|
WHAT'S
NEW AT BALA MUSEUM THIS YEAR?
Each
year, we try to make Balas Museum even more of a fun get-away
for families, as well as an internationally known resource for scholars
and fans of Lucy Maud Montgomery.
 |
Hitting
Gilbert With a Slate
Ever since
we put old school desks on our verandah, young girls have
been re-enacting Anne hitting Gilbert over the head with a
slate (left). It helps if they bring along a cooperative younger
brother. At the right, another boy is whispering Carrots
to his little sister.
|
 |
 |
A Tea
Party with Raspberry Cordial
These
sisters were only two out of many young girls who enjoyed
pretending last summer that they were Anne and Diana at the
famous tea party where Diana mistakenly drank red currant
wine.
The tea party scene is tucked into a corner of our verandah.
|

Waiting
for Matthew at the Station (left)
Our most
popular photo op seems to be waiting for Matthew at the railway
station, wearing a hat with red braids and holding Annes
carpet bag. Last summer, families from Sri Lanka, mainland
China, Korea, Iceland, Israel and Palestine were among those
who carried home digital camera memories.
Matthews
Buggy (right)
Both
boys and girls enjoy posing in the buggy at the front of Balas
Museum, pretending that they are riding with Matthew Cuthbert
to see Green Gables for the first time. Their first challenge
is deciding how to step up into the buggy, using a century-old
metal buggy step.
|
|
Fun
in a 1920's Kitchen
Linda
gives youngsters a lesson in making the custard that Anne
forgot to cover with a cheese cloth. Whole families, especially
grandmothers, often join in. The kitchen is the same one where
Fanny Pike prepared meals for L.M. Montgomery and her family
in 1922, restored back to that era.
|
Anne
of Green Gables Tea Party
One of the most
popular photo opportunities offers visitors of all ages a chance
to pretend that they are Anne and Diana at the famous "Anne
of Green Gables" tea party where Diana mistakenly drinks red
currant wine instead of raspberry cordial.
In June 2009,
Fiona Rowat, at the right, and her younger sister, Moriah, had great
fun playing the two roles. Before the summer ended, scores of other
young girls did the same thing, including some who were visiting
from far-off countries like Italy, mainland China, Japan, Sri Lanka
and Italy. (If Fiona Rowat looks familiar, that is because she returned
to Bala in October and won the Cran-Anne Look-Alike contest. She
and sister Moriah are the two girls seated in the buggy on our first
page).
The Avonlea
Schoolhouse Scene
Linda
spent more than two years planning and putting together an outdoor miniature re-creation
of the Avonlea schoolhouse where Anne Shirley slammed her slate over Gilberts
head and where her teacher forced to stand at a blackboard writing the sentence:
Anne Shirley has a bad temper. Children
love searching out the schoolhouse behind the museum, and opening its door to
see what is inside. The new exhibit sits on a special stone base in the shade
of a big oak tree. All
of the doll-size elements inside the schoolhouse are authentic. There is even
a tiny portrait of Queen Victoria staring down from above the blackboard. The
Lady of Shalott Scene Linda
has also created a miniature scene of Anne Shirley desperately hanging onto a
bridge while her rowboat is sinking. As every Anne fan knows, Gilbert is about
to come to the rescue. Children will love seeing this.
Raspberry
Cordial Fudge
This wonderful
addition to our gift shop is exclusive to Bala's Museum. Take home
a wee taste of Anne's tea party with Diana. Yummy.
|