The annual Guided Spirit Walks are back again this September and we’re excited to share the profiles of the historic people included this year, and our wonderful cast of volunteer performers who will portray them.
For our next character/actor profile, we meet Alpheus St. John portrayed by return actor Armand Romagnoli and five new faces to the walks, who play the five St. John granddaughters.
A little about Armand…
Character: Alpheus St. John
Seasons performed with Guided Spirit Walks: 10
Favourite Tour Year: 2015
Favourite Character: Edward Gardiner, canal surveyor [from the 2015 tour]
Favourite Costume: Henry Byron
What can our audiences look forward to most? Getting to experience the personalities behind the notables who lived the history of St. Catharines.
A little about Alpheus St. John…
Born in New York State on April 23, 1798, Alpheus St. John came to St. Catharines as a bookkeeper for the Welland Canal contractor Oliver Phelps. He had a long career as an accountant, conveyancer, accounts collector, notary public, and insurance and real estate broker. He was also an elder for many years at the First Presbyterian Church. He died on April 5, 1880.
To find out more about St. John’s contributions to our local history, come to our Guided Spirit Walks.
A little about this scene…
Our spirit walks often employ a few fictional characters to help advance plot or narrative and to help other characters along. Especially when we get a lot of volunteer interest, we can have a bit more fun with larger scenes, more dialogue, and more interesting characters. We’re so pleased to have some local students join us as the fictional granddaughters of Alpheus St. John. In their scene, they are particularly curious about figuring out the history of the name of St. Catharines!
A little about Ciera…
Character: Charlotte
Seasons performed with Guided Spirit Walks: 1st year!
What can our audiences look forward to most? “I’m really looking forward to seeing people watch us act! I really enjoy acting for others and knowing they enjoy our performance.”
A little about Abby…
Character: Marianne
Seasons performed with Guided Spirit Walks: 1st year!
What can our audiences look forward to most? I’m looking forward to improving my acting while also getting to meet new amazing people!
A little about Haley…
Character: Lydia
Seasons performed with Guided Spirit Walks: 1st year!
What can our audiences look forward to most? I am looking forward to learning more about the history of St. Catharines, especially because I moved here roughly 2 years ago, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I didn’t get many opportunities to learn about the history of the town.
A little about Chelsey…
Character: Caroline
Seasons performed with Guided Spirit Walks: 1st year!
What can our audiences look forward to most? It’s an exciting opportunity to work with my friends on a meaningful community project and bring some history to life. I hope the audience enjoys it!
A little about Eva…
Character: Catharine
Seasons performed with Guided Spirit Walks: 1st year!
What can our audiences look forward to most? I am looking forward to making history fun and understandable for all those willing to learn! It is such a fun way to watch history unfold rather than learning about it from a textbook!
The 12th Annual Guided Spirit Walks
This year’s walks take place on September 8, 9, 15, and 16 at 6pm and 7pm. Tickets are $15.50 per person. Tickets go on sale on August 1 via our ActiveNet portal or over the phone (905.984.8880) or in-person at the St. Catharines Museum.
For More…
For more on how we put together the annual walks at Victoria Lawn, check out this run down of crafting the walks, our most popular program.