May 19, 2015 - Thunder Bay celebrated the opening of Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada today at the Thunder Bay Museum a travelling exhibition commemorating Terry Fox. The City was selected as a launch site for the exhibit.

In February 2014, Thunder Bay City Council requested that Administration explore the possibility of locating a Terry Fox Exhibit in Thunder Bay. City of Thunder Bay Archives partnered with the Thunder Bay Museum to secure Thunder Bay as a launch site for the travelling exhibit produced by the Canadian Museum of History, in partnership with the Terry Fox Centre.

On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean and began his Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research. A return of cancer, which had caused the amputation of his leg in 1977, forced him to end his run just east of Thunder Bay on Sept. 1, 1980. Terry Fox touched the lives of many Canadians and his legacy has a global reach.

Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada has been installed at the Thunder Bay Museum and will be on display until July 12, 2015. The exhibit will be supplemented through Terry Fox items in the permanent collection of the Thunder Bay Museum. The Thunder Bay Museum will also be encouraging the community to share stories of how Terry Fox has touched their lives.

- 30 -

Contact: Matt Szybalski, Corporate Records Manager & City Archivist, 625-3390

              Tory Tronrud, Director/Curator Thunder Bay Museum, 623-0801