif Ericson and his crew sailed from Greenland to explore unknown lands. What the Vikings encountered was a vast wilderness, already inhabited by Aboriginal people they called Skraelings.

The FULL CIRCLE: First Contact exhibit recounts the story of Viking and Aboriginal contact at L�Anse aux Meadows 1,000 years ago. Stunning artifacts made of iron, stone, ivory and wood, finely crafted by Viking and Aboriginal Peoples have been brought from Nordic and Canadian museums to be displayed together for the first time. The exhibit profiles L�Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, as the only authenticated Viking settlement in the New World, one which is recognized as both a Canadian National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One hundred thousands years ago, our ancestors walked out of their African homeland to explore and settle the rest of the world. The paths they chose were to lead them to all corners of the earth. While some tribes turned left into Europe, others turned right into Asia. It was not long before the descendants of those who turned left ran into the uncrossable barrier of the Atlantic Ocean.

The descendants of those who turned right found a larger world at their feet. The path led them across Asia and to the narrow Bering Strait - the gateway to North America. When these people set foot on the Island of Newfoundland 5,000 years ago, they could not have known that they stood on the other side of the Atlantic barrier.

The exhibit will be at the St. John�s Arts and Culture Centre from Friday, June 2 to Sunday, August 6, 2000, and at the Corner Brook Museum and Archives from Friday, August 25 to Monday, October 9, 2000.

FULL CIRCLE is supported by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Canada, the Canada Millennium Partnership Program and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

FULL CIRCLE is presented under the patronage of UNESCO.

The exhibit is custom built allowing for a flexible arrangement in a single or series of exhibit halls. It is approximately 2,500 square feet (232 metres).

The exhibit consists of five modules.

Module 1 - Out of Africa
Module 2 - Crossing the Gap
Module 3 - First Contact
Module 4 - Second Contact
Module 5 - Full Circle

A total of 300 artifacts will be displayed.

Visitors are guided through the exhibit with personalized audio units and headsets with the Full Circle story narrated by journalist and historian, Gwynne Dyer. The audio presentation is self-directed, allowing visitors to stop the audio unit at any time to study artifacts and read exhibit text. Visitors will have the option to listen to a french or english version of the Full Circle story.

The exhibit will take approximately 35 minutes to tour, without interruptions.

The exhibit will utilize all stage space in the St. John�s Arts and Culture Centre. Additional areas such as the upper concourse, the Pinafore and other rooms will be used for demonstrations, performances and workshops as part of daily public programming for children, families and adults.

The exhibit will tour North America from November 2000 - October 2003.

                    Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10:00-6:00                   
                    Thursday, Friday 10:00-9:00
                    Saturday 10:00-6:00, Sunday 12:00-6:00

                    Admission (includes HST)
                    Adults: $5.00
                    Students and Seniors: $4.00
                    Children aged 6 and under: free
                    Group rates available.

Tickets can be purchased at the St. John�s Arts and Culture Centre Box Office or by calling 1-800-663-9449 or 729-3900.

For more information:

www.gov.nl.ca/fullcircle

www.gov.nl.ca/vikings

www.vikingtrail.org

or call Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador at 1-800-563-6653

French Version

2000 06 05                                 10:20 a.m.