Events
From our great Speaker's Nights featuring experts on local and national history to specialty event programming, our goal is to entertain and educate. Here is a sample of some of the events being held in the coming months. Come join us!
NOTE: OUR SPEAKER's NIGHT SERIES IS AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ETOBICOKE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND AS SUCH, THERE IS LIMITED SEATING. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
NOTE: OUR SPEAKER's NIGHT SERIES IS AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR MEMBERS OF THE ETOBICOKE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND AS SUCH, THERE IS LIMITED SEATING. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
Dear EHS Members,
As a result of the unavailability of Montgomery's Inn's meeting rooms due to renovations, EHS will be moving our speaker's nights to online format until further notice.
Please visit our website regularly for updates on future speaker's nights and how they will be delivered. Existing EHS members will receive the detailed information via email to attend these online LIVE events below. To become a member and receive an invite, please CLICK HERE.
Thanks to everyone for your understanding.
Best Wishes,
The Etobicoke Historical Society
As a result of the unavailability of Montgomery's Inn's meeting rooms due to renovations, EHS will be moving our speaker's nights to online format until further notice.
Please visit our website regularly for updates on future speaker's nights and how they will be delivered. Existing EHS members will receive the detailed information via email to attend these online LIVE events below. To become a member and receive an invite, please CLICK HERE.
Thanks to everyone for your understanding.
Best Wishes,
The Etobicoke Historical Society
Thursday, February 16, 2023 - Speaker's Night: A Stolen Life - Searching for Richard Pierpoint
Richard Pierpoint was a loyalist, soldier, community leader, social justice advocate, and storyteller. As a leader in the early Black Canadian Community, Pierpoint fought and petitioned for causes important to himself, his community and to Canada as a whole. Peter Meyler will reveal Pierpoint’s legacy as a man taken from his home and enslaved as a teenager, who fought for his freedom in two wars and worked to build a Black Community amid prejudice and discrimination.
Peter Meyler is the co-author of A Stolen Life: Searching for Richard Pierpoint. In 2001, Peter edited a reissue of an 1889 book, Broken Shackles: Old Man Hanson From Slavery to Freedom, one of the very few books that documented the journey to Canada from the perspective of a person of African descent. He contributed his research on early Black Canadian pioneer John Daddy Hall as part of a 4-part TV mini-series, BLK: An Origin Story, which aired in February 2022 on History Canada. Peter has written numerous articles about Ontario's black history, which have appeared in such publications as The Beaver, the Toronto Star, Share and Families.
Start Time: 7:30pm ET
Richard Pierpoint was a loyalist, soldier, community leader, social justice advocate, and storyteller. As a leader in the early Black Canadian Community, Pierpoint fought and petitioned for causes important to himself, his community and to Canada as a whole. Peter Meyler will reveal Pierpoint’s legacy as a man taken from his home and enslaved as a teenager, who fought for his freedom in two wars and worked to build a Black Community amid prejudice and discrimination.
Peter Meyler is the co-author of A Stolen Life: Searching for Richard Pierpoint. In 2001, Peter edited a reissue of an 1889 book, Broken Shackles: Old Man Hanson From Slavery to Freedom, one of the very few books that documented the journey to Canada from the perspective of a person of African descent. He contributed his research on early Black Canadian pioneer John Daddy Hall as part of a 4-part TV mini-series, BLK: An Origin Story, which aired in February 2022 on History Canada. Peter has written numerous articles about Ontario's black history, which have appeared in such publications as The Beaver, the Toronto Star, Share and Families.
Start Time: 7:30pm ET
Thursday, March 20, 2023 - Speaker's Night: Awakening the Dragon - The Dragon Boat Festival
The origins of dragon boat racing lie far back in the mythology of ancient China. Today the dragon boat festival is a celebration of Chinese traditions all over the world. Arlene Chan enjoys talking about the stories and traditions of the annual Dragon Boat Festival but she especially loves sharing her memories about the excitement and joys of dragon boat racing. She is an eight-time gold medalist as a past member of the Canadian National Women's Dragon Boat Team. Paddles Up!
Arlene Chan is an author and award-winning Chinatown historian who has written seven books about the history, culture, and traditions of the Chinese in Canada, some shortlisted for the Ontario Speaker’s Book Award, Heritage Toronto Book Award, Silver Birch Award, and Red Cedar Award. She has written for numerous publications, including the Toronto Star, Spacing Magazine, Ricepaper, Heritage Matters, and The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Start Time: 7:30pm ET
The origins of dragon boat racing lie far back in the mythology of ancient China. Today the dragon boat festival is a celebration of Chinese traditions all over the world. Arlene Chan enjoys talking about the stories and traditions of the annual Dragon Boat Festival but she especially loves sharing her memories about the excitement and joys of dragon boat racing. She is an eight-time gold medalist as a past member of the Canadian National Women's Dragon Boat Team. Paddles Up!
Arlene Chan is an author and award-winning Chinatown historian who has written seven books about the history, culture, and traditions of the Chinese in Canada, some shortlisted for the Ontario Speaker’s Book Award, Heritage Toronto Book Award, Silver Birch Award, and Red Cedar Award. She has written for numerous publications, including the Toronto Star, Spacing Magazine, Ricepaper, Heritage Matters, and The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Start Time: 7:30pm ET
Thursday, April 20, 2022 - Speaker's Night: The Toronto Circus Riot - A True Tale of Sex, Violence, Corruption and Clowns
The strangest riot in our city’s history broke out in the summer of 1855. It was sparked by a brawl at a King Street brothel, when some rowdy clowns picked a fight with a battle-hardened crew of firefighters on the most dangerous night of the year. That bizarre encounter would reverberate through the city. The circus performers had made a terrible mistake; those firefighters were members of the Orange Order, the powerful Protestant society that ruled Toronto for more than a century. And they wanted revenge. The circus grounds would soon become the scene of a bloody clash that shook Toronto to its core and laid bare the fault lines that once violently divided our city.
Adam Bunch is an award-winning storyteller who brings the history of Toronto and Canada to life. He's the author of The Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, the host of the Canadiana documentary series, and the creator of the Toronto Dreams Project. He's taught history at George Brown College and created writing workshops for the Toronto Public Library. He's spoken at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum, and his writing has appeared in The Toronto Star, Spacing Magazine and The Huffington Post. His work popularizing Canadian history was recognized with an honourable mention for a Governor General's Award in 2012.
Start Time: 7:30pm ET
The strangest riot in our city’s history broke out in the summer of 1855. It was sparked by a brawl at a King Street brothel, when some rowdy clowns picked a fight with a battle-hardened crew of firefighters on the most dangerous night of the year. That bizarre encounter would reverberate through the city. The circus performers had made a terrible mistake; those firefighters were members of the Orange Order, the powerful Protestant society that ruled Toronto for more than a century. And they wanted revenge. The circus grounds would soon become the scene of a bloody clash that shook Toronto to its core and laid bare the fault lines that once violently divided our city.
Adam Bunch is an award-winning storyteller who brings the history of Toronto and Canada to life. He's the author of The Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, the host of the Canadiana documentary series, and the creator of the Toronto Dreams Project. He's taught history at George Brown College and created writing workshops for the Toronto Public Library. He's spoken at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum, and his writing has appeared in The Toronto Star, Spacing Magazine and The Huffington Post. His work popularizing Canadian history was recognized with an honourable mention for a Governor General's Award in 2012.
Start Time: 7:30pm ET