Characters, Con Men & Celebrities

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Wednesday, February 10th, 2016
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

An unusual combination of people are highlighted in the Nanaimo Museum’s latest feature exhibit.  Petty thieves, poets to murderers, politicians, a conservation officer and others make up the uniquely Nanaimo exhibit, Characters, Con Men & Celebrities. 

The exhibit runs from February 1 to May 7 and features artifacts and photos from the Nanaimo Museum’s collections.  A special exhibit presentation takes place on February 16 & April 2.

Thirty remarkable people from Nanaimo’s past are profiled in the exhibit.  “There are many interesting people in Nanaimo’s history who haven’t fit with past feature exhibits,” says Aimee Greenaway, Interpretation Curator at the Nanaimo Museum.  “Characters, Con Men & Celebrities gave us an opportunity to showcase some of these remarkable and entertaining stories for the community.”  The exhibit includes people from diverse backgrounds including those who were working class, rich, women and various ethnic groups.  “This isn’t your usual museum exhibit,” says Greenaway.  “Most of the people have stories that could be turned into a bestselling novel or blockbuster movie.”

The exhibit does not place anyone into the categories of characters, con men or celebrities.  “The role of the museum was to research these intriguing people and present their stories,” says Greenaway.  “We hope the visitors will read the stories and be their own judge of who is a character, con man or celebrity.”  Visitors are invited to go on the Nanaimo Museum’s Facebook page and post answers to the question “Who do you think deserves the title of Nanaimo’s most fascinating character, con (wo)man or celebrity?”  Postings can be made for one person in each category or just a single overall favorite.  This in-house exhibit made possible by a generous bequest from Mary Holmes.

The Nanaimo Museum is hosting a presentation for this exhibit on Tuesday, February 16 & April 2, 1:30-2:15.  Pre-registration is required and the cost is $5 per person.  At the presentation, visitors will join exhibit curator, Aimee Greenaway, to hear selected stories from the exhibit including details and characters that were edited out.

The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm.  The Nanaimo Museum is located in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, beside Serious Coffee.