Town Criers from Grey Bruce were in Gananoque this past weekend for the Provincial Town Criers Championships.
Hanover’s Official Town Crier Jenn Olivero and South Bruce Peninsula’s Official Town Crier Bruce Kruger took part. A town crier attends events, rings a brass bell gives greetings, and makes official pronouncements for their town.
“You have to have a love of performance and maybe a bit of a theatre heart as well to get up and do this,” says Olivero, adding, “We do get odd looks from people, we often get asked, ‘are you freezing in that?’ or, ‘Oh you must be roasting in that thing,’ but you do it long enough and often enough you do kind of get used to wearing all those layers.”
Olivero, who was just re-elected for a second term as president of the Ontario Guild of Town Criers has been a crier for over 20 years, and Hanover’s for over a decade.
She says there are about 36 town criers in Ontario. Only five are women and Olivero, at 42 is the youngest and most active crier.
Bruce Kruger, is Official Town Crier for South Bruce Peninsula, the Owen Sound Emancipation Festival and Bracebridge. He was recognized for his long years of service at the event.
The provincial competition moves around and it’s held once a year. Last year it was in Petrolia and in 2023 it was in Hanover. This year, Kingston Town Crier Chris Whyman took first place.
Olivero says the competition involves three cries. “We are judged on our entrance and exit, of course, because we have to command a presence. We’re judged on volume,” says Olivero, noting, “As town criers we have to be loud, but also on our clarity as well.”
She adds, “It’s no sense being loud if nobody knows what you’re saying at the same time.”
“We’re also judged on our content of our cry— if it relates well to the theme that we are given. We’re judged on our word count as well. For provincial competition in the Ontario guild, a cry, our proclamations, cannot be less than 100 words and they cannot be more than 125. That’s not a whole lot of words and so you get very good at being creative with clarity too in what you’re saying. Get your point across, make your jokes. whatever you’re trying to say and wanting to say in a very short and sweet manner,” says Olivero.
Olivero got into town crying at a young age compared to many. She explains, “My dad is actually a town crier for the Town of Collingwood. I would help him after school and on weekends we would practice and show him what I was learning in vocal music classes and I’ve always been a creative writer as well, and he thought I would be a great town crier and helped me find my first posting.” That was when she was about 20 years old.
Olivero does mainly civic events for Hanover including Canada Day and leading the Santa Claus Parade as well as volunteering her time to do the opening cry for the Saugeen Hike for Hospice. “Fun community family events,” says Olivero who also volunteers for the Rotary Easter egg hunt. She’s also done grand openings for businesses and is available for hire for things like anniversaries, birthdays or a wedding.
She notes most town criers ages range from late sixties to late eighties. “It doesn’t matter your age, you just have to have a love of community,” says Olivero.
South Bruce Peninsula & Owen Sound Emancipation Crier Bruce Kruger is a retired OPP Detective Inspector and recipient of numerous medals for his service. Many will recognize him from his proclamations in Wiarton on Groundhog Day. He grew up in Owen Sound, and has officially welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip as well as kings and queens of Norway and Ghana, King Charles (when he was Prince of Wales). He has also done cries for three prime ministers of Canada, as well as Norway, India and Bermuda.
The style of speech some criers use sounds a little like old English, but Olivero notes she’s done away with saying “Lords and Ladies,” and in with the aim of being more inclusive now says “Neighbour, friends and gentle folk or friends and citizens.”
She says some criers always rhyme their proclamations, and for others, the style changes. “Some of them are very serious, if it befits what they’re wearing. If they’re wearing a military influenced uniform, or a replica, say of an 1812 British militia, they’re going to act as such, because that’s what their uniform would command,” says Olivero.
She adds, other uniforms (they don’t say costumes) can allow for more fun.
Olivero notes, when she moved to Hanover with her husband and daughter she had already been a town crier for a number of years, so she wrote to town Council and asked if they’d be interested in having her perform the town crier duty for them. Following a series of interviews and she was asked to lead that year’s Santa Claus parade. “That was kind of my audition,” says Olivero who notes council later endorsed her for the position and wrote a bylaw stating Olivero is the Official Town Crier for Hanover.
Olivero says, “If anybody is interested in becoming a town crier, please reach out over Facebook or you can reach out through our website and we can give you all the ins and outs of what you need to know and how to go about it.”
Grey Bruce has four town criers in the area. Olivero and Kruger, as well as Drew Ferguson in Owen Sound and MacGregor Tannahill who is another Offiical Town Crier for South Bruce Peninsula (there are two) he is also Town Crier for Bracebridge.
You can find them on Facebook at Ontario Town Criers and on their website towncriers.on.ca
The website also has a map that shows you where town criers can be found.