The Cultural Collective

This past Friday Exeter's downtown parkette was filled with local produce vendors, artisan goods, and some fantastic macaroni and cheese for Experience Exeter's summer market! The CC was happy to provide the tunes, and to catch up with some old friends. Thanks to everyone who came out, and thanks to the Exeter BIA for putting together such a great event!

Earlier this year several CC members began researching the history of the Exeter Oddfellows Hall to help incorporate that history into the CC studio, and to better appreciate the unique space we have! One of the best resources for uncovering town history are fire insurance maps. These maps were put together by fire insurance companies and track the size, materials, and general purpose of every building in a town. This small piece of the map shows Sanders and Main as it looked... in 1926. The Oddfellows Hall is in the centre labelled "Hall 2nd", along with many other familiar buildings on both sides of the street. Brick buildings are in red, while wood ones are yellow. The whole map is enormous, and is currently in the collection of the Huron County Museum. The HCM has also provided permission for us to use it here, along with Opta Information Intelligence who are properly credited in the caption to this photo. Stay tuned as we explore more of the fire insurance map over the coming weeks!

This Friday from 3 to 7 PM The Cultural Collective shakes off the dust and will be taking part in Exeter's first downtown market being put together by Experience Exeter and the South Huron Chamber of Commerce! We will be in the parkette playing music and saying hello to our friends in the community that we've so sorely missed. Stop by and say hello (from 6 feet away) while supporting a great local event!

It was with deep sadness that we heard of Shannon Rogers’ passing this past Thursday at Jessica's House - Huron County. Shannon was well known in South Huron and beyond as a creative, resilient young woman; and to The Cultural Collective she was an active volunteer, an enthusiastic supporter, and a dear friend to us all. Shannon first started coming to CC events in 2016 with her good friends Dominique and Remira, and soon she was a familiar face at board game nights, reading ...her poetry at open mic events, and bringing down the house doing improv comedy. Shannon’s enthusiasm and sharp sense of humour lit up the room, and we were always pleased to see her come through the door. Shannon soon started volunteering and offering insightful advice on how to make our events and organisation better. She also ran a charity cupcake booth at the Exeter Farmers’ Market to help raise money and provide support to others in their own fights against cancer. We were all thrilled to see Shannon go off to study English at Wilfrid Laurier University, and she always made a point to come back and visit whenever she was in town. Shannon left a lasting impression on everyone she met, and it is difficult to put into words how much her passing has affected each and every one of us. Shannon will be sorely missed. The Cultural Collective would like to extend our deepest, most heartfelt sympathy to the Rogers family and friends during this time. If you are looking for ways to support young people like Shannon, and the causes she believed in, the Rogers family has requested donations be directed to Childcan and the Perth-Huron Foundation for Education. https://childcan.com/ http://foundationforeducation.ca/donate/

Some great local work being done by our friends in the Rural Response for Healthy Children!