We look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Heritage Mica Festival! Information about festival events will be updated here on a regular basis. If you want to receive monthly news bulletins, please email us at eventsmurphys@ripnet.com and put UPDATES in the subject line. You may unsubscribe at any time and we never sell or trade email lists.

Opportunities are available in 2012 for musicians, heritage trades, character actors and volunteers of all ages (including students needing community service hours). Please contact us for information.

Volunteers receive free admission to the park for the time(s) of their assigned shifts. The Volunteer Registration Form is available here. Depending on your assigned task, we will find you a heritage costume to wear, provide you with a festival t-shirt and have the relevant police checks completed.

2012 HERITAGE MICA FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
(Descriptions, Times and Prices follow the schedule.) 

Sunday June 24	Voyageur Canoe Tours, Heritage Lunch and Strawberry Social
Friday July 13	Spirit Walks
Wednesday July 18	Dinner/Theatre at the Silver Queen Mine and Miners’ Bunkhouse
Friday July 20	Story Telling at the Campfire Pit
Saturday July 21	Lally Homestead Heritage Day and Local Market
Friday August 3	Story Telling at the Campfire Pit
Saturday August 4	Lally Homestead Heritage Day and Local Market
Saturday August 11	Be a Miner for a Day
Wednesday August 15	Dinner/Theatre at the Silver Queen Mine and Miners’ Bunkhouse
Sunday August 19	Voyageur Canoe Tours and Heritage Breakfast
Friday August 24	Spirit Walks
Saturday September 1	Be a Miner for a Day
Saturday October 6	Heritage Walk Mine Tour and Thanksgiving Dinner at the Miners’ Bunkhouse

NOTES:

1) Entry to all Heritage Mica Festival events requires one of the following park entry
permits:

a) Day Use Pass ($14.00 per car; $11.00 per car senior rate; $7.00 per car
disabled rate) available at the park gate;
OR
b) Ontario Parks Summer Annual Pass ($107.50 available on-line at
www.ontarioparks.com or at the park gate);
OR
c) Current camping pass to any one of the Ontario Parks

2) Some festival components have an entry or participation fee (details included below).

DESCRIPTION OF HERITAGE MICA FESTIVAL EVENTS

Voyageur Canoe Tours
(June 24 and August 19)
Join our costumed interpreters in a Voyageur Canoe as you paddle your way around Hogg Bay and learn the history of the early settlers of this area. Hear stories of the Lally, Murphy and McParlan families. Learn about homesteading, mining and lumbering in this area in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. Each canoe takes 18 paddlers and we are equipped for all ages. The Voyageur Canoe tours leave from the main beach area at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on scheduled dates (above) with free parking available. Each tour lasts about 1 hour.

Cost is just $3.00 per person or 4 people for $10.00. Advance ticket purchases are
recommended (eventsmurphys@ripnet.com or phone 613-267-5340). Remember you also need a park entry permit for your vehicle (see note above).

On Sunday June 24 tour day, a Heritage Lunch and Strawberry Social will be available on the beach from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. so you can enjoy a meal either before or after your tour. Fee charged.

On Sunday August 19 tour day, a Heritage Breakfast will be served on the beach from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Fee charged.

Spirit Walks
(July 13 and August 24)

The Silver Queen Mine operated in the early 1900′s and was a commercial source of mica used for lantern glass, insulation and axle grease. The mine has been declared on of the “Seven Wonders of Lanark County” and provides a unique opportunity to experience life as a miner from the early 20th century. Meet character actors from the past during our theatre performance along the mine trail. The Spirit Walk includes a visit in the underground mine and the miners’ bunkhouse.

Spirit Walks start promptly at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. from the parking area at the Lally Homestead (about a 20 minute drive from the park gate). The cost for the Spirit Walk is $2.00 per person for campers or $20.00 per car (which includes the park entry fee for non-campers). Advance tickets are recommended (eventsmurphys@ripnet.com or phone: 613-267-5340).

Join a small group for this truly one-of-a-kind experience! Your evening starts at the Lally Homestead Parking Lot where you will be met by members of the Lally family from about the year 1900. Let these early settlers guide you through a theatre presentation that unfolds along the Silver Queen Mine trail, taking you back to the heyday of the mine. The light from mica lanterns will take you underground to the mine chamber where you will come to understand the hardships of these mica miners.

After emerging from the coolness of the mine, make your way to the adjacent miners’
bunkhouse where a fabulous dinner awaits in the tradition of the times. “Cookie” will maintain law and order as you find a place at the trestle table. Enjoy traditional fare while being entertained by itinerant musicians. Who knows, some of the spirits of the mine may join you at dinner! After dinner, you will return to your car aided by the light of mica lanterns.

Maximum capacity for this Dinner/Theatre experience is 36 people so advance tickets are
required. Tickets are $55 per person which includes your park entry permit. Note that it is about a 1 km walk each way from the parking area along the trail so you must be able to walk that distance.

For further information or to order tickets, please contact us at eventsmurphys@ripnet.com or
phone 613-267-5340.

Story Telling at the Campfire Pit
(July 2o & August 3)

Join us at 7:30 p.m. at the Campfire Pit (near the park amphitheatre) for stories around the campfire! This location is tucked into the trees and it’s not unusual to see a deer ambling by or a porcupine up a tree. Let your imagination take you away as some of our favourite story-tellers like Bear the Tinker spin their magic. No admission charge for the story telling, but you do need a park entry permit for your car.

Why not make good use of your park entry permit and come to the park earlier in the day to enjoy the beach, playground and hiking trails through the afternoon? We will be roasting hot dogs at the campfire pit starting at 6:00 for those who want to come early. Donations requested for the hot dogs.

Lally Homestead Heritage Day and Local Market
(July 21 and August 4)

The Lally Homestead is the site for this full day of activities. You can get your park entry permit at the main park gate before driving over to the Lally Homestead (about a 20 minute drive). At the Lally site, you will find the original log homestead and drive shed buildings as well as the stone foundation of the Lally barn.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. wander the homestead grounds and visit a wide variety of heritage craftsmen. There will be displays of heritage trades such as lace-making, spinning, weaving, canning, rope-making and animal husbandry. Some of these tradespeople will also have their wares for sale. Heritage musicians and story tellers will keep you entertained. Kids of all ages can take part in traditional games. There is a short cultural hike through the Lally property by “Ma Lally” who will tell you about life growing up on the homestead. Be sure to enjoy the heritage lunch available for sale served in a tent outside the drive shed.

There is no fee to attend the Lally Homestead Heritage Day but you will need to get your park entry permit for your car at the main park gate.

Be a Miner for a Day
(August 11 and September 1)

Take a self-guided tour along the trail to the Silver Queen Mine and the miners’ bunkhouse. See the restored ore wagon, the boom hoist and the horse whim. Visit the working displays along the trail. Costumed characters will greet you at the mine and the bunkhouse and tell the story of the Silver Queen Mine and traditional musicians will provide lively entertainment. Corn on the cob lunch to be served at the bunkhouse and picnic spots are available outside if you want to bring your own lunch.

The trail and mine are open for your self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no
fee to attend but you will need to get your park entry permit for your car at the main park gate. Modest fee charged for the corn on the cob lunch. Free parking available at the Lally Homestead parking lot for this event.

Heritage Walk Mine Tour and Thanksgiving Dinner at the Miners’ Bunkhouse
(October 6)

Join us for a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner at the bunkhouse on the least weekend of the park season for 2012. Details are still being confirmed. Please let us know at
eventsmurphys@ripnet.com or 613-267-5340 if you are interested in attending.

Sponsors and Funders

Partners

Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization
Rideau Heritage Route Tourism Association
Lanark County Tourism
Perth Museum – Matheson House
Perth and Area History
Classic Theatre Festival
Festivals and Events Ontario
Rideau and District Museum
Victory Farm Alpacas

Thanks to everyone who made the 2011 Heritage Mica Festival a success…. actors, musicians, display trades, theatre professionals, Rideau Round Table, story tellers, interpreters, ticket sellers, cooks, media representatives, partners, sponsors, funders, park staff and volunteers….and especially all the visitors and guests who attended our many activities!

We invite you to click the link below to View our presentation (use the arrows in the black menu bar below the slides to navigate) -

Friends of Murphys Point Park Mica Festival 2011 – Summary

Click here to view a .pdf file of 2011′s Mica Festival