The Prince of Wales is set to be greeted by a sheepish figure when he arrives in Canada on Tuesday: his own “woolly doppelgänger.”
Prince Charles will lock eyes with a life-size, hand-needle-felted bust of his own visage as he meets with Canadian wool enthusiasts in St. John’s, N.L., at one of the first stops on his three-day cross-country tour alongside wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
But that’s not even the “piece de resistance” of the prince’s woolly welcome, said Matthew Rowe, CEO of the Campaign for Wool in Canada. The non-profit industry association will also present its royal patron with a wool sculpture of his mother, the Queen.
“He’s going to come face to face with his woolly doppelgänger,” Rowe said. “What we’ll be unveiling for the first time at that event will be a second bust, this time of Her Majesty, in honour of the Platinum Jubilee. So he’ll meet his woolly mother as well.”
Franco-Manitoban fibre artist Rosemarie Péloquin said she had many conversations with the royal busts over the hundreds of hours she spent making each of them, poking and pulling wool with a barbed needle to felt the fine details of their faces.
Now, Péloquin is preparing to speak to the real-life prince Tuesday as she introduces him to his woolen double.
“You spend so much time in the studio with him that I feel like I’ve gotten to know him, really, in the making,” Péloquin said by phone from St-Pierre-Jolys, Man. “I can’t wait to meet him and to see him looking at himself.”
The sculpture of the prince stands 56 centimeters tall, and aside from a wooden base, is made completely of homegrown wool — from the wrinkles on his forehead, to his red, white and blue tie.
Péloquin said she conducts extensive research on her subjects so she can render not only their appearance, but their “essence.” She homed in on what she saw as some of the prince’s defining features, including his “kind eyes” and his ability to connect with others.
“He’s very interested in people, and that’s why I made him leaning forward and listening,” she said. “I hope that that brings us together in a conversation about wool and about art, and about people and the world.”
Péloquin said wool felt like a fitting material to capture both the Queen’s strength as a monarch, and a her warmth as a mother and grandmother.
The artist adorned the bust with the Queen’s signature pearls and a maple leaf brooch. But Péloquin said the sovereign’s personality shines through this stately veneer. The piece shows her smiling with a “twinkle in her eye,” and the long curly wool that Péloquin used gave her iconic coif slightly more volume.
“I feel that that’s not only the the essence of the sheep coming through, but also of her,” she said. “There’s that kind of fun aspect of her that’s there, and we might not see it and she might not show it in public all the time, but it’s there.”
Péloquin said she’ll be disappointed to part ways with the Queen after escorting her on the plane to St. John’s in side-by-side seats. But even as she says goodbye to her creation, Péloquin is excited for the fabric Queen to greet the public.
“Half of the artwork is that reaction that other people have to it,” said Péloquin. “You have to put your baby out in the world and smile and be proud.”
Founded in 2010, the Campaign for Wool was launched in Canada in 2014 during Prince Charles and Camilla’s visit to Pictou, N.S.
Rowe said the prince’s support came at a nadir for the national wool industry as the forces of fast fashion depleted demand for the age-old textile.
In 1941, Canada sold more than 10 million pounds of wool, Statistics Canada data suggest. By 2006, sales had plummeted to roughly 2.8 million pounds.
Rowe said the campaign commissioned Péloquin’s busts in recognition of all the prince has done to bolster a fibre that has been “interwoven in the history of Canada” since French settlers brought the first sheep to the country in the mid-17th century.
“(The campaign) sort of — pardon the pun — knit together the global wool industry,” said Rowe. “It’s a great opportunity to kind of check in to show what we’ve been able to accomplish for Canadian wool.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2022.
Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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