Family Day isn't a holiday with clear direction on how to celebrate. In the past, we've combined it with Valentine's Day or even got together with extended family.
This year, Janae helped us out by suggesting a truly unique activity.
A few weeks ago, I got an email from Bard on the Beach, advertising an exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery where a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio (recently acquired by UBC) would be on display. I forwarded this message to Janae (who has recently rediscovered that she likes Shakespeare) and then told her about it, but she seemed only mildly interested.
Then a few days before the long weekend, Janae got a message from her English teacher (now mentor), telling her about the same exhibit. Somehow this caught Janae's attention in a way that my obviously uninspiring and forgettable attempt did not. Janae told me about the Folio as if I'd never heard about it and wondered if we could go see it.
Well ... why not?
When I was at university, I loved those rare times when I got to look at books locked away in special collections. I don't think I'd ever seen anything as famous as this, though!
Printed in 1623, it's considered "one of the most influential books ever published" (that's from Wikipedia). It was the first printed version of many of Shakespeare's plays, without which they might have been lost.
Besides seeing the Folio itself, we had the wonderful experience of being surrounded by enormous versions of illustrations and quotes from the book.
We really loved it, but Eric was a bit underwhelmed.
Lucky for him there were other things to do at the gallery, including this "community weaving project," which Eric transformed into a multi-story endeavor.
Since it was Family Day, children also got a packet with a sketchbook, pencil, magnifying glass, and scavenger hunt. Eric put his materials to good use, copying one of Emily Carr's forest scenes.
We made a few other stops in Vancouver, then headed home to get ready for school on Tuesday.
Overall, a fun and inspiring day for our family!
