Acorn in a Nutshell: December 2017 Celebrations and Reflections – Architectural Conservancy Ontario

You can access the December 2017 ACO update here.

Among the items (I’ve broken the first paragraph into shorter ones) is:

ACO Stratford-Perth Branch

ACO Stratford-Perth was busy in 2017 raising money for a documentary film entitled GRAND TRUNK — A City Built on Steam, Stratford, Ontario. We received a grant from the Ontario 150 Community Celebration Program to help finance the film about the GTR/CNR locomotive repair shops in Stratford. We partnered with Powerline Films, a local film company, who produced the documentary.

“I have always wanted to make this film,” said Simon Brothers, co-creative director of Powerline Films, “Growing-up in Stratford I have been fascinated with the story of the railway and the shops and their influence on the development of the city and on the lives of its residents.”

Collaborating with local author and historian, Dean Robinson, Brothers recorded interviews with several people who worked in the shops. Woven through and around those stories is archival film footage which has never before been aired publicly. The film premiered on October 16. You can see a preview of the 30-minute film here.

In addition to the grant, we raised an additional $20,000 through a fabulous concert and auction as well as donations from the people and businesses in Stratford. The event featured favourite local singers and musicians as well as local personalities who agreed to act as master of ceremonies and auctioneer for a live auction.

We also celebrated our 200th historical plaque presentation last February during Heritage Week. Our Historic Plaque Program was inaugurated in February 2011 as part of our outreach program, which is designed to help residents better understand the built heritage, social and cultural history of their community. Since the program’s inauguration the people of Stratford have taken to the program and we are averaging between 30-35 applications a year and have had to expand our volunteer research team.

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