This past weekend was spent at Ocean Pond for a family reunion with Elizabeth's family, but we still managed to make a trip to Cupids for a Something Saturday adventure, and we also went to the Hey Rosetta! concert on Monday night!
Cupids Cove Plantation
On Saturday we went to the Cupids Cove Plantation, which is a Provincial Historic Site. To give some background on Cupids:
In 1610, John Guy brought 39 men from England to Cupids, then Cuper's Cove, and founded the first English colony in Canada. The purpose was to secure the fishing trade, and Guy went back to England in 1611 to return with female settlers and livestock. The colony was threatened by the pirate Peter Easton many times, but they managed to make it work.
In 1612, Guy built a ship and embarked on an expedition to Trinity Bay in an attempt to establish a fur trade with the Beothuks. In November 1612, they were successful in sharing a meal and exchanging gifts with the indigenous people. After all of his progress in Newfoundland, Guy returned to England in 1613 and became a Member of Parliament, promoting the cause of English settlement on the island.
So, the Cupids Cove Plantation that we visited encompasses a small house and archaeological dig, located at John Guy's settlement.
In 1610, John Guy brought 39 men from England to Cupids, then Cuper's Cove, and founded the first English colony in Canada. The purpose was to secure the fishing trade, and Guy went back to England in 1611 to return with female settlers and livestock. The colony was threatened by the pirate Peter Easton many times, but they managed to make it work.
In 1612, Guy built a ship and embarked on an expedition to Trinity Bay in an attempt to establish a fur trade with the Beothuks. In November 1612, they were successful in sharing a meal and exchanging gifts with the indigenous people. After all of his progress in Newfoundland, Guy returned to England in 1613 and became a Member of Parliament, promoting the cause of English settlement on the island.
So, the Cupids Cove Plantation that we visited encompasses a small house and archaeological dig, located at John Guy's settlement.
We started at the small house where we got some information and saw paintings about John Guy and his interactions with the Beothuk people. As a side note, all visitors seemed to be provided with a private tour guide, which was awesome!
Our tour guide took us outside where we met one of the archaeologists on site and she showed us a couple of things that she had found the day before - and she let us touch them! This is a 17th century pipe stem:
Our tour guide took us outside where we met one of the archaeologists on site and she showed us a couple of things that she had found the day before - and she let us touch them! This is a 17th century pipe stem:
We were then led around the site, and learned lots about life during that time and even got to walk around the structure that was recreated to show what the house would have looked like. Apparently 39 men would have slept on this top floor (in 15 beds, with 40 blankets):
The tour was great because we learned lots and could ask any (and as many) questions we had. It was hands-on and definitely a cool site to check out. Catalogued artifacts can be found at the Cupids Legacy Centre, but unfortunately we didn't have enough time to check it out.
The rest of the weekend was spent with Elizabeth's family in Ocean Pond, where we spent lots of time playing games and going swimming, among other things. This was the first time that everyone had been together in a while and it was a lot of fun.
The rest of the weekend was spent with Elizabeth's family in Ocean Pond, where we spent lots of time playing games and going swimming, among other things. This was the first time that everyone had been together in a while and it was a lot of fun.
Since we were gone away during the weekend, we missed most of George Street Fest, but we did make it to the Hey Rosetta! concert on Monday night. The rain was threatening all evening, and we came prepared, but luckily the rain held off and we had a great time!
During the concert there were lots of give-aways and crowd participation. This is a picture of the sparklers that were given out during 'Yer Spring'; it's out of focus, but turned out interesting anyway. Watch out, Instagram!
Here are some more pictures from the weekend (there were a lot, but here are some of our favourites):
