Volunteer Committee of the Gardiner Museum – 2009
Two Notable Events: News from Diane Dyer and Jean Griffiths of the Volunteer Committee of the Gardiner Museum (GVC)
What do you do when you are celebrating 25 years? Have a party! While the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto marked this special anniversary in May, we volunteers had our party late one afternoon in June. We were delighted that seven of our 13 members who have been volunteers since the beginning joined us; they were easily recognized by their voluptuous white rose corsage. Over 100 guests attended: they included staff and Board members, our first GVC president Maureen Callahan, and Dallis Locke, one of the ROM docents who trained the original Gardiner guides. (We have always been grateful for the invaluable assistance and advice of ROM volunteers in those early months.) We missed our beloved Helen Gardiner who passed away in July 2008 (George had predeceased her in December 1997), but we were delighted that her daughter was able to join us. Videos of interviews, a panorama of photos, gallery tours, loads of prizes, sumptuous and plentiful finger foods, and finally cupcakes, decorated with the Gardiner logo and donated to us by the Museum, entertained the guests who had fun reconnecting and reminiscing.
The second great excitement of the year lies with the coming to Toronto of the National Docent Symposium which is being held for the very first time outside the United States. The morning of October 16, our Gardiner volunteers will welcome delegates from across North America with refreshments and displays of some of the past projects of the Museum collated by the archives volunteers. Delegates can also take tours of the clay studio, the Brooker Library and Archives, as well as the beautiful galleries with their ceramic treasures. There will be opportunities for the docents to exchange ideas and experiences and to learn new techniques. In the evening, the Museum and the volunteers will host a gala which includes additional tours of the galleries and a cocktail supper catered by well-known chef Jamie Kennedy. This day will highlight both the Gardiner and our volunteers on an international stage during the year of our 25th anniversary.
You can easily see that with these two special events supported by dedicated volunteers and the Museum the Gardiner Volunteer Committee is having a wonderful 2009!
(See www.docents.net and click on “National Docent Symposium Council” for more information on this organization. Jean Griffiths is Director of the Council for Eastern Canada – Manitoba to Newfoundland.)
