Miss Mills’ Bicycle Postcard Project - theHumm August 2019

Miss Mills’ Bicycle Postcard Project - theHumm August 2019

By — Theresa Peluso

The bicycle postcard project confirms it: Mississippi Mills is in love! After a month of mostly glorious weather during June’s Bicycle Month, all the festivities have come to an end — the street party and potluck on Mill Street, the Silver Chain Challenge, the creatively-themed guided rides around our community, the PorchFest de Mississippi Mills, the professional cycling races — there really was something for everyone!

And then there was the Bicycle Postcard Project — a way for all participants, from the very young to the not-so-young, to share their feelings about what their bicycle means to them — on stunning postcards provided by Mill Street Books.

Here are just some of the comments from these postcards:

“My community is best seen in person. It’s not the destination but the ride — I feel like a kid every time I ride, and this town allows me to experience what living in Almonte feels like.” — Ken

“I love my bike because it makes me see the world around me and stop to explore when the fancy takes me. It also makes me feel young even when the mirror doesn’t.” — J

“I love biking because I love to feel the wind going through my hair. I feel free when I bike and I love to look at the Nature going by.” — Eve

“I love cycling! Feel good in my bones and my brain.” — Karen

“Biking has helped me rediscover the town I grew up in with my son…and he loves it!” — Jamie

“Biking is therapy, freedom, exercise and relationship building.” — John

“I like biking cause going off-road is exciting and the fact you can do tricks and move without doing pollution.”— Gabriel

“My bike always puts a smile on my face!” — Paul

“It gives me freedom to ride around the neighbourhood and visit friends and go to the skate park.” — Nathan

“My children and I bike around our town. I feel like I’m teaching them how to drive by pointing out signs and explaining ‘right-of-way’. They just like being with Mom.” — Lucy

To view photos of the postcards, please check the Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month website mmbm.ca . You can also read all of the postcard comments online at  mmbm.ca/2019-postcard-comments .

The message is clear: Cycling enhances the lives of so many in our community — it provides joy, fresh air, a closer connection with people and nature, aerobic exercise, and a cheap, quick mode of transportation. Imagine if even more people biked! There would be less pollution, traffic congestion, isolation, and illness. Let’s support cycling in our municipality by making it safer and easier to pedal around!

Many thanks to Scoops and Penny’s Fudge Factory in Pakenham, Mill Street Books and Equator Coffee in Almonte, and the Pakenham and Almonte branches of the Mississippi Mills Public Library for providing venues for this project, and to Mary and Terry Lumsden of Mill Street Books for providing the unique bicycle postcards that inspired so many people.

 

Adrian Baker — Upping the Ante with an Extraordinary Hand - theHumm August 2019

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

In June, 2005, the title of our featured artist article was “Adrian Baker — Putting the Extra in the Ordinary.” At that time her Artist’s Statement was “My intention is to enable the observer to see beyond the familiar and witness the extraordinary in the ordinary.” She has succeeded admirably.

Since then she has upped the ante. Today she paints because “Art is my protest sign.” Maturity suits her. Her current work is an exploration of humanity’s interdependent relatio......

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The Magical World of Narnia
Coming to Life in Smiths Falls this Summer
- theHumm August 2019

“You can’t imagine how beautiful it was,” sings Tumnus to Lucy about Narnia before the White Witch turned it into a cold winter wasteland. The musical Narnia was written by Jules Tasca, with music composed by Thomas Tierney and lyrics by Ted Drachman. It is based on C.S. Lewis’s classic story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Together they have all created a unique, enchanted show filled with magical creatures and spirits.

The story is set during World War II and begins with......

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Salt-Water Moon
A Love Story from the Heart of Newfoundland
- theHumm August 2019

By — Jane Stott

It’d be some sin if you missed the Studio Theatre’s production of Salt-Water Moon. There’s gonna be a jolly time when people start talking ’bout this play — like they got a record in them as big as a 45-gallon drum, no mistake! So, if you don’t want to feel like a Friday fish at a Saturday market you’d best come in out of the wet and get on down to the Studio T’eatre, where you’ll be greeted with “Best kind, b’y, and hows’ yerself?”

David French’s touching love story, set in......

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Mayors’ Monarch Pledge - theHumm August 2019

Lanark County is taking strides to support and promote restoration of pollinator habitat through several initiatives, including its recent proclamation of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge Day on June 26.

“Lanark County’s goal is to create diverse roadsides with an abundance of pollinator habitat through practices of planting flowers, seeding disturbed soil, improving maintenance practices and by participating in new projects aimed at improving pollinator habita......

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Acclaimed Theatre Organist Plays Perth - theHumm August 2019

By — Bob Sneyd

At 7pm on Friday, August 16, the internationally-renowned organist Lance Luce will play the inaugural concert of Eastern Ontario’s newest theatre organ. This 40 rank, 3 manual digital instrument is located in Perth’s Creative Community Hub at St. Paul’s United Church (25 Gore St. W.), which is now air-conditioned and fully accessible.

The repertoire will include music to “tap the toes” of all generations, with sounds and effects along musical roads less travelled, including ......

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Calling All Wild Children!
Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust’s Annual Festival of the Wild Child
- theHumm August 2019

The third annual Festival of the Wild Child, a two-day event at High Lonesome Nature Reserve in the Pakenham Hills, takes place on August 24 and 25. Open to the public from 10am to 4pm, this festival is offered by the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust (MMLT) and provides a variety of stations along wooded trails and by ponds to learn, explore and engage with the natural world.

Knowledgeable volunteers will be at each station to help open windows into the many wonders of nature. A......

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Sundance: 40 Artists Along a Riverbank - theHumm August 2019

This Labour Day Weekend, get ready for forty artists to converge in Maberly and create the annual Sundance Artisan Show!

Celebrating their 13th year on the Fall River Restaurant festival grounds (21980 Hwy 7 in Maberly), Sundance artists are preparing to show off their latest creations. The outdoor setting is a picturesque backdrop of open field lined by a forest and a lush riverbank with the stone ruins of an old mill. Under a string of white-canopied tents, artists display their wares f......

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Taking the Show on the Road
Or, What Starts with “f”, Ends with “uck”, and Makes Delicious Food?
- theHumm August 2019

By Sebastian Weetabix

There are many unanswered questions, and even more that are unasked, but there are seldom unanswerable questions. A diligent quest by Weetabix was triggered by the question: “What starts with the letter ‘f’ and ends with ‘uck’?” Herewith some words on a local seasonal phenomenon, the out-door restaurant or Food Truck.

In the beginning was the Chip Wagon — and it was good. Evolution drives the basic phenotype (a deep-fryer on wheels) towards more specialized and sophisti......

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Interlibrary Loan Update - theHumm August 2019

By Erika Heesen, Perth Library

The Perth and District Union Public Library is pleased to announce that it resumed interlibrary loan services, with some changes, as of July 1.

In April 2019, provincial funding to the Southe......

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Lanark County Backpack Drive - theHumm August 2019

Believe it or not, back to school season is right around the corner, and many parents and children in our community are preparing for the big day! United Way Lanark County, along with the local 3......

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Paddle for AGH
Raft Races Fun for Participants and Spectators Alike!
- theHumm August 2019

On Saturday, August 10, Paddle for Almonte General Hospital will again bring the community together for a fun, family-friendly affair featuring raft races at the Almonte Beach in support of quali......

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Finding Water in Perth - theHumm August 2019

One of the first thoughts of a Canadian summer is Water. Strévé Design Studio Boutique Gallery in Perth is exploring this idea in a summer themed Art+Fashion exhibit running until September 1.......

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SING! For SchoolBOX
A Musical Fundraiser with Jennifer Noxon
- theHumm August 2019

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Learning in Almonte: All New for Fall 2019 - theHumm August 2019

By — Glenda Jones

After an enlightening year with courses on everything from flying pigs to harmonics, Learning in Almonte is now heading for the stars, literally. The course line-up for the fall will include star......

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Save the Datefor Seniors Expo! - theHumm August 2019

Mills Community Support is once again hosting the North Lanark Seniors’ Expo — this year on Thursday, September 5 from 10am to 3pm at the Almonte Community Centre. Now in its 9th year, the Senior......

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First CAMMAC Ottawa Valley Choral Concert - theHumm August 2019

Co-chairs Michael Hoffman and Rosalind Spencer are delighted to announce the inaugural CAMMAC Ottawa Valley Choral Concert. Taking place on Sunday, September 15 in the spectacular “cathedral” of ......

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“Paint Out” at the Mill of Kintail - theHumm August 2019

By — Lucy Carleton

Imagine painting on the spot in a natural environment. Now, picture the setting as the historic Mill of Kintail Conservation Area just outside Almonte. Artists are invited to choose any location ......

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Parkinson SuperWalk - theHumm August 2019

The Parkinson SuperWalk, now in its third year in Lanark North Leeds, takes place on Saturday, September 7 at Conlon Farm (109 Smith Drive in Perth) with check-in at 9:30am. The walk is one of ei......

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Governor General’s Foot Guards Return to St. Paul’s - theHumm August 2019

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“I Want You to Panic” - theHumm August 2019

By — Chandler Swain

It’s very clear that if we don’t put a few more Green Party MPs in the House of Commons this fall, to help counter the ruinous policies of the usual old-school parties that keep skirting issues r......

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One Hour, Peak Summer - theHumm August 2019

By Susie Osler

Yesterday while sitting next to the lower garden down near the pond — a garden that I abandoned with some remorse this spring — I spent an hour writing down the names of the beings I recognized t......

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It’s Half Over Already! - theHumm August 2019

By Glenda Jones

What happened when I wasn’t looking? Summer’s half over; we’re past the longest day, which didn’t seem long enough; we’re into the dog days, when the dogs don’t know they’re supposed to lie aroun......

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Storytime!
Introducing Cards for Readers & Will-be-readers
- theHumm August 2019

Once upon a time a young reader entered the book industry. She learned to sell, serve, market, write, design and do data entry until the cows came home. She loved it all. She moved to Almonte and......

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MERA Award of Excellence - theHumm August 2019

MERA (McDonalds Corners & Elphin Recreation & Arts) is pleased to announce that Rosemary Kotze has received the 2019 MERA Award of Excellence in the Fine Arts and Fine Crafts for her crea......

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Blueberry Tea at Union Hall - theHumm August 2019

Summer is back and once again it’s time for the folks at Union Hall to open the doors for their annual Blueberry Tea, taking place on Sunday, August 25. Everyone is invited to join neighbours and......

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Classic Theatre Festival
Mystery-Thriller Follows Shaw’s Most Popular Play
- theHumm August 2019

For those who remember the 1960s and 1970s, there were certain spine-tingling bedside table titles that were always kept away from the kids. Among the most popular of them was Ira Levin’s Rose......

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Jim Arendt: Those of Us Still Living - theHumm August 2019

By — Maureen Korp is a writer, historian and lecturer who reads theHumm faithfully.

More than a hundred years ago, German artist Käthe Kollwitz’s lithographs, etchings and sculpture had people talking on both sides of the Atlantic. Her subject? Working people, their life-long cr......

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An Active August in Mississippi Mills - theHumm August 2019

By Miss Mills

Remember when summer meant sleeping in, lounging on a beach towel, sitting ‘round the campfire, reading in a comfy chair in a summer breeze? Well, I hope you still take some time to enjoy those t......

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Miss Mills’ Bicycle Postcard Project - theHumm August 2019

By — Theresa Peluso

The bicycle postcard project confirms it: Mississippi Mills is in love! After a month of mostly glorious weather during June’s Bicycle Month, all the festivities have come to an end — the street ......

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Creative Arts Fair is Full of Surprises! - theHumm August 2019

After the success of the 2018 Creative Arts Fair in Smiths Falls, this year’s event is going to showcase so much more! The 2019 committee, governed by the Smiths Falls & District Arts & C......

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Market & Music Days and Cemetery Tours - theHumm August 2019

The Smiths Falls Heritage House Museum will be hosting Market & Music Days every Saturday throughout August. These events will provide music, fun, games and activities for the whole family wh......

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Missive from My Office Desk Drawer - theHumm August 2019

By — Angie Arendt is the Director of Big Stone House: a Center for Courageous Living in Almonte <bigstonehouse.ca>

The middle drawer of my office desk is only a couple of inches deep and a bit over a foot wide. In it belong some simple necessities: a couple of pens and some scratch paper, extra staples, a pai......

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Garlic, Kilts and Fair Play in Perth! - theHumm August 2019

By John Pigeau

Oh, August in the beautiful ol’ town — you’ve got us sweating and swimming, camping and kayaking, barbequing at the cottage, delighting in cold drinks by the Basin, and browsing our favourite sho......

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Special Days at the Calabogie Market - theHumm August 2019

By — Lucie Perrier is a Councillor in Greater Madawaska

The Calabogie Summer Market has become a great Saturday draw this year! It attracts vendors from Renfrew, Dunrobin, Almonte and Carleton Place (to name a few), and is free to vendors who wish to ......

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Get Ready for Roots on the Clyde! - theHumm August 2019

By — Haley Bowes

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Our vision again this ye......

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Cindy Thompson in Concert - theHumm August 2019

The Middleville Museum is pleased to announce a fundraising concert featuring dynamic fiddler Cindy Thompson and family on September 7 from 7–9pm at the Middleville Agricultural Hall.

There ......

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JoyFest — Bring Back the Wonder
New Summer Festival to Reconnect Us with Fun
- theHumm August 2019

A new two-day festival brimming with live music, dance, cirque, drumming, art, nature, inspiration, conversation and storytelling will help us focus on enjoying life. JoyFest will be bringing a h......

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20 Years of Garlic! - theHumm August 2019

You’re invited to the 20th annual Carp Farmers’ Market Garlic Festival! Come be part of this truly unique local event, taking place for two days in August.On Saturday, August 10 from 8am to 3pm a......

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