Arctic explorer John Rae is going up against Supercrawl this Saturday night.

At first, I felt dismayed. But as a metaphor, a David-and-Goliath, I think the juxtaposition works almost perfectly.

Supercrawl is a wildly successful Hamilton street festival that celebrates arts and culture. Last year, it attracted 80,0000 people. What’s not to love?

John Rae, who once lived in Hamilton, is the focus of an alternative event — an illustrated presentation, razzle-dazzle of course, at McMaster University.

As a centre of attention, Rae has always been up against the massive, never-ending search for the missing ships of Sir John Franklin, who disappeared into the Arctic in 1845. Some question the wisdom of continuing that search.

But that is where the metaphor breaks down. Supercrawl looks fantastic. Best of all, it kicks off around noon on Saturday and runs through the afternoon into the evening. Come to think of it, Return to Rae Strait might best be viewed as an extension of Supercrawl.  The Climactic Event of the festival? OK, OK, that’s a bridge too far. Even so, Sheena and I propose to arrive early, poke around on James Street, and then head for McMaster. See you there?