THUNDER BAY — The Great Rendezvous is back at Fort William Historical Park after a decade break.
While celebrating the park's 50th year, there will be showcases of the history of the fur trade in the region with reenactments, interactive demonstrations and knowledge sharing on several topics. The Great Rendezvous will occur over nine days from July 8-16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Park general manager Patrick Morash is excited to bring the event back after it has been on hiatus for the last dozen years and with lots of partners from across the region and the world.
"It's absolutely thrilling the fact that we have more than 70 partners from not only Thunder Bay but the region and internationally, we've got participants coming from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Manitoba," he said.
Morash said there will be more than 200 re-enactors at the park "to get a sense of the heyday of the park or of the fort in the 1800s".
Ontario's Lieutenant Governor, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, will be presenting the James Bartleman Indigenous Youth Creative Writing Awards, which recognizes Indigenous youths writing talents. Other presentations include one from Environment Canada's Senior Climatologist, David Phillips, and a presentation about nature and wildlife photography from Travis Novitsky, who hails from Grand Portage Anishinaabe Nation. Both of those presentations are free to attend.
More details on the event can be found on the historical park's website.
