1st Anne of Green Gables Parade, Cavendish

     We didn't have an Anne of Green Gables Parade this year, however, I'm posting some photos from the first parade we held on a sunny summer's day.
     I was asked to bring together 12 period costumes for The Ladies of Avonlea portrayed by ladies from the Red Hat Society, Kensington Branch.  Also we made costumes for pirates worn by a half dozen young men and women.  As if we didn't already have enough to do we topped it off by designing and building a float depicting L.M. Montgomery in her Cavendish Home looking out over the countryside of Cavendish.
     Here's a variety of photos from the parade.

Above:  here Lucille and I put the finishing touches to the LMM float - three other friends, David, Anne and Carter are working hard on the other side.

Above:  the float is ready to go - we were up half the night painting the lettering on the cloths.

Above:  we made costumes for the young people depicting pirates.  Yes, pirates visited Cavendish in the 1800's.

Above: the horse and carriage with local residents in costume is ready to go.

The parade starts with a banner and children of Cavendish in costume tossing candy into the crowd.

The children's costumes were by others.

Below: school themed float - costumes by others.

 Below: ladies on horseback wearing our costumes.

 Our pirates are of the friendly nature :-)

 Below:  here I am on the left with the banner in advance of our float.

"Were it not for those Cavendish years I do not think Anne of Green Gables would ever have been written." - L.M.M.

Below:  we also made this sign from a couple sheets of plywood - Carter plotted the design and we glued it on.

"What a small big world it is" Over 50 million copies of Anne of Green Gables around the world.

Below: the Ladies of Avonlea (aka Red Hat Society ladies) wearing our period costumes suited to the times of Anne of Green Gables.

Not all the ladies wore period shoes - their parade walk was near 2 miles.

  The End!

An Anniversary for Romantics

Many thanks to The Montgomery Theatre for including an article on the Trousseau Project in this Summer's Playbill.  Below is a scan of the article and some information about the theatre.

For more information on the threatre go to:  http://www.themontgomerytheatre.com/

Anne of Green Gables Puffed Sleeve Dress

In the spring of 2008 we decided to re-create Anne of Green Gables puffed sleeve dress to reflect the image found in Lucy Maud Montgomery's scrapbook.  The dress was displayed with a collection of memorabilia at the Confederation Center of the Arts to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables.

Below:  Here I am setting up the dress at the Confederation Center of the Arts in advance to the rest of the display.

Below is a picture taken from L.M.Montgomery's scrapbook.  On occasion she would use her scrapbook for inspiration and likely used this to image Anne's puffed sleeve dress.  We based our sleeve dress on this design.



Below:  After I brought the dress home from the Confederation Centre we photographed the puffed sleeve dress in detail in my Living Room - a setting more in keeping with the period of the dress.

"...Anne took the dress and looked at it in reverent silence.  Oh, how pretty it was--a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk; a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings; a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck.  But the sleeves--they were the crowning glory!..."

cf.  Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1908
http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/anne_green_gables/25?term=puffed

Latest additions to my collection

Below is an historic garment given to me recently as a result of reading the article on the LMM Trousseau Project.  I will write more about this later.

Below:  Also an historic neck piece - given to me by a friend who visited last week from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  I'm thankful for these gifts to my collection - they're in good hands.

Lots of Interest in the Trousseau

I've had lots of feedback from recent articles in the media on the reproduction of LM Montgomery's Trousseau.  Many emails and calls - I've also had a few people offer me their vintage garments to add to my collection.  Over the past few years I've gathered a good collection of historic garments and costumes.  Thanks everyone!

It's summertime in Cavendish!

It's been a busy few weeks here at the motel as the tourism season peaks on our beautiful Island.  We enjoy meeting new and returning visitors to our motel.   Daily I meet visitors interested in knowing as much as they can about the life and times of Lucy Maud Montgomery - where she lived and the places she wrote about.

This summer is our 35th season in the tourism business.  Here's a few photos from around our motel - check out our website:  http://www.bayvista.ca/

Below: This is Unit 32.  The Breakfast Room is below with its entrance from the side, opposite the Gazebo.

Below:  the flowers are in full bloom these days at the motel.

Below:  The beautiful beaches of Cavendish!

Below:  There's great beauty in the coastlines of Prince Edward Island - the colours of the blue water, sandy beach and red cliffs are wonderful!

VINTAGE PHOTOS - 1970s

Below are come photos of the motel shortly after we bought it in 1977.  It's amazing to look at the photos and not see a tree - today we have alot of trees around us.

Below:  An old postcard - there have been many changes over the years.

 

 Below:  Inside the house-keeping unit - many updates since this photo.

 Below:  Old photos of the motel. 

 Below:  Back in the late 1970's I also worked at the restaurant below the motel - here's a staff photo!

1989

Below:  This photos was taken in 1989 - the 125th Anniversary of the gathering of the Fathers of Confederation in Charlottetown.  I portrayed Andrew A. MacDonald in many events and performances that summer - here I am with my sister Dianne and her children in the gazebo at the motel.

1899 CAVENDISH

Below:  This is a great photo found in the Public Archives of Prince Edward Island - it's titled, "Camping in Cavendish"