Burlington, Ont.—July 15, 2022— The City of Burlington’s new pavilion at City View Park was officially unveiled today with a ribbon cutting and new public art piece titled, ‘SOAR’. Mayor Meed Ward, Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, project partners and City staff helped cut the ribbon to the building and unveil the public art.
The pavilion is open for community use and all are welcome.
City View Park Pavilion
The pavilion is designed to be environmentally friendly and features public washrooms, community space, covered terrace, a water refill station and seating.
It is a key feature for Bruce Trail hikers to meet or continue their adventure and a significant milestone towards the completion of the City View Park Master Plan.
The design of the building features sustainability, water and energy efficiencies and is a symbolic connection between new construction and the unique natural setting of the escarpment.
Green building measures have been incorporated using a wood structure, an onsite well filtered for drinking water and onsite sewerage disposal system.
The building does not use any fossil fuels in its operation. By using solar power, the building will achieve net-carbon neutrality: the roof-top solar panels produce the electricity the building uses.
It also has:
Public washrooms;
A community room open for casual use and organized sport tournaments;
Indoor public gathering area that can be used by all park users;
Exterior space with an outdoor, covered terrace;
Accessible parking and drop-off area;
Interpretive displays highlighting the unique park setting on a large display screen and two smaller information screens;
Public art, SOAR, by artist Hooman Mehdizadehjafari.
About the public art, SOAR
The 17-foot-tall metal sculpture, created by artist Hooman Mehdizadehjafari, reflects the rich natural heritage of the region, in particular the Niagara Escarpment. From the life-giving and mighty Niagara Falls, the iconic flora and fauna that gives special identity to the ecosystem of the region such as the Calypso Orchid, Southern Flying Squirrel, and Spotted Turtle, to the cedar forests and their immense, interconnected, underground root system.
The diversity of materials used creates a beautiful play of colours that can often be seen in nature and alludes to the diverse and united community of Burlington.
‘SOAR’ is a reflective mirror of the rich natural heritage of the site and celebrates the gracious and honourable ambition of appreciating and protecting the environment and ensuring its passing on to future generations.
The applied words THROUGH – NATURE – WITH – LOVE – WE – THRIVE in ‘SOAR’, create an infinite circulation that reflects the ultimate message of the artwork: by loving our nature, valuing and protecting it, we may grow and thrive within it peacefully.
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Quotes
Chris Glenn, Director of Recreation, Community and Culture
“This pavilion is a key milestone in the City View Park Master Plan and will serve as the hub for all the park. It is a beautiful place for all hikers, nature enthusiasts and athletes alike to meet, gather and rest. The public art is a great beacon and wonderfully captures the landscape and reflects the community.”
Allan Magi, Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services
“The building has a lot of environmental elements that really compliment the natural area of the park. Working with our community partners, we really wanted to create a beautiful, functional building that works in harmony with its surroundings.”
Ribbon cutting for SOAR L – R Allan Magi, Chris Glenn, Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Angela Paparizo, Jennifer Johnson
Ribbon cutting for Pavilion L-R Angela Paparizo, Rich Trella, Scott Virgin, Chris Glenn, City Manager Tim Commisso, Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, Graham McNally, Patrick Tucker, Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Paula Hamilton, Jennifer Johnson, Paul Swioklo, Wynn McDonald, Allan Magi.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
