Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Welcome to Fascinating Facts and Tantalizing Trivia

A Hartson Dowd Column

August 23, 2006

The Pirates Festival at Historic Fort York

Weekends - August 19 thru September 4, 2006 - 10 am - 7 pm

 

If it’s the Pirate’s life fer ye, then set yer course for the First Annual Pirate Festival at Historic Fort York this summer, when our merry band of playful scallywags and sea-farin’ scoundrels take over the Fort for seven days of merriment and hilarity for the whole family, the likes of which have never been seen!  Our village stages will be filled from morning ‘til evening with family-friendly shows of all varieties. Music and comedy, feats of skill and bravery, swashbuckling, singing and dancing from the four corners of the world are here for your amusement and delight!

There’ll be music and comedy and entertainment galore, scrumptious food and drink to slake yer cravings, and plenty o’ fun stuff for pirates and lubbers of all ages to see, buy, learn and do! Come share all of the romance and excitement of a high-seas adventure right in the heart of the City! Arrrrgh!

Enjoy the hilarious antics of the fearsome and terrible (not really) pirate, “Captain Savage” and his long suffering sidekick One-Eyed Katy (you can call her O.K.) in this fun-filled frolic for pirates and ‘lubbers of all ages!

“Ceol Cara”, or Musical Friends, is a Niagara-based foursome of mirthful pirate minstrels who perform new and traditional Celtic and Canadian music that will make you want to raise your tankard, kick up your heels and sing along!

In their inaugural season, the Salty Cove Community Players are proud to present their unique rendition of “The Merry Wives of York”, starring that ole’ salt, Cap’n Jack Falstaff, written by that famous pirate William Shakespeare and directed by the dread pirate Bartholomew Roberts.

Everyone will be sure to enjoy “Rogues in the Rigging”, an exciting and fast-paced show of skill with cutlass and bucket. Follow the adventures of Captain Hernando, Mercy O’Malley and the Professor as they buckle their swashes and fight their way out of one precarious situation after another! Find out who’s left standing when Pirates skirmish!

Captain Thom Bedlam is landlocked awaiting repairs or another ship. Life ashore has left him bored and bursting with tomfoolery. It’s a wild array of magical mayhem, the sharing of vastly inaccurate knowledge and gregarious if ineffective lessons on being a pirate. It’s the most fun you’ll have this side of Tortuga, and gives you a whole new perspective for the saying “I’d rather be sailing.” Yo Ho! Not so much memorable as it is hilariously traumatizing.

Bryan Williston and Abby Zotz are Two Roads Home, a guitar and voice - based folk duo that has been performing together for close to twenty years now. Their music can be characterized as warm, sophisticated folk pop with Celtic roots, but not exclusively committed to the traditional. Fusing elements of traditional folk with bluegrass, country, Appalachian and popular music, the sound of Two Roads Home reflects the comfort and history they share.

Long Jon Strong, also known as Circus Jonathan is an award winning comic, unicyclist, juggler, renowned clown, circus instructor, master balloon sculptor, stiltsman, wire walker, equilibrist, actor, professional court jester and acrobat. His performances have been enjoyed across Canada and in 12 countries around the world!

Arabesque Dance Company has emerged as Canada’s leading Middle Eastern dance ensemble. The Company has performed across Canada, the United States and the Middle East, often performing for royalty and heads of state, winning over audiences and gaining critical acclaim throughout its travels.

No Pirate Festival of the Caribbean would be complete without the passionate tropical sounds of authentic Caribbean music played on steel drums, as only Pirate Bosco can play them.

Over forty vendors from all over North America will set up shop in our village. See live demonstrations of blacksmithing, leatherworking, woodturning and boat building. Take home a handcrafted piece of jewelery or period-inspired clothing. Learn to sword fight like a pirate! Visit the local tavern for a pint of grog, or a glass of lemonade for the wee pirate folk. Taste a scrumptious turkey leg or homemade sweet treats from the local food sellers, and browse the marketplace at your leisure while your children go on a hunt for buried pirate treasure and get dubbed an honorary pirate!

 

Web site -  www.thepiratefestival.com

Weekends - August 19 thru September 4, 2006 - 10 am - 7 pm
Admission: Adults: $16, Students & Seniors: $12, Children 12 & under: $10

 

HISTORIC FORT YORK

Welcome to the birthplace of Toronto

The settlement of modern Toronto began in 1793 when Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe built a garrison on the present site of Fort York. Fearful of war with the United States, Simcoe planned to establish a naval base at Toronto in order to control Lake Ontario. Simcoe also moved the Capital to Toronto from the exposed border town of Niagara. Civilian settlement followed and a community named York began to grow two kilometers east of the fort (York was renamed Toronto in 1834). In 1812, the United States declared war and invaded Canada. On the 27^th of April 1813, the U.S. Army and Navy attacked York with 2,700 men on 14 ships and schooners. The defenders put up a strong fight but fell back to Fort York in the face of overwhelming odds, eventually abandoning the fort and town to the enemy. In the autumn of that year, the British returned to Toronto and built the fortification that stands today. Fort York’s cannon and earthworks became obsolete in the 1880s, although the army continued to use the fort for training, barracks, offices and storage until the 1930s. Fort York opened as an historic site museum in 1934.

 

Today, Fort York is home to Canada's largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings. The Fort is open year round and offers a number of services, including tours, exhibits, period room settings and seasonal demonstrations. During the summer months, the site comes alive with the colour and the pageantry of the Fort York Guard. The Fort also provides a wide variety of education programs for groups of all ages.

How To Get There

Location: Fort York is located at 100 Garrison Rd. (Off Fleet St., east of Strachan Avenue, West of Bathurst St., just north of the new Fort York Blvd.) 
 

Public Transit Directions:  Take the 511 streetcar south from Bathurst subway station.  There is a foot bridge connecting Bathurst Street to the fort's eastern gate.

 

 

 

Hartson Sager Dowd

hsdowd@telus.net