Heraldic Studies Day Goes Virtual

Branch President Jason Burgoin acted as master of ceremonies for our first fully virtual heraldic studies day.

“The show must go on” is what we said, even in the middle of lockdown and a pandemic, and that’s what we did. This year’s Annual Heraldic Studies Day took on a much different appearance than the five which preceded it.  But that didn’t stop our members from coming out on November 21, 2020, to take part in one of the highlighted events for the year.  Sadly, we were not able to meet under the roof of Trinity College or dine in the hall of the RCMI, but there were many successes to come from our educational day together.  

Our day got started off a little later than normal, as there was no need to drive into the city of Toronto and find parking (this may be considered one of the pluses to going virtual). We were regaled by some wonderful and very professional presentations on Naval Heraldry, heraldry of the vice-regals, and for the first time, we had a heraldic artist who gave us a presentation.    Although a shorter program than normal years, it was said it was just the right amount of time behind one’s computer screen, which is what we hoped to achieve.  

Steve Cowan from BC was able to join us from the comforts of his study.

We find that each year that we host this event we learn how to make it just a bit better, and this was no different. By hosting our day virtually we were able to ensure that members of our branch who live far away were able to be there to take part. That sentiment was echoed by a number of members who attended, and we plan to make this an option to join online even when we again go back to our highly anticipated in-person gathering.  It was wonderful to see that so many of our members adapted to the change and came out to be part of this event. We know that 2020 proved to be hard on our branch to launch virtual events, but we are hoping that the new year will make up for it.  If we have to have a virtual 7th Annual Heraldic Studies Day we will endeavor to make it just as special as when we are together under the same roof. 

Dr. Christopher McCreery was able to join us from Nova Scotia to speak about vice-regal symbols.

Illustration completed by Katherine Golightly