Living History Festival takes over Fort Malden NHS

The Living History Festival returned to Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada Aug. 1-2, though rain throughout much of the day Sunday prevented demonstrations from being held. Part of Saturday’s festivities were a flag raising ceremony.

Military history from bygone eras was on display last weekend at Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada.

The Living History Festival returned and featured different military eras ranging from Roman re-enactors, those representing the Spanish Civil War, World War I, World War II and, of course, the War of 1812.

“We’ve got quite a range of time periods,” said Alex Dale, interpretation officer with Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada.

An artillery demonstration was performed.

While weather impacted Sunday events such as the cancellation of demonstrations, people came through Saturday to see the encampments, view artillery and musket demonstrations, try out the food in the cookhouse, go on “Garrison Walks,” presentations, morning parades and see what else the festival had to offer.

“A lot of it, especially this year, is to interpret the range of Fort Malden’s history,” said Dale.

Dale said they wanted to tell the story of the site and the area. The goal is to educate the public on what happened over the full time period at the Garrison at Fort Malden, he said.

There were exceptions, Dale pointed, such as the Roman soldier re-enactors.

“It’s fun to have the Romans here, to be honest,” he said.

Visitors to Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada were enjoying seeing the encampments and demonstrations, visiting the tents and talking to the re-enactors, Dale stated. Some tents saw children and even adults able to dress up in some of the outfits that soldiers wore, such as the Roman era.

“The public just seems to enjoy it,” said Dale.

Re-enactors came not just from around Essex County for the Living History Festival, Dale added, but also from as far as Orillia, Barrie, Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Greater Toronto Area, Michigan and Ohio.

Other organizations were also on site, such as Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island (TWEPI), the Park House Museum, the Canadian Transportation Museum & Heritage Village, and the Ontario Geneological Society.

 Dale said part of the reason the Military Heritage Days event was rebranded as the Living History Festival was to incorporate non-military heritage sites in Amherstburg and around the region. 

Military eras from a variety of time periods from the Roman era to the 20th Century were depicted.

The House Youth Centre was also on hand running a barbecue as a fundraiser for that non-profit organization.

Angela Strous and Katie Thieme came in from Ohio as part of the U.S. 2^nd Regiment Artillery Cushing’s Command from Fort Meigs. 

“It’s a nice little event,” said Strous, who said it was the first time she had come to it. “I like the view. It’s a great location.”

Romeo and Vicki Beaulieu and their team of re-enactors from the Maidstone & Area Historical Society and Maidstone Museum, returned to the festival again this year. They estimated they have been doing so for approximately 17 years.

“We love being here on the river,” said Vicki. “It’s fun to educate kids and people who come by.” 

Vicki added their museum and Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada support one another by participating in each other’s events.

“They come out and support the Maidstone Museum when we have encampments so we come here too,” she said.

Dale pointed out there are upcoming events at Fort Malden, including this Saturday’s evening’s Murder Mystery. The annual Murder Mystery will have a theme about the 175^th anniversary of the pensioner’s arriving in Amherstburg.

More information on that is on their website at parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/malden or their Facebook page.

Fort Malden will also host the 59^th annual Art by the River, with that event being organized by the Gibson Gallery. It is the gallery’s largest fundraiser of the year.

“It’s going to be a great summer,” he said.

Living History Festival takes over Fort Malden NHS

By Ron Giofu