Living History Presentation in COVID-19

This is modified from my most recent contribution on the topic of "Summer programs, events and outside rentals" on the ALHFAM discussion list
the Association of Living History Farms and Museums is a largely North American membership that contains both curators and living history interpeters.


My Viking Age group (Dark Ages Re-Creation Company) normally mounts a major presentation at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg Ontario as part of their Medieval Festival, the second weekend in June every year. On April 9 this event was cancelled, and my understanding is that UCV will be setting back its normal season opening, originally set for the May 3/4 weekend.

DARC's 2019 presentation

Early on, within DARC we had some discussion about how COVID-19 would effect our involvement and presentation. DARC focuses on the 'daily life of the artisan' within the 800 - 1000 AD time frame we portray. (Significantly here, we do not involve ourselves in any 'combat' demonstrations.) In this we normally mount a number of technical demonstrations which involve working with tools and processes that have safety considerations. (As an addition here, the basic policy for us is 'History STOPS when Safety STARTS'. This means modern eye protection most specifically.). So practically, we normally work a number of our larger demonstrations behind rope lines already. These have limited or no direct public involvement. Blacksmithing / metal casting : Glass bead making : treadle Lathe : green Woodworking. You can see how all of these involve fire / sharp or moving tools.
This also would include our Foodways, here the mid day meal for the group is cooked over an open fire.
For all these aspects, at least the potential exists to just move the rope lines further back to maintain effective distancing.

Beadmaking - behind the rope line - 2018

Textiles related demonstrations are another major presentation component. Spinning / Weaving / Net work. Normally these demonstrations are carried out more 'in the round. Again, it would certainly be possible to use rope lines to maintain  distance from the public here. Story Telling / Music certainly would not present any special distancing problems.

As all of the objects we use in presentation are replicas. Outside of cutting edges or high value / fragile objects, our normal is to allow supervised, but fairly wide open, ability for public hands on examination of objects. We use a number of 'passive' security features, like sea chests and cooperage set across an otherwise open tent door. At any of the presentation stations there are always a number of samples of 'work in progress' or raw materials for the public to handle. Some things specifically intended for 'use or try', games, toys, yoke and bucket, bits of armour.

Toys in in one of the 'wide open' tents - 2019

I have always been a vocal supporter of the huge value of physically holding replicas.
Obviously, the current situation requires the general public not to be allowed to directly handle objects.


Now the reality of the crowds kicks in. This event typically gets in the range of 3 - 5000 visiting public on each of Saturday and Sunday. Monday is education day, with something like 5 - 8000 school children, bused in from a wide circle around eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
Honestly - plague city!
(There are many aspects of the Medieval period I have portrayed over the decades. Participating in the Black Death is not one of them!)
As I originally mentioned, both the Canadian and Ontario governments have imposed lock down outside of determined 'essential services'. At point of writing, this continues at least to May 14, with every expectation of another extension. As mentioned, Upper Canada Village had decided to cancel this special event (quite wisely to my opinion).

One important factor DARC considered when COVID-19 leaked into Ontario (back at the start of March) was the potential impact on individual members - as staff.  As an amateur group, our participants would be coming from considerable distances over Southern Ontario : Kitchener / Ottawa / Sudbury / Owen Sound (most driving 6 hours or more to Morrisburg). Some are rural, many urban, but all from quite different local situations right now. Generally the majority of group members are 'middle aged' to 'almost senior' (that would be me). A few have pre-existing health that makes them special targets for this virus.
In short, the potential for infecting * us * from this kind of exposure to the wide general public was certainly a larger consideration than how to maintain safety within the visitors.


If what I see outside my window this weekend, here in very rural Grey County, is any indication, urban dwellers are flooding away from the city into the country, looking for distraction and freedom from their city life restrictions. Despite the very real economic disaster COVID-19 provisions have created for all institutions that rely on entry fees, I would suggest the potential harm from wide open exposure from the general public to all working staff is just too high to even contemplate.
This danger of infection is most certainly to be elevated within just the kind of people most likely to insist on their 'Right' to freedom of movement - who themselves are most likely to be exposed and transmitting COVID-19 through their own actions.





Images seen here are from past presentations (as indicated)
Links of the various presentation are to the most recent UCV demonstrations - as posted on the DARC web site.