ANTIGONISH, N.S. — With this year representing the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Holland, different activities to commemorate the milestone have happened or are being planned; including the planting of tulips, which is being done nationally, and a Dutch Heritage Night and Pop-Up Museum event, happening in Antigonish Oct. 27.
The event will take place at the Royal Canadian Legion Arras Branch 59, which is in the East Coast Credit Union Social Enterprise Centre, located at 75 St. Ninian Street. It goes from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and a light lunch will be served for those in attendance.
For the pop-up museum, which is a temporary exhibit created by the people who chose to participate, organizers are encouraging the local Dutch community to bring objects such as photos, recipes, and stories about wartime in Holland, post-war immigration and their lives in Canada.
“It’s the first time we tried anything like this so we’re not really sure what to expect,” Legion president James Matheson said, noting it’s an event open to everyone in the community and one of the many in the area which will take place as a lead-up to Remembrance Day.
“We hope the event will go well,” he added. “We have received great feedback from the Dutch community already; they’re pretty excited about it.”
Matheson added with the pop-up museum, which is being put on with the aid of a class from St. F.X., the hope is a storytelling area could also be a part of the activity.
“So we may see that,” he said.
Planting tulips
The local Legion, led by Royal Dutch Princess Irene Brigade veteran Willie Westenenk, a long-time gardener/landscaper at St. F.X., planted 500 tulip bulbs Oct. 16, on the front lawn of their St. Ninian location.
Originally scheduled for Oct. 17, the planting moved up a day to avoid scheduled rain and wind.
“A nice splash of colour in front of the building,” Matheson said.
“It’s something happening across Canada this year; a lot of Legions and different places are planting tulips to mark the liberation of Holland.”
