Fort Edmonton Park Proposed Expansion - Initial Reaction
Being out of the country as I am, I unfortunately missed the meeting on the proposed expansion to Fort Edmonton Park this week, but was fortunate enough to be linked to the information online.
Now, some of you may have realized that I've worked at Fort Edmonton the past few years. It's no secret that I love the place possibly too much. (NO, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE, MY LOVE OF FORT EDMONTON KNOWS NO BOUNDS.) The proposed expansions include a hugely extended indigenous history section (near the 1846 fort where I've worked the past two summers) and to the 1920s Midway (where I began three years ago). As a former (and hopefully future?) employee, working five days a week in these places, some issues came up again and again. I'm not pretending to be an expert, but based on my experience I am very pleased with some of the changes that they're hoping to make.
First, let me talk about the indigenous area. I want to state first off that I believe any expansion to this area of our portrayal of history at the park is a good idea. At the moment, we do the most in 1846, with our (sadly) small Cree camp and portrayal of (mostly Métis) fur traders' wives and daughters in the fort itself. We touch upon aboriginal history in other eras - notably last year with the inclusion of the first aboriginal police officer on 1905 street - but such history is noticeably few and far between after you leave 1846. I'm not going to pretend the fort era is perfect - it's not - which is why I'm so pleased at the ideas of expansion.
I quite liked that they framed the mission statement in terms of a Cree word - pehonan. I do wish they had been a bit more clear in its meaning. I believe it to be "The spirit of coming together with good minds and good hearts to celebrate and know one another", which I can definitely get on board with. It's good that in the mission statement they touch (however briefly) upon the practical - such as integrating our history with the Alberta school curriculum - along with meaty issues like inconsistencies between oral histories and "official", written histories, as well as controversial topics regarding the negative treatment of indigenous peoples throughout their history.
The birdseye view of the potential expansion near the fort (slide eight) made me smile. It looks amazing on screen, and I can only hope it translates well into reality. I think that the idea of four separate trails with four separate topics is brilliant. (As someone who studied and researched the history of medicine, I approve of the "Medicine and Plant" trail a lot!) And of course any increase in First Nations interpreters - especially storytellers! - would be amazing. I also like that a visitor would pass through these trails first before reaching the fort from the train. It should be one of the first things people see when beginning their visit.
I worry a bit that the ampitheatre could become too much like a commercialized show, separating the indigenous interpreter as a performer on display and not a real person or historical figure. Then again, I do love storytelling, and aboriginal creation myths and other legends and historical events are absolutely fascinating. I think that it has the potential to be done really well if effort is made. A shapeshifting storyteller would be epic, but speaking as someone who has worked in a similar position, rapid costume changes, even with breaks between shows, has the potential to be exhausting for the storyteller.
Loathe am I always to admit that we need to be commercialized in a museum, I think a restaurant at that end of the park would be beneficial, especially if they produced indigenous fare. I always had to direct hungry visitors to Jasper House on 1885 street and such, or had to fend off visitors who wanted to take giant chunks of bannock or heaping cupfuls of my carefully cooked stew. It was not my job to feed visitors whole meals, but to give them a small sample of the end product in which it was the process, really, that was the most important. I like the idea of visitors in the restaurant having a choice between a table or a blanket, though I imagine that the latter may have some logistical difficulties if you get enough people. How often would you have to clean them? Once a day? More often?
A gift shop with more culturally appropriate gifts - and stock more relevant to the park as a whole - would be welcomed, I think. I also saw that they might be selling things made at the park, which brings to mind all of the times that visitors have asked me if we sell the beadwork I was doing in the park somewhere. As long as we're not expected to meet a quota, I think it could work!
I approve of an expansion to the out of the way and ignored Métis cabin on the backroad of 1885 street. I think it serves as an ed programmer space at the moment? In any case, we should also make use of existing buildings!
I heartily approve of the idea of having someone portray Louise Umfrieville, John Rowand's Métis wife (though she was by all accounts very Cree in her manner). I'm really surprised that more has not been done with Peter Erasmus on 1885 street before now, too. We have this Métis interpreter's cabin, after all! Other historical figures, like Papaschase, and characters, like an aboriginal serving girl on 1905, would add an extra layer to the park. Of course, any increase in the number of interpreters is fine by me! (I have no ulterior motives whatsoever!)
Now, onto the Midway expansion!
I worked in the Midway during my first season at the park, as did so many of us. Every year it has been improved in a myriad of small ways. As it stands, it is very much incomplete and most of the time, I think, it lacks the atmosphere a real midway would have had today or in the 1920s.
Even small things in this proposal, like rearranging the game booths to be clustered closer together and moving the retail store so it isn't hidden behind the carousel would make a huge difference to the feel of the midway. I think that a maze would be amazing - permanent aspects combined with temporary ones would strike a perfect balance between durability and enough mutability to keep locals coming back for a new experience. A mirror maze would be really fun and probably fairly easy to maintain as well!
As someone who doesn't do well with modern rides in which my feet go over my head, I like the idea of including more historical rides along the lines of the swing ride. It's totally my favourite kind, aside from the Ferris Wheel the park already possesses, and would also provide an excellent view, and a wonderful breeze on hot days.
One of the issues that always came up when I was on the Midway was the fact that we had signs above the tents advertising for a sideshow, but no actual show. Many a time, I would see visitors wander gleefully into the (totally empty) tents, then sadly wander out thirty seconds later. Having an actual show to address the fascinating and sometimes unsavory underbelly of carnivals would be really appealing to me. Hey, I would pay to see Spidora. She definitely falls into the "so bad it's good" range of manufactured freaks! A knife thrower would be really entertaining as well, though what would the insurers say?
I think it would be really amazing to have a real Wild West Show, too, but wouldn't it be difficult to keep up the energy and enthusiasm seven days a week? Would it perhaps be a weekend and special event day only thing?
Finally, in conclusion, I would also be first in line for a balloon ride, no lie.
Kudos to everyone involved in this project so far!