Writing and posting this blog! Listening to and logging all of the interviews so far....
Getting ready for a big day downtown Huntsville tomorrow for Canada Day festivities.... stay posted!
We feel like we living inside a Tom Thompson painting today. Here’s the view from where we are right now:
Day three began bright and early - by 8am we were in Helena’s office in the chamber of commerce to call into CBC Ontario morning. The bathtub derby revival was the story of the week. Take a listen to the CBC podcast and check out the photo of this legendary even from the past that Helena just happened to have on hand! CBC Ontario Morning - June 29th
At 9am we met the mayor of Huntsville outside the town hall for an interview. We took a walk down main street while he shared his knowledge of the town with us in an appropriately jovial and excited way, the mayor explained some of the recent developments, plans for the empty lot where the empire hotel had been and we had a few chance encounters on the street, notably when the mayor unknowingly greeted a couple who had just closed the deal on their new home in Huntsville. In our excitement we didn’t get a photo with the mayor but here’s the old town hall whose clock tower we discovered is from Union Station in Toronto:
Next we started to set up our storymobile. We hooked up the power, filled the cooler with Chapman's ice cream, and then declared ourselves open for business. One thousand dollars for an ice cream OR a story about downtown Huntsville!
All kinds of people traded us stories that afternoon, from kids to cottagers to long time residents to local business owners. We had a blast and we started to get a sense of what this town is all about.
We were happy that our storymobile was inviting to all kinds of folks. It felt accessible and easy and most of all fun.
When we ran out of ice cream, we knew we were done for the day.
We headed to bracebridge to pick up the chapman's ice cream vouchers for the week at Purolator and headed back to our spot.
That evening we went for a paddle boat ride and discussed our story gathering technique, revisited the questions we were asking and how we were posing the questions, and started to brainstorm about the Nuit Blanche North installation performance. The Empire Hotel kept coming up in our imaginations. The empty lot. Almost everyone has a story about it...
In the morning of day two we unpacked, went swimming and got our bearings then headed into town for an editorial meeting at The Forester, Huntsville’s newspaper. It was incredible to hear about the history of the newspaper owned for generations by the Rice family and it's recent handover to Metroland Media Group Ltd. Here’s an old sign we saw hanging on the wall. 
We met with News Editor Tamara, Mandy who is a new reporter at the paper and Tina Turley who works in production at The Forester but who is also a local legendary country musician. We talked about notable downtown people, the city's development and of course we heard more stories about the bathtub derby and the Empire Hotel. Tina even recounted times when she was a kid hanging out at the Empire while her father played there. Tina continues to perform all over Huntsville and the surrounding areas, and lucky for us she is playing next Wednesday downtown in the afternoon by the lake. Tina coined the unofficial name for the event "a twoonie for a tune" - we can't wait to hear her play!
After our meeting at The Forester, Charles took pics of every business along Main Street with his tripod. Lisa went to find the archives and local history room at the local library. And together we stopped and stared at the empty lot on the corner of main east and main west where the empire hotel had stood. We have heard it burned down several years ago, but it still feels alive in the memories of the few people we have spoken to already.
Back at our little cottage by the lake, we ate and drank and went to sleep early because tomorrow was looking like a jam-packed day.
Early morning meeting with the mayor cancelled because he penciled it in for yesterday. Who knows whose fault it was - but why lay blame....? We are seeing him Friday, and in the meantime we had breakfast at LOUIS' II DINER across the street from city hall. LOUIS' II DINER has been around since before anyone can remember. It burned down about 10 years ago and re-located across the street. LOUIS is an old Greek man and apparently a staple of Main Street. We can't wait to meet him and hear his stories. Next we head out to meet Rob, the general manager of the Huntsville festival of the arts, at holiday inn located in the heel of Huntsville’s "commerce area", a.k.a. industrial park.
We were Rob’s dates for the Rotarian luncheon. Greeted at the door by two fantastic men, we proceeded to find a table. Everyone stood up and sang O Canada! And then there were speeches and announcements and one notable event making a comeback in Huntsville this year: the bathtub derby.
After the luncheon, we meet up with Teri Souter, the town of Huntsville art, culture and heritage manager.
Teri got us up to speed on the "who's who" on main street in Huntsville and she also told us about her work with the aboriginal community, the commerce and business planning policies downtown and she also happened to be the president of the bathtub derby! We feel a story forming here... Here’s a pic of one of the many inspiring things in her super cool office.
Next we met up with Helena outside the town hall. Helena is the President of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and General Manager of the Hunstville Business Improvement Association and this woman knows how to get sh*t done! She secured our storefront right downtown thanks to leads from Dan Watson the Nuit Blanche North artistic director and we move in on Sunday!
Helena introduced us to Cathy, a long time Huntsville resident who owns 2 stores downtown, Muskoka reflections and Intimate reflections . We arranged parking our storymobile in front of Cathy’s store on Friday and asked her not to call the bylaw officers while we are parked for longer than the 2-hour limit trading ice cream for stories! She willingly agreed and helped us arrange power from the light pole.
Back at our cottage by the lake, we formulated our story pitch for CBC Ontario Morning and sent it off to Ron the producer. Then we hit the hay. It’s taken a lot of energy to get ourselves on the road. Finally we had arrived!
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
... And we're off!!! THE TALE OF A TOWN X ONTARIO TOUR has just begun. This summer FIXT POINT is hitting the road to trade ice cream for stories about downtown's and their Main Street tales. Which people will we meet? What stories will we find? What will we create?
THANKS to our supporters who have helped us get on our way. Without you there would be no way. Wait - that's united way. But I’m talking about our way - across Ontario this summer. You have fuelled us with ingenuity and creative spirit. And you are with us on this adventure!
A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO:
CHAPMAN'S ICE CREAM THE HIVE ONTARIO ARTS COUNCIL THE WALRUS CBC ONTARIO MORNING HUNTSVILLE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS DOWNTOWN LONDON
STOP ONE: HUNSTVILLE!
FIXT POINT will be in town June 26 to July 15!
While we are here, you can find us doing one of the following things: * Trading Chapman's ice cream for stories about downtown in our storymobile! * Sharing some of the gathered stories CBC Ontario Morning every Friday and Monday! * Listening to interviews, editing interviews and mapping stories online! * Creating a site-specific theatre installation for NUIT BLANCHE NORTH on July 14 in downtown Huntsville!
SEE YOU ON MAIN STREET!!
Watch here for updates and if you'd like to learn more about the tour, where we are going, our supporters and how you can drop us line with your Main Street story visit HERE
YOU ARE INVITED TO OBSERVE AN OPEN CLASS
On the final day of the Masterclass in: Le Jeu and Clown with PHILIPPE GAULIER
Friday April 13, from 2 to 4pm at:
in the Main Stage Theatre (51 Mercer Street) Tickets are $20 PURCHASE TICKETS IN ADVANCE HERE
Limited Space
FIXT POINT is proud to present Philippe Gaulier in Toronto Offering a sold out 2 week masterclass with support from
Check out FIXT POINT at: www.fixtpoint.com www.thetaleofatown.com
More info about about Philippe Gaulier: www.ecolephilippegaulier.com
Philippe Gaulier on CBC News: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RI2h55ue-g
we are oh so very excited to present our first feature length radio documentary Small Time Stories from The Tale of a Town Queen West on CBC Radio 1 at 7am on January 2nd.Host Lisa Marie DiLiberto and storytellers Treasa Levasseur and Charles Ketchabaw present some of the fascinating stories that we discovered during the creation process of The Tale of a Town – Queen West.
FIXT POINT has been engaged by Theatre Passe Muraille to create a new piece of work beyond their own 4 walls. We have chosen to puruse the story of the 4 corners of Bathurst and Queen St West in downtown Toronto. Here is a little binaural snippet we've collected. It is a moment in time from November of 2011. This moment has passed that will never be replicated again. It is a walk from the SE corner to the SW corner onward to the NW corner, crossing to the NE corner and then back to the SE corner.
Disclaimer: This is a binaural recording and should be listened to with headphones to get the maximum effect.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1337246" height="200"]
Here are two piece we created for CBC Radio's Here and Now that revolve around a couple of Queen St West's musical haunts. They both aired during the fall of 2011 during our theatrical production of The Tale of a Town - Queen West which opened Theatre Passe Muraille's 2011 season.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1208547" height="200"]