Mike Baker: "London's 200th Anniversary (Again)"
April 16, 2025 at 7:00pm
In collaboration with the London and Middlesex Historical Society, we are pleased to co-host an evening visit with curator and editor Mike Baker, who will join us to talk about the bicentennial celebration of London, Ontario, which is set to take place in 2026. Did you know London already hosted a bicentennial celebration in 1993?
Mike Baker: “London’s 200th Anniversary (Again) – From Simcoe’s Choice to Simcoe’s Legacy”
16 April 2025, 7:00 PM
London Public Library Central Branch, Stevenson & Hunt Room
251 Dundas St, London, ON
This event will be hybrid: you can join us at the London Public Library (Stevenson & Hunt Room) or online via Zoom Webinars. This ticket will allow you to join us EITHER onsite or online.
Those preparing to celebrate London’s bicentennial next year (1826 – 2026) will perhaps be surprised to learn that London’s already had one. 1993 saw an extensive celebration built around the 200th anniversary of a visit to the forks of the Thames by Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, which confirmed his decision to create a reserve there for a future capital.
Events included A New Year’s Gala, a Founder’s Day, the highlight of which was a reenactment of Simcoe’s arrival, and a Revolutionary War skirmish in Greenway Park. There was a golf tournament, a giant breakfast hosted by Tony the Tiger, a Scottish Festival, an environmental conference, even the RCMP Musical Ride came to town. All presided over by “Lt.-Gov. Simcoe and Mrs. Simcoe,” portrayed by Woody Lambe, a teacher and sheep farmer from Embro, and Jane Barrett.
The highlight for the London and Middlesex Historical Society was the publication of Simcoe’s Choice, a collection of essays by some of London’s best historians. Subjects included the Great Fire, the Flint cottages, the Rebellion of 1837, Adam Beck, and Victorian obscenity (really!).
This illustrated talk will focus on the events of 1993, those held during the Centennial of 1926 and will provide an overview of the historical events that gave rise to the two celebrations.
Register to join us onsite OR online HERE
