www.insidehalton.com |OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 21, 2017 |14 TH R O W B A C K ill TW O r S 1997A R G O S $ 1 9 .9 7 The history of Bronte Village comes to life with local content, thanks to technology in the form of e-becons and the $50,000 grant from the federal Canada 150 fund that made it possible. The Bronte Village BIA, which received the funding, officially launched the Bronte Heritage Trail project this week -- a walking tour of the historic village. | Reg Vertolli/Metroland 2 0 th a n n i v e r s a r y DOUG FLUTIE (OBBLEHEAD GIVEAW AY 1996- 1997 Technology brings history to life in Bronte Village by Marta Marychuk Oakville Beaver Staff F L ES U P P L IE SL A S T The history of Bronte Village com es to life w ith local content thanks to technology and a $50,000 grant from the Ministry of Canadian Heritage Celebration and Comm em oration Program - Canada 150 Fund. The Bronte Business Improvement Area (BIA) was one of two Oakville organizations to receive grants from the Canada 150 Fund in 2016, with W aterlution being the other. Although the new technology was available for use on Canada Day, the BIA officially launched the Bronte Heritage Trail Tuesday (July 18) morning. "This trail brings Bronte' s history to life," said Oakville MP John Oliver, by connecting the new and old Bronte. The new trail is equipped w ith e-beacons that are Bluetooth transmitters and have the capability of sending messages to a mobile device, either iPhone or Android, through the Bronte BIA app. The Bronte Historical Society produced the local content for the heritage trail reflective of this area, said John Rishworth, vice president of business developm ent at infinitycom m , w hich worked on the heritage trail project. He said there are 19 e-beacons located throughout Bronte Village, w ith each containing information about the historical fishing village of 1834, w ith the assistance of two voice actors. TICKETS at A R G O N A U T S . CA OES NOT IN C LU D E FA % THIS ARGOS FOOTBALL - m WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP OFFICIAL SEASON SPONSOR 181 1 Become a subscriberto the paper and receive 2 tickets to an upcoming Argo's game. Call (905) 632-4444 to sign up! Some of the notable locations on the Bronte Heritage Trail include: the Lighthouse, the Bronte Commercial Fishermen' s Memorial, the Outer Harbour Marina, Sovereign House, Bronte Bluffs and Bronte Beach. The Bronte Heritage Trail is about two kilometres in length and takes about an hour and 30 m inutes to com plete w hen taken at a leisurely pace. In addition to the historical information, the Bronte BIA app also has a directory of all 200 Bronte BIA businesses and event listings. App developer Anh Truong, of Hyllo-io, says the technology enables visitors to take a tour of the area w ithout a guide because the technology downloads all of the information that' s online directly to the visitor' s m obile device. Rishworth added the Bronte Heritage Trail w ould be connected to the Moccasin Trail, w hich is being developed by the Oakville Comm unity Foundation, w hen the trail opens this fall. "The Heritage Trail and beacon project brings history to life," said long-tim e Ward 1 Oakville Town Councillor Ralph Robinson, w ho pointed to other cultural and historical landmarks in Bronte -- such as the Peace Pole, Butterfly Project and Fishermen' s Memorial. "Bronte is a constant learning experience," said the veteran councillor. For more information about the app visit p a rk b e n c h .co m /n e w s/b ro n te -b ia -o n -th eapp-store.