Helen Creighton Folklore Society
c/o "Evergreen House," Dartmouth Heritage Museum, 26 Newcastle Street, B2Y 3M5 Dartmouth, NS, Canada

CANCELLED! In light of the recent concerns about COVID -19, WTF: What the Folk!, unplugged open mic has been cancelled for Friday, March 13, 2020, as well as, the Annual General Meeting on Saturday, March 28, 2020.The Helen Creighton Folklore Society has made the decision to practice due diligence erring on the side of caution as some of the concerns have been: Food and refreshments preparation and distribution at events Public at risk with low immunity... People coming in contact with others who may have unknowingly contracted the virus Furthermore, WTF, is cancelled over the next several weeks until the situation improves and further information is available. Stay tuned. Take care everyone and stay well.

Likely at the family camp on First Lake (Banook)

Language is definitely awesome. What weird names are in the Atlantic Provinces that may or may not have a different meaning than intended?

We're working on some more learning activities for #NovaMuseEd. Anyone interested in folklore and oral histories? Helen Creighton's work is our inspiration:

This well known folk song had origins as a children’s skipping song. The Rankins of Cape Breton, NS had a hit with this song.

March 8th is International Women’s Day! Helen Creighton was a trailblazer of her time, 1899-1989. She started collecting songs, ballads , shanties, music in 1928, and continued collecting songs, stories, superstitions, etc...for over 50 years. She travelled the highways and remote roads of the Martimes to small communities and large towns. She boarded boats, small and large, to travel to remote islands. She collected everywhere: on rocky shores, in haunted houses, windy ligh...thouses, farms, fields and fishing piers. Helen was a kind of techno wizard in her day. She learned how to operate and adapt to many different kinds of recording equipment from disks to reel-to-reel tape recorders. She helped organized concerts on stage and on radio which featured many of the traditional performers (informants) alongside professional performers. She insisted that the traditionals and the professionals be paid the same fees. Helen drove cars, trucks and ambulances. She taught students in Halifax and Mexico. She was a writer, author, radio personality, reporter, concert organizer, and war correspondent (in Halifax). A teenager in 1917, Helen barely survived the Halifax Explosion when the window of her bedroom blew in and the casement embedded in her pillow. Afterwards she drove around Dartmouth taking the injured to get medical care. Helen Creighton, a native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia is recognized world wide and continues to influence artists, storytellers, actors, writers, musicians, singers, curators, researchers and many others. Because of Helen, there is a wealth of folk based information of the many cultures and communities in the Maritimes, such as (but not limited to): African, Acadian, German, Mi’kmaq, and Gaelic. Cheers to Helen Creighton on International Women’s Day! An inspiration to many! https://helencreighton.org/

There is so much traditional oral storytelling online now all across Canada!