MARGARET ATWOOD - November 22, 2011

Margaret Atwood Hamilton Central Library 55 York Boulevard

It’s not every day you get to be in the presence of a literary icon. As an English major graduate and having a lifelong love of literature in general, I was beyond thrilled to get the opportunity to attend Margaret Atwood’s appearance at Central Library. The visit to Hamilton came about as a retaliation of sorts, with our mayor Bob Bratina extending an open invitation to Atwood after controversies in Toronto surrounding public libraries singled out the legendary Canadian author in particular. After emails and a little game of Twitter-tag, Atwood accepted the offer and the visit was a go.

During her day spent in the City, Atwood was taken to Hamilton landmarks such as Dundurn Castle and Cootes Paradise, with the event at Central Library rounding out the tour. During her talk at the library, Atwood mentioned these stops and said she regretted not seeing the inside of a steel mill, which was also on her to-do list, adding that she will perhaps get to that on her next visit. Here at the I Heart Hamilton Tour, we were even contacted by a reporter from the Hamilton division of OpenFile (which, sadly, has now recently been discontinued) to get our take on where we would recommend Atwood visit. We always have lots of ideas - let us know when you visit our beloved city again, Margaret!

With about 300 people in attendance, the event was up on the fourth floor of the library. There was a small stage set up and monitors were positioned along the sides of the audience which helped everybody to see. Bratina said a few words, welcoming Atwood, and joked that if he did nothing else as mayor, he would be pleased to be remembered as the one to bring her to Hamilton. Chief Librarian Ken Roberts also spoke before Atwood stepped up to the podium to speak to the audience and read excerpts from her latest book, In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination. She then sat down with Roberts for an interview and they also opened up the floor for a few audience questions. Although the interview was fairly short in order to allow enough time for the book signing, they managed to cover a variety of topics, from the Occupy Movement, to the role of humour in Atwood’s work, to the publishing industry and the state of Canadian literature. It was fascinating to hear Atwood’s thoughts; I wished we could have talked with her longer!

A shot of one of the monitors - Margaret Atwood being interviewed by Chief Librarian Ken Roberts

Atwood was also presented with an Honourary Lifetime Membership to The Hamilton Arts Council, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, is the second largest arts council in Ontario and also one of the oldest. And what would be a visit to our fair city without a taste of one of our scrumptious bakeries? Atwood was given cupcakes for the road that Sweetness Bakery had creatively decorated as different Hamilton landmarks. Upon hearing of her impending visit, locals had tweeted Atwood raving about Hamilton’s many bakeries.

I feel so lucky to have been able to attend this event; it meant a lot to me and I love that I was able to share it here.

- Kristin

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN - September 28, 2011

AGH CIBC Wood Gundy World Film Festival, Hamilton Central Library 55 York Boulevard

Read about my first festival screening earlier in the week - Project Nim.

For my second and final screening from the AGH World Film Festival, I decided to attend one of the free showings downtown at Central Library. It was great to see that so many films were offered as free screenings at the library - I hope people took advantage of the opportunity to watch some fantastic films that wouldn’t normally be shown in larger theatres. It was also another reason to revisit the newly renovated Central Library, which was a brief tour stop for us back in May.

This time around, I managed to spot something we missed then. High up on a wall of the lobby inside the Jackson Square entrance to the library, there is an impressive art installation by Canadian artist Micah Lexier entitled “Said the Source”. The quotation, “I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the whole story” struck me immediately when I saw it - it just resonated with me in that moment and I was intrigued by what it could mean. Not to mention the English Major in me was delighted by the editing notes around it. Upstairs, there is a plaque to accompany the installation, which was first commissioned in 1989, describing its meaning. In short, the quotation was taken from a newspaper article and the piece “honours the art of book production”. The description also acknowledges that the quotation, “can reveal a variety of meanings.” I’m so glad I found this little hidden gem and I encourage others to go have a look at it in person; a photo does not do it justice.

Art installation in Central Library by Micah Lexier

Onto the film - after thoughtfully pondering the art of book production, I appropriately chose to see Waiting for “Superman”, directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. The documentary takes an in-depth look at America’s education system and the outcome was shocking. The film presents staggering statistics concerning public schools and shows how corrupt and complicated the system is. Following several young students and their families, Guggenheim weaves together their stories and also interviews educators and others in government positions. The interviews are interspersed with Guggenheim’s voice-overs narrating shocking statistics over simple graphics which emphasize their gravity. The film covers many different states and cities as examples, demonstrating this issue is a national crisis and is not limited to specific cities or areas.

One point that struck me in particular was the dismantling of the common belief that certain inner-city neighbourhoods are bad environments which result in bad grades. The film poses that it is actually the other way around - children are being poorly educated, and this negatively affects their surroundings. When students thrive, so do their communities. Many schools are shockingly referred to as “dropout factories” and it is revealed how oppressive the system is; children are not being given a fair chance.


Further showing the injustice of the education system, the documentary builds to its climax of various lotteries that take place in many different schools to determine students’ admissions. The young, hopeful, bright-eyed children who we have been following throughout the film must await their fate among hundreds of others who are vying for the same spot in a school. For many, gaining entrance to that particular school is their only chance for getting an education, getting the chance for post-secondary education, and the chance for a better life. It is a gripping and emotional sequence.

The education system is in dire need of work to turn things around and, while the film leaves you feeling pretty hopeless and at a loss for what can be done, the film also spotlights a few individuals who offer hope and change. Geoffrey Canada is one of those inspiring people and he effectively bookends the film. These remarkable individuals remind us of how one person truly can make a difference, even if it is on the individual level, one child at a time.

This film made me appreciate how lucky I am to have received the education I have. It made the lesson even more poignant that I got to screen this film in a library, obviously a vital educational tool. Speaking of which, Waiting for “Superman” is available to borrow from the Hamilton Public Library, and I highly recommend that you do.

- Kristin

DOWN TO THE MARKET - May 19, 2011

Farmers’ Market 35 York Boulevard
Central Library 55 York Boulevard

During the last few tour stops, there had been a number of references to all things fiesta, from cake snake to tequila to maracas to arrrrrribaaaa! As such, May was deemed ‘fiesta’ month and what better way to prepare for a fiesta than to incorporate TWO tour stops in one outing?? The four of us had a post-exam fiesta last May where we each made a dish and met up for a night of food, drink, karaoke and pin the moustache on the mariachi (yes, that is a real game). This year though, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun if instead of making food separately and meeting up, we got together, cooked food and made drinks, all from scratch??” After discussing it with the gang to see if they’d fancy having a cooking day, we made a plan, a rather brilliant plan: we’d check out the newly renovated Hamilton Farmers’ market downtown and pick up all the necessary ingredients there and pop by the also newly renovated Hamilton Public Library next door afterwards! This was also Jenny’s first tour stop which made it a rather special occasion.

After meeting up at the car park (please note that I’ve been told by Carly to throw in as many British/colonial/what have you references as possible throughout the entirety of the tour, so for those who don’t know what that is, well, it’s a parking lot) and realizing we only had ONE hour to shop, we rushed over to the Farmers’ Market ready to explore. Somehow I was designated the role of listmaker and listchecker so after entering the market, I pulled out my notebook and pen as the others waited dutifully awaiting their assignments. So began Operation Farmers’ Market! Cue the James Bond theme, or whatever spy theme you see fit, or one of those songs you often hear in movie trailers, like Requiem for a Dream. Tick tock, tick tock…

We’d read through Jenny’s recipe book and had selected recipes that sounded simply fab and were feasible to make in the time we had. After surveying our surroundings, we thought it best to start with produce. We managed to find nearly everything except for the ever mysterious and evasive tomatillos. After a quick Google search on my super snazzy smartphone, we were on the hunt, determined not to rest till we found them, along with two peppers we needed: poblano and serrano. Okay, maybe me moreso than the others.

We made our way to the cheese section, then headed down the stairs trying our best to navigate through the different stalls and take it all in. So many stalls, so little time and so much to see and check out! The Farmers’ Market features local vendors that sell a variety of foods and goods ranging from British to Greek to Indian as well as clothing and flowers. It’s a very popular spot in Hamilton and a great way to support the locals. We had a funny encounter with a gentleman who was selling pitas and began listing off the many ways of eating pita bread in some sort of Greek accent. Definitely a highlight of the market. After a few walks around the market, we managed to find everything on the list, even those evasive peppers and tomatillos. Though really we figured, even if we didn’t find the tomatillo, it wouldn’t be the end of the world…as they say, banana, banahna, tomato, tomahto, tomatillo…tomatahlo?? Same thing at the end of the day, no?

We headed over to the library which was a rather interesting venture. The library had also adopted a modern, sleek and rather futuristic look, all white and glass windows. The four of us took a stroll through, noting the decor and furniture as well as photographs featuring historic spots and locations in Hamilton. Some of the decor added a pop of neon colour to the white backdrop and so began another photoshoot.

We made it back to the car drop just in the nick of time and headed over to my place to get the fiesta started in true Hamiltonian style!

-Avishka

Outside view of Farmers’ Market and Central Library

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