Stewart, who is currently is the reining Nova Scotia Champion and current president of the Nova Scotia Guild of Town Criers said he made the journey to the tropical island to represent the province at a competition held in honour of Hamilton, Bermuda’s 200th anniversary. He previously competed in Bermuda in 2009 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the island’s founding.
The competition was over a three-day period with a different cry held each day.
There were 25 competitors including some of the best from around the world.
The competitors were judged in various categories including: sustained volume, clarity, diction, inflection, bearing and confidence and content.
The first cry was to be about an annual event called the Peppercorn Ceremony. The second one was about the 200th anniversary and the third was up to the town criers to choose.
Stewart, went with a cry about the local beverage of choice – rum.
“In Bermuda they literally put rum in everything,” he said. “They put it in their chowder. They put it in their cakes. They put it in their ice cream. You name it it’s there.”
The cry appears to have appealed to the judges tastes as Stewart finished second. What was particularly sweet about the victory was that he beat Chris Whyman, the reigning world champion of the craft.
Stewart and Whyman have met on many occasions in the past, but this is the first time Stewart has finished ahead of him.
“He’s one of the best known criers,” said Stewart.
The winner was Mark Wylie of the town of Calne in the United Kingdom.
But the fact of the matter is all the criers were good. So good that Stewart was truly surprised when he heard his name called one of the winners.
“They were all excellent criers,” he said. “I would sit there and listen and go ‘Oh my God.’”
But as surprised as he was, he said there were those there who said they were not surprised by his success.
In addition to the competition, Stewart said it was nice to talk with other town criers he had met before as well as run into people with Nova Scotia connections.
He said it’s actually surprising the number of connections between Bermuda and Canada. He walked into a gas station wearing a Nova Scotia t-shirt and discovered that an employee there was the daughter of a woman from New Glasgow. Even the United church in Bermuda is in the same conference as the United churches in Nova Scotia.
“It didn’t take long for me to run into people that I knew or people that I met that had some connection to the area.”
The hospitality at the event was amazing he said and there were hundreds who turned out every day including the governor of the island.
“He stayed for the two hour competition and thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said. “It was a well run incredible experience.”
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Fast Facts
Town Crier James Stewart
• Became New Glasgow town crier in 1992.
• Has been a member of the Nova Scotia Guild of Town Criers since 1993. He currently serves as the organization’s president.
• Has competed in numerous events in North America as well as Bermuda in 2009 and Chester, England in 2010.
• In 2011 he won the Nova Scotia championship and still holds the title since there hasn’t been a competition since.