The Hermitage Ballroom at the Best Western Mariposa Inn was the room with the Sir John A view Saturday night.
The 19th annual Sir John A Macdonald Celebration was once again sold out, with approximately 200 people on hand to show their support for the Orillia Museum of Art and History while feting one of the Fathers of Confederation.
The celebration took on an added significance this year, as 2017 not only marks the 150th anniversaries of both Confederation and the incorporation of Orillia, but also the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, pointed to as pivotal moment in making Canada the nation it is today.
That made Ted Barris a fitting speaker for the evening. He has written extensively on the country around the time of Confederation, as well as specifically on Vimy, in 2007’s Victory at Vimy.
Read the full story: http://www.orilliapacket.com/2017/01/15/celebrating-sir-john-in-orillia
Dear Ted,
I met you in 1982 to be exact, during my promotional tour for my first book, on Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance (Macmillan). At the time you were promoting your book, FIRE CANOE (delighted Dundurn brought it out again in 2015).
LONG LANCE was at the beginning of my publishing career, and now, nearly forty years later, I approach the end. I am hoping my current (and probably last) book– on non-Indigenous Canadians’ perspectives of the First Nations, from 1850s to the present, comes out next Fall. Congratulations on all your books! Don Smith (I see you gave the Macdonald lecture in Orillia in 2017, I will present in Jan. 2019).