Fort York hopes music fests and fun events garner love of history – Toronto Star, July 14, 2014

I enjoy visiting Fort York and learning about its history. Earlier posts about the site include, by way of example:

Citizenship Ceremony at Fort York, April 26, 2013 featured sharing of thoughts about what it means to be a Canadian

What can we learn about evidence-based practice when we read about Tecumseh?

December 2013 Friends of Fort York newsletter available here in 12-pt Times New Roman

A number of interesting digital mapping projects are connected with Fort York and the history of Toronto as noted in an earlier Jane’s Walk post.

July 14,2014 Toronto Star

With regard to these topics related to the history of the Fort York site, which I much enjoy reading about, I also enjoyed a July 14, 2014 Toronto Star article entitled: “Fort York hopes music fests and fun events garner love of history.”

The subhead reads: “The downtown national historic site is bringing in food tasting events, movie screenings and multi-day music festivals in an effort to get on the radar.”

July 14, 2014 Metro News

A July 14, 2014 Metro News (Toronto) article, derived from the Toronto Star article, summarizes the narrative as follows:

• While O’Hara said he’s happy to bring in more music, he emphasized that Fort York isn’t turning into a concert venue. The management of the historic site want to complement the fort’s museum and historical offerings with events that can lend a fun, family-friendly festive atmosphere. With that in mind, the fort is also hosting food events and movie screenings, alongside hip hop shows and multi-day music festivals like TURF and Field Trip.

• “We’re being careful about the events that we have down there,” O’Hara said. “We want to make sure we’re working with producers and promoters that respect the site.”

• So far, representatives of residents’ associations in the area say they aren’t aware of any complaints about the event space. Joan Prowse of the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association said she feels that it’s actually being welcomed by many who live around the fort.

• “When I moved down here 20 years ago, there wasn’t a lot to do. It was kind of a no man’s land,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to walk up the hill and go to things like this.”

[End of excerpt]

A delightful feature of Metro News articles is that they function as blurbs, which at times are easier to assimilate than the longer articles on which they are based. At other times, I would add, I thoroughly enjoy longreads and book-length studies of relevant topics.

May 29, 2014 Globe and Mail

The article brings to mind a May 29, 2014 Globe and Mail article regarding the Fort York branch of the Toronto Public Library.

Comment

I’m impressed with the work that is being done to ensure that the site is put to good use, for everybody’s enjoyment. The work underlines the value of the concept of “social entrepreneurship,” in the event a person wants to speak in those terms, and the value of strategic planning and collaboration in the ongoing development of a historic site such as Fort York.