A year after being recognized as an Ontario Community Changemaker for her work conceptualizing a local-level mapmaking project for Haliburton village and Pamela Marsales is preparing to share her idea with the public.
A project reception will be held at Rails End Gallery on Wednesday (Oct. 7), with Marsales saying the initiative is a fun way to bring people together, while learning more about the area.
“Bringing people together, communitybuilding and just raising awareness of the pathways around the village, because they can be quite hidden [to people] who don’t know they’re there,” Marsales said.
She was one of 30 people provincewide selected for last year’s fellowship. It’s a micro-grant program for Ontario residents to help spark new ideas and invigorate change in their communities. Marsales was sponsored by charity 8 80 Cities for this project.
After two successful seasons running the Caboose Bike Hub in Head Lake Park, Marsales said she’s spent lots of time touring and promoting the village’s trails – even those a little off the beaten path. She created little diagrams of her own to share with people interested in learning the routes. Now, she’s asking others to do the same.
At the reception, Marsales will showcase a range of hand-drawn map styles that she hopes will inspire others to try their own hand at it.
“We’re going to hang these maps on clotheslines strung across the room, so people can wander around and look at them… I think that will help keep people moving, get them thinking and spark conversation,” she said.
While the project is centred on routes in and around Haliburton village, Marsales said other parts of the community could be featured, too.
“If someone lives in Eagle Lake and they have their own little route they take – for cycling or hiking – they would be welcome to submit a map of that,” she said.
Rather than use the submitted pieces as wayfinding material, Marsales said they will be combined for an art show she plans to debut next year.
Though, she hopes contributors won’t simply discard their map, or stick it in a drawer, once the project wraps.
“Before everyone had an interactive map on their phone, paper maps or scribbled directions were how you planned your route,” Marsales said. “When I was travelling in Europe before cell phones, I carried a pocket notebook so, when I asked for directions, they could draw a map for me. Map submissions can be as simple as showing how to walk or bike between two points – you do not need to have an artistic talent.”
The reception runs at Rails End from 4 to 6 p.m.
