Nanaimo Bastion Opening

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Saturday, May 17th, 2014
12:00 PM

Nanaimo�s iconic Bastion opens with a bang on Saturday, May 17. The Empire Days May Queen will fire the noon cannon to celebrate the start of the Bastion�s summer season. Members of the public are invited to watch the firing and view the history exhibits inside the Bastion.

The cannon firing and operation of the Bastion are made possible with support from the City of Nanaimo, the Nanaimo Port Authority and Tourism Nanaimo. �Our sponsors make it possible open the Bastion and fire the cannon all summer,� says Debbie Trueman, General Manager of the Nanaimo Museum. �We appreciate the support they have given us for many years to share Nanaimo�s heritage with the community and tourists.�

Building on last summer's success, a visitor information kiosk will be located inside the Bastion from May 14 to Labour Day weekend from 9am-5pm. The visitor information kiosk is the result of a partnership between the Nanaimo Museum and Tourism Nanaimo. Exhibits and artifacts from the Bastion�s 160 year history are located on the second and third floors with admission by donation.

Over the winter the cannons were refurbished, largely due to the efforts of museum volunteer Brian Roberts. The cannons now have new paint and stain to help protect them from the weather. "Taking care of the cannons and other artifacts is an important part of the museum's work in the community," says Aimee Greenaway, Interpretation Curator at the museum. "We preserve artifacts because they help people connect to Nanaimo's history." International Museum Day on Sunday, May 18 is highlighting the role that museum collections all over the world play in making history relevant to communities. The Bastion and Nanaimo Museum will be open for International Museum Day on Sunday, May 18.

The Bastion is open daily 10:00-3:00 from May 17 to September 1. The cannon firing re-enactment ceremony takes place from 11:45-12:00 daily. On Thursdays and Saturdays in July and August only the cannon firing ceremony will feature Highland dance performances by youth from the Brigadoon Dance Academy. These dance performances are a tribute to the Scottish families that immigrated to Nanaimo in the 1850s.