The Sudbury Catholic District School Board helped celebrate the 9th Annual Sudbury Regional Heritage Fair at a media conference held at the Anderson Farm in Lively recently. Immersed in an antique hunter’s dreamlike setting, officials from the Sudbury Regional Histor!ca Heritage Fair, the Rainbow and Sudbury Catholic District School Boards together with students, kicked off the countdown to this year’s fair. Every year, thousands of students in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin take part in the HISTOR!CA Heritage Fair, a celebration of our community’s and our country’s rich heritage. To date, more than 2,400 students have registered for the 2005 Fair that will take place at Laurentian University on May 5 and 6. Students whose history projects are selected at the regional level will participate in the Provincial Fair in Hamilton this spring.

“Since the first local Heritage Fair nine years ago, area School Boards have consistently maintained the greatest number of student and school participants in the province,” said Heritage Fair Chair Shirley O’Neil. “In fact, our regional fair has become the largest in Canada, proof that this important event has made its mark in history.”

Gerry Lougheed, Honorary Chair of the Sudbury Regional Histor!ca Heritage Fair, kick’s off the media conference at Anderson’s Farm in Lively. The HISTOR!CA Heritage Fairs program is designed to create an innovative and captivating learning environment for students, strengthening young people’s knowledge of the diversity and uniqueness of Canadian heritage and giving them an opportunity to develop strong roots in their community and culture. In addition, the fair allows students to develop research and communication skills through interaction with different community sources such as politicians, local historians, multicultural organizations and representatives from the business community. Once students research their chosen topics, they decide which format to use to present their findings. Each year, projects feature dramatic and musical presentations, videos, posters, maps, essays and three-dimensional displays, often including props and costumes.

Students whose projects are selected at the regional level will participate in the provincial fair in Hamilton.The Sudbury Regional HISTOR!CA Heritage Fair is an event that is about the community, for the community. The Organizing Committee is made up of representatives from participating school boards, area businesses, service clubs and organizations. Sponsors include the City of Greater Sudbury, Laurentian University, Rainbow District School Board, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, The Sudbury Star, and The Sudbury Multicultural Folk Arts Association.