100th anniversary of Titanic sinking

As the 99th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches on Thursday, preparations are well underway in Halifax to mark the centenary in 2012.

The plans which have been in the making for several years, will include a three-day Titanic conference at the World Trade and Convention Centre, a 10 day festival, memorial design contest, concerts and upgrades to Titanic sites.

The committee is also hoping to bring James Cameron, director of the 1997 blockbuster about the doomed vessel to town

Ken Pinto, an organizer of the 100th anniversary events, said “it makes sense for Halifax to host such a large tribute to the liner and the 1,517 people who perished on April 14th 1912. Halifax, after Belfast, is probably the second most important city,”

Pinto, also organizer of the Fringe Festival, said the city is known around the world for its connection to the Titanic because it’s home to three burial sites for 150 of the recovered bodies.

Halifax’s Titanic connection was further solidified when Cameron filmed part of the movie here in 1996

Samuel Cunard, whose Cunard Line eventually purchased the company that owned the Titanic, was born in Halifax.

Pinto, a life-time follower of all things Titanic, said “considering the city’s link to the tragedy, there needs to be more done to permanently remember the event, which included the death of 132 Canadians. We’ve done very little here to develop our Titanic heritage,”

The 100th-anniversary commemoration will centre around a three-day conference in early April, bringing together academics and experts on the subject.

A 10-day festival, being dubbed a “wake”, will include concerts, tours of Titanic sites, the unveiling of a new monument, a candlelight vigil and service as well as a new exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Plans are also underway for a Halifax-Belfast Celtic trans-Atlantic concert and a Titanic commemorative concert, ending with a tribute called Night of the Bells.

The countdown to the centenary is also starting in Ireland, home of Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the Titanic.

The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum will unveil TITANIC: The Exhibition next month, which will feature 7,000 items from the White Star Line, including passenger lists, diaries, photographs and ship’s items.

On Thursday, a candlelight vigil will be held at Fairview Lawn Cemetery on Windsor Street in Halifax starting at 11:30 p.m. to coincide with the sinking at 11:40 p.m. in 1912.