Guildford Town Centre and Museum of Surrey Hosting ‘What We Bring’ Exhibit

New Exhibit to Feature Objects and Artifacts That Local Individuals and Families Brought When First Immigrating to Canada

In celebration of Canada Day, Guildford Town Centre and the Museum of Surrey will be hosting a new exhibit, What We Bring, June 25^th to July 9^th. The exhibit will showcase many beloved objects and artifacts that people carried with them when first immigrating to Canada. What We Bring will be open to visitors during regular mall hours at Centre Court at Guildford Town Centre.

“We are very pleased to bring this exhibit to our shoppers here at Guildford Town Centre. It provides our shoppers with the opportunity to engage with the Museum of Surrey in our Centre while bringing the community together.” Kyla Way, Marketing Director, Guildford Town Centre.

Some of the items that will be on display as part of the exhibit include:

• An antique trunk brought to Canada in 1914, by nine-year-old Elizabeth Muir when she immigrated to Canada from Scotland aboard the RMS Hesperian. Elizabeth is the grandmother of Kyla Way, Guildford Town Centre’s Marketing Director. One of over 100,000 British Home Children sent to Canada from Great Britain between 1869 and the late 1940s, Elizabeth was given the two-foot by one-foot box to make her journey – it held everything she had in the world when she came to Canada.
• Hand embroidered wedding gown brought to Canada by Dalia Al Husseini from Palestine. Dalia is from Jerusalem and a shopper at Guildford Town Centre. The gown was worn by Dalia at her wedding and was given to her by her mother in 2009. It is painstakingly handstitched by Palestinian refugee and expert embroiderer Raghad Hatahet.
• A Teddy Bear won at a State Fair in the 1950’s lent by Trudy Deichen of Surrey, BC and shopper of Guildford Town Centre. This teddy bear with red fur body and red fur chest was won by Trudy Deichen’s father for her at a state fair in Washington State when she was 8 years old.  Her father Jimmy Parker worked as a logger. Trudy was born in Bellingham and grew up on Orcas Island. Her family was a pioneer family on Orcas for hundreds of years, and their items are still displayed in the local museum. She later immigrated to Canada with her husband who was a teacher.  The bear is one of only 2 items Trudy has left from her childhood.
• A Cake Pan with recipe lent to the exhibit by Sharon Clayton of Surrey, BC and Guildford Town Centre shopper. The items were brought to Canada by Sharon’s mother Marjorie Kentish Davis who lived in Jamaica and who met her husband Kenneth MacRae Campbell in Jamaica. He was a piper in the Canadian army. Mary was a war bride from Jamaica to Canada. There were many war brides from England to Canada, but not many know about women from Jamaica to Canada.  The items were lent by Sharon Joan MacRae Campbell (now Clayton) who was the first-born child of Marjorie Kentish Davis. She was born in Jamaica. The cake pan on display and recipe were Sharon’s mothers. The pan was used to make Jamaican Christmas Pudding a traditional pudding that was steamed.
• A Briefcase from Thailand “Hitachi” from about 1990 on loan from Mr. Win Zaw  of Surrey, BC and a shopper at Guildford Town Centre. He has lived in Canada for 30 years. Before he came to Canada he was a refugee from Myanmar (Burma) to Thailand.  On display is a photo ID from a refugee labor camp where he lived in Thailand. The briefcase was purchased in Thailand and came to Canada when Mr. Zaw immigrated. He said inside were his few possessions including 500 Thai Baht, about $20 Canadian.

“Talking to shoppers we heard so many deeply sentimental stories and learning that this exhibit matters to the people of Surrey. Our vision is to be the best people’s museum in Canada. And so, with this exhibit, it is important for us to be in a public location such as Guildford Town Centre and to talk to people who may not often visit the Museum. We want to tell the stories of the people of Surrey.” Colleen Sharpe, Curator of Exhibits, Museum of Surrey.

For more information visit www.guildfordtowncentre.com