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 and 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 neighourhood. It was here that Emily was born along with two of her four older sisters. They lived within blocks of each other and the house in which they were born all their lives. The close-knit but turbulent relationships she had with each of her sisters predominanted Emily's life as much as her painting or writing and you'll think so too after the tour.

We'll start the tour with a short presentation on Emily Carr at the covered outdoor patio at For Good Measure at 12:30pm. Then, we'll walk the half block to a 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 (and wrote a book about her travails).

We'll 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 world that her sister Alice built a stone bridge in her honour set in Emily's favourite painting spot. Then, we'll walk up to the Empress Hotel to visit the Emily Carr statue and learn about its very famous sculptor, as well as another Emily Carr statue by another famous sculptor from Saskatchewan. Before we return back to where we started, we'll take a tour inside the James Bay Inn where Emily died on March 2, 1945.

Our last stop will be back at For Good Measure a block away frm the James Bay Inn at about 2:45pm for coffee and a chat about your experiences.

Upon registration,you will receive:

• a timeline of signicant 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."

see the Emily Carr Chronicles website

Here's where we will meet up, 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 4:00pm.