by Kris Riendeau

Looking for a good excuse to visit Elphin? C’mon — you know you are. It’s got that great evocative name, it’s up in the wild, far reaches of Lanark County (close to the arts-rich destinations of McDonalds Corners and Maberly), and it boasts the highest per capita concentration of Juno award-winners in all of Canada (according to the experts at Stats-Humm). Well, have we got good news for you — here are not one, but two great reasons to visit Elphin this summer!

Elphin Roots Festival

First up is the second annual Elphin Roots Festival, scheduled for Saturday, June 30 from noon until 11PM. This event is organized by Jenny Whiteley, whose credentials for the job include residing in beautiful downtown Elphin and having won two Juno Awards in the Best Solo Roots and Traditional category. Not to mention coming from a brilliantly musical family, being married to another talented musician (Joey Wright), and having been involved with collaborative initiatives like the Hootenanny Review. So well-connected is Jenny in the world of Roots music that she can entice the likes of Jim Bryson, Melwood Cutlery, Luther Wright & The Wrongs, Butterfingers (for the kids), Chris Brown, and a pile of others (including some absolutely amazing, you’ll kick yourself for weeks if you miss them, likely to increase the concentration of Juno award-winning, super special guests) to the grassy knolls of Elphin for a day of outstanding music.

"Two Fine Fests in Elphin" »

Posted on June 6, 2007 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Sally Hansen

Artist Shirley Mancino has traveled to Asia nine times since 1991, bringing home more than two hundred of her paintings of the people and places of India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Combining her passion for painting with her passion for travel has proven to be a hugely enjoyable and productive strategy for this adventurous and energetic backpacker from Westport. Shirley is now represented by six galleries in Ontario, and her watercolours and mixed media canvases have taken an impressive array of awards, including the prestigious “Juror’s Award” at the Toronto Watercolour Society in 2000.

Shirley was an “Air Force Brat”, so traveling comes naturally to her. “We moved every two years, but we always came back to Westport to help my mother’s family with their cottage business — it made me very versatile.” So versatile that in the middle of a busy and successful first career in human resource training and development, Shirley decided to study art part time. She complemented her earlier Masters in Adult Education from the University of Toronto with the equivalent of four years at the Ontario College of Art, accomplished over 18 successive winters of night school. She also studied at the Halliburton School of Fine Arts, Seneca & George Brown Colleges, and Belles Artes Institute in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

"Shirley Mancino — Have Brush, Will Travel" »

Posted on June 6, 2007 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)