Pink tea launches Famous 5 exhibit in Okotoks

Influential Okotoks women were invited to a pink tea at the municipal centre on March 7 to launch an exhibit that will travel around Alberta.

Okotoks is the first stop of the Famous 5 Foundation’s Trailblazers Tour. The foundation's “Women Are Persons!” exhibit will be displayed in the lobby of the Okotoks Municipal Centre until March 28. 

The exhibit was designed by Barbara Paterson and is a miniature version of the monument that was at Calgary's Olympic Plaza, but is now in storage and awaiting a new home due to redevelopment.

Mayor Tanya Thorn, foundation founder Frances Wright and University of Calgary graduate Amlika Nair gave speeches during the opening reception.

Thorn said women in the early 20th century were discouraged from talking about politics or social issues, so they would hold tea parties as cover for meetings about topics that were considered radical in their day.

The Famous 5 – Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney, Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy and Henrietta Muir Edwards – took on issues like women's right to vote and hold elected office. 

They successfully challenged a ruling that women were not “qualified persons” under the law, and a court decision that women were persons was read on Oct. 18, 1929. 

Thorn declared that Oct. 18 is Persons Day in Okotoks.

“In recognition of us being the first stop on the Trailblazers Tour, going forward, Okotoks will recognize Oct. 18 as Persons Day in our community,” she said. 

The work of the Famous 5 reminds us of a powerful truth, Thorn said.

“Real change often begins in small, determined circles of people who refuse to accept injustice,” she said.

Wright said the Famous 5 are women whose histories are filled with examples of doing what they thought needed to be done, and of finding ways to achieve their goals without waiting for the government or someone else to act.

“You get together (with) your friends, you decide on the project and you make it happen,” she said. 

Nair is a recent graduate who spoke about the group's legacy from a recent perspective.

While some members of the Famous 5 had ideas that are rejected today, the women carved a path to greater social equality, Nair said. 

“Because of the work that they did, and because they chose to take the actions that they did, we now have opportunities today to continue building and shaping a society where everyone is valued,” she said. 

The Famous 5 Foundation's mission is to empower women and girls to courageously lead change that contributes to a society without boundaries for women.