In Search of Nova Scotia's 25 Funkiest Things

Stopping at 43 museums and meeting hundreds of schoolchildren is professional adventurer Garry Sowerby's method of finding Nova Scotia's 25 funkiest things.

Mr. Sowerby and his entourage will launch the Funky Museum Roadshow this Friday, June 4, in search of neat facts and unique items.

Many funky things were brought to Mr. Sowerby's attention on his previous adventures. But his favourite artifact is his very own Red Cloud, a blue and white Halifax-built 1980 Volvo that he and fellow Maritimer Ken Langley drove around the world 19 years ago, grabbing a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest trip.

The latest mission for Mr. Sowerby and Red Cloud is to lead the nine-day madcap tour around Nova Scotia, visiting as many of Nova Scotia's museums as possible, looking for the funky.

Will the "funky" title go to a codfish bikini, the hoot of a 2.5-metre alpine horn, or a periwinkle table? It could be the funkiest-looking chicken or a four-seater outhouse. Schoolchildren and museums are invited to share thoughts on Nova Scotia's funky stuff when the roadshow visits their community.

When the tour wraps up at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton on June 12, Mr. Sowerby will judge the funky findings and park his adventure vehicles in the Automobile Adventures exhibit.

In addition to looking at Nova Scotia's cultural and natural heritage in a fabulously funky way, the roadshow will showcase museum events across the province on Museum Day Weekend, June 12-13, and all season long. More than 60 museums are taking part in unusual events highlighting the wacky side of Nova Scotia's history. Event participants include community museums, Nova Scotia Museums, the Federation of Nova Scotian Heritage, and Parks Canada.

For updates on roadshow adventures and a list of funky findings during the tour, visit the Nova Scotia Museum website at www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/museum/ .

Contact: Heather Capstick
Nova Scotia Museum
902-424-0125
Cell: 902-497-4137 (June 4-12)
E-mail: capstihd@gov.ns.ca

Garry Sowerby
The Funky Museum Roadshow
Cell: 902-452-3177

NOTE TO EDITORS: A schedule of roadshow events follows. For a backgrounder on Garry Sowerby, please e-mail CNSrelease@gov.ns.ca or call 902-424-4492.

THE FUNKY MUSEUM ROADSHOW, JUNE 4-12 --EVENT DETAILS

SUNRISE TRAIL

Museum of Industry, Stellarton Friday, June 4, 10 a.m-11:30 a.m., Saturday, June 12, 2:30 p.m. start. Join more than 100 schoolchildren on Friday as they send Garry Sowerby off on his journey to museums across the province. Nine days later, be there when he judges the 25 funkiest things in Nova Scotia. Grand Finale Carnival and Automobile Adventures exhibit opening takes place on the Saturday. Face painting, juggling, comedy acts, a barbecue and a brass band are some of the fun things awaiting his return. Contact: Denise Fraser-Taylor, 902-755-5425

Antigonish Heritage Museum, Antigonish Friday, June 4, 12:15 p.m.-1:15 p.m. Sample some tradition Scottish fare --haggis and bashed neaps. Contact: Jocelyn Gillis, 902-863-6160 or 902-863-4947

Cumberland County Museum, Amherst Saturday, June 12, 9 a.m.-10 a.m. Hear stories of the ghost of grove cottage. Kids are invited to bring their visions of ghouls to life and have fun dressing Garry Sowerby, adventure driver, as the ghost of Grove Cottage. Contact: Barb Thompson, 902-667-2561

Wallace and Area Museum, Wallace Saturday, June 12, 11:30 a.m.-noon Area museums host events such as skipping stones at Bedrock and pass the salt crystal. Contact: David Dewar, 902-257-2191

Balmoral Grist Mill and Sutherland Steam Mill, Tatamagouche Saturday, June 12, 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m. Grains to Flour. Contact: John Taylor, 902-657-3016

Sutherland Steam Mill Museum, Tatamagouche Saturday, June 12, 1:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m. Tub Talk and Steam Power. Contact: John Taylor, 902-657-3365

CAPE BRETON TRAIL

Port Hastings Museum and Archives, Port Hastings Friday, June 4, 1:45 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Spring Spruce-up Frolic --Learn about the century-old museum building. Dress up in 1940s garb and join costumed workers for painting, washing windows and yardwork. Contact: Julia McKinnon, 902-625-2794

Margaree Salmon Museum, Northeast Margaree Friday, June 4, 3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Activities such as casting for flyfishing (fly-tying if raining), or learning to blow on an alpine horn will be featured. See period costumes and wooden carvings of small animals. Have your photo taken while role-playing as a Scottish lassie.
Contact: Francis Hart, 902-248-2433

Highland Village Museum, Iona Friday, June 4, 5:30 p.m. start, and Saturday, June 5, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Join a ceilidh Friday evening with Gaelic singers, fiddlers and step-dancers. On Saturday, join dancers and learn traditionalScottish dances as you step to the music played by a fiddler on the roof. Contact: Rodney Chaisson, 902-725-2272

Cape Breton Centre for Heritage and Science, Sydney Saturday, June 5, 12:20 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Kids of all ages can play games from 1800s and take part in other activities. Contact: Janet Maltby, 902-539-1572

Cape Breton Miners' Museum, Glace Bay Saturday, June 5, 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Learn about the process of turning coal to gas. The display also features information on gas mileage. Contact: Tom Miller, 902-849-4522

Sydney and Louisbourg Railway Museum, Louisbourg Sunday, June 6, 9 a.m.-9:45 a.m. Have a funky time while playing the scavenger hunt game. Contact: Margie Cameron, 902-733-2720

MacAskill House Museum, St. Peter's Sunday, June 6, 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Have fun with photography through camera demonstrations and a funky negative lampshade Wallace MacAskill made in the early 1900s. Learn about marine photography and Wallace's Bluenose connection. See collections of quilts, hooked mats and local crafts. Professional adventurer Garry Sowerby will model a sou'wester, then tour MacAskill's home. Contact: Eva Landry, 902-535-2531

LeNoir Forge Museum, Arichat Sunday, June 6, noon-12:30 p.m. Watch the blacksmith work iron in the forge, guess about some items in the collection, see three types of bellows, and learn about hoisting a bull for shoeing. Contact: Donna Boudreau, 902-226-9364

EVANGELINE TRAIL

Firefighters Museum of Nova Scotia, Yarmouth Thursday, June 10, 9 a.m.-9:45 a.m. Race to suit up in a firefighter's outfit and find answers to Heritage Hunt. Contact: David Darby, 902-742-5525

Yarmouth County Museum, Yarmouth Thursday, June 10, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Yarmouth shanty men sing sea shanties. See the showcase piano-player machine and other neat items. Contact: Eric Ruff, 902-742-5539

Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, Annapolis Royal Thursday, June 10, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Visit the Funky Museum Fair or get a special guided tour of the gardens where a variety of activities just outside the gardens, including scallop shell arts and crafts will be offered.
Contact: Trish Fry, 902-532-7018

North Hills Museum, Annapolis Royal Thursday, June 10, 2:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Learn about the Acadian heritage surrounding North Hills Museum. Contact: John Kirby, 902-532-2168

Prescott House Museum, Port Williams Thursday, June 10, 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Enjoy Funky Fun at Prescott House. Contact: Ken Clark, 902-542-3984

Old Kings Courthouse Museum, Kentville Thursday, June 10, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. The Kings Historical Society will showcase Courtroom Chaos --Trial by Laughter. Other area museums will join in the fun. Contact: Bria Stokesbury, 902-678-6237

Haliburton House Museum, Windsor Friday, June 11, 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Meet a '90s version of Sam Slick, sit on a penny farthing bicycle, see an exhibit on hockey. Contact: Debbie Woodman, 902-798-2915

Uniacke Estate Museum Park, Mount Uniacke Friday, June 11, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Adventurer Garry Sowerby will be welcomed by schoolchildren. Play games from the 1800s, including stilts, hoops and graces. Take a quick trip down one of Uniacke's scenic trails to the funky whale bones, or to the ha-ha wall, then try to play a conch shell like a trumpet. Contact: Goldie Robertson, 902-866-0032

GLOOSCAP TRAIL

Lawrence House Museum, Maitland Friday, June 11, 1:30 p.m.-2 p.m. Find out the story behind a four-person outhouse and other funky facts at Lawrence House Museum.
Contact: Joseph Levy, 902-261-2628

Colchester Historical Museum Archives, Truro Friday, June 11, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. The Funky Bicycle Parade. Everyone is invited to dress up and decorate their bicycles. Adventurer Garry Sowerby will judge the participants and choose the funkiest. Contact: Penny Lighthall, 902-895-6284

Fundy Geological Museum, Parrsboro Friday, June 11, 6 p.m. Funky Talk by Garry Sowerby, professional adventurer, on travelling around the ancient continent of Pangaea. Then, take a look at models of some of the world's oldest dinosaurs. Contact: Ken Adams, 902-254-3814

LIGHTHOUSE TRAIL

Ross Farm Museum, New Ross Tuesday, June 8, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Area chicken-owners are invited to bring their funkiest chicken to compete in the Funky Chicken Contest at Ross Farm Museum. Garry Sowerby, professional adventurer, will judge the contest. Then, learn about the many heritage breeds of animals at Ross Farm Museum. Contact: Allan Hiltz, 902-689-2210

Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, Lunenburg Tuesday, June 8, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Hear fishing superstitions, launch a model boat, race a remote control boat, fillet some fish, and tie a funky "monkey's fist" knot. Contact: Jim Tupper, 902-634-4794

DesBrisay Museum, Bridgewater Wednesday, June 9, 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Witness a series of four funky competitions focused on Nova Scotia's history in the Lunenburg County Heritage Quadrathon. Competitions include a tea cup steeplechase, a wooden ox pull, a mount temple potato race, and the water-powered wheel of misfortune. Teams from area museums, the Bridgewater Town Centennial Society and the community will compete with a team from the Funky Museum Roadshow entourage. Contact: Gary Selig, 902-543-4033

Perkins House Museum, Liverpool Wednesday, June 9, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Take part in the Funky Museum Fair and make a sheep to take home, play old-fashioned games, or see a privateer militia demonstration. Contact: Linda Rafuse, 902-354-4058

Dory Shop Museum, Shelburne Wednesday, June 9, 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Take part in dory-racing fun in the Market Square, next door to the Dory Shop Museum. Meet costumed interpreters and members of the Prince of Wales Regiment.
Contact: Gloria Beuree, 902-875-3141

Old Meeting House Museum, Barrington Woolen Mill, Barrington Wednesday, June 9, 3 p.m.-3:40 p.m. Merriment, matrimony, military and mermaids at the Old Meeting House. Contact: Brenda Maxwell, 902-637-2185

Mus‚e acadien de Pubnico-ouest, West Pubnico Wednesday, June 9, 4:15 p.m.-5 p.m. Learn a traditional Acadian song or whittle a lobster peg. See old photos of community life, play the Photo-Find game, or enjoy the 125 baskets on display. Contact: Bernice d'Entremont, 902-762-3380

MARINE DRIVE

Whitman House Museum and Grassy Island National Historic Site, Canso Sunday, June 6, 2:40 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Funky Fun in Canso. Contact: Martha Kavanaugh, 902-366-2170

Sherbrooke Village Sunday, June 6, 7 p.m. start, and Monday, June 7, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Professional adventurer Garry Sowerby delivers a talk Sunday in the exhibit centre entitled A Funky Thing Happened on the Way to the Museum. On Monday, you can see a penny farthing bicycle ride, grind your own coffee in a hand-grinder, watch blacksmith demonstrations, or throw a pot in the pottery studio.
Contact: James Anderson, 902-522-2400

Fisherman's Life Museum, Jeddore Oyster Pond Monday, June 7, 1:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Venture down to the wharf to make an eel pot or try your hand at using a bucket to fetch water from the well. Experience the life of a traditional fisherman. Contact: Martha Monk, 902-889-2053

Musquodoboit Railway Museum, Musquodoboit Harbour Monday, June 7, 2:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Grab some paint and join museum staff and the Funky Museum Roadshow entourage in painting railway scenes on panels for the museum. Send signals over the telegraph system and blow some train whistles. Contact: John Verlinden, 902-889-3168

HALIFAX TRAIL

Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, Dartmouth Monday, June 7, 3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Meet Kwasi Dunyo, master drummer and dancer from Ghana. Contact: Henry Bishop, 902-434-6223

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax Monday, June 7, 7 p.m. A Voyage of a Different Sort: Garry Sowerby's Peregrinations. Around-the-world adventures and thrills are the subject of Mr. Sowerby's talk. Contact: Gerry Lunn, 902-424-8793

Museum of Natural History, Halifax Tuesday, June 8, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Learn to identify Bugs on the Grill and Tracks of Travel when the Museum of Natural History hosts the Funky Museum Fair. Visiting museums invite kids to dress up in Victorian-era military costumes, learn to make a traditional bunchmat and find out why science is funky.