Last night was a warm, drizzly evening. We watched CBC News. Colleen Jones interviewed Peter van der Kloet about his efforts to restore the habitat of Monarch butterflies in the Annapolis Valley.
Debby Hebb saw a Monarch butterfly today beside the boardwalk in Annapolis Royal.
On Tuesday, we arrived at Dawn Oman’s Art Gallery in Bridgetown at 7 pm. It is a spectacular venue, combining the restored church with Dawn’s colourful Northern art. Last night, it was the Best of Boxwood, featuring Chris Norman, Catherine McEvoy, Sean Healy, Eamon O’Leary and Janelle Lucyk. It was an excellent, well-attended concert.
I am looking at their schedule for this week: Shelburne, Yarmouth, Bridgetown, Tatamagouche, Iona and Dundee. In my previous blog (Mourning Cloak), I mentioned ‘third place’, neither home nor work. The Oman Art Gallery is a perfect ‘third place’, providing for “the creativity of community“.
Earlier in the day, I had picked up a second Peter Wyman book, “Six Friends“. It is a short story about an attack on Port Royale, in the early eighteenth century, from a Mi’kmaq perspective.
At the concert, I swapped the Wyman’s books with Sandra Barry; for a couple of back issues of The New Yorker. I look forward to her feedback on the two books of short stories.
Meanwhile, from Debby Hebb, I received two photographs of a Monarch butterfly and a blue racer snake.
Here, I believe, is a Blue Racer Snake she saw on the trail a couple weeks ago.
It seems that these ‘third places’ are alive and well in rural Nova Scotia.
Postscript
Just imagine if we had similar venues for our writers, artists and dancers. Musique Royale has been here for thirty-seven years! Here is a sample of two of Musique Royal’s musicians performing (virtually) in Annapolis Royal.
Acknowledgements
Heather joined me at the concert. Sandra Barry shared her literary interests. Debby Hebb forwarded the photographs. Edward added his magic.
References
Musique Royale, A Festival of Music in Historic Nova Scotia, Thirty-Seven Years, Best of Boxwood, 2022, August 2, Bridgetown. Dawn Oman Art Gallery.
Peter B. Wyman, 2021, Six Friends, Cardigan, Little and Crow Publishing, Annapolis Royal
Ernest Blair Experiment 
These days, in 2022, I think our “third place” includes online social media where we gather to share stories, music, literature, recipes, art, how-to projects, etc.. Our third place has expanded in geography and sometimes in numbers. Our “immediate” group, however, is likely the same size (at least for me it is).
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Edward:
You are absolutely correct. I do think it’s fantastic that Dawn and Scott have repurposed the church into an art and entertainment space. Many kudos.
Bob
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