Flashback February

A celebration of County heritage and history

Aweek-long celebration of the County’s history and heritage kicks off on Saturday evening with Jeremie Albino’s concert at the Regent Theatre. At first blush, it would seem that a young, up-and-coming blues singer has little to do with County heritage, but the folks at the County Museums know a good thing when they see it and figured it was best to collaborate and join with new talent. Having a captive audience snared by the prospect of some fabulous music in a theatre with a colourful history of its own was too good an opportunity to pass up. “We want to look at the past and the heritage of Prince Edward County, but also look to the future as well, and we’re very much trying to be in the present this year,” said Assistant Curator Jessica Chase. The theme of this year’s Flashback February is “Visions From our Past”, and is a little bit of a riff on the colloquial term 20/20 vision. The events in the County tie in with the provincial and federal Heritage Week celebrations. “We are doing our own unique spin on this, and it’s also a way to connect to our immediate community,” said Head Curator Jen Lyons. “We find that in the summer months the majority of visitors to the museums are from outside of Prince Edward County. But in February, there are a lot of folks here looking for interesting things to do, and Flashback February seems to be a good way to connect to that.”

Jen Lyons (L) and Jessica Chase (R) flank artist Saralou Miller’s interpretation of Marie Antoinette at Macaulay House.

There are a number of events lined up for each day until February 22, which include a film festival at the Regent, a murder mystery night at The Back Room and a County Trivia Night at the Waring House. Tying in with Black History Month is the connection of this region with the history of slavery in North America. “The Black history of Prince Edward County or this region is not talked about and it’s something we feel is a very worthy subject to dive into, and something a lot of people living here now would like to know about,” said Chase. Not all of the events being presented pertain to local history. Artist, author and radio host Terry Culbert brings to life the story of the Donnellys of Lucan, a tale of revenge, greed and murder. Culbert grew up in the village of Lucan—not far from Goderich on the shores of Lake Huron—his ancestors having settled there from Ireland in the 1840s, at about the same time the Donnelly clan arrived. The story of the murder of five Donnelly men on February 4, 1880 fascinated Culbert, and he delved into the history, resulting in the book Lucan, Home of the Donnellys, that was published in 2005. “The Donnelly family were no angels. There was a lot of drinking, a lot of fighting ,” he said. “They were always blamed for a lot of things other people did and then threw the blame on them. If anything was bad, it was the Donnellys that did it.”

This is the third year that the County Museums have presented Flashback February, and each year it has expanded in scope. Planning for this event began in April 2019, with the team of Jen Lyons, Jess Chase, Peter Lockyer and Ken Dewar, assisted by Karen Palmer from the County Community Development Department. With partners including the Regional Tourism Organization and the Prince Edward Historical Society, the event began to take shape by late autumn. “Leave your preconceptions of what heritage is at the door, because, yes we do have traditional lectures and exhibits, but there’s such a wide range of activities,” said Lyons. “If you love music, we have the organ concert with Murray Baer playing the huge pipe organ in the United Church, we have improv comedy, and we have a trivia night with Steve Campbell—who is a hoot. You will not only learn about the County, but will also laugh a lot. I think it’s important to show people that history can be serious, it can be a little dark in places, but the way we interpret it here and now can take such a wide spectrum approach.” That different approach will certainly be in evidence at Macaulay House, where visitors will see historical figures in fantastical costumes created by artist Saralou Miller. “It’s going to be an incredible week of events,” said Chase. “There’s something for everyone, and there’s no stone left unturned in terms of appealing to people’s interest. I’d say, come on out folks, it’s February, what else have you got going on?”

For more information, and a schedule of events, please visit visitpec.ca/flashback-february/