I spent the past four days at a conference celebrating the 50th year of the Bootmakers of Toronto & The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection in downtown Toronto! My adventure began on Thursday with the pre-conference-ACD-walking-tour led by Peggy Perdue! Luckily, the weather held up, but it was certainly cold. The starting point of this walk is where I first met Japanese Sherlockians Masamichi (Mitch) Higurashi and Yumiko Shigaki! I was so delighted to have finally met the members of the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club in person! Here, we are in front of Sherlock Holmes Walk, located just behind the Toronto Reference Library!
Masamichi (Mitch) Higurashi and Yumiko Shigaki!
Yumiko Shigaki gave a talk at one of the Bootmaker’s online meetings, where she talked about her collection of Sherlockiana!
As a member of the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club, I received some goodies! It was like Christmas! Shown here: a pair of chopsticks, a mask, magnets and a small tote, a tenugui (towel).
It was later announced during the conference that Sherlock Holmes Walk is going to be painted with murals by various Torontonian artists thanks to the collaborative efforts of StreetARToronto, the Toronto Public Library, the Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection and the Toronto Transit Commission! Can’t wait to see it when it’s done!!
Some of the artwork that will be featured on Sherlock Holmes Walk!
The walk took about two hours or so—glad I wore sneakers!—and we were guided throughout the city to special landmarks that had a connection to ACD and his works. For example, did you know that ACD and his family stayed at the King Edward Hotel in 1922! We also stopped by Massey Hall, where ACD gave a talk in 1894 and 1922! How cool is that!
Thankfully, we were provided with a booklet of the tour (or else I would not have remembered these facts!).
Mitch Higurashi presenting on “A Breif History of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Works in Japan.” Shown here: an excerpt of early translation of A Study in Scarlet in Japanese.
Friday’s schedule was filled with lots of interesting talks, songs, and vendors selling Sherlock Holmes books and more! Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the conference on Saturday, which included the banquet, where I was told that one of the special guest speakers, Nicholas Meyer, gave a really great talk! I wish I could’ve been there! Sunday was the last day of the conference, and I was looking forward to Mitch Higurashi’s presentation on the reception of Arthur Conan Doyle and his works in Japan. As a scholar of Japanese detective fiction, I wish more literature on this topic was available in English because there is such a rich literary history, and I think it will attract and encourage many scholars and mystery aficionados to want to study Sherlock Holmes in Japan! I suppose we can all learn Japanese too, or try at least! For those wanting to read the works of Japanese Sherlockians available in English translation, check out the Baker Street Irregulars International Series. You can access the contents of this book through the special collections on the library’s fifth floor, so I recommend anyone interested in learning more to go and check out the Toronto Reference Library!
I was also really looking forward to the live radio performance of Sherlock Holmes and the Wheel, directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring R. H. Thomson, Jeff Rosenthal, Nick Martorelli, and our very own Meyers Mike Ranieri. The performance was really expressive and amazing! (I figured out who the culprit was early on hehe).
There were many highlights throughout this four-day extravaganza, such as meeting JoAnn and Mark Alberstat in person for the first time (and meeting everyone in-person again!). I also met Dr. Ashley Polasek, an expert on cinematic adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and whose works inspired me in my doctoral research. There are people whom I would have loved to meet, but I am sure our paths will cross one day! What I love about being part of the Bootmakers is its ability to connect people from all walks of life. It’s a society that truly celebrates everyone’s love and passion for ACD and his Sherlock Holmes stories, and I encourage you to become a member! Thank you to everyone involved in the conference for making it a spectacular and memorable event!