Local history groups are mounting a campaign to boycott the upcoming Medieval Festival at Upper Canada Village in eastern Ontario, Canada, as part of their ongoing opposition to the changes being made at the local attraction.
According to the Standard Freeholder, the S, D and G and Lost Villages historical societies and other history buffs are planning to hold a protest and information picket outside the village on Thursday, June 11th, the day the Medieval Festival is scheduled to begin.
Members of the local history community feel the integrity of Upper Canada Village is being jeoperdized by recent programming and staffing changes and the introduction of new commercial ventures, and they see the Medieval Festival as a prime example of that.
"Is the founding of Ontario and Confederation so unimportant that we have to visit Europe?," reads a flyer that's being handed out at the Cornwall Community Museum to advertise the boycott.
Museum official and S, D and G Historical Society curator Ian Bowering said the boycott will provide a way for local heritage enthusiasts to make their feelings known about the changes at the village.
Bowering believes the St. Lawrence Parks Commission officials didn't listen to the concerns raised by local heritage groups during a public meeting on Tuesday in Cornwall. "We are going to take our collective voice to them so they can hear us," he added.
Lost Villages Historical Society president Jane Craig also feels their concerns aren't being heard by the officials of the parks commission, which oversees Upper Canada Village. "I can't imagine anybody accepting the answers (that were given at the meeting)," she said.
However, parks commission CEO Pat Macdonald insisted that she did listen to the concerns raised during the Tuesday meeting, and she said it's unfortunate that some people are prejudging the Medieval Festival without having seen it first.
Macdonald said the parks commission is trying to balance the interests of the local population with the need to attract more visitors. Holding special events like the Medieval Festival is one way to draw more people, she added.
"There's some serious concerns (from people) that have to be taken into consideration but equally there's some serious issues of sustainability that everyone has to recognize," she said, adding the government subsidy for the village has more than doubled in the last 10 years. "We cannot continue on ignoring the need to change. As painful as it might be, we need to become sustainable."
Unlike last year, the Medieval Festival will be held on the village grounds, but it will be east of the village proper. Macdonald stressed it will not interfere with the regular activities of the village. By holding it closer to the attraction, the parks commission will save money on fencing and other expenses, and visitors will be able to take in both attractions for the same price, she added.
"It really is removed from Upper Canada Village. It's in a back area (of the village)," Macdonald said.
