This summer, The Tale of a Town will be making a stop on Dundas Street in Mississauga. For those unaware, The Tale of a Town Canada is a site specific media and theatre project. Developed in collaboration with The National Arts Centre of Canada, Tale of a Town promotes neighbourhood culture and preserving local heritage through capturing the community memory of our country’s main streets, one story at a time. 

The Tale of a Town has been touring across Canada gathering stories in big cities and small towns by means of both impromptu and scheduled interviews with anyone from neighbourhood residents to community stakeholders. The stories gathered inspire performance installations which take place in site specific downtown locations. These performances are created in collaboration with presenting partners across the country and local artists.

Storymobile Stops on Dundas Street

Over the course of 16 days, The Tale of a Town will set up at several different locations for Storymobile stops along Dundas Street:

• The first of the Storymobile stops will be on July 15-17, at Erindale Park. The stop will run from 11:00am to 3:00pm on all days.
   
• The second Storymobile stop is on July 20-21 at Mississauga Celebration Square. On July 20 the stop will run from 1:00pm to 6:00pm. On July 21, the stop runs from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
   
• The third stop is on July 22-24, in Cooksville (at Four Corners Park). This stop will run from 11:00am to 3:00pm on all days.
   
• The fourth Storymobile stop is on July 27-28, at the Burnhamthorpe Community Centre. This stop runs from 11:00am to 3:00pm on both days.
   
• The fifth and final Storymobile stop is on July 29-31, a return to Four Corners Park in Cooksville. This stop runs from 11:00am to 3:00pm on all days.

Purpose behind the Tale of a Town

One of the many goals behind Tale of a Town is to inspire people, and to help people recall why Main Street is important. It’s key to remember how supporting small businesses makes a world of difference in a community. Tale of a Town also wants to return value to the meaning of the words “local pride” within Canadians.

Tale of a Town has also been a very effective way of receiving public engagement and audience development as it connects people with their past through innovative approaches in gathering and re-telling stories, and has received high critical acclaim for its social relevance and high artistic merit.

Canadian stories matter. Tale of a Town recognizes this and wants to allow local to give way to global. Through all initiatives made by Tale of a Town, they save nearly lost stories that inspire a brighter future for the main streets in Canada.

History of Tale of a Town

Initially, Tale of a Town was launched at the National Arts Centre of Canada in May 2014. Their 2014 tour had taken them across provinces in Canada such as Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. This period included performances at Harbourfront Theatre and Victoria Playhouse in PEI, The Fredericton Playhouse in New Brunswick, Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Halifax, and The Art and Culture Centres in Newfoundland and Labrador. Tale of a Town has also presented live performances in London Ontario with The Grand Theatre, Ottawa with the Shenkman Centre for the Arts, and elsewhere throughout Canada.

Tale of a Town is a very enriching way to revive the history and stories behind the streets that make up the city and community we live in. Come by any one of the Storymobile stops from July 15-31 at the various locations and contribute to telling a meaningful story about the history of the community you live in!