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Country Supper Storytelling Concerts

Country Supper Storytelling Concerts

A Country Supper Storytelling Concert is just what the name suggests: an excellent traditional evening meal followed by first-rate professional entertainment, all in a rural setting. William Wordsworth said that poetry "takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." Storytelling finds its destination in the same place.

The woodlands and open spaces of Northern Bruce Peninsula , their alvars, meadows, bosks and bogs with their rich communities of flora and fauna, offer that fundamental tranquillity. The stories themselves swell with emotion. The tellers and you the audience are the means of recollection.

Storytelling is a joint artistic venture of the teller and the audience. We create the work of art together. Like the proverbial tree falling in the forest, the story makes no sound if you cannot hear it.

For you to play and enjoy your part to the utmost, you need a full stomach. Emotion, tranquillity, and food! These are the essential elements of the art of storytelling. We have them all.

And such stories, such food! The best tales and ballads from the classical and folk traditions, Canadian, world-wide, and Voyageur's own. The proud yield of the farms and waters of Bruce and Grey, flavoured and garnished by the exotic gardens of the world.

Each concert celebrates a particular theme with a shaped selection of stories, songs and recitations.

In the tradition of country meals we do not offer much choice in the menu, but if you are a vegetarian or have special dietary needs, you need only give us a few hours notice (days are better) and we will do our best to look after you.

We are not licensed to serve wine, beer or liquor. On your arrival we will serve you a glass of our Amazing Punch, and during dinner chilled water from our deep, pristine well. Before the concert and during intermission we offer fair trade organic coffee (regular or decaf) and a wide selection of black, greeen and herbal teas.

Our 2010 Concerts

Friday Evenings: Sabbath Celebration, to begin of the Jewish Sabbath with the warm fires of tradition, fine Jewish food and good company. We sit around the table, we light candles, we ask blessings, we eat, we sing, we tell stories, we reflect, we get up from time to time to stretch our legs, we enjoy each other's company. This evening is a domestic celebration of timeless grace and beauty.

Other Evenings (altnerating): Canadian Riverscape: To a huge extent, rivers formed the inland shape of our country, because they were the transportation routes of the fur trade. By the time the fur trade faded into relative economic insignificance, nationally speaking, the boundaries were set. The St. Lawrence, the Ottawa, the Saskatchewan, the Athabasca, the Mackenzie, the Columbia and the Fraser, these are names with which to conjure in the stirring epic of this land from the beginnings of settlement twelve thousand or so years ago until the coming of the railroad, and to some extent even today. In this concert we tell the stories and sing the songs of Canadian rivers.

Other Evenings (alternating): Lake Huron and the Aral Sea: These two great lakes, both crossed by the 45th Parallel of Latitude (which also crosses the Bruce Peninsula near our home) have uncanny similarities and important differences, not the least being their present ecological state. Our stories come from the lakes themselves as well as the lands and peoples around them: new stories, old stories, even perhaps some glimpses of the future. Because waters flow, history flows around and through them, and flows can be read, perhaps not with perfect foresight, but with food for thought, for hope, and sometimes for alarm. We can visit these lakes, and see what they are, but awareness of how they got that way comes from the stories.

Reservations are required for all performances. For regularly scheduled performances we can take same-day reservations, if we have space. It is always wise to reserve at least a day ahead, more so during the summer season. Please see our section on Reservations for further details.

Meals: Country Suppers

A typical Voyageur Storytelling supper looks like this:

When you arrive we serve you a glass of our special Fruit Punch. The voyageurs themselves, of course, preferred more hardy beverages, but we are not licensed to serve them. People seem to find our punch a worthy substitute.

The meal itself usually begins with gefilte fish an apetizer and buns or bread hot from the oven. After that comes the soup. This year, in honour of our Food for Thought concert, we are serving chowder. The main course usually consists of lamb or beef stew, or chicken pieces, or roast turkey, served with rice or potatoes and vegetables, and accompanied by our own Inevitable Salad. We serve dessert during intermission, and it's always the same: apple pie straight from the oven and Chapman's locally made ice cream. After the main course, and during intermission, we offer you a choice of fair trade organic coffee or decaffeinated coffee, and a selection of black, green and herbal teas.

On Friday evenings we serve a traditional Jewish Sabbath meal: gefilte fish, challah, chicken soup with matzo balls, roast chicken with potato kugel, vegetables, and salad, with the usual dessert. The Sabbath meal is always a special occasion at Voyageur Storytelling.

In the tradition of country meals, we do not offer much choice. If you are a vegetarian, or have allergies or special dietary needs, please let us know ahead of time. We are then able and happy to adapt.