Victoria Day fun

[mala_14]

So last week I went out in costume with my local ladies (of the group Victorian at Heart) twice. We headed to the nearby fort to celebrate the Queen's birthday (that's Queen Victoria, and yeah, in Canada we get a long weekend for her birthday). The fort was built in the 1830s and reenactors working at the fort represent the year 1852 (because it's an uncontroversial year in Canadian history, how Canadian is that?! lol). We went last year and it made me want a suitable dress. Obviously the 1845 one would have been perfect, but it wasn't nearly done yet, so I wore my old favourite 1867 print. The fort has been getting restored with better fire safety things and new paint.

There are a lot of buildings and a tipi outside the fort walls. They actually grow crops out here and have a working smithy.


Inside the walls (We were actually just pretending to talk for this picture. I think Shirley just said "Boobies!" to me. *snort* So mature!):


There are a bunch of buildings within the fort walls, like the Governor's house, the store, and a place called the men's house (to house the fur trade workers).


Inside the Governor's house learning about the artifacts from the "maids":


I saw these gorgeous engageantes with broderie anglaise. We had fun talking about all the things in the buildings that we wanted, including the different coloured china and a cool tinder box with a magnifying glass in its top to start fires.


The basement had all the things that keep a big house like the Governor's running: fireplaces, maids' quarters, storage, and this awesome big spinning wheel:

Also, notice how thick the walls are at the window. This kept things cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Most of the buildings were remarkably cool, especially for such a warm, sunny day.

Because it was the Queen's birthday the people of the fort were throwing a party. There was fiddling, dancing, and an extra rum ration from the Governor! (The rum was actually iced tea. lol Oh, and I should be specific that it was Canadian iced tea, which is very different from American iced tea and American sweet tea.)


There was a nice breeze which made for some interesting pictures of skirts and curls blown about by the wind. You can see the river behind me. I assume the fort was built by the river on purpose for convenience of having water and water transport.


I had a wonderful time. I love going to the fort for several reasons: it's one of the oldest historic sites around here, there's so much to see and explore, and the reenactors who work there are lovely people who are friendly and welcoming. :)

Comments

[atherleisure]

Sounds like a good time.

How do you make Canadian iced tea?

[mala_14]

It was! :) I always have a great time with these ladies.

There is actually not really any tea involved. It usually comes in a powder that you mix with water, although Brisk Iced Tea is an example. Most Americans I know who have accidentally had it think that it's gross. And actually Canadians that get iced tea in the States are weirded out by the real iced tea (because it's not sweet and is actually tea).

[atherleisure]

I've always heard it called "instant iced tea." It's quite different from cold tea. (You can keep it along with your snow!)

[mala_14]

Yeah, veeeeery different. (lol Deal!)

[elizabeth_mn]

You look great! I love that dress.

Lol at your Canadian-isms. Let's celebrate an uncontroversial year in history!

It looks like a fun site and it seems like you had a fun time! Fiddling and dancing of course make any day awesome!

[mala_14]

Thanks! It's the one with buttons from Treadle. :)

I thought of you when I typed that out. lol And when I was at the dance I was like, "I can't do this without Elizabeth. I need her to guide me!"

[danabren]

There are uncontroversial years in history? Sign me up! (no)

[mala_14]

I know what you mean, like they pretend that there weren't any real problems at that time so they don't have to deal with difficult questions about Canadian history. I guess it's expedient, but it also white-washes the history.

[danabren]

On the other hand, for five goddamn minutes people can take a deep breath and just unclench.

OKAY BACK TO IT!

[mala_14]

Haha! Also true.

[koshka_the_cat]

You look lovely, and what a fun time!

[mala_14]

Thanks! It's nice to have such a great site around. :)

[mandie_rw]

That looks like a nice site! Fun!

And LOL at picking uncontroversial 1852 to interpret. Love it!

[mala_14]

It really is a great site! I have fond memories of going there as a kid on a school field trip and it was nice to find that it's just as fun as an adult.

I only found that out because I had a friend working there years ago. I was like, "Why don't they do the 1830s when the fort was built?" What an answer!

[quincy134]

Looks like a lovely day! You look great!

[mala_14]

Thanks Gloria! It was such a nice day all round. :)

[nuranar]

How fun! I'm glad you have such a great site with friendly people to come to.

That is SO funny about the tea differences. I've had the powdered tea before, but it's actually been a long time. It's more common to buy tea in gallons from the grocery store, or from huge urns next to the fountains at fast food places. There's always either sweet or unsweet options. The sweet is REALLY sweet, and this is coming from a person who loves sweet; I usually cut it with unsweet. It's real tea, though. If you don't add ice to it it's still warm from being brewed.

[mala_14]

Yeah, it's really great to have some regular places to check out where we know it's going to be a good time! :)

I haven't actually tried sweet tea in the States yet. But I should! Thanks for letting me know more about it. I didn't know it was that sweet. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned about iced tea made from real brewed tea. I enjoy the powder stuff, having grown up with it, but I also just like tea, so I like both!

[theladyrebecca]

That looks like it was such a fun event, and the fort looks really neat. I love the reason they gave you for picking the year - that really does sound very Canadian!

[mala_14]

It was a lot of fun! I went to the fort last year, but much later in the year and not on a special day like the Queen's birthday, so it was neat to see that they celebrated. Yeah, I thought that was funny! :)

[starlightmasque]

oh, WOW!! You look fantastic!

[mala_14]

Thank you! :) I like hoops!

[girliegirl32786]

It sounds like a lot of fun and I love your outfit! So adorable!

[mala_14]

Thanks, it was fun! Cotton prints aren't as shiny and exciting as silk, but I like sewing them once in a while because they're way less scary to deal with and to wear outside with the dirt and grass.