The Halifax Explosion: 100th Anniversary

December 6, 2017

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, the Museum will be presenting two special events that are open to all members of the public.

Hope and Survival: The Halifax Explosion Memorial Quilt

December 6 at 1:00 pm

Artist and Portia White Prize winner Laurie Swim conceived Hope and Survival: The Halifax Explosion Memorial Quilt in 2000 as a monumental community art project. It features images in fabric based on witness accounts of the event and its aftermath and was completed in 2017. The accompanying Scroll of Remembrance lists the names in English and in Braille of 1,946 people identified among the perished. The Braille dots were beaded with the assistance of some 400 volunteers. Hope and Survival honors the lives lost, lives instantly and dramatically changed, and the heroic efforts made to assist and restore hope. It acknowledges a legacy of survival that continues to this day.

“Hope and Survival is a memorial to those lost in the Halifax Explosion a hundred years ago and a gift to the people of Nova Scotia,” Laurie Swim.

 

 

The Halifax Explosion in Story and Song with David Stone

December 6 at 2:00 pm

On December 6th, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc collided in the Narrows with the Norwegian supply ship Imo. At about five minutes after 9:00 am, Mont Blanc exploded in what was, at the time, the largest man-made explosion in history. Over 1,900 people were killed and nearly half the city was left homeless.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the event that forever changed Halifax, we are pleased to welcome singer-songwriter David Stone as he tells the story of the Explosion through a cycle of songs, that he wrote based on his research into the disaster and his conversations with survivors and their families.

 

 

This year, David will be joined by a stellar list of guest artists, who will be sharing their talents to mark the 100th anniversary of the disaster, including Tony Mombourquette, our own stalwart shipkeeper aboard CSS Acadia, Steve Read and the dynamic duo of Margo Carruthers and Jay Perry.

 

For additional information:
Richard MacMichael
902-424-8897
macmicrs@gov.ns.ca