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.

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 12:30pm, depending on the weather. Then, we'll walk the half block to a one hour guided tour at Carr House that starts at 1:00pm. 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.

After that, we'll walk up to the Crystal Gardens where Emily gave her famous "Fresh Seeing" speech in 1930 and held her first solo show in her hometown (there's many stories to tell about this important event!).

Next on the tour is the Empress Hotel to checkout the Emily Carr statue and learn about its very famous sculptor from Edmonton as well as the first Emily Carr statue made by another famous sculptor from Saskatchewan. (Hint, hint...he was a big fan of Emily Carr and really liked cows.)

As we make our way back to where we started at For Good Measure, we'll take a tour inside the James Bay Inn where Emily died on March 2, 1945 and see and hear about the legacy she left behind.

Our last stop will be back at For Good Measure -- a block away from the James Bay Inn -- at about 3:45pm for coffee and a chat about our experiences.

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 four books of autobiographical short stories she wrote during her lifetime (including Klee Wyck, The Book of Small, The House of All Sorts, and Growing Pains)

The walk and talk will take approximately 3 1/2 hours, from 12:30pm to 4:00pm and will start and end at For Good Measure at 579 Niagara Street.

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

Check our most recent monthly Emily Carr Chronicles newsletter

Here's where we will meet up, introduce outselves, answer four of the five questions included in the Emily Carr backgrounder I sent out upon registration and have a short presentation on Emily Carr before we walk a block to the Carr House to arrive at 1pm, and where we will return to about 3:45pm to wrap up with a coffee and a chat.