When Trisha Romance’s daughter Tanya told her she was being awarded the inaugural key to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Romance had trouble believing it.
“At first it came by quite a shock and surprise,” she told The Lake Report.
“Then, a strike of humility hits you, I didn’t understand, why me?”
The artist, who moved to town from New York state 40 years ago, has become synonymous with Niagara-on-the-Lake’s beauty and charm through her work.
Throughout her career as a painter, Romance has been honoured with the Order of Ontario in 1996, won the Canadian Artist of the Year for four consecutive years from 1995 to 1998 and carried the Olympic torch through NOTL in 2010.
The key to the town — to be presented during a public ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. outside of the Old Courthouse 0151 is a different honour, Romance said.
The honour also marks the 40th Anniversary of the opening of Romance’s original King Street gallery.
“I love the town so much, I loved it at first sight and I’ve never stopped,” Romance said.
She said this honour will be different from others.
“The town has given me so much. The reason this is so different is because this award, I feel, is not just for me,” Romance said.
She added that the award is also for all of the people who have collected her work over the years, for people who come to the gallery and return time and time again to purchase pieces.
The ceremony will be a celebration in terms of me thanking those people who have been there along her career and certainly thanking the town as well, Romance said.
“Without Niagara-on-the-Lake, I wouldn’t have the inspiration to paint all of these paintings in the first place,” she said.
Throughout the four decades she’s lived in NOTL, Romance has captured moments in time along the town’s evolution.
She emphasized the importance of preserving the beauty and heritage of the town, saying that her paintings are a place to hold these memories and moments no matter what.
“Every time I painted a building I thought, at least it’s going to live in a painting. Even if something happens to it or development takes over and changes it, at least it’s been painted,” she said.
Each of her paintings has a beginning, middle and end, capturing the idyllic nature of NOTL, Romance said —because of that, people want to come see the town for themselves.
“I have volumes and volumes of guestbooks of people coming to see NOTL for the first time and then consequently returning for anniversaries, weddings,” she said.
In a media release announcing the ceremony, the town recognized Romance’s contributions to NOTL’s cultural and economic vitality.
“Her work has given the world a glimpse into life in Niagara-on-the-Lake, significantly contributing to its cultural and artistic heritage,” the release stated.
The public ceremony will feature remarks from dignitaries, the presentation of the inaugural key to the town and a showcase of Romance’s paintings. Members of the public are invited to attend.
The first 100 people in attendance will get the chance to meet Trisha Romance — volunteers with the NOTL Ambassadors will be handing out wristbands to those who make the cut.
