Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Local Town Crier Headed to Canada for World Championships

By Christina Georgiou

Easton's appointed town crier, David Rose, as seen at
the city's Heritage Day celebration earlier this month.
Rose is headed to Canada in August to compete at
the World Invitational Town Crier Championships.
David Rose, Easton's official appointed town crier, will be heading to Kingston in Ontario, Canada on August 1 to represent the city at the World Invitational Town Crier Championships, Mayor Sal Panto's office announced today.

The five day competition will feature more than 30 town criers from Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, New Zealand, and the United States. 

Rose will be accompanied by his wife, Kimberly Rose, who will act as his "escort". In the "Queen’s Jubilee Competition" held last year in Bracebridge, Ontario, she received recognition as “Best Dressed Escort” for her Victorian era ensemble.

At the August event, competitors will be judged on their ability to deliver a prepared "cry", the topic of which is assigned before the competition, in the open air before a panel of judges without the use of any electronic amplification. The First Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. MacDonald, and a response to the question of whether Kingston should have remained the capital of Canada instead of it being moved to Ottawa will be the subject addressed at this year's Town Crier Championships. Judges' evaluation of competitors' performances are based on a variety of criteria.

Each crier will also be required to perform a "hometown cry", which will give Rose the opportunity to present the City of Easton to an international audience, Wednesday announcement noted.

Rose said he plans to base his entry on an 1893 edition of The Easton Express that highlighted the many successful city businesses of the day and will perform the cry in period Victorian attire.

"It's going to be a promotional cry, encouraging businesses to relocate to Easton," he said.

Many of the most serious town criers from around the world are local history buffs, and use their town crying to spread the word about their city of origin, Rose said.

"This is the first time I've competed at this level," he added. "It's a great chance too to promote Easton."

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