We are once again preparing for our last Fair of the year…..our Fintry Fall Fair which will be taking place on Sunday, September 15th with a wonderful new line-up of great musicians, including Kilt 45, some new vendors and the return of the Vikings as well as the Kalamalka Highlanders Pipe Band. Attached is the line-up of performers so you can gauge your visit according to what you want to see and hear! Of course Manor House tours will be running all day so if you haven’t visited lately this would be the day to come. Remember we are now wheelchair accessible (thanks to BC Parks) so everyone can view the interior of this historic house.
The Fintry Manor House has become a popular place for residents from Care Homes to visit. Last week we once again welcomed a group of seniors from a Kelowna Care Home. They were very grateful to have this ramp which enabled those with wheelchairs and walkers to come into the Manor House to view and learn the history of the Dun-Waters era. They enjoyed a picnic on the veranda before the tour and I know they enjoyed reminiscing over some of the artifacts from this bygone time, but which they remembered using as youngsters. We always enjoy hearing their stories and we learn from them as well!
We are in the final stages of hiring a Business Manager to help us with our Special Events program, courtesy of a grant which we obtained through the Central Okanagan Foundation. Next year you can expect to see many more different events held at Fintry in addition to our three Fairs.
Our Walking Tour brochure has now been printed (thanks to BC Parks) and is available in the Manor House and in the box by the front steps. This has a numbered map of the Fintry Estate so one can go for a wander and read about the history at the different points.
Our Curator, Dan Bruce has shared the following with us:
“ Long term planning, and a little bit of luck”
Several years ago there was a scheme in Kelowna to introduce peregrine falcons to the city, hoping they would use the Landmark Square and perhaps other high-rises as nesting sites. The falcons did not agree. One of the birds mistook a reflective glass surface for open space, with fatal results. The bird was given to the Fintry Estate as a specimen, and our Volunteer taxidermist, Joanne Beaulieu prepared it as a mount for exhibition. I had asked her to use the pose in which John James Audubon had painted this species in his monumental work, “The Birds of America”.
The creation of “The Birds of America” is an epic tale in itself. Audubon was
born in Haiti in 1785, emigrating to France, then to America in 1803. His
career as an artist culminated in the series of over 400 paintings depicting
North American native birds. Unable to find subscribers, or the expertise
he required to engrave and publish the paintings in America, he took them to
England in 1826, where he found the support and was able to complete the
project. The Peregrine Falcon, or Great Footed Hawk was plate number 16
in the series.
Audubon’s great project brought him international fame, scientific honours and modest fortune before his death in 1851. His work revolutionised bird illustration forever. Plate 16, depicting the birds in lifelike, if gory action, made the older idea of a “bird-on-a-perch” boring. Plate 16 is pivotal.
Between 1971 and 1972 the Dutch publishers Theatrum Orbis Terrarum and the Johnson Reprint Company of New York collaborated with the Teyler’s Museum of Haarlem, Holland to produce a new edition of “The Birds of America”. Limited to 250 copies, it is an exact reproduction in colour, size and paper quality of the 1834 Havell edition published in London under Audubon’s supervision. The Teyler Museum copy was purchased from Audubon’s son in 1839.
Late one evening, while “surfing the ‘net”, I came across the website of a high-end art dealer in New York. Normally not the kind of place I can afford to even breathe in, but I went in anyway. A few random single plates were on offer from the Dutch reprint edition, and YES ! number 16 was available. The following day, confirmation of the order arrived from New York, and the new Peregrine soon took wing for the Okanagan. As you view the framed plate above the fireplace in the Dining Room, give a thought to those who were involved in the apparently simple task of hanging it. Sometimes the simple tasks can be deceptive!
In asking Joanne to copy Audubon’s pose for the mount, I did hope to find a way to draw attention to the species, as well as the significance of Audubon’s work. Of all the prints available, number 16 was pure luck!
Remember:
The Fintry Fall Fair on Sunday, September 15th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A special note…..if you renew your membership at the Fair, it is valid until April 30, 2021!
Kathy Drew, President,
Friends of Fintry Provincial Park.
FINTRY FALL FAIR, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15 2019
MUSIC SCHEDULE
10:00 A.M – 10:45 AM – Brad Ulmer and guests – funky country songs from Falkland, B.C.
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM – Ruby Kaltainen – performing pop hits
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – VIKINGS
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM – Kalamalka Highlanders Pipe Band
12:30 PM – 1:15 PM – Fritz van’Thullaner – performing classic soft rock
1:15 PM – 2:00 PM – VIKINGS
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Kilt 45 – 4 male singers performing Scottish favourites
2:30 PM – 3:10 PM – TRISKELE – a celtic band
3:10 PM – 4:00 PM – Crimson Skies – classic soft rock