There's going to be a giant celebration in Tatamagouche. The Northumberland Arts Council is officially opening newly expanded exhibits at the Anna Swan Museum on Friday, October 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Born outside Tatamagouche in 1846, Anna Swan was a giantess who achieved fame worldwide performing with P.T Barnum's American Museum in New York City. She weighed 18 pounds at birth and grew to a height of seven feet and eleven inches. While on tour overseas, she met and eventually married Martin Van Burren Bates, known as the Kentucky Giant.

Housed in the Fraser Cultural Centre on Main Street, the Anna Swan Museum has been part of the community for 15 years. The expansion of the museum's exhibits over the past year is helping Tatamagouche to build on its strength as a tourism community on the Sunrise Trail.

"We are very excited about the most recent additions to the Anna Swan Museum," said June Milligan, designer and coordinator of the museum. "We now have authentically proportioned replicas of Anna Swan and her husband, Captain Bates. Everyone will have fun with the hands- on display area where visitors can see Anna-size items and stand on giant-size footprints."

The museum also includes a video of Anna's life, an extensive collection of memorabilia and photographs, and a large mural of her home and surroundings. Dale Swan, the great-grand nephew of the giantess, provided a large collection of items including photographs of Anna, her family and her friends from the circus. Several Nova Scotia artisans created and dressed the life-like replicas of Anna and her husband.

"The Anna Swan Museum is sure to attract visitors from all over and the economic benefits will be a tremendous asset to the community," said the Honourable Bernie Boudreau, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister responsible for Nova Scotia, on behalf of the Honourable George Baker, Secretary of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

The Anna Swan Museum expansion project received $25,000 through the Sunrise Trail Enhancement Project of the Canada/Nova Scotia COOPERATION Agreement on Economic Diversification. The Agreement is managed by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Nova Scotia Economic Development.

"Tourism is a billion dollar industry in Nova Scotia and the people of Tatamagouche are taking advantage of it," said Bill Langille, MLA for Colchester North, on behalf of Gordon Balser, Minister of Economic Development. "With upgraded museums and events facilities, this community now has a greater capacity for hosting activities that will draw tourists to the village and bring more revenues for local business."

The museum is one of many community-based attractions designed to increase tourism along the Sunrise Trail. Other projects in Tatamagouche include the Walchia Fossil Interpretation Centre and the Tatamagouche Creamery Centre which received $25,000 each through the trail enhancement project. The Tatamagouche Creamery Playhouse, which is the second phase of the Creamery Centre project, received $21,000. The Nova Scotia Adventurer's Companion, which received assistance under the COOPERATION Agreement, has also been developed as an interpretive guide to the Sunrise Trail Heritage Tour.

For more information on the Anna Swan Museum, visit the Fraser Cultural Centre website at http://www.tata.ns.ca/tourist.html or call 902-657-3285.

For more information, contact:

Betty Boyle
Fraser Cultural Centre
902-257-2202

Adèle Poirier
Nova Scotia Economic Development
(902) 424-5836

Cathy McDonald
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(902) 426-9304