BY WENDY ELLIOTT
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Many view this is as a special year in Canadian history: 2010 marks the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the New England Planters.
To celebrate in the Annapolis Valley, the Planter Studies Centre at Acadia University is hosting its fifth Planter Studies Conference June 17 to 20.
Interest in the conference, entitled The Next Generation, is already keen, says Bria Stokesbury, curator of the Kings County Museum.
The sessions will begin with a keynote lecture June 17 by Gwen Davies of the University of New Brunswick on Planter children. This is open to the public, free of charge.
Stokesbury says individuals will be able to register before and after Davies’ address.
June 18 and 19 will feature a wide range of Planter-related lectures by local and international historians, genealogists and archivists at the Beveridge Arts Centre.
Wendy Robicheau of the Esther Clark Wright Archives will offer a session about Planters on the web and Maggie Keppie of Grand Pre will present a talk about Planter singing schools.
Gordon Haliburton of Wolfville will be speaking about Silas Crane and his descendents, and then Dan Conlin of the Maritime Museum will recount the 1781 Battle of Blomidon.
- Read more special articles :
- - Planter past comes to life
- - Privateers and Planters and how they got on - or didn’t
- - Grow a Planter rose
- - Planters come to life at Acadia
Debra Mosher of the Acadia Divinity College will speak about the religious identity of the Planters.
Pat Townsend, Acadia’s archivist, will look back at the Planter bicentennial in 1960 during the banquet June 19.
The conference will close on June 20 with a tour of local Planter historic sites, such as Horton Landing, the Covenanter Church and Prescott House.
The Planter Studies Centre is working with the Atlantic Living Heritage Foundation to present a historical re-enactment of 18th century civilian life in Nova Scotia. It will be open to the public and free of charge at the Beveridge Arts Centre during the conference. An exhibit of Planter-related archival materials, community historical booths and an ancestor registry for people wishing to learn more about their Planter heritage will also be set up.
For more, see http://libguides.acadiau.ca/planter
