The Rideau Lakes Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee (MHAC) says it has continued a successful partnership with local historian and filmmaker Alison Margot Smith to create yet another new documentary, this time sharing works by the late Clifford Pennock. early 1900s Rideau Lakes photographer and visual storyteller.
Organizers say a free public film screening will be held on Friday, August 25 from 2pm to 4pm at the Old Town Hall in Delta. Two short historical documentary films will be presented by filmmaker Alison Margot Smith, with a question and answer session for each film.
The first documentary to be shown is titled “Taverns and their keepers” which was released earlier this year. “This film examines the Lombardy and Rideau Ferry taverns that were important stopping points for the traveling public in the early and mid-1800s. These were also places where travelers and local residents conducted business and socialized. And as elsewhere in Upper Canada, taverns were places where sometimes there could be trouble,” says filmmaker Alison Margot Smith.
The second film to be screened, “Yours Truly, Clifford Pennock” tells the story of a talented and prolific photographer, born in Elgin, who captured the life and times of the early 1900s in the Rideau Lakes.
“Yours Truly, Clifford Pennock” is the newest documentary and the fifth in a series of historical films. Other documentaries include “The Beverley Riots and a Death in Philipsville” (2022), “Fettercairn: WWI on Indian Lake” (2021) and “Rideau Canal: The Big Breakthrough” (2021) featuring Newboro, Narrows Locks and Upper Rideau Lake . All films can be viewed on the Council’s YouTube channel or on the website at rideaulakes.ca/documentaries.
Mayor Arie Hoogenboom remarked, “The Township is full of fascinating stories and this film depicts the rich cultural history of the Rideau Lakes. Congratulations and thanks to all the volunteers on the MHAC Committee for producing these documentaries.”
With files from CFRA’s Connor Ray
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