The year 2017 marks some important anniversaries in Canadian history: Canada’s 150th birthday as a nation and the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge – a battle that historians describe as a defining moment in the development of Canada as an independent nation.
2019 is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day and Normandy landings. To commemorate these important anniversaries, the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the travelling exhibit From Vimy to Juno this December.
The exhibit will be in the main gallery space from Dec. 20, 2017, to Feb. 16, 2018, with an opening event planned for December 20th at 6 p.m. (everyone welcome — entry by donation). From Vimy to Juno is a bilingual travelling exhibition that was developed by the Juno Beach Centre in partnership with the Vimy Foundation with the generous support of the Department of Canadian Heritage. It examines Canada’s role in the First and Second World Wars, anchored on the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 and the D-Day landings on Juno Beach in June 1944.
The exhibit brings personal stories of the men and women who experienced firsthand these nation-defining moments in Canadian history, while at the same time examining Canada as a nation from 1914 to 1945.
To complement these Canada-wide stories, the Museum is putting together local and regional stories to connect the exhibition to the stories from here. 2017 also marks the 120th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Rossland. From 1914 to 1945, Rossland and region experienced significant changes of its own — with the shift from employment in mining to working at the smelter and the development of skiing on Red Mountain.
In From Vimy to Juno, explore the impacts that local people made on the battlefront and the home front, and also the ways that Rossland and the region changed over these significant decades. The exhibit will be accessible to the public during regular opening hours with regular admission rates apply.
Tours and class visits can be scheduled outside these hours. Pedagogical resources in English and French are available for teachers. As well, the Rossland Museum will be a borrowing point for the Supply Line Kit on loan to us from the Canadian War Museum in February. Teachers will be able to book this kit free of charge from the Museum from Feb. 8 to 21.
The Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre is grateful for financial support from the Nelson & District Credit Union, and to the local Legions, Seniors, community members, the CAF Kemball Armoury in Trail, and Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History for their contributions.
The Museum is open year-round — winter hours are Wednesday to Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Email: info@rosslandmuseum.ca Website: www.rosslandmuseum.ca
