River Valley Rendezvous! 2014-2015

Through River Valley Rendezvous, Theatre Wakefield has consolidated its model for engaging English-speaking seniors and youth living in Quebec’s Outaouais region in various heritage animation activities for re-vitalizing the cultural heritage of the Lower Gatineau Valley.

• A visit from the Minister for Canadian Heritage (2014)
  

The project ran from September, 2014 through November, 2015. Participating seniors were mentored in a heritage animation process of workshopping and scripting local history for young actors, musicians, and storytellers. Four of the resulting stories were developed into historical vignettes for the new touch-screen installations at the Maison Fairbairn Heritage Centre.

• View the historical vignettes

More stories were incorporated by local playwright and musician Ian Tamblyn into a play entitled “A Bridge to the Past”. The resulting hour-long production was performed 15 times in August of 2015 at nine regional venues for audiences totalling over 1,100 people.

• Regional dates, venues, and attendance figures

The heritage animation process developed by Theatre Wakefield is intended to be shared with local heritage groups, with member organizations of the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network (QAHN), and with Community Learning Centres located in English schools across Quebec.

• Cultural Mentoring with Seniors for Heritage Animation (report)

River Valley Rendezvous! was generously funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and by ESDC's New Horizons for Seniors Program.

Ian Tamblyn teaching young musicians and actors his songs for the play "A Bridge to the Past"

The cast of "A Bridge to the Past"

The seniors' writing group for the River Valley Rendezvous! historical vignettes