Red Deer Museum Blog - 2011
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Central Alberta Rocks!
Central Alberta Rocks!
November 19, 2011 to January 1, 2012
If you lived in Red Deer and area in the mid 1960s, do you remember hanging out at The Sweet Shop or Dog & Suds? Do you have memories of dancing to the music of The Drifters, Ninth Wave, or the Gaetz Avenue Dance Band?
The Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery and Sunny 94 presents Central Alberta Rocks! This “teaser” exhibition will bring a sampling of the history of rock and roll bands that originated in Red Deer, the music they performed, and the places they played.
One of the biggest influences on the youth of Red Deer was music. The social significance of Rock 'n Roll swept into Red Deer the same as anywhere else in the world. “The music styles, fashion, lifestyle attitudes and language around the globe did the same in Red Deer. It was a new point of view,” states Valerie Miller, Collections Coordinator at the Museum.
Seventy three million people watched The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 7, 1964, including many in Red Deer. One Red Deer youngster that watched that night was Harley Hay, “Two words… The Beatles. When I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show in Grade 7, I knew that my marching drum in the Optimist Drum & Bugle Corps would soon turn into a set of drums.”
The project began with a gift of Central Alberta rock band posters and CHED charts from Phil Hallet. Hallet was also instrumental in bringing his cohorts together to produce the project. Over the past year, the group met regularly to share their experiences and knowledge from this era. The Museum is grateful to Phil Hallet, Gary Thompson, Richard Hayhoe, Lorne Hallet, and Harley Hay. “Their enthusiasm has definitely helped bring this exhibit to life,” states Miller
Several former and current band members, including a few from the advisory group, will bring our their instruments once again to perform at the MAG. The goal is to have the community gather, enjoy the music of their youth, and share their personal experiences. Information and material collected will be included in a larger exhibition tentatively proposed for 2014.
The bands will play on Sunday, November 20, and Saturday, December 3, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm., and the First Friday - December 2, 7:00 to 10:00 pm.
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Live Music, Silent Film
Live Music, Silent Film At The MAG
Limited tickets available from the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery. Click here for information about the event and ticket prices.
November 2, 2011 – 7:00pm
For one fun filled night, take your seat in history as you view silent films in the spirit of the Roaring 20s.
The Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery presents Live Music, Silent Film. Enjoy Buster Keaton silent comedies, with live, original piano scores by Canadian composer/pianist Robert Bruce from Hamilton, Ontario. Bruce’s music is widely considered "highly visual" and his scores truly bring the films to life.
The Live Music/Silent Film event offers all the excitement and spontaneity of a live concert blended perfectly together with the charm and nostalgia of classic 1920s silent cinema. This unique program is an experience that any true appreciator of music and the dramatic and cinematic arts will cherish.
Silent films have no synchronized recorded sound; no spoken dialogue. Dialogue is transmitted through gestures with an emphasis on body language and facial expression. Onscreen title cards were used to narrate story points and present key dialogue. Showings of silent films almost always featured live music in order to contribute to the atmosphere and give the audience vital emotional cues.
For the first two decades of motion picture history most silent films were only a few minutes in length, but rose in length and complexity in the early 1910s. Many film scores for early silent films were either improvised or compiled of classical or theatrical music. In the late 1920s the means of recording sound that would synchronize with the recorded image was discovered. After the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, “talkies” become more common. Within a decade, popular production of silent films had ceased.
Attendees can join in the spirit and come dressed in costume of the era. Doors open at 6:30 pm; event will begin at 7:00 pm. Sweet and savory snacks, door prizes, silent auction and prizes for best costume!
Tickets are on sale now, prices ranging from $15.00 to $25.00. To purchase tickets or to learn more about the event call (403) 309-8405.
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Join us for Old Time Farm Fun at the MAG's Harvest Festival!
Dust off your western gear and come down to the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery for a day of Fall Fun on Sunday October 16, 2011 from 1-4pm.
Click here for more info!
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Grant Approved!
NEWS RELEASE
September 20, 2011
New funding will create centerpiece attraction for City...
Exciting new exhibit planned for residents & visitorsRed Deer…. Red Deer’s Museum and Art Gallery will launch a permanent exhibition about the city’s unique history after receiving generous support from the City of Red Deer at their September 19, 2011 council meeting.
The exhibit, comprising more than 40 per cent of the facility space, will be interactive, multi-media, and artefact-rich drawing from the collections of the museum. The exhibit will be called The Place Between: Stories from the Heart of the Parkland and it will be based on original research by curator Michael Dawe.Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery, Executive Director Lorna Johnson says, “This will be the most exciting exhibit ever in Red Deer, garnering attention comparable to major centers and touring shows. It will become a centerpiece for Red Deer, a starting point for discovering our city and a way of building our sense of community by sharing our past.”
The exhibit will feature ten themes that shaped Red Deer’s development and growth:
1. The Land and Changing Landscape
2. The Crossing: Change and Conflict
3. For God and Profit
4. Boom!
5. Serving Canada
6. Good Times in the Hard Times
7. The Unique North
8. A Leader in Education
9. Entrepreneurs and Innovators
10. Starting Anew
Planning for the exhibit has been prompted by visitors to the museum and requests from the community for more information about the history of Red Deer and the surrounding area. The opening in March 2013 will coincide with the City of Red Deer’s centennial.
The next phase of the exhibit’s creation will be issuing a request for proposals from professional exhibit designers that will include a requirement to showcase production from Red Deer graphic, art, design, millwork, manufacturing, and modelling companies and organizations.
The total estimated cost of the exhibit including design, construction, installation, administration and promotion is $1.5 million of which $500,000 will be raised through fundraising, grants and corporate or personal sponsorship opportunities.
The Red Deer & District Museum Society is extremely grateful to the City of Red Deer for supporting this significant project.
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For additional information, please contact:
Lorna Johnson
Phone: (403)309-8439
Lorna.Johnson@reddeer.ca
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Reel Movie Mondays Line up Announced for Fall 2011
We have started another season of the popular Red Deer Independent Film Series!
Tickets are only $10 each or $8 for members. All screenings take place at Galaxy Cinema Theatre on Gasoline Alley, on select Monday nights starting at 7pm.
Next Film is Beginners on Monday October 17, 2011.
Reel Movie Mondays is organized by the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery and the Red Deer College Motion Picture Arts department.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Toronto Film Circuit, our volunteers, Red Deer Galaxy Theatre, Sunworks and our other sponsors.
Click the following link for more details on this season's lineup: http://www.reddeermuseum.com/adults/info/62/ Page 1 of 4