Town cries face off this weekend in Petrolia for Ontario crown

Town criers from around Ontario are set to gather in Petrolia’s Victoria Park this weekend to compete for the provincial title.

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Petrolia Town Crier Les Whiting, and escort Karen Whiting, are official hosts for the Provincial Town Criers Competition with Ontario 10 criers registered to compete Saturday and Sunday morning in the park next to Victoria Hall.

Following Ontario Guild of Town Crier rules, the Whitings won’t compete.

The competition is part of Petrolia’s 150th anniversary celebrations and runs from 9 am to noon both days. Admission is free and lawn chairs are recommended.

Barbara Prescott, chairperson of the competition, said Petrolia last held the provincial competition in 2007.

The criers, accompanied by an escort and dressed in period costumes, will perform three times for judges.

“It comes from medieval times and so do some of the rules,” Prescott said. “We have a stack — a big wad — of rules.”

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Cries are between 100 and 125 words and judges receive copies of the text ahead of time so they can check for accuracy, Prescott said.

Criers can use a bell or drum to draw attention but can be penalized if they leave the stage without it, she said.

Along with a cry about their home town, they are asked to perform cries about horses (the RCMP musical ride is performing the same weekend at the Petrolia fairgrounds) and historical Petrolia.

Competitors were sent information about the town’s history and were also invited to do research about the late 1800s oil boom in Petrolia and central Lambton County.

“One of the things I suggest that the public do is ask the cries about their costume and why it’s chosen,” Prescott said. “It usually has some significance.”

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Whiting’s costume is black and gold in reference to Petrolia’s oil history and the expression “black gold,” she said.

“Anyone interested in costumes and beautiful clothes, that’s another reason to come out,” Prescott said.

Whiting has been Petrolia’s town cry for about 20 years.

As host of the competition, “I get to let on I’m doing something when in fact I’m not doing much,” Whiting said.

Some non-competing criers are also expected to attend, including David Rose from Maryland, president of the American Guild of Town Criers, and Daniel Gomez Llata, a town crier from Provincetown, Mass.

Rose will perform cries, but isn’t in the competition, Whiting said.

Sunday will feature cris at 10:30 am by the top three finishers in a youth town cri competition held in Petrolia in May.

Whiting, a retired teacher, said they organized the student competition with the drama teacher at Lambton Central Collegiate.

“It was a fun thing to do,” and also served as a warmup for the judges overseeing this weekend’s competition, he said.

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