After patting the lobster and talking to salmon, we went upstairs to hear the story of The Bluenose.
Do you think you know a lot about this iconic schooner? I did… but we were quickly schooled (and entertained) by our vivacious young guide!
Here’s a little quiz for you:
1) How did Bluenose get her name?
2) Why did the Bluenose 1 have a number 2 on her sail?
3) What was the main job of this schooner?
If you answered: “a nickname for growing and selling a variety of purple potatoe”; “because the Delawana placed second, so Canada was ranked #2 during Bluenose’s inaugural race”; and “cod fishing”… you’d be correct! If you didn’t get all the answers right, then it is your duty as a proud Canadian to watch this 1 minute video HERE.
The museum of the Atlantic is wonderful and varied. I loved the big 3D map of the Maritimes and East Coast, that also showed the elevation of the sea floor. They don’t call it “The Grand Bank” for nothing! I always thought the Grand Bank was off Newfoundland… but it is all around Nova Scotia too. Learn more about it HERE.
There was lots of artifacts and stuff to read and see and touch at the Museum.
Both choirs eventually went outside to the Bluenose, and assembled dockside of her. There, we sang The Bluenose, with the schooner right next to us! It was really something. Had we come a day earlier, she wouldn’t have been in port! So lucky we have been this entire trip!
We had a couple hours of shopping therapy and exploring the adorable Lunenburg, and in the warmth of the sun, we had lunch around town. SO BEAUTIFUL, quaint, full of history and stories of hardship. You can’t help but feel a sense of reverance there in Lunenburg. After lunch and poking around town, we boarded buses and headed up the road and around to the next bay, called Mahone Bay. This one is famous for having “the 3 churches” on the bay. There, in scenic Mahone Bay, we sang a quick set at the bandstand. More shopping therapy ensued. Totally cute town! I wondered aloud a couple times “what do men do here?” because it’s NOT a town for people that hate shopping, meandering and poking around looking in quaint little old shops!
Back to Lunenburg for dinner, a quick walk up the hill to the church for sound checks and getting ready, then THE CONCERT at St. John’s Anglican Church.
Two years ago, I visited the church with my family. It’s open for tourists in the summer because of the history of the place. (You should watch this quick documentary about it HERE.) I took a bunch of photos of the church, thinking in my mind, how amazing it would be to perform in it. And there we were… singing our hearts out under the starry domed roof along with our AVHC friends! VERY cool.
Composer Donna Rhodenizer (she wrote Call of the Ocean) came to see the concert- she has given us a stack of her music to preview. Something about that composition that is immediately appealing- everyone just loves to sing it.
We bused happily back to Annapolis Valley and fell sleepily into bed!