Emily Carr Chronicles Walk, Talk & Tour in the Afternoon

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 that form the backdrop to her life story in James Bay, Victoria.

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 Carr spent the rest of her life in the James Bay area, Victoria's oldest neighbourhood. It was here that Emily was born.

The 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 four older sisters lived within blocks of each other all their lives, from birth to death, and their residences are also historic sites featured on the tour.

We'll start the tour with a short presentation on Emily Carr at the covered or outdoor patio at For Good Measure at 11:30pm, depending on the weather. Then, we'll walk the half block to a one hour guided tour by experts at Carr House that starts at noon. 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 and very funny 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 enjoyed her visits so much they would sometimes follow her her home.

Up next 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!). Then we'll pay our respects to Emily at the larger than life bronze statue created in her honour by a famous Edmonton sculptor and talk about the first ever Emily Carr statue created by a famous Saskatchewan sculptor.(Hint, hint, he loves cows and Emily Carr.)

From the Empress Hotel, we'll visit her Father's Store on Wharf Street (she wrote about it, too).

The next to last stop on the tour is the place where Emily died on March 2,1945 and reportedly still haunts. The tour concludes where we began, at For Good Measure around 3:45pm.

Upon registration, you'll 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 five 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 a Peacock and Growing Pains)

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."

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For more information on the tour, the tour guide and Emily Carr, please see emilycarrchronicles.ca and check out our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/emilycarrchronicles.ca and our Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/emilycarrchronicles and our most recent monthly newsletter

Here's where we will meet up, introduce outselves, listen to your answers to the five questions included in the Emily Carr backgrounder I sent out upon registration and have a short warm up presentation on Emily Carr before we walk a block to the Carr House for the guided tour by their expert staff. The tour concludes where we began, at For Good Measure.