Articles list - theHumm October 2020

Dear Readers, - theHumm October 2020

By Sarah Kerr

Hi Humm Readers! Did you know that Kris and Rob Riendeau, owners of theHumm, have been behind the scenes championing, promoting and empowering artists in the Ottawa Valley for over two decades? And that Kris’s superstar mom, Sally Hansen, has done nearly 250 incredible in-depth interviews with local artists to share their work on theHumm’s cover each month? Not only that, theHumm has shared almost every event from Burnstown to Westport on their calendar, and is constantly promoting local makers, co......

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Ginny Fobert — Don’t Quit; Prove Him Wrong! - theHumm October 2020

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

A disparaging remark by a fellow exhibitor spurred Ginny Fobert to expand her artistic horizons. In 2013, at only the second showing of her beautifully composed photographic prints, another exhibitor — a painter — confronted her angrily and asserted, “This hurts my eyes. I can’t look at it! You don’t belong here — photography isn’t art.” Proving him wrong has been an exciting and rewarding journey.

A glance at the back of her Trading Card (on the back of this page) sho......

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Spider Web-inar: Hallowe’en Shorts
Humm Team Productions’ Zoom Fundraiser for Community Theatres
- theHumm October 2020

Here’s the scoop, folks. Our area is home to a dizzying array of community theatre organizations, and you can hardly throw a diva fit without hitting a wildly talented actor, costume-maker or stage manager around here. But alas — their talents are in danger of atrophying, and they may be on the verge of driving family members insane with incessant monologuing and singing in the shower. At the same time, those aforementioned organizations are struggling to pay rent and bills as month after month goes by ......

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Recreating Creativity: Virtual Vernissages, Outdoor Trunk Shows, Online Art Tours! - theHumm October 2020

By Miss Cellaneous

Caroline Ji: Blue Hour at Sivarulrasa Gallery

From October 14 to November 20, Sivarulrasa Gallery in Almonte is pleased to present a solo exhibition of paintings by artist Caroline Ji. Caroline Ji: Blue Hour can be viewed in person during regular gallery hours, Wednesdays to Sundays from 11am to 5pm.

“Blue Hour” is a reference to the period before sunrise and after sunset when a serene blue light permeates the sky. “Blue hour is when I’m most inspired and ......

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Putting Some FUN in Fundraising!
Studio Theatre Perth Presents Nosferatu with an Original Score
- theHumm October 2020

Studio Theatre Perth is one of the town’s treasures, but it’s been a tough year for this community theatre. Pandemic shutdown and restricted openings are taking a huge bite out of the group’s financial resources.

“Our lease comes up for renewal in April, and unless we can raise enough funds before that, we won’t be in a position to renew,” explains Kat Watring-Ellis, chair of the promotions committee.

That would mean the volunteer group would have to walk away from their little gem of a ......

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Rockin’ on Russell Street
An interview with Patrick Maloney, Owner of Bowie’s in Smiths Falls
- theHumm October 2020

theHumm is reaching out to members of our Ottawa Valley community to ask how they are finding ways to use their gifts and skills in these challenging times. Patrick Malone is the owner of Bowie’s — an amazing live music venue in Smiths Falls. We contacted Patrick to find out how a musician approaches running a music venue, and how those venues are stayin’ alive through COVID.

theHumm: Before we get into the COVID stuff, can you tell me about your goals in open......

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Rural Root Presents Bad Auditions… On Camera - theHumm October 2020

Hot on the heels of their successful Zoom production of Couples, Rural Root Theatre is bringing another virtual play to your computer screen!

In Bad Auditions… On Camera by Ian McWethy and Carrie McCrossen, a casting director has one day to find an actor to fill the role of a lawyer in a crime procedural. But what seems like a simple task proves impossible when the pool of actors includes stage thespians who cannot tone it down for the screen, performers completely unable to keep themselves in frame, and an actor who seems to believe this is a toothpaste commercial.

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From Anne Shirley to Shirley Deugo-Fulton
Two Kindred Spirits Who Invite Us to Be Thankful in October
- theHumm October 2020

By Sarah Kerr

I’m so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers. I wish I wrote that. But no, some of you literary buffs may know those are the words of Lucy Maude Montgomery and her famous redhead from PEI, Anne of Green Gables. I had the pleasure of re-reading this 1908 classic to my 5-year-old this summer and I have to say, I was enraptured by the beauty of Anne’s simple world, and her vocabulary! Her zest for life and enthusiasm over the wonder of the natural world leaves us so much scope......

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Meet Local Climate Leader Sue Brandum - theHumm October 2020

Sue Brandum is a local climate leader who has been instrumental in creating the Climate Network Lanark (full name Climate Action Network of Lanark County, Smiths Falls and Region). In this month’s column, she talks about her background, how she came to be so involved at a local level, and how she and many others are working to improve the future prospects of all of us.

Can you describe your background and how you came to be involved in environmental activism at the community level?

Sue ......

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Front Yard Homesteading - theHumm October 2020

By David Hinks

Driving or walking around town, I am struck by the number of households that have chosen to rip up the front lawn and replace it with all manner of vegetables, shrubs and flowers. I like to think of these innovative individuals as a new kind of homesteader, breaking sod to give life to a sterile space that formerly required high inputs of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and water.

I suspect that there are many motives for ripping up the lawn and planting — I know that for some ......

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Resources for School-Aged Kids - theHumm October 2020

By Christine Row

Living through a pandemic has forced parents and children to juggle a modified school year. Even though most children are back to school, hours in the classroom have been adjusted and the threat of future closures looms large. In order to educate and entertain kids through this strange time, local libraries have many free resources to help.

In every local library, parents will find a collection of leveled junior readers. Children can work through the levels at home or try read-along CDs as an alt......

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Downtown Smiths Falls — Revitalized! - theHumm October 2020

By John Pigeau

When we think of autumn in Ontario, our thoughts normally turn to the beautiful and often awe-inspiring colours of forest foliage — the golds and reds and scorched orange and browns that mark the changing of the seasons. We think of children in their adorable and sometimes spooky Hallowe’en costumes, too. And we’re always reminded, whether we like it or not, of the cooler weather — and the cooler weather to come.

I submit to you that many of us, almost reflexively when......

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End of an Era - theHumm October 2020

By Glenda Jones

It was inevitable. After 27 years of faithful service, my beloved clothesline pole succumbed to woodpeckers and rot, and slowly fell to its demise last Monday, sporting a full line of clean white clothes that floated into the ponds. I knew it was going when the line got slack a couple of weeks ago, and I gingerly gave the old tree a poke. It resonated like hollow wood, and swayed.

When we moved in here I didn’t have a clothesline, and strung ropes hither and yon between the trees. This......

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October at the Mississippi Mills Youth Centre - theHumm October 2020

By Sara Fortin

The Mississippi Mills Youth Centre has a variety of free, COVID-safe youth and community focused programs that change monthly. We focus on offering fun, educational and healthy living activities that foster a positive relationship between youth and their community. Below are some of the highlights of our programming for the month of October.

From October 5 to November 9, on Mondays from 3–4pm we are hosting in-person Forever Young! Ukulele programming. Youth and seniors are welcome to regis......

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Fall Weekends (and Fulton’s Pancakes!) at Cedar Hill Tree Farm - theHumm October 2020

Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm will be open for weekends this fall! On Saturdays and Sundays from September 26 to November 1, they will be open from 10am to 3pm, and Fulton’s will be serving outdoor Pancakes on the Porch!

This is a great opportunity to come stroll around the beautiful farm and enjoy glorious fall colours. Bring your Christmas list and start your Christmas shopping early! You can pick up Fulton’s products and many other local gourmet food items, enjoy Fulton’s maple taffy on snow,......

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Youth Centres Coalition Launches Food and Nutrition Security Project - theHumm October 2020

The Youth Centres Coalition of Lanark County is proud to announce the launch of the Food and Nutrition Security Project. This initiative will be facilitated by the Coalition, which includes Carleton Place Youth Centre, Lanark Highlands Youth Centre, Youth Action Kommittee and Mississippi Mills Youth Centre. This project has been made possible by United Way Ontario East through the Emergency Community Support Fund from the Government of Canada.

This project will help meet the unique nutritional needs of youth across Lanark County and strengthen access to hygiene products, personal prot......

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Hike for Hospice 2020 Will Look a Little Different - theHumm October 2020

This year marks the eighth time that Home Hospice North Lanark is participating in the annual Hike for Hospice, part of a national initiative organized by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. 100% of all funds raised will stay in the community in which the Hike is hosted, thanks to the generous support of GSK and Amgen.

But this is a different year, and it requires some creative thinking to figure out ways to raise funds and invite our community to be involved with the organization i......

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Keeping Men Connected During COVID - theHumm October 2020

Every Monday evening at 7pm the Hackberry Men’s Shed has been holding, and will continue to hold, e-meetings via Zoom.

Zoom meetings are by invitation, and so far notice of these meetings has gone only to current members. But if there are men in the communities of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills who would like to find out about Men’s Sheds and meet (virtually) some of the guys, they should send an email to treasurer@hackberrymensshed.org and include their name and email and ask to be invited to the meeting. T......

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The Brickbox
A Young Adult Novel by WL (Bud) Gorman
- theHumm October 2020

Jude Zander is a shy, inexperienced small-town girl who has disguised herself as a boy and is on the run from an abusive father. She desperately wants to find her mother who left her without warning.

Jude has never been in a city before. Soon after she arrives she is confronted by hookers, bikers and street punks... and she avoids the police because of an incident with her father. Her only contact in the city is an aunt who wants nothing to do with her. Alone and without survival skills, Jude......

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An Uncharacteristically Short Note from Weetabix - theHumm October 2020

By Sebastian Weetabix

Travelling on his stomach has been made difficult by Covid-19. For obvious reasons it is hard to write about food and food establishments in these uncertain times. The muse is restless and demands attention; the Editor is tolerant and so untethered but not unhinged Weetabix returns to these pages.

A recent visit to Almonte was made by car and in stealth mode –beautiful day, nice scenery and lots of happy people out enjoying the obvious amenities. What could be wrong with any of that? Well, one hopes not much. But there in plain sight is the ‘elephant in the room’. We are, unfortunately, ......

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