Packing up Portraits of Honour: Cambridge memorial on the move
Packing up Portraits of Honour: Cambridge memorial on the move
A Cambridge memorial that pays tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers is on the move.
The Portraits of Honour oil painting, created by the late Dave Sopha, along with his military memorabilia lives in a space within the Kin Canada building in Cambridge. But on March 14, the city received council approval to take ownership of the building.
That means Terri Sopha, Dave’s daughter, has to pack up the paintings which her father put tens of thousands of hours into, along with all of his military tributes.
“The thought of taking this down is so overwhelmingly intimidating,” Sopha said, looking up at her father’s painting. “I don't sleep sometimes at night because I think about how we're doing it.”
She says the city has given her until May 19 to clear out the space. But she says they are willing to give her a few extra days if needed. The city also isn’t leaving her without a place to go.
“Most of my memorabilia is coming with me and we are going to the old Scout House building in Preston on Queenston Road,” said Sopha.
Word of the new space has provided a sense of relief for Sopha because she feared she would not only have to pack away her father’s legacy, but the legacy of the 158 faces on the Portraits of Honour.
ORIGINAL WORK TO BE PUT IN STORAGE
Here’s the catch, the original piece won’t be coming with her to the new location. She will be downsizing from her current space of about 3,200 sq. ft. to around 2,000 sq. ft.
“The building is not big enough, the ceilings are not high enough. They're eight-foot ceilings, this [painting] is 11.5-feet-high, and 43-feet in length,” she says.
Sopha is thankful though, saying the city has offered to help create a replica of her father’s famed artwork to fit in the new space. She says they’ve also provided experts with advice on how to safely preserve the massive painting. Still, it doesn’t make the thought of putting the original in storage any easier.
“Knowing my father the way that I did, he would be so worried about the transition,” she said through tears.
Terri is exploring options to find a permanent place for the painting. One possibility she has considered is selling it to the federal government, so it can be displayed in a national museum and enjoyed by the entire country.
In the meantime, while all her father’s work won’t be under the same roof, she knows he’ll be by her side every step of the way – as will all the soldiers commemorated in the Portraits of Honour.
The prosecutor leading an investigation into a horrific knife attack in a French Alpine town says four children aged between 22 months and 3 years suffered life-threatening wounds and that two adults also were injured.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The battle against hundreds of wildfires continues, as almost every jurisdiction in Canada remains under either heat or air quality warnings from the federal government. The day after what was supposed to be national Clean Air Day, dozens of alerts remain in place for unseasonable heat or smoky air quality.
Norwegian officials said the smoke from Canadian wildfires that has enveloped parts of the U.S. and Canada in a thick haze is expected to pour into Norway on Thursday.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, police say a man entered a business on Dundas Street near Adelaide Street and once inside, tried to steal things and made threats towards employees while holding a knife.
According to CTV News London’s Meteorologist Julie Atchison, a large area of low pressure over the Canadian Maritimes and a blocking ridge over central North America is allowing a steady flow of northerly air to usher in smoke from forest fires in Northern Ontario and Quebec.
The shifting winds late Thursday morning are predicted to push high levels of air pollution over the City of Barrie and surrounding areas from smoke emanating from wildfires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario.
Barrie city councillors got a shocking but not surprising reality check into the affordability challenges facing many residents looking to put a roof over their heads.
Romance scams have always been around, but they got worse during the pandemic, and fraudsters continue to use social media and dating sites to find victims.
Smoke and haze from wildfires cleared over Ottawa-Gatineau on Thursday, allowing outdoor recreational programming and activities to resume. Officials warm the smoke and haze could return on Friday afternoon.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales were up six per cent in May 2023 compared to a year prior, marking the first year-over-year unit sales volume increase since early last year.
Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass said he's "in a better place moving forward" after speaking with Pride Toronto's executive director in the wake of his social media post that supported anti-2SLGBTQ+ boycotts.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The man in the spotlight during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has been appointed assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The closure of Fort Gibraltar following the collapse of an elevated walkway that sent 16 students and one teacher to hospital has left some couples scrambling to find a place to get married.
Calgary city council has reconsidered its decision to vote against recommendations made by an expert panel to address the city’s housing affordability crisis.
Police say a man on a mobility scooter has life-altering injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in a northeast Calgary intersection on Wednesday evening.
Drivers are being asked to find another way or prepare for delays on the Henday this weekend, because crews need to close a bridge over the North Saskatchewan River.
The Archdiocese of Edmonton will spend $3.2 million on reconciliation initiatives with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in the Alberta capital region.
A human-caused wildfire on the Lower Mainland has grown to an estimated 800 hectares and continues to burn out of control Wednesday, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Rental housing advocates interrupted an announcement by B.C.'s housing minister in Vancouver Wednesday morning to object to the provincial government's response to the affordability crisis.
