Over five centuries in Europe a remarkable concert instrument evolved: the carillon, consisting of tuned bronze bells expressively played from a keyboard. Before the outbreak of the Great War there were more than 140 “singing towers” in the Low Countries, providing melodic soundscapes to their communities. Wars wreaked destruction on the European carillons, but the fame of their voices also inspired a carillon renaissance to build new towers across the world serving as musical memorials. In 1922 Toronto’s Metropolitan Methodist Church (now Metropolitan United Church) installed the first modern tuned carillon in North America. In the century since, ten more carillons were built in Canada and more than 170 installed across the continent. In this illustrated lecture Andrea McCrady will celebrate North America’s newest carillon to serenade Toronto at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.

Professional explorer and adventurer Adam Shoalts returns to the Yorkminster Park Speakers Series to tell us about his latest adventure and book: a 3,400 km solo canoe journey from Lake Erie to the Arctic. The expedition took over three months and saw Shoalts depart from Long Point and travel all the way to the Torngat Mountains and Ungava Bay. Adam will share the story of his journey as well as photos from it. This lecture coincides with the publication of Adam’s book about his journey, Where the Falcon Flies, on October 3rd 2023. Copies of the newly released book will be available for purchase and signing.

When she a young child, Heather’s mother told her that Mark Twain was a great-uncle. It seemed like a really cool thing to tell people, but other than that, it held little meaning for her at the time. Fast forward forty years: one night while Heather found herself between jobs and with time on her hands a TV ad for Ancestry reminded her of Mark Twain and she decided to see if there was any truth to the family story. Only later did she realise that this was the moment her passion for genealogy was born. In this talk Heather will share stories from her own work – involving archival research, personal interviews and the latest in genetic DNA technology – to help us understand why the field of genealogy has grown exponentially in recent years and why it has become not only Heather’s passion but also her second career. Perhaps she will also inspire you to begin your journey tracing your own family history.