KILLARNEY – fish and chips and roads and pics

Back when we were in Little Current, a group of people spotted our storymobile and pitched us to come to Killarney… so, to Killarney we went!  It was a long road into town off of highway 69, but finally we arrived in this small and splendid little town, population 500.

When we arrived on Channel Street, the main street in Killarney with one side water one side road, the mayor flagged us down in his truck and came to greet us.  He insisted that he treat us to the famous Herbert’s fish and chips.  Herbert's was the hottest spot in town and before long, the town historian, a town elder, and our connector from back in Little Current, Mary Jane, were all with us on the dock as the tale of a town turned the conversation to the changes in Killarney over the years.

Inside the storymobile I was fortunate to talk with the town historian, Rosiland Zimmiska whose family has lived here in Killarney for four generations.  The photos I saw of the main street in days gone by sent my imagination soaring.

In the meantime, Charles took a walk on the dock side of main street with Marvin Roque, town elder who told tales of the busy days of commercial fishing in the channel.

Later, Mary Jane took us to the hand built stone church whose name changed to St. Bonaventure from St. Joseph when one priest decided that he liked that name better…

Also, check out the backwards number 1.  Apparently the stone carver ran out of space, so he decided he'd just flip it...

You might assume with a name like Killarney that this is an Irish settlement, but think again. Killarney, Ontario is Native and French with a long and languid history.  No electricity until 1950, and no road to get in until 1962!! Life was isolated and insular here in most people’s earliest memories of this town, but apparently the parties were indescribable…. If you have a story about Killarney, call our storyline at 1-855-CAN-TALE and we'll be sure to add it to the collective community memory map of this small but sensational town.

Come sit in on our Killarney conversations to hear more about this joyful place where all you have to do is look out to see its stunning beauty.

A Walk Down Main Street - Killarney Edition.

TURTLE CREEK – writing, recording and a surprise wedding

How lucky we were that there was a cancellation at Turtle Creek Lodge on Manitoulin Island!  We drove straight from Markdale to Tobermory, drove onto a ferry boat, took a gorgeous cruise north to the spirit island, and found our way to this secluded paradise on the biggest lake on the biggest island on a freshwater lake in the world! It was in this mystical place that we wrote and recorded our first few editions of our podcast series: A Walk Down Main Street.  To check out the series in its entirety, go to our soundcloud page and take a stroll around! 

One very touching thing that happened while we were at Turtle Creek – a couple got married down at the water!  A bagpiper announced the surprise celebration and we joined in for the ceremonies.  Later that night the couple treated the lodgers to a fireworks show and we watched from our cabin as we worked the night away…

A thank you to Jack and Joyce who made our stay so, so nice.  I don’t want to advertise how amazing and gorgeous and beautiful their place is for fear that it will be all booked up for next summer when we want to go back… But that would be just too selfish, so here it is (but keep it under wraps!) http://www.manitoulin-island.com/turtlecreek/

Before we left we checked in with Points North on CBC Radio, to let the north know we were on our way to Little Current, then onto Sudbury.  CBC.ca | Points North | Storymobile lets people trade stories for ice cream.

And zoom! we were off again to search out some more stories in this province of towns and trees…

HUNTSVILLE DAY TWELVE – Listening, logging and a little bit of walking…

May we present to you our amazing artistic collaborators for:

The Tale of a Town - Huntsville!

DEANNA JONES 

Artistic Director of Suitcase In Point

(sister company to FIXT POINT!)

ANNIE WILSON

Artistic Producer of Suitcase in Point 

ADAM PAOLOZZA

Artistic Director of TheatreRun

(brother company to FIXT POINT!)

ROB FEETHAM

Toronto based Actor, Clown and Creator

 Everybody arrived, and we got right down to it.  As you can see from the pics, listening to all the stories we have gathered was the top order of the day.

 Logging clips of what jumped out at us  was also par for the course.

It didn't happen as this fast, but check us out in action here:

And for a break, we took a stroll down Main Street so the artists could see some of what they were hearing about for themselves...

Here we are on the lot of the old Empire Hotel.

….73 interviews later, and 48 collective hours later, we called it a day.  And our imaginations began soaring with ideas for The Tale of a Town – Huntsville, the show we would put on in 5 days from today…. eeeek!

LONDON DAY FIVE - day off!

Today we took some time to see the sprawling suburbs where one long strip mall followed another and the sound of the chains rang out loud and clear.  Arteries pumped full of whatever you need just a car ride away…  But we all know the true heart of any town is downtown, and we were happy when we back there to recharge and get ready for a busy week ahead…

HUNTSVILLE DAY SEVENTEEN - showtime!!!!

The show was a true success!!! See for yourself….....

And how did it all happen?  With a little help from our friends, of course…

Tina Turley, the Janis Joplin of the north played guitar in our show to help us bring back the bar era of the Empire Hotel!  Doug Banwell, David Kaye’s best friend sounded a sweet saxophone in silhouette.  Our newest friends Zsiporah and Michael Moon, who we met on the day they moved to Hunstville last week, graced the audience with Harp and song in the prologue.  Our colleague Tony Mara who was cottaging in the area stepped in to play my hilarious husband. Jay Cheel, Kevin McMahon and Kristina McLaughlin of Primitive Entertainment were there to capture us on film.  The Christmas Tyme store lent us lights.  The Great Vine lent us lamps.  The Rotary Club dug out bathtubs from storage and even lent us the coveted Rotary wheel and bell. The Huntsville Festival for the Arts found us chairs and ladders every other little thing we needed. The EXTRAORDINARY Dan Watson, Artistic Director of Edge of the Woods Theatre, put together a MAGICAL Nuit Blanche North for us to take part in.  And last but not least, the people of Huntsville inspired us with their tales.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU EVERYONE!  Another exciting memory was made, about how we brought stories to life on that bright night in Huntsville in July…

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, the tales that made it into the show were:

The Tale of The Bathtub Derby!

The Tale of The Empire Hotel!

The Tale of the Silver Ambassadors!

Shopping on the Main!

Which one was your favourite?!  Drop us a line: info@fixtpoint.com

CREDITS:

The Tale of a Town – Hunstville was produced by FIXT POINT, and created by Lisa Marie DiLiberto and Charles Ketchabaw in collaboration with theatre artists Rob Feetham, Deanna Jones, Adam Paolozza and Annie Wilson.

This exciting site-specific theatre and media project was made possible through generous support from The Ontario Arts Council, The Huntsville Festival of the Arts, Chapman’s Ice Cream, The Walrus Magazine and The Hive Strategic Marketing.

Listen Here for our radio show we crafted with some of these stories:

A Walk Down Main Street – Huntsville Edition

And stay tuned, the tale continues…  Next stop – LONDON TOWN!

HUNTSVILLE DAYS THIRTEEN to SIXTEEN – a blur.

It’s difficult to say how it all happened.  But it did!  From all of the interviews, together we selected stories, and sound bytes and scenarios and created four tales to tell at Nuit Blanche North.  We crafted and cringed and created and collected and carried each other through.  We set up lights and sound, put up projections and pictures, we sang and we danced, we laughed and we cried (but mostly laughed), and all we could hope for, was that on Saturday July 14, the people of Huntsville would be proud of what we made from what they gave… We were so busy making our show, we didn't take too many pics, but here's a fun glimpse of our pre-show set up.  Check us out lighting up the night before unit blanche north!

HUNTSVILLE DAY SEVEN – best laid plans

 

At 9am we met up with the incredible Helena – President of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts / General Manager of the Huntsville Business Improvement Association  / Set Designer for The Tale of a Town – Huntsville (she doesn’t know that part yet… we are just letting it happen bit by bit… ).  Helena traced the letters onto the window, I filled them in, and Charles time lapsed the whole thing.  Check out this link to see how fast it all happened….

Later that morning Chris from What’s Up! Muskoka met up with us for an interview and we let him in on some top secret show plans for Nuit Blanche North.  Then we took a walk with Gus from Hilltop Signs and were amazed by his craftsmanship and all he knew about all the businesses on Main Street whose signs he had created – and there were many… Actually, Gus calls the Main Street of Huntsville his showroom!

Here’s a pic of him in front of the very first sign he made on Main Street, years ago…  Next, I went to take in some music at the Trinity Church played by our next interviewee Doug Banwell whose band was performing as part of the music at noon series. I was pleased to take a moment of down time in this acoustically astonishing atmosphere.  When we interviewed Doug, we found out just how close of a friend he was to the late David Kaye – the final owner of the infamous Empire Hotel.

Apparently Joni Mitchell wrote this song about the place:

Then our storymobile battery died.  A few hours later, it was fixed because of a super nice man from an autoshop who drove here from Bracebridge and fixed it.  He wouldn’t take a penny.  Not even an ice cream!

And so – we leave you today with that.

AND WE'RE OFF!

A long day packing.  Night after the Dora awards in downtown Toronto.  Charles drives early in the morning to Chapman's to pick up the decked out storymobile. Lisa sleeps in and then posts Dora pics on Facebook. Charles goes out to buy a freezer for the ice cream.  Lisa has a chat with her mom and then begins to pack.

We get on the road by 8:30pm

Before we get on the highway, we stop for a quick photo shoot with Tony & Danielle of little blue lemon photography.  They set up lights, call us to action and click us into gear before we finally leave town.  Their photos are beyond awesome.

...And as we drive away we feel ourselves slowly start to unwind.  We arrive at 3am at our cottage by the lake