Emily Carr Chronicles Walk, Talk & Tour in the Morning

Few renowned artists have their name as closely associated to the city in which they were born, lived and died as Emily Carr is associated with Victoria, BC. Come join us on this 3 hour walking tour where you'll be introduced to the life, art and writing of Emily Carr, Victoria's most beloved artist, through the 12 historic locations in James Bay, Victoria that form the backdrop to her life story.
When she wasn't travelling to Ucluelet, Alaska and Haidi Gwaii or attending art school in San Francisco, England and France or giving art classes to children in Vancouver, Emily spent the rest of her life in the James Bay area, Victoria's oldest neighbourhood. It was here that Emily was born.
The closely knit, loving but often turbulent relationships Emily had with each of her four sisters predominated her life every bit as much as her painting or her writing. Emily and three of her older sisters lived within blocks of each other all their lives, from birth to death, and their houses are also historic sites featured on the tour.
We'll start the tour at 1:30 am with introductions and a short presentation on Emily Carr at the outdoor patio at For Good Measure. Then, we'll walk a block to Carr House for a guided tour by their expert staff that starts at 2pm. There will be some time at the end of the tour for those that want to check out their gift / bookshop. After that, we'll tour her sisters' residences a few blocks away and check out the House of All Sorts where Emily reluctantly ran a rooming house at the the start of WWI, and wrote her second award winning book about her travails.
From the House of All Sorts, we'll walk to visit Beacon Hill Park, the crowning jewel of Victoria's park system, where Emily often sketched and painted. The park played such an important part in Emily's visual world that in 1953 her sister Alice commissioned a stone bridge built in Emily's memory and set in her favourite painting spot in Beacon Hill Park. The peacocks in the Park loved Emily so much they sometimes followed home. See her short story collection The Heart of the Peacock for varification.
Another of the highlights of this tour is the Crystal Gardens where Emily gave her famous "Fresh Seeing" speech in 1930 and held her first solo exhibition in her hometown (there's many stories to tell about this important event!).
Next on the tour is the Empress Hotel to checkout the Emily Carr statue and learn about its very famous sculptor from Edmonton as well as the first Emily Carr statue made by another very famous sculptor from Saskatchewan. (Hint, hint...he was a big fan of Emily Carr and really liked cows.)
The next to last stop on the tour is the place where Emily died and reportedly still haunts. The tour concludes where we began, at For Good Measure around 4:30pm.

Upon registration, you will receive:

• a timeline of significant events in Emily Carr's life
• an Emily Carr backgrounder with some of her autobiographical stories and key moments
• access to the text of four books of autobiographical short stories she wrote during her lifetime (including Klee Wyck, The Book of Small, The House of All Sorts, The Heart of the Peacock and Growing Pains: An Autobiography)

Feedback on the Emily Carr Chronicles Walk, Talk & Tour on May 23. 2024

"Marilyn at Emily Carr Chronicles was excellent to deal with in booking a private tour and also as our informative & fun tour guide. I organize Heritage tours for the Newcomer's Club of Greater Victoria and I was able to fill up two walking tours of 15 each. There was huge interest and positive feedback from the club members. I don't hesitate to recommend Marilyn. She brought Emily Carr back to life and was a joy to work with."
~ Kim McVeigh
Newcomer's Club of Greater Victoria

"It was fascinating, especially because of the materials sent ahead of time providing a good base for understanding her as a determined, indépendant minded painter and writer. It definitely deepened my knowledge and understanding of her."
"It was really great! Thanks for all the effort (and Emily-love!) you put into it Marilyn"
"Thank you, Marilyn for providing such a thorough overview."
"Perhaps add a bit more show & tell on her artistic journey to her later paintings. I thought the focus was on her writing more than her painting. Although I now want to read House of All Sorts!"
"Marilyn, I loved your enthusiasm and knowledge, and bringing in other "experts" to share their knowledge.
"Marilyn was a great guide and really knows and respects Emily Carr. "
"The size of the group was good. Cost was reasonable. Thank you."

For more information on the tour, the tour guide and Emily Carr, please see:
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Here's where we will meet up at For Good Measure, introduce outselves, share answers to the five questions included in the Emily Carr backgrounder I send out upon registration. and a short warm up presentation on Emily Carr before we walk a block to the Carr House and arrive at 10am, and where we will return to about 12:30pm.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

For Good Measure Grocery & Coffee Shop, 579 Niagara Street, Victoria, Canada