Garlic Nirvanaat Indian Creek - theHumm August 2024
Garlic Nirvanaat Indian Creek - theHumm August 2024
By David Hinks
Indian Creek Orchard Gardens indiancreekorchard.ca is indeed a very happy place for garlic lovers. Proprietors Scott and Marisa will be hosting the fourth edition of Garlic Nirvana on August 18 from 9:30am to 1:30pm at 919 Sugar Bush Road in Mississippi Mills.
Marisa and Scott were handed lemons in 2020 with the arrival of the pandemic. They had optimistically planted 40,000 garlic bulbs in the fall of 2019, and ended up with 6500lbs of garlic and no venues in which to sell it, as all the area garlic festivals had been shut down. Garlic Nirvana was created as a survival tactic, and it proved to be very tasty lemonade! It was a big success with well over 100 attendees the first year, and it now attracts close to 200 people. Some come to buy garlic, some come to taste, some come to learn, and some come as an excuse to spend a morning in a relaxed farm setting. Indian Creek is among the very few certified organic garlic growers in Lanark County, offering culinary-grade garlic, seed garlic, and braided garlic.
A big attraction is a raw and roasted taste test of over 10 different varieties. Attendees are asked to score the garlic from 1 to 10 on how hot or spicy it is (one being not at all, and 10 being something that could burn a hole in your tongue). Most folks start out thinking of garlic as a generic vegetable, with all varieties tasting essentially the same. However, when people have the opportunity to taste one variety right after another, they soon change their tune — they score some garlic as low as a three or a four and other varieties as high as a nine. For most varieties, scores are remarkably consistent from person to person. Most are amazed at the vast differences between the varieties. This scale is then used when marketing the garlic.
Scott, who has become a bit of a “garlic guru” because of his considerable experience growing organic garlic, will be available to answer questions all day. Common questions are about how to grow it, feed it and space it, when to harvest it and how to store it.
Garlic that measures less than 2” in diameter gets sold as culinary garlic, and anything over 2” is sold as seed. Most of the garlic Scott produces gets sold to other growers as seed garlic. A free grower’s lecture takes place at the end of the event to assist both novice and experienced growers in growing large garlic. It includes site selection and soil preparation, fertility, growing requirements, indicators that your garlic is ready to harvest, and post-harvest curing and care for your garlic. Included is a fully interactive round table discussion where growers can table problems they are having and get feedback.
Scott and Marisa recently increased their local gardening credentials by bravely bringing Seedy Saturday back to Almonte. After a pandemic-related hiatus of four years, it returned in March of this year. As in its first four years, it proved to be a very successful event — a terrific opportunity for gardeners from the area to network, for local producers to showcase their wares, and for everyone to learn a lot. An estimated 600 keen gardeners checked out the huge diversity of vegetable varieties that are not available in box-store garden centres. But it was more than a seed sale; extra space was rented and a full program of speakers was featured.
Garlic is quite easy to grow, but I find it doesn’t routinely fit into the seasonal plans of local gardeners. I suspect that many people don’t regularly grow it because it doesn’t fit into the “plant the garden by May 24” routine, or perhaps because it isn’t something that their parents or grandparents grew (full disclosure — growing up on a dairy farm in Southwestern Ontario, I didn’t actually eat garlic until I was over twenty). A bit of research shows that three-quarters of garlic production is accounted for by China and India. It has been used in the cuisine of Eastern countries for over 4,000 years. Not quite so long in Ontario.
Garlic is best planted in the fall, as it requires a long cool growing season. I always find this such a symbolic activity, planting in anticipation of a harvest next July. While most of my vegetable garden is winding up the annual cycle of growth and harvest, the little garlic cloves will be growing up to 10cm of roots this fall and will be ready to produce strong green shoots when the snow has barely gone next spring.
There are many choices for buying local garlic. The 25th Perth Lions Garlic Festival takes place on August 10 and 11 at the Perth Fairgrounds, while the Carp Garlic Festival takes place on August 10, 17, 24 and 31 at the Carp Fairgrounds. Each one features lots of garlic-themed events — demonstrations of garlic braiding, garlic-bread tasting, garlic flavoured ice cream, cooking demonstrations and contests, and all nature of preserves and healthy concoctions made with garlic. Many of the regular vendors at Farmers’ Markets such as Almonte, Perth and Carleton Place will also have lots of local garlic available.
If you buy garlic with the intention of planting it in the fall, it needs to be kept in a shaded cool place with good air circulation until it is time to plant it. Buy from a local producer if you are buying garlic to plant – you know that what you are buying was produced locally and is suited for local conditions. Garlic that is sold in supermarkets may have been shipped from China and may not be hardy in the Canadian climate. Why squander fossil fuels shipping garlic halfway around the globe when we can grow superior garlic right here?
Wendo Van Essen — Nothing Felt Better - theHumm August 2024
By Sally Hansen
Art… and Soul
On the back of her Artist Trading Card at the top righthand corner of this page, Wendo Van Essen explains WHY she is a Fibre Artist: “I cannot not be making something.” And of all the somethings she has tried, fibre arts have felt the best. Pun intended. Even during her interview, Wendo was busily at work creating an adorable needle-felted zebra as a gift for an upcoming baby shower. Needle felting involves sculpting creative shapes from (usually) wool fibres with special notch......
Be a Wild Child — Roar Against Climate Change! - theHumm August 2024
The theme of this year’s Festival of the Wild Child is “Be a wild child. Roar against climate change.” Hosted by the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust (MMLT) on Saturday, August 24 at the beautiful High Lonesome Nature Reserve near Pakenham, this fun family event is designed to encourage children of all ages to explore, understand, appreciate, and get hands-on with the natural world. Young ones will be encouraged to make some noise — in their homes, schools, and communities — about the need ......
MUSICwestport Festival A Fun, Free Event in Beautiful Downtown Westport! - theHumm August 2024
By Seamus Cowan
What’s better than a free outdoor music festival on a warm day in a small town on the water? Nothing! No joke — this is what it’s all about at the MUSICwestport Festival in Westport-on-the-Rideau. For 16 years, the town has been engulfed in the festival vibe on the third weekend of August, and it’s definitely one of the highlights of the year. For residents and tourists alike, it’s a great gift from the Westport Arts Council. It began as a small dream by a few musical minds and has sustained its......
Misi Zibi Mamidosewin (The Gathering Place) - theHumm August 2024
By Colleen Gray
The Town of Carleton Place and the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum are working in collaboration with local Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons to develop an impressive stone installation at Riverside Park. The park is nestled on the shores of the Mississippi River and is on the unceded land of the Anishinaabe people who lived here before all others (unceded means land that has never been treatied or surrendered).
The Mississippi River has long been a travel and trade rout......
40 ArtistsAlong a Riverbank Outdoor Show on Labour Day Weekend - theHumm August 2024
The Sundance Artisan Show started 18 years ago in a garden in Maberly. A group of local artists decided it was way more attractive and economical for people to be able to visit them together in one spot rather than driving from studio to studio. This turned out to be a great concept which is still working.
Sundance has since grown to become an outdoor art show featuring up to 40 artists in a beautiful riverbank setting in Maberly, Ontario. The show takes place during all three days of Labou......
Paint the Summer Returns to Westport - theHumm August 2024
One of the finest annual art shows in eastern Ontario is coming to Westport in August. Organized by the Rideau Lakes Artists Association (RLAA), this year’s Paint the Summer show and sale will feature 50 fine artists, making it the biggest one yet!
Plan to make a day of it and visit lovely Westport, not just for the show but to enjoy the great food and shopping this waterfront town is famous for.
You’ll enjoy the creative output of the talented artists working in acrylics, oils,......
Stone Fence’s Miss Pringle’s Mini-Skirt - theHumm August 2024
Stone Fence Theatre opened its twenty-second season on July 24 with Miss Pringle’s Mini-Skirt, a new musical comedy by award-winning journalist Johanna Zomers. The show, which she wrote last winter on trains and planes and in guest apartments in Ireland, England, and Spain, is based on her experiences growing up on a pioneer farm in Brudenell, Ontario (near Killaloe) and going to school in one-room schoolhouses just before they were all closed in the 1960s.
Th......
Blueberry Teaat Union Hall - theHumm August 2024
On Sunday, August 25 from 2–4pm, Union Hall will open its doors so that everyone can come and enjoy their famous, family-friendly Blueberry Tea. Bring your family and friends together in celebration of summer! New to the community? Come on out and get to know your neighbours. Enjoy freshly baked blueberry dessert along with a cold drink, hot cup of tea, or freshly brewed Equator coffee.
Union Hall holds a special place in residents’ hearts as a Registered Charitable Organization, having served as a gathering place since its construction in 1857. Throughout the years it has been a lend......
Come to the North Lanark Highland Games! - theHumm August 2024
It’s time to celebrate all things Scottish when the 39th annual North Lanark Highland Games (NLHG) take place on Saturday, August 24 at the Almonte Fairgrounds. This year brings something extra special, in partnership with the Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation, with the NLHG hosting the 2024 Canadian Open Championships. Ten highly decorated athletes will be travelling from all over Canada to give it their all in this competition. Personal Bests and World Records ar......
Almonte Potters Guild Open House - theHumm August 2024
Before 2002, if you wanted to take a pottery course in Almonte you had to visit a local potter’s home studio. But as these studios began to close, the need for a communal space became evident. In November 2000, after seeing the success of the Mississippi School for the Arts, a group of eight local artists from Almonte, Arnprior, and Carleton Place came together to discuss opening Almonte’s first pottery studio.
By the fall of 2002 their plans came to fruition, and Almonte Potters Guild (APG), run by “The Mudslingers”, opened its doors to the public.
After more than 20 years of suc......
Garlic Nirvanaat Indian Creek - theHumm August 2024
By David Hinks
Indian Creek Orchard Gardens indiancreekorchard.ca is indeed a very happy place for garlic lovers. Proprietors Scott and Marisa will be hosting the fourth edition of Garlic Nirvana on August 18 from 9:30am to 1:30pm at 919 Sugar Bush Road in Mississippi Mills.
Marisa and Scott were handed lemons in 2020 with the arrival of the pandemic. They had optimistically planted 40,000 garlic bulbs in the fall of 2019, and ended up with 6500......
Carleton Place Gallery Celebrates One Year! - theHumm August 2024
A lauded addition to the downtown Carleton Place shopping district, locally owned and operated Carleton Place Gallery is poised to celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday, August 24, exactly one year after the doors first opened at 210 Bridge Street.
Co-owners Ginny Fobert, Colleen Gray and Pam Stewart are artists themselves, and had a vision for what the older building situated beside Sinclair Square and the Mississippi River could become for local artists and the community. One ......
The Perth Night Market A Night of Artisans, Entertainment and Community Returns This Fall - theHumm August 2024
Perth Tourism is thrilled to announce the return of the beloved Perth Night Market on Saturday, September 14.
This free event kicks off at 5pm, showcasing over 90 artisans, crafters, makers and more from Lanark County, the Ottawa Valley and beyond. Attendees will be treated to a wide variety of entertainment including musicians, magicians and more, highlighting the incredible talent close to home.
Shops throughout Perth will stay open late, offering attendees the chance to explore unique offerings within the beautiful heritage buildings. Enjoy delectable food and drink under the s......
Almonte Fibrefest - theHumm August 2024
Come on out to the friendly town of Almonte on September 7 and 8 for the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum’s 29th annual Fibrefest! The festival is a celebration of fibre arts — a fun homage to the textile industry’s lasting impact on the Valley. Taking place at two locations, the Almonte Community Centre and the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, admission to Fibrefest is $5 per day and grants access to both sites. Over 80 fantastic fibre vendors will be at the market, selling finished goods and t......
Celebrating Fine Craft - theHumm August 2024
Since 2013, General Fine Craft in Almonte has been celebrating Canadian craftsmanship by showing the work of outstanding artists from across Ontario and western Quebec. By making their creations available to an enthusiastic array of visitors to the shop, GFC is helping to keep traditional techniques alive at a time when imported mass-produced goods flood the market, threatening to diminish the value of hand-crafted quality.
Every month GFC receives new pieces from many of its 60+ maker......
Of Ice and Fire: Stories from Norse Mythology A Storytelling in the Oldest of Human Traditions - theHumm August 2024
This coming Labour Day (September 1), story lovers can start up a “new year” with a mythic event. Last year a sold-out crowd entered the mysterious world of the Celtic-Welsh Maginogian. After battling dismay, magical enemies and infidelity, following extraordinary heroes, finding wonderous objects and strange pleasures, the listeners and tellers spread out their picnics on the green grass and rested, laughed and remembered.
This year listeners are invited to take up a wild journey throu......
Summer Magic at The Enchanted Bookshop - theHumm August 2024
This August, Station Theatre presents The Enchanted Bookshop, a family-friendly musical beloved by audiences for bringing storybook characters to life in a whimsical tale of hijinks and friendship.
A Likely Story is a bookshop like no other. At night when bookshop owner Margie (Finch McKeigan) and her beloved cat Bombalurina (Clara Laferrière) go to sleep, the storybook characters come to life, thanks to a spell cast by the Book Fairy (Anita Garvin). When Eddie and F......
Crafty Fun at the Fair! - theHumm August 2024
If you like to bake, garden, sew, or take photos, you should consider entering the Homecraft Competition at the Almonte Fair this September. If it’s your first time participating, plan to attend an Exhibitor’s Workshop on August 13 that will explain all the bits and pieces to help you bring home a red ribbon.
Judges will be on hand to explain criteria. Floral displays, garden produce, baking, photography and crafts will be on display. You can try evaluating entries by following a judge’s checklist. Then, over refreshments, you can see what the experienced judges decide as they explain......
CAMMAC’s Annual Choral Concert - theHumm August 2024
By — Rosalind Spencer is President of CAMMAC OttawaGatineau
The CAMMAC Ottawa Valley chorus will perform their annual choir concert in the spectacular cathedral setting of St. John Chrysostom Church in Arnprior on September 8 at 3pm.
Now in its 71st year, CAMMAC (Canadian Amateur Musicians / Musiciens Amateurs du Canada) draws choristers for a summer choir from up and down the Ottawa Valley, including Pembroke, Cobden, Almonte, Pakenham, Carleton Place, Arnprior, White Lake, Waba, Braeside and Sand Point, as well as Ottawa-Gatineau.
We are delighted to once again welcome Artistic Director Lisa Webber, a mainstay in the cultural arts scene.......
Wetlands — A Natural Reason for a Party! - theHumm August 2024
By Don Ross
It’s all coming together — and it’s a great reason for a party! On August 24, join us to celebrate one of the largest conservation projects in Eastern Ontario. The Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust — together with several landowners and donors — may very well double the perpetually protected lands and wetlands in and surrounding Charleston Lake Provincial Park. And it’s a big win for you.
We’d love to meet you at the land trust’s Glen Elbe Learning Centre, just north of Broc......
The Tangled Garden - theHumm August 2024
By Glenda Jones
This was going to be the year when the garden looked amazing. Last August I spent three days digging out a ratty bed of bulbs, lilies, daisies, echinacea and more weeds that I could haul to my weed dump to rebuild what was supposed to be a planned sea of flowers this summer. I dug and raked and renewed the soil with ten bags of manure, all carefully spread. I spaced out all the bulbs, split the lily clumps (with an axe no less!), alternated echinacea and daisies, marked every plant with a little......
The Undercovers at Studio Theatre Celebrating Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson - theHumm August 2024
The Undercovers are making classics cool again with new music releases and their incredible live concert event Rogers Richie & Robinson — featuring the songs of Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson. This dynamic new show is coming to Studio Theatre Perth in Ontario on August 25. Tickets are available now at Ticketleap.
Fans will hear the brilliance of iconic songs that have become the soundtrack for our lives, reimagined in the Undercovers’ signature stripped down acou......
Summertime Blooms in Almonte Flower & Edibles Show on August 17 - theHumm August 2024
Come see prizewinning perennials, annuals, vegetables and designs on August 17! From 1–3:30pm at the Almonte Civitan Hall, the Almonte, Pakenham and Carleton Place Horticultural Societies are hosting the Ontario Horticultural Association District 2 Flower and Edibles Show. This annual show rotates around the Ottawa Valley, and the three hosting societies are very excited that residents will have a chance to see spectacular exhibits by members close to home,
There are 52 classes of annual flowers, perennials, roses and houseplants to view, 16 classes of vegetables, and 10 classes of fl......
Studio Theatre’s New Artistic Director - theHumm August 2024
In addition to a few other changes to the Board of Directors, Studio Theatre has recently announced the addition of Grace Main to the position of Artistic Director. Here’s a quick Q&A to introduce her to Humm readers.
Welcome to your new position! What experiences and skills led you to take on this important job?
Grace Main: I have enjoyed association with all theatres in Perth since I moved here in 2010. Whether in the audience, on stage or behind the scenes, I know t......
Violin Recital for AGH - theHumm August 2024
Bennett Van Barr is a 17-year-old local violinist and fiddler who is training, performing and touring Canada this summer with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada for the second time. NYO Canada provides full bursaries/expenses/honoraria to each young pre-professional musician (between 16 and 28 years old) who secures a seat in the orchestra from a highly competitive nation-wide audition process that happens each winter.
Bennett is looking forward to his fall studies when he ......
Mississippi Squares Dancing in a Vibrant Community - theHumm August 2024
Mississippi Squares, a vibrant and spirited square dancing club, has been a dynamic part of the community since its inception in 1986. Nestled in the heart of Lanark County, this lively club draws its name from the nearby Mississippi River and Lake. It’s an area rich in community spirit, and Mississippi Squares has embodied this spirit for decades.
Offering a warm welcome to all, Mississippi Squares has evolved into one of the most prominent members of the Eastern Ontario Square and Round Dance Association (EOSARDA). Guided by the expert calling of Brian Crawford, who has been the cal......
Children’s Summer Programming Realities at the MM Public Library - theHumm August 2024
By Barbara Carroll
Every year the Mississippi Mills Public Library hires at least four summer students to help run the children’s programming at both the Pakenham and Almonte branches. In 2022, there were 189 free programs offered that were attended by 1474 children ranging from 4–14 years old. Summer programs bring children and their families to the library, they are fun, and they have educational, social, and outdoors components. Children get to make new friends and learn about their community, getting t......
New Releases to Fall For - theHumm August 2024
By John Pigeau
August is a sleepy sort of month in the literary world. Bookshops generally enjoy one of their busiest months — which is especially important for independent shops — as bookworms continue to gobble up good books over the warm, leisurely summer stretch. Writers put the polishing touches on their latest books. And publishers take a deep breath before their new fall releases reach bookstores in September.
September is when the zaniness kicks in.
In late July, I had the pleasure of intervi......
Sunflower Fields - theHumm August 2024
In early August, the public is invited to 760 Rae Road near Almonte to wander in a beautiful field of sunflowers. Starting Friday, August 2, it will be open seven day a week from 10am to 7pm, and will hopefully remain open until Sunday, August 18. There are three loops to wander — the shortest is 0.5km and all three together are 1.7km. There will be some wonderful photo opportunities throughout the field.
The cost is $10 per person, kids 5 and under are free. Bouquets of sunflowers w......
Tarts & Arts in the Park Who Knew the Wizard of Oz Loved Butter Tarts? - theHumm August 2024
Follow the Yellow Brick Road, and join the Wizard of Oz and all his companions for the 3rd annual Tarts and Arts in the Park butter tart festival, taking place on August 24 in Arnprior’s Robert Simpson Park from 9:30am until 3pm. The Arnprior Rotary Club is once again sponsoring this delectable event, and it promises to be a fun day for all.
Vendors will be selling butter tarts and other homemade baking, while artists and artisans will display and sell a variety of items, including ......
Summer Fun at MMYC Youth Centre Seeks New Board Members - theHumm August 2024
By Ken Kicksee
Summer Camp is in full swing at the Mississippi Mills Youth Centre! Our weekly daytime camp offers an exciting variety of indoor and outdoor activities, along with field trips that keep kids engaged and entertained.
Recently, our campers visited the splash pad at Gemmill Park to beat the heat, enjoyed a hands-on pizza-making session at the Friendship Oven, and indulged in delicious ice cream at Sweet & Fabulous.
In July, the Mississippi Mills Fire Department treated campers to a barbecue ......
Oil Painting with Kathy McNenly - theHumm August 2024
By Kim Lulashnyk
A group of beginner oil painters recently gathered at Stone Manor Studios for a three-day workshop led by Kathy McNenly. The studio buzzed with creativity as participants immersed themselves in the oil painting world, discovering not just classical techniques but their artistic potential. Focusing exclusively on a still-life composition of their own making, participants had the unique opportunity to build their skills in the classical methods of oil painting under the guidance of a master painte......
Come Explore Almonte’s Labyrinth - theHumm August 2024
By Peter Winfield
Did you know Almonte has a labyrinth open to the public? Everyone is welcome to come walk the St. Paul’s Labyrinth, which is part of Almonte’s Wellness Trail. It sits on the lawn overlooking the Mississippi River in front of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, which is located at 70 Clyde Street — just a short walk north across the bridge from the Almonte Old Town Hall. While you’re visiting Almonte for one of its many local attractions or festivals, such as this month’s Puppets Up!, ......
Provincial Ruling Threatens Wetlands! - theHumm August 2024
By Sue Brandum
The province recently ordered a permanent halt to wetland mapping in three watersheds in Eastern Ontario — including the Mississippi and Rideau, the two main watersheds in Lanark County.
Wetlands have become some of the most targeted and threatened ecosystems on Earth. The rest of Southern Ontario, to which we formally belong, has lost about 70% of its wetlands. But Lanark County is in a different position. We are home to some of the largest remaining wetlands in the whole of Southern Ontario......
Oct 12 Jason Kent
Oct 12 - 13 Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour
Oct 12 - 13 Expressions of Art
Oct 18 Evan + Ron
Oct 19 Amanda Keeley Trio
Oct 19 - Nov 30 The Second Wife’s Story -- Matheson Housewarming Party
Oct 19 - 20 Red Trillium Studio Tour
Oct 20 Choral Evensong
Oct 26 New Kid in Town
- Linda Hynes — Doing What Comes Naturally
- Laugh Out Loud — Twice!
- Fall Red Trillium Studio Tour
- Amazing Art & Fabulous Food at the 2024 Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour
- News from The Pews in Merrickville
- For the Love of Music A Concert in Memory of Ann McMahon
- Choral Evensong in Perth
- Almonte in Concert Another Exciting Season of Music
- Drag and Art atthe Textile Museum
- Back-to-School Portraits Raising Funds for the Miss Mills Library