A mainstay of the Crichton Street Gallery and of our own successor gallery, Louise Tanguay is a remarkable photographer. Louise thinks of her photos as a form of poetry - inspired by her very personal and original perspective on nature. Her photography has won many prizes, has been widely exhibited, and has been published in prestigious magazines and newspapers all over the world.

This past year she has been working hard at a book documenting the Reford Gardens (or "Jardins de Métis") at Grand-Métis, Québec. Originally a fishing compound for a wealthy family, the Gardens property was gradually expanded into an extraordinary garden by Elsie Reford, beginning in 1926. At the confluence of the Métis and the St. Lawrence rivers, the site has a favourable microclimate which allows plants to grow there that are found nowhere else in Canada.

Louise's extensive photo-documentation of the property is now available, in English and French editions, and the gallery has some copies of each! The book is very beautifully printed and executed, with more than 500 wonderful photos on 320 pages.  This is a limited edition book; we don't know if more will be published, so if you like  the book you should snap up a copy while you can.

Here are a few of the page layouts to give you an idea of what to expect.
 

We are very pleased to announce that Louise will be signing copies of her Reford Gardens book at our gallery on Saturday afternoon, September 10, from 1 PM to 4 PM, so this is a great opportunity to acquire one.

This Saturday is an especially fine day to spend in New Edinburgh, as it is also the date of Street Fest, a special one-day event celebrating the neighbourhood (see below). And the weather promises to cooperate!
 

The streets of New Edinburgh will come alive on Saturday with art, dance, music and more!

Eight local artists, including Electric Street Gallery regulars Sara Alex Mullen and Maurice Dionne (see a bit more about Maurice below) will display their work under canopies on Dufferin Street.

Peter Woods and his saxophone will lead off a daylong program of music at MacKay United with a quartet called The Kindness of Jazz, followed by mini-concerts of string and piano. Dancers and musicians will be performing elsewhere in the neighbourhood. 

Tours of some of the historic homes will be offered, and historians will tell the story of New Edinburgh at St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Barbecue, free to ticketholders, will be provided our local Metro supermarket! Beverages, hard and soft, will be available.

The event is a benefit for the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families in Vanier. Tickets at $30 are available online at www.iodelaurentian.com or at Books on Beechwood (cash only). The price includes an informative 60 page booklet describing many events in the history of the neighbourhood, including the history of the building which houses Electric Street Gallery!

Maurice Dionne produces precise ink-and-watercolour renditions of local scenes with a special charm that's hard to describe but easy to see! Owning a unique rendition of a local landmark is an excellent way to celebrate our neighbourhood. We wish Maurice Dionne every success at Street Fest with his extensive collection of local streetscapes!

Immediately following Street Fest, on Saturday evening, we'll be hanging a special exhibit of Maurice's works. So if you have to miss Street Fest, come visit us in the next few weeks and check out Maurice's solo show, "Local Colours ".

Of course we're especially fond of his rendition of the gallery, which you can see just below!