NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 20, 2010 – On Friday, April 23rd the Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council is hosting an evening of creative thinking about arts, commemoration, and the War of 1812. The evening includes a presentation by keynote speaker R.H. Thomson at the Lincoln Alexander Centre in the Crowne Plaza Hamilton Hotel. The well-known Canadian actor and commemorative artist will speak about The Vigil 1914-1918, a collaborative project between Thomson and Martin Conboy. Paying homage to the 68,000 Canadians killed in the First World War, Vigil 1914-1918 involved the projection of each name on Canada’s National War Memorial, across Canada in several cities and in London, England.
Thomson’s presentation will be followed by the World Premier of “Warships Down,” an episode of yap films’ Dive Detective Series for History Television and National Geographic. The episode, which will be shown in HD format, will explore War of 1812 shipwrecks the Hamilton and the Scourge, which are under the stewardship of the City of Hamilton. In the deep, dark and frigid waters of Lake Ontario, the Dive Detectives join the Parks Canada Underwater Archaeological Service and underwater survey specialists ASI Group of St. Catharines, to get inside the shipwrecks for the first time in nearly 200 years.
The Friday evening event is open to the public at no cost, however seats must be reserved in advance. It will open the Creating 1812: Commemoration, National Identity & Role of the Arts symposium which will continue on Saturday April 24th at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. The Symposium will allow the arts and heritage communities to engage in a dialogue about the impact of the War of 1812 on shaping Canadian, American and First Nations identity and how the Arts can contribute to our understanding of that impact. The Symposium workshops will feature a variety of topics and presenters including visual artist Robert Houle, David Rotterman of WNED-TV and Keith Jamieson, Acting Chair of the War of 1812 Bicentennial Six Nations Consortium. For more information about workshop topics and presenters please visit www.discover1812.com.
Registration for the Symposium is still available for $49.00. A registration form and more information can be found on the website www.discover1812.com. To reserve seats for Friday evening please contact the Legacy Council at 905-985-3626 Ext. 3456 or admin@discover1812.com.
Creating 1812 is presented by the Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council in partnership with the City of Hamilton Culture Division, the Grimsby 1812 Bicentennial Committee and representatives from Six Nations. The Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council is a multi-national non-profit organization established to commemorate the War of 1812 and celebrate the 200 years of peace between Canada and the United States which have followed.
For media inquires please contact: Jen Burkholder, Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council, 905-984-3626 Ext. 3456, communications@discover1812.com