After two years in production, the Muskoka District installment of the Ontario Visual Heritage Project, entitled Life on the Edge; Stories from the History of Muskoka, will be launched at the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville on June 19. This free event will feature a screening of the two-hour documentary film which explores the intriguing history of the Muskoka district and its people through interviews with local historians, archival films and photographs, and re-enactments of historical events.

To kickoff the evening, a reception catered by Savour Muskoka and sponsored by Muskoka Tourism will be held in Partner’s Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m., and the screening will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Ragtime pianist Jack Hutton will be providing entertainment during the reception and intermission. The evening will wrap up around 10 p.m.

The Ontario Visual Heritage Project team, with the support of the Muskoka Heritage Foundation and other community groups, has been hard at work since funding for the project from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and FedNor was announced in July of 2006. Under the guidance of a steering committee made up of local volunteers from the historical community, more than 50 historians were interviewed and the talents of 55 community actors were employed for the 27 re-enactments shot for the film. District museums and historical groups also played an integral role in the project by providing historic shooting locations and archival materials. During the reception and intermission, attendees of the launch will have a chance to meet some of the groups involved by visiting booths set up by these organizations.

One of the goals of this not-for-profit project is to create multimedia tool kits, which are meant to teach, preserve and promote the history of Ontario to audiences young and old. The documentary is the central component of each project, and is augmented by a website where the videos can be viewed in streaming media, a course guide for educators, and an interactive DVD which allows viewers to access stories via a timeline, through their location, or according to their theme, and also includes 60 minutes of additional stories and content. The launch will celebrate not only the completion of the project and the history of Muskoka but also the upcoming distribution of the multimedia tool kits to every school, library and museum in the district free of charge.

Life on the Edge; Stories from the History of Muskoka looks at the stories that make the district unique, and the events that contextualize the area within the bigger picture of our country.

“The story of Muskoka is one strongly tied to the environment,” said project director Zach Melnick. “For centuries, the granite that lies just beneath the surface has shaped life on the edge of the Canadian shield — from the First Nations peoples who plied the waterways throughout the district according to the cycles of the seasons, to the European settlers who struggled to farm amid the boulders, to the first tourists who dared to venture into the unknown, north of Toronto.

“The story of Muskoka is one of endurance; a spirit that can be seen in all of its peoples. But don’t take our word for it – this story is told almost entirely through the words of leading local historians such as Richard Tatley, Susan Pryke and Patrick Boyer, and through the exploits of the region’s first group of European tourists, the Muskoka Club.”

Orders for DVDs of Life on the Edge will be taken at the launch in Huntsville. Attendees will have a chance to provide feedback to the producers before the DVD master is created. In September the DVDs will be available for purchase from the Muskoka Heritage Foundation and other partner organizations. For a full list of partner organizations, additional information on the launch, or to view a video trailer of Life on the Edge; Stories from the History of Muskoka, please visit the website at www.visualheritage.ca.