Acres of Dreams closes soon!
January 16, 2006 |
Acres of Dreams, the exhibition that marks the centennial of the Prairies, closes soon!
Gatineau, Quebec, January 16, 2006 — Visit the exhibition Acres of Dreams: Settling the Canadian Prairies before it closes on January 29 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The popular exhibition marks the centennials of Saskatchewan and Alberta, celebrated in 2005, as both provinces gained provincial status in 1905. Between 1896 and the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, two million settlers from Europe and the United States poured into the Canadian Prairies in the greatest single wave of immigration in Canada’s history. This exhibition tells their stories, covering the period from the late 19th century through to the “Dirty Thirties.”Acres of Dreams: Settling the Canadian Prairies revisits the unprecedented marketing campaign led by the federal government that lured immigrants into Western Canada. It also examines the origins, motivations and experiences of the settlers who forever changed the Prairie landscape and played an essential role in building Canada.
The exhibition highlights the dazzling array of posters, pamphlets, slogans, contests, travelling displays and lecture tours used in the marketing campaign led by the federal government, railway companies, steamship lines and other business interests. The invitation to settle the Canadian Prairies — touted with slogans such as “Free Farms for the Millions,” “The Land of Opportunity,” and “The Last Best West” — was embraced by individuals and families from as far away as Russia.
Acres of Dreams: Settling the Canadian Prairies was developed by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada. The exhibition is presented until January 29.
More information is available by calling (819) 776-7000 or 1 800 555-5621.
Media Information:
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Fax: (819) 776-7187
2006-01-16 00:00:00.000
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