Four Authors Go “Beyond the Walls” with Speaker Series at Old Fort Erie

• Four-part speaker series hosted at Old Fort Erie features new perspectives on significant moments in Canada’s history

Fort Erie, ON – Old Fort Erie is pleased to present its annual heritage speaker series, entitled “Beyond the Walls,” taking place on selected dates beginning on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 p.m. This four-part series will feature special guest authors who will narrate stories and offer retellings of some of the most significant moments in Canada’s history that took place in the Niagara region.

Admission is $10 for one session or purchase the $27 Old Fort Erie Season Pass for access to all four sessions PLUS entry to all 2020 Old Fort Erie events. Please visit niagaraparks.com/events to reserve your space today.

Adam Shoalts: History of Canada in 10 Maps – The Siege of Fort Erie
February 26 at 7 p.m.

Imagine Game of Thrones meets Canadian history! This is not the grade school history you remember; the epic tale of the Siege of Fort Erie is retold as a page-turning thriller by Canadian author and explorer Adam Shoalts.

Adam Shoalts is a professional adventurer, Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and best-selling author. His expeditions have ranged from the jungles of the Amazon to the tundra of the High Arctic. In 2017, he completed a nearly 4,000 km journey alone across Canada’s Arctic. Trained as a cartographer, historian and archaeologist, Adam holds a PhD from McMaster University, and has done archaeology in four countries, including at Old Fort Erie, where he also worked for three summers before his adventures led him elsewhere. He is also the author of the national best-sellers Beyond the Trees, named by Indigo as “one of the best books of the year,” A History of Canada in 10 Maps, and Alone Against the North.

Chris McKay: The Siege of Fort Erie in Global Conflict
March 18 at 7 p.m.

Examine the Siege of Fort Erie in a global context alongside Fort Erie historian and reenactment enthusiast Chris McKay. Delve into riveting details about the men who fought against Napoleon in earlier years.

Chris McKay has been reenacting at Fort Erie for almost 20 years. He first fell in love with the site when he was eight years old and an army surgeon demonstrated how he would have taken his leg off after a battle. Today, he reenacts the War of 1812 as a British Army Staff Officer and helps plan many of the reenactments in the Great Lakes region. He also served until recently as Vice President of Brigade Napoleon, the pre-eminent Napoleonic Reenacting Society in North America. His reenacting hobby reached a pinnacle in 2015 when he participated in the Battle of Waterloo commemorations in Belgium. In his free time, Chris teaches Grade 7 and 8 in London, Ontario and is raising his two boys to love history as much as he does.

June Chipp: The Fenians Invade: The Fight at the Fort Erie Docks
April 8 at 7 p.m.

Relive the dramatic engagement that happened on June 2, 1866, when the Welland Canal Field Battery and the Dunnville Naval Brigade stood against the Fenians, through the words of the men who fought the fight.

June Chipp was born in Yorkshire, England and emigrated to Canada as a child. She currently lives in Fort Erie with her husband, Bill. June has published three books: A Self-Guided History Tour of Greater Fort Erie; Duty and Honour, The Stand Against the Fenians in Fort Erie; and Where the Wild Grape Grows: Images of the Erie Shore Fort Erie and the Ports. She has also led guided history tours in Fort Erie and has been a guest speaker at various libraries and historical societies in the Niagara region.

Jamie Jacobs: Digging into the Past: Seneca Decolonization through Archaeology – June 3 at 7 p.m.

Explore the history of New York’s Tonawanda Seneca Nation and its decolonization through archeology alongside Jamie Jacobs.

Jamie Jacobs was born and raised on the Tonawanda Seneca territory in Western New York where he still resides today. He is a member of the Seneca of the Turtle Clan and a ritual custodian for the Tonawanda Seneca Longhouse and Ceremonies. Jamie currently works at the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, New York, where his responsibilities include historical object curation, research and cultural interpretation. Jamie also serves as the main consultant for the Tonawanda Seneca Adult language immersion program, where he teaches Seneca Language History and Morphology.

Digital Assets: PDF of media release and images available via Dropbox.