Historic Commemorations Program Celebrates Cultural Treasures

The public are invited to join the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program at a ceremony to celebrate six new designations throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. The event will be held on Saturday, October 27, at 1:00 p.m. at the Mount Peyton Hotel in Grand Falls-Windsor.

“The commemorations program honours aspects of our history and culture that are of provincial significance,” said the Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. “Citizens of our province are given the opportunity to nominate not only persons, places, and events of historical importance, but also those individuals who help preserve and cultivate our cultural practices, traditional skills, and knowledge. Such practices help to define us as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”

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

“This year the Provincial Historic Commemorations Board is pleased to designate six new commemorations in the categories of Distinctive Cultural Traditions and Practices, Events of Provincial Significance, and Tradition Bearer,” said Françoise Enguehard, Chair of the Provincial Historic Commemorations Board. “The designations span the province, from the Avalon Peninsula to Labrador, and help us to better recognize, honour, and interpret our cultural and historic treasures.”

Past designates include Edward (Ted) Russell, Kelly Russell, the Tsunami of 1929, the founding of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, the U-Boat attacks on the Bell Island ore ships in 1942, Dildo Island, the Bonne Bay Cottage Hospital, the cultural landscape that includes The Beaches and the Bloody Bay Cove Quarry, the practice of mummering, rescues at sea and the heroism associated with such events.

For more information on the Provincial Historic Commemorations Program, visit www.seethesites.ca/commemorations-program.aspx .

Since the launch of the cultural strategy, the Provincial Government has invested more than $56 million into the arts, culture and heritage sectors.

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2012 10 24             12:10 p.m.