'Celebration' of Montgomery's Inn set for Nov. 26.
Over 250 people showed up at a press conference held in support of Mongomery's Inn on Sunday against the city's plan to cut museums. Janice Etter who has organized a group of citizens to support Montgomery's Inn speaks to the crowd.
Staff photo/ IAN KELSO
Supporters of Montgomery's Inn are staying positive, despite the lasting sting of seeing their beloved museum on a list of four rumoured to be on the city's chopping block.
"We feel that we're under siege, that we're at risk, that we're under threat," Janice Etter, chair of the Montgomery's INNovators, told The Guardian on Wednesday. "But we've decided that we'd rather spend our time continuing to do our real work - to just bring people together and make a public statement that we are a community, and that we do all kinds of good and interesting things that are of measurable value to people in the community."
To those ends, the INNovators - a seven-month-old, membership-based, non-profit organization supporting the Inn - will host a 'celebration' of Montgomery's Inn from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26.
Scheduled just two days before Mayor Rob Ford's proposed budget is set to make its first appearance at city hall, Etter said the event will be an informative and enjoyable one, with a microphone handed around for people to share their stories about what Montgomery's Inn means to them.
There will also be updates on the situation with the Inn's possible closure, tips on what concerned residents can do to let their voices be heard, as well as musical entertainment, and refreshments (hot malt cider, bread and fruitcakes) for sale.
"We need to be positive," Etter said. "We need to say, 'we're staying.'"
That was precisely the message this past Sunday when, the day after a media report leaked the list of four museums allegedly slated for closure, members of both the INNovators and the Etobicoke Historical Society (EHS) joined with more than 200 heritage supporters and St. Paul's West Councillor Joe Mihevc to form a protective human chain around Montgomery's Inn.
Mihevc said the current city budget for its 10 museums is $6.5 million - $5.3 million of which comes from city hall, with the remaining $1.2 million covered by revenue brought in from the museums. By proposing to shutter four of those museums - Montgomery's Inn in Etobicoke, Gibson House and Zion School in North York, and the Market Gallery in downtown Toronto - Mihevc said the city is trying to trim its share of the museum funding by $1 million, down to $4.3 million.
Calling the proposed closures an "ill-judged move," Mihevc instead called on Mayor Ford to grant a year-long reprieve to the four sites, during which time an assessment and sustainability review of the museums could be undertaken.
"And in the meantime, we're asking that they don't close anything. Maybe there's some additional money that can be brought in through gift shops and permit revenue and so on," he said. "We need to see if there are ways to help them operate in a more cost-effective manner."
It's a proposal both Etter and EHS President Denise Harris are in favour of.
For Harris' part, this isn't the first time EHS has been faced with Montgomery's Inn's demise. Back in 1962, the society stepped up to purchase the Inn after a developer revealed plans to either level the building or relocate it, to make way for new development on the site.
Given their strong ties to Montgomery's Inn over the years, Harris said she and other members of EHS were "very discouraged" at news the Inn might be on the chopping block.
"With all the work that's been done over the years to save the Inn, we were so instrumental in that. So now it's like, 'okay, how many times do we have to save it and persuade the city that it's a museum?'" said Harris, who's also a member of the INNovators. "It's very discouraging, but at the same time, we're prepared to do it, because there's no doubt that it shouldn't be closed."
To ensure that Montgomery's Inn remains open, the INNovators are now busy working on business and marketing plans, developing new programs and strengthening their existing ones, doing outreach, and, of course, baking bread in their popular outdoor bake oven to sell at their weekly Wednesday farmers' markets, Etter said.
"We're trying to change the tone of what's going on to something more positive. We want to make a really clear statement...(that) we're trying to make a model for how to transform the museums so that they're more than just museums," she added. "We want more engagement; we want to give people reason to come in twice a week, three times a month, because that's really the key in strengthening museums."
But to do that, they need more time.
The city will unveil its proposed budget - including all recommended cuts - in less than two weeks, on Nov. 28.
Mihevc said he is hoping that, with enough push back from the community, the museums will go back in the budget. Towards those ends, an online petition is currently circulating, aimed at preserving Toronto's museums. To sign it, go to http://togethertoronto.ca/campaigns/museums/