2022 Icelandic National Day Picnic
On June 18th members of the Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto gathered for our annual Icelandic National Day spring picnic event. After two years of virtual gatherings, getting together in person and outside was a welcome change of pace! The sun was out and the air was warm, but a wicked wind blowing across the park reminded us of many days in Iceland.
This year’s picnic was a special affair as we gathered in Kinmount, Ontario, at the site of the 1874 failed Icelandic settlement. While the story of the settlement was almost lost to most of the Icelandic Canadian community, the settler’s descendants, it lived on in Kinmount within some of the local families. Local historian Guy Scott brought the story to the Icelandic Canadian community back in the 1990s and then Don Gislason researched it and published The Icelanders of Kinmount setting in motion the erection of the beautiful monument to the tragedy, In the Presence of a Soul carved by Gudrun Sigursteinsdóttir Girgis in 2000 and our Club’s ongoing connection to that community since.
So this was very fitting for our Club, emerging from the hardships of two years of COVID interruptions and lockdowns to come together to celebrate and commemorate near this important historical site. It was also a great time, loads of food brought as pot luck and partly catered by our President Gwen Sigrid Morgan, games curated by our youth director Katrine Handley-Derry and music courtesy of Nicholas Dodds.
The event kicked off with an opportunity to visit the Kinmount farmers market. Before lunch, some of the heartier in the group set off on the 7km hike from the monument park along the old rail line to visit the site of the failed Icelandic settlement, and the rail bridge that those pioneers helped construct. After lunch the group visited the monument with remarks by both Gwen Morgan and Guy Scott, toured the model train museum and the special Icelandic display at the Heritage Centre, and then moved on to enjoy a private tour arranged by Guy of the unique movie and pop culture curios collections at the Highland Cinema and Cat House.
All and all a fantastic way to spend a beautiful spring day, enjoying the company of friends, revisiting our heritage and learning a little bit more about the community of Kinmount. Many thanks to Gwen, Katrine and Siobhan for organizing the event, to Gwen and Mark Handley-Derry and other volunteers who worked tirelessly to clean up the monument site prior to the event, to Guy for the giving of his time to us and to all the people of Kinmount who welcomed us so openly.
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