The Brandon Aboriginal Literary Festival was presented by the Brandon University Faculty of Arts and the John E. Robbins Library. It was held October 25-27, 2007 in the J.R.C. Evans Lecture Theatre and the Lorne Watson Recital Hall at Brandon University and included readings, panels, performances and a Saturday night social with the Juno-nominated Billy Joe Green Band.
Participants included: Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm; Annharte; Joanne Arnott; Di Brandt; Linda Burridge; Maria Campbell; Warren Cariou; Colleen Cutschall; Rosanna Deerchild; Paul DePasquale; Marilyn Dumont; Susan Dupis, Billy Joe Green; Scott Grills; Louise Halfe; Tomson Highway; Erroll Kinistino; Dale Lakevold; Emma LaRocque; Roberta Mackinnon; Lorraine Mayer; Neal Mcleod; Duncan Mercredi; Daniel David Moses; Beatrice (Culleton) Mosionier; Yvette Nolan; Jill Oman; Darrell Racine; Eden Robinson; Armand Garnet Ruffo; Gregory Scofield; Marvin Smoker; Richard Van Camp; Katherena Vermette; and Lynn Whidden.
A second festival, held under the name Ogamas Aboriginal Literary Festival, was held in October 2009.
Custodial History
Records in the sub sub series were donated to the McKee Archives by Linda Burridge, University Librarian and Festival Committee member in November 2007, October and November 2008 and July 2009.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series consists of festival documents created by the Festival Committee and collected by Linda Burridge. Sub sub series also contains photographs, taken by John Jacobson, of festival participants, volunteers, and attendees.
Accruals
Linda Burridge will be forwarding electronic files related to the festival.
Storage Location
Textual records:
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 8: Library Services
8.4 Library special events
Photographs:
Hard copy CD is located with the textual records. Descriptions use the 5-2009 accession number.
Curran Park is located at 4100 Grand Valley Rd, Brandon, MB. Originally called Suburban Park, it underwent a formal name change in 1934, in honour of J.P. Curran, a lawyer, civil servant and judge, who died in 1928.
The City of Brandon first set aside $6000 for the acquisition of a new park in 1911, but the acquisition of appropriate land stalled for a number of years. Finally in 1919, the city was able to acquire a parcel of Crown land the Brandon Industrial School was located on, to establish the park; the land was acquired through a 99-year lease. Suburban Park officialy opened in 1921.
The development of the park was gradual. Some of the work was completed as part of the Brandon Parks Board's unemployment relief planning; from 1931-1936, relief workers cleared underbrush, thinned trees, constructed a road and built latrines. In 1933 a refreshment stand was approved and a large cook stove was donated.
The City of Brandon and the Department of Agriculture (in right of the Crown) agreed to terminate the original park lease in March 1965, with the city purchasing the land outright. Curran Park was sold to Gretna businessman Gerald Voth in 2001, and renamed Turtle Crossing.
Scope and Content
Item is a photograph of the pool at Curran Park, Brandon, MB.
Notes
History/Bio information was taken from A Cup of Cold Water: Alfred Kirkness and the Brandon Residential School Cemeteries by Anne Lindsay, Clare Cook, and David Cuthbert (Manitoba History journal, Number 78, Summer 2015).
Photograph shows Robert (Bob) Ford dressed as the Pied Piper playing a soprano saxophone surrounded by children in costume, some carrying Brandon University Alumni pennants. Photo was taken during the Brandon University Homecoming Parade held in downtown Brandon.
