Museum overhaul wrapping up

FORT FRANCES—With renovations wrapping up at the Fort Frances Museum, staff will be moving from its temporary site at 334 Scott St. later this month.
“We’re still on target to be moving the weekend of the 26th,” museum curator Pam Hawley noted Tuesday. “The contractor is supposed to be done on the 15th, but then we’ll be reviewing the building before we go back in.
“We’ll probably take a week to get over there,” she added.
Hawley said while any exhibits at the museum won’t be open until June, staff will be keeping busy in the meantime.
“We’ve been busy offering a lot of outreach programs in the schools and research services. So that will still be available when we move over there,” she noted.
She also said interpretive development intern Emily Carr will be hard at work putting together a new exhibit upstairs in the newly-renovated building.
Hawley admitted she’s looking forward to getting back into the main building.
“It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be interesting. The dynamics of the building will change a bit,” she remarked. “It will probably be a month or two before we decide how access is going to work.
“The top floor is going to be our permanent exhibition area. So, we’ll be encouraging people to go to the top floor, and how will that change where staff’s going to be,” added Hawley.
“There’s a lot to think through.”
The $900,000 renovations at the museum have included everything from new flooring and walls to new plumbing and fixtures.
New heating, ventilation, air conditioning, safety, security, and electrical systems also have been installed, and different parts of the museum will be “zoned” to specific temperatures and levels of humidity depending on what that part is being used for (i.e., artifacts, papers and books, artwork, etc.)
This will help ensure exhibits and artifacts avoid damage due to environmental factors such as dampness, heat, or cold.
A new receiving and shipping area also has been built on the south side of the building, along with a second entrance for the public.
This area will be especially convenient and will alleviate receiving, crating, and shipping problems.
< *c>Dini Petty
In related news, tickets still are available for “A ‘Broad’ View,” an evening with Dini Petty scheduled for Friday, Jan. 26 at the Townshend Theatre here.
The Fort Frances Museum is hosting this show as a fundraiser in partnership with “tour de Fort,” with sponsorship from La Place Rendez-Vous.
“A ‘Broad’ View” features Canadian icon Dini Petty of City TV, City Pulse, and CTV talk show “Dini” fame.
According to a press release, Petty will present “her story, a story that people want to hear—a journey of self-discovery, through great times, good times, painful times, and even some moments of terror.”
“Feeling like they were chatting with Petty in their living room, the audience laughs, cries, and occasionally gasps with her honest, true from life stories,” it asserted.
A portion of proceeds from the show will be going towards the museum renovation project.
The museum currently is open at 334 Scott St. from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday to Saturday.
To contact the museum, call 274-7891, e-mail phawley@fort-frances.com, or visit www.fort-frances.com/museum
(Fort Frances Times)