The Hanley Institute will be presenting “Macphail”, a celebration of Agnes Macphail, on April 2nd at 2:00p.m.

Agnes Macphail took her seat as Canada’s first female Member of Parliament in March 1922. The Hanley Institute will have an afternoon celebration in Flesherton with the youth of the Hanley Theatre Club performing excerpts from Diane Gordon's noted one-woman show “Macphail”, followed with birthday cupcakes for the audience at Spring Street to mark her birthday.

The Hanley Institute has been awarded a $50,000.00 grant from the Government of Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage through the Legacy Fund Component of the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Program. The funding will go towards their work on the Flesherton Community Theatre for the Performing Arts project.

The Legacy Fund component provides funding for community-initiated capital projects that restore, renovate, or transform an existing building or exterior space (such as a statue, community hall, monument, garden, or work of art) intended for community use. Eligible capital projects are those that commemorate the 100th anniversary or greater of a significant local historical event or personality.

The Legacy Fund grant supports The Hanley Institute facility, enabling community cultural activities and addressing the challenges of renovating to modern standards in its historical 145-year-old church setting.

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MP Alex Ruff stated, “Arts and heritage are important aspects of culture in rural communities. I am very pleased that the Hanley Institute has been awarded this funding for the Flesherton Community Theatre for the Performing Arts. In her remarkable life, Agnes went on to represent the Southeast Grey riding, part of the riding I have the honour of representing today. I look forward to seeing this positive initiative in the Flesherton community unfold.”

source: media release, MP Alex Ruff