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KAM and COVID-19 Statement

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Explorers

Explorers

We have 35+ art galleries, museums and historic sites for you to visit! Check them out here.

Welcome to the Kingston Association of Museums, Art Galleries & Historic Sites!

We are a not-for-profit professional network and collaborative resource hub supporting the Kingston region's cultural heritage sector. 

The Kingston Association of Museums, Art Galleries and Historic Sites, otherwise known as KAM, first emerged 40 years ago as a community-initiated, professional support network to promote public awareness and increase engagement across Kingston’s cultural heritage sites through collective promotional and programming initiatives. KAM is also engaged in supporting its membership through the dissemination of information, sector best practices, and professional development opportunities.

Our members range from federally owned sites with professional staff, to sites which are member-owned and volunteer operated. Some operate seasonally; others are open year round.  Many have specialist collections that tell the stories and histories of our communities from local, regional and national perspectives. From its inception, KAM was driven by the ideal that by working collaboratively, despite differences in size, mandates and resources, cultural heritage sites and organizations could quite simply; do better together, improving practice and strengthening their connections within and across communities.

2020 marks our 40th anniversary and we have much to celebrate. As the professional network and resource hub within Kingston’s cultural heritage landscape, KAM is committed to facilitating a resilient, innovative and responsive cultural heritage sector within the Kingston and area community.

 

We recognize that our work, and the work of our members, takes place on Indigenous territories across Eastern Ontario.

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These helmets were the British military Foreign Service Helmets used primarily in the Victorian era and designed for...

These helmets were the British military Foreign Service Helmets used primarily in the Victorian era and designed for hot, dry and humid climates. They were lightweight in design being made of sola pith or cork. The wide brim helped keep the sun or rain out of your eyes. Space between your head and the top of the helmet as well as the 6 holes at the top allowed for ventilation. But the  ‘coolest ’part about these helmets is they were designed to get wet! The helmets were designed to be soaking wet when in use. Before putting it on one would place it  in a tub of water and the cork like material would soak the water in. After a few hours you’d place the helmet on, and it would act as a rudimentary cooling system. 
 
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The white pith helmets, acquired from the Canadian Army, were worn during the opening ceremonies of Fort Henry on...

The white pith helmets, acquired from the Canadian Army, were worn during the opening ceremonies of Fort Henry on August. 1. 1938.

Fort Henry Director, Ronald L. Way was trying to outfit the original Fort Henry Guard for the official opening of the Fort and asked the local military officials for any surplus uniforms. They supplied him with red tunics and blue trousers and also had a stock of out of date white helmets. This style was used by the Canadian militia prior to the First World War and a sufficient number of these were located in storage. Way was also able to mount a number of Victorian British helmet plates from various regiments on these helmets and that was what the Guard wore on Opening Day. Way knew they were not correct, but he had to work with what was available. The helmet was generally known as the Colonial Pattern helmet by the British Army and was adopted as the full dress helmet by Canadian military, both regular and militia. For full dress it had a brass spike and chin chain with a large star pattern regimental plate. In undress the spike was replaced by a white dome. This particular pattern, which was worn with a khaki cover in the Boer War, was replaced by the lower, broader brimmed pith helmet known as the Wolsely Pattern in the twentieth century. This later version is still the official full dress headdress of the Canadian Infantry, but is almost never seen, except occasionally on bandsmen with the scarlet tunic. Full dress currently is the dark green uniform with beret.

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Many British Regiments in the nineteenth century had a Regimental Band. The band consisted of woodwind and brass...

Many British Regiments in the nineteenth century had a Regimental Band. The band consisted of woodwind and brass musicians who wore white tunics and played for ceremonial and regimental activities such as route marches. The band was maintained by Commissioned Officers paying a yearly fee towards the band’s upkeep. Each regiment had its own special music for marching past on review, or lamenting the dead. A tune called “The Rogue’s March” was often played when undesirables were dismissed from a regiment.

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  • Kingston
  • The Great Waterway
  • KEDCO
  • Tourism Kingston
  • Ontario Heritage Trust