[BCMA] 'Do You Carrot at All?' Exhibit Launch at the Port Hardy Museum and Visitor Centre

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

*NEWS RELEASE*

*For Immediate Release*

*July 24, 2025*


*    'Do You Carrot All?' New Exhibit*

* Po**rt Hardy Museum and Visitor Centre*


                                               [image: “Mile 0:
Trans-Carrot Highway.” Photo courtesy of Port Hardy Museum and Archives,
North Island Gazette Photo Collection, 1976. .jpg]




 PORT HARDY, KWAKIUTL TERRITORY – The Port Hardy Museum and Visitor Centre
is excited to announce the opening of The Carrot Campaign exhibit *'Do you
Carrot All?’ *at our Visitor Centre location (2520 Market Street).


In honour of this year's Filomi Days theme, 'The Year of the Carrot', we
have curated a quirky exhibition about the Carrot Campaign of 1976. This
campaign advocated for a highway connecting Northern Vancouver Island to
the rest of Vancouver Island. Promises of this road date back to the
establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1840s.


Before the creation of the highway, North Island residents could only
travel by ferry to the South end of the Island and Vancouver. In the 1960s,
treacherous logging roads opened for public use; this was not a solution.
North Island residents came together to pressure the government to stop
dangling the carrot (the highway) for votes, and to finally follow through
and build it. As noted at the time by Campaign organizer, Roland Shanks,
“That battered, half chewed, over-mature carrot that you clutch so
tenaciously in your hand is mine! I want it now!”


Assistant Curator Brie Watson notes that "The Carrot Campaign is a strong
example of how the determination and resilience of small communities can
create positive political change, and can be a source of community pride."


“The exhibit parallels the spectacle and humour of the original Carrot
Campaign, and we wanted to capture that spirit,” shares Curator Robin
Folvik. “Roland Shanks generously donated most of what is featured in the
exhibit. His collection made it possible for us to include many of the
original Carrot Campaign materials.”


The Carrot Campaign exhibit ‘Do you Carrot All?’ was a collaborative effort
of our staff. With guidance from Curator/Director Robin Folvik,
contributors included Brie Watson (Assistant Curator), Miriam Xia
(Curatorial Assistant), Ashley Cadwallader (Assistant Manager, Visitor
Services), and Danya Gorodetsky (Volunteer). Tyler Nelson, Hyson Johnson,
and Suzana Gogich provided additional support.


The Port Hardy Museum and Visitor Centre is operated by the Port Hardy
Heritage Society, a non-profit organization. For more information about
latest activities, exhibits or how to support the organization, visit
https://www.facebook.com/PortHardyMuseum/


The exhibit will be on display for the rest of the summer, and we welcome
visitors and community members to view it.


-30-

For More Information:

Robin Folvik, Curator/Director, info at porthardymuseum.com, (250) 949-8143.
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