Tent Dwellers festival closing

Albert Bigelow Paine wrote The Tent Dwellers, which tells the story of a canoe and trout-fishing trip through the interior of southwestern Nova Scotia.

The big gala is taking place at Milford House in South Milford on Oct. 11, starting with a lunch at noon. Then at 1:30 p.m. the closing ceremonies will take place with the unveiling of a plaque at Milford house.

The house will also play host to a Model T display, parked in the front lawn.

“It turns out that it’s the 100th anniversary of the Model T. So we thought to give people a visual reference on how much time has passed since the publication of the book,” says Phaedra Charlton-Huskins, Coordinator of the Tent Dwellers Centennial Festival.

That same weekend, Kejimkujik National Park is going to be busy with its Thanksgiving weekend. While en route to the park on Saturday, visitors can also stop by the Maitland Bridge Community Hall for a Tent Dwellers Penny Auction. The Tent Dwellers are unveiling a plaque at Jake’s Landing in the park, and draws will be held for a Tent Dwellers Paddle and handcrafted paddle and hooked rug. The park is also doing a ‘Tent Dwellers Cold Turkey Swim’ on Sunday.

“It’s their version of the polar bear swim,” says Charlton-Huskins. Not as cold, but still cold enough she adds with a laugh.

With the closing, Charlton-Huskins says that everyone is a little sad, but happy at how well things went for The Tent Dwellers.

“It went really well. It was very much a grassroots festival, meaning we were working with a limited budget, but word spread like wildfire,” she says.

She adds it was hard to gauge attendance since most of the events were free and not ticketed, but overall the group was pleased with the numbers that did show.

“We’ve received so many positive comments about the festival, it’s been absolutely fantastic. A lot of people want to see it continue year after year.”

Right now the focus is on the closing ceremonies, but the group is working towards doing something each year. An example is the canoe festival at Kejimkujik. Lots of people showed up for it, and want to see it continue, which Charlton-Huskins says they hope to do.

Milford House already has plans to hold a special Tent Dwellers Lunch and Vintage Canoe Display every year and the North Queens Board of Trade is happy to proclaim their area as the "Home of the Tent Dwellers." The festival committee is calling for the public's support for future events by asking them to submit their stories, comments and suggestions to tentdwellers2008@gmail.com.

As for why the festival was so successful, Charlton-Huskins says, “People are so inspired by the story. The book is so accessible. Even though it is 100 years old it’s still very current in terms of its themes.”

Space is limited for the closing ceremonies, so if interested contact the Milford House at 1-877-532-5751 or milford.house@ns.sympatico.ca. Information on the overall event can be obtained by calling 902-350-1753.