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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 Labour Day weekend.
Peppered across two acres of forest, field and riverfront will be a diverse group of artisans specializing in various art forms: pottery, wood, sheet metal, stained glass, artisan soaps, fibre art, jewellery, clothing, blown glass, and many more. The artists have been working hard over the year, and are ready to present to you their wonderful creations.
The majority of this year’s participants were trained at various art schools in Canada and abroad, and several also teach at local art schools. They all create beautiful pieces that will be on display at this wonderful open-air venue, and several will be giving demonstrations of their work.
The setting is ideal for relaxing while shopping for the perfect gift for that special someone. Feel free to grab a chair and enjoy sitting by the beautiful Fall River with its old mill ruins.
Savour a sip of locally made kombucha and partake of something delicious from the food booth on-site.
Parking and entrance are free, but donations are most welcome. The event will be open all three days of the September long weekend (August 31, September 1 and 2), and hours are 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 10am to 2pm on Monday. Sundance is located at 126 Maberly Elphin Road, at Highway 7. Further details can be found at <sundancestudio.ca>.
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 textile supplies from across the province. With yarn, art and clothing, as well as demonstrations of spinning, knitting, felting and more, there’s something for everyone.
This year, there are more workshops than ever! This is your chance to roll up your sleeves and get felting, stitching or rug-hooking with talented artists. Workshops will be running from September 3 to 11 at both the Community Centre and the Museum. Registration fees for workshops include free admission to the festival. Advance registration is required, and some workshops may require that you bring your own supplies, so be sure to check out <mvtm.ca> and sign up early!
Alongside Fibrefest, a temporary exhibit entitled Woven by Hand: Contemporary Canadian Tapestries will be on display at the Textile Museum, curated by Thoma Ewen. The exhibit presents recent works designed and woven by a collective of outstanding Canadian tapestry artists. Recognized internationally, each artist has dedicated many decades to professional practice in this medium, and among the collective are winners of Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Award. This year’s Fibrefest will be full of high-quality artistry and innovation in fibre arts! Beat the lines and get your tickets online.
“We look forward to Fibrefest every year — the fabulous vendors and visitors that it brings to town are wonderful for both local businesses and the Museum,” says Michael Rikley-Lancaster, MVTM Executive Director/Curator. “Almonte has a uniquely textile-based history, and it’s wonderful that the community can come together to celebrate this bit of history that lives on through the fibre arts.”
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 success and growth, the Guild decided to take the next big step and become a not-for-profit corporation. With an eye to the future, and realizing that their current location would not be viable for many more years, they also began the hunt for a new space.
By March of 2023, a yet-to-be built location was found, a lease was signed, and the work began. Through increasing their course offerings, as well as financial donations from their members and the community, APG was able to move into its new home on June 1 of this year.
What began with 1100 square feet, 18 studio potters and 40 students has now become a spacious facility with 1750 square feet, 40 studio potters and over 300 students a year. As it was in 2002, APG is still largely run by volunteers, which enables them to keep the cost of their courses and memberships competitive.
Thanks to the vision and dedication of its founding members, APG became a mainstay in the local arts community. The current members hope to continue that vision.
Come See the Studio!
On August 17, Almonte Potters Guild is pleased to be hosting an Open House to welcome the public to their new studio at 3-341 Frank Davis St. in Almonte. Drop by for a visit, chat with members, and discover who they are and what they have to offer the community.
They look forward to welcoming you to their new studio!
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 to protect our world from the effects of climate change and to create a climate-resilient future.
Younger children and their parents will delight in the Magical Fairy Trail, where they can find tiny habitats and the very fragile and unexpected creatures that live there. Put on your rubber boots for the popular Pond Life activity and explore a woodland pond with local naturalists and biologists. On the Pollinator Path, a bug net and a magnifying glass will help children discover the special connection between plants and the various creatures who help spread their seeds.
There are two exciting learning features this year. From salamanders to Lady’s Slippers orchids, Carleton University graduate students will share how the research they are doing at High Lonesome will identify and protect woodland and wetland habitats. There will be lots of good information here for family discussions and school projects! There will also be an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement self-guided activity, where children and adults will discover the significance of a land acknowledgement and learn about the traditional Indigenous territories across the Mississippi and Madawaska watersheds.
The Mississippi Mills Library has collaborated on a new Storybook Trail and Storybook Tent, with colourful books and stories about the environment and climate change. While the smaller children are reading, older children and adults can follow local tree expert Owen Clarkin on the fascinating Tree I.D. walk.To keep everyone safe while they explore, the Leeds Grenville and Lanark Health Unit will provide information on avoiding those miserable ticks in the TickTalk activity area, and the Mississippi Mills Fire Department will share important information about outdoor fire safety in the Fire Prevention activity.
Bring the family (no pets please) for a full day of fun and learning, or choose one or two favourite activities. The Almonte Civitan Club will have food for sale, or you can bring a picnic lunch. Just Good Compost will be on hand to help with minimizing waste.
Be a wild child (no matter how old you are) and get ready to roar against climate change!
Register now at <mmlt.ca/event/2024-festival-of-the-wild-child>, and follow MMLT on Facebook and Instagram. High Lonesome Nature Reserve is located at 867 Carbine Road in Pakenham.
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 lending library, a place of worship, and a venue for family celebrations, meetings, and a variety of cultural and commercial events.
Today, thanks to the support of Mississippi Mills, The Hub and private donors, as well as the dedication of volunteers, the community continues to preserve and maintain this historic landmark that has touched the lives of so many. Please come out to see this historical gem in the heart of the community!
There is no charge for the Blueberry Tea, but any donations you would like to contribute are always welcome and greatly appreciated. Union Hall is located at ???? Wolfgrove Road (at the corner of Tatlock Road).
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. Lisa is the founder of the Arnprior Community Choir, Two Rivers Musical Productions, and a ladies group Tutti, and also runs a very active voice studio in Arnprior.
The main piece of this concert is the rarely performed, serenely beautiful, yet at times exhilarating Mass in D by Antonin Dvorak, which will be accompanied by a full professional orchestra. The choir will be joined by four highly talented professional soloists with local connections: Kathleen Radke, soprano; Danielle Vaillancourt, alto; Philip Klaassen, tenor; and Mark Wilkinson, bass.
The second part of the program, on the theme of “Radiancy Divine”, begins with an exquisitely dreamy soprano-trumpet duet by Handel entitled Eternal Source of Light Divine. Often performed at royal weddings, this piece is perfectly suited to the acoustics of St. John Chrysostom church.
This theme continues with four short choral pieces by Handel, Raminsh, Gjeilo and Smart. Talented keyboardist Ian Guenette, Music Director and Organist at St. James Anglican Church in Carleton Place, will play solos on both the organ and grand piano, joined at various times by trumpets, strings and solo cello, to bring the concert to a resounding finish!
Doors open at 2:30pm, and tickets are available in advance from White Pine Books in Arnprior (cash only) or at the door. Adults are $25, students are $10, and children 12 and under get in for free. Find more details at <cammac.ca>.
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 of the older structures in town, the charming space used to be two separate buildings and has hosted businesses such as a clothing shop, ice cream parlour, barber shop, paint store and more.
Now the beautifully restored space plays host to a rotating selection of over 20 local and regional artists’ work, hosts live Art House Music concerts once a month inside the gallery, and is using the attached space as both an art supply store and an incredibly active workshop studio, where the community is invited in to get creative and have some artsy fun!
The gallery is planning a lot of special events on the day of their anniversary. These will include free and fun family art activities, live music outside the building with a view of the river, some art supply special offers and giveaways, refreshments and snacks, and then an evening reception to top it all off.
“Our first year has been a special one, and we are thrilled with how the community has responded to all our efforts and ideas to build up the arts scene in Carleton Place,” says gallerist and photographer Ginny Fobert. “Not only do we have local supporters visiting (sometimes multiple times per month!) to see what new work we are featuring, we are also attracting some great traffic from all over and the feedback has been all positive.”
“We are so proud to showcase the depth of artistic talent in the area, and always get excited when we see the community show up to support local musicians or to learn and create in our workshops. It’s truly thrilling,” adds gallerist Pam Stewart, who regularly offers workshops in alcohol ink and mixed media painting.
Carleton Place Gallery is open six days a week, closed Mondays, and you can find listings of their concerts, workshops and even booking information (the gallery and studio can be used by anyone for their events and creative pursuits) on their website, at <cpgallery.ca>.
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+ makers. Their works are widely collected or purchased as gifts, perfect for weddings and other special occasions. Sometimes the gift itself makes the occasion! Recent additions have arrived from several amazing makers…
Raphael Kerem (Burridge, ON) has always been dedicated to traditional woodworking methods without the use of power tools. His distinctive brooms have generations of admirers. Lately he’s been making hand-carved bowls based on Scandinavian chip-carved designs. They’re made of local fallen butternut and poplar, dried and split to showcase beautiful wood grain. Naturally occurring spalting, inclusions and wormholes are left as they are. Hold one of these bowls and it will reveal its life story to you.
Almonte’s Jennifer Noxon joyfully explores a fascination with water and its more elusive qualities in her paintings. They riff on light, movement, depth, and the passage of time. Her sense of colour is exciting. She finds balance with interesting shape relationships. Generous brushstrokes record the action of paint applied to canvas or panel. They are visually delightful — and GFC has a great selection of her work.
Maureen Marcotte (Wakefield, QC) is an accomplished potter who specializes in porcelain wares. Her incredibly detailed glaze application, using wax resist to create dense patterns, makes her pottery unique and mesmerizing. Bowls, vases, mugs, teacups and teabowls all make function beautiful, enhancing the serving of your favourite foods or a quiet moment to yourself.
And don’t miss seeing the incredible wooden vessels of Roger Mattiuz (Ingleside, ON). Made of maple, they’re lathe-turned, intricately carved and then dyed with inks to give the illusion of a basket weave. Individual pieces can take up to a month of careful planning, fabrication and minute hand work. His pieces have elegant forms with complex patterns and colouration to fascinate everyone who admires them.
For more details and hours, please drop in or visit <generalfinecraft.com>.
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 their first library card after attending summer camp.
These programs run all day every day throughout July and August and are funded by granting streams from both federal and provincial governments. Every year the students must be hired at the beginning of June to prepare for the start date of July 2, and every year the grant announcements come towards the end of June. The library allocates as much of its budget as it can to hiring students, and paying them throughout June, on the understanding that the likelihood of getting all four grants is slim. This was what the library did again this year.Unfortunately, this year, our award-winning library that provides programs for three different age groups each day for two months, received no grants at all. “This is the first time in over ten years of applying for grants that I have not received any funding to help hire summer students,” states Christine Row, MMPL CEO/Chief Librarian, “and I have heard that many libraries are in the same situation. Fortunately, the MMPL Friends are saving our summer programming. I have no idea how other libraries are going to continue with summer programming plans.”
With no provincial or federal funding for summer students coming, MMPL would have covered just over half the student salaries from its budget, and so program cuts looked inevitable. The students were already hired, and the programs were within about 10 days of starting. At the last minute there was a real possibility that families who had registered their kids for library programs may have been left stranded with no other options for their children.The library approached the Friends of the Mississippi Mills Public Library to see if we could help them provide all the programming they had scheduled. Thanks to the $7,379.50 raised from our online auction of local services, plus the funds we hold in reserve for just such an occasion, we could donate a one-time $10,000 grant to ensure that all the summer programming goes ahead. This is our biggest donation ever, and when we looked at the programs offered, it sure felt good to know that children in the community are in for a huge treat over the summer. It brings the total we have donated to the library in 2024 to $19,000 — nearly double our previous annual totals.Fortunately, the story has a happy ending this year (although the reality of the funding shortages continues). We absolutely could not have done it without the many services donated to our auction by local businesses, organizations and individuals, and the bidders who paid for those services.We need to give additional shout-outs to 32auctions for providing an auction platform community groups can afford, and to the Friends’ auction committee who pulled together fabulously and with enthusiasm to make sure the auction was the very best it could be.Finally, we had a reserve fund available to top up our contribution thanks to the Live! @ the Library concerts, the play reading earlier in the year, and the Book Sale in October 2023. It makes us so proud to be able to support our library, especially in such a time of need.
The Friends have more fundraisers to come in 2024. In October we will hold our annual book sale, and in December we will stage our second Christmas concert for kids at the Almonte branch of the Library. We are already starting to work on ideas for 2025. Expect the major fundraisers to return, plus a few new and different events as well! Should you wish to join our merry band, please email us at <friends@missmillslibrary.com>.
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!, come walk the labyrinth.
This ancient pattern has been used by many different cultures for meditation, contemplation or inspiration. When you enter the meandering path you walk slowly along a single track while quieting your mind and focusing on a personal or spiritual question or intention. It is a form of walking meditation which may be more suitable to anyone who has tried seated mediation and found that challenging.
What Is a Labyrinth?
This archetypal pattern symbolizes a journey and is often used as a tool to represent the journey through life, or life’s inner journey.
It is not a maze. It has one single path to the centre and the same path back out again. You can’t get lost on this path and don’t have to worry about choosing the right path. Whereas a maze has blind alleys, dead-ends and multiple paths to choose from, in the labyrinth the path twists and turns back on itself many times before reaching the centre. Once there, you follow the same path back out.
There is no set time for how long a walk takes, since each one is unique and everyone walks at their own pace. Some may take only 5 minutes, while others may take half an hour or even more. Patterns range from simple to complex, and sizes vary from five circuits to 11 or more. Walking a labyrinth requires you to simply follow the pattern, with no puzzle to figure out. The simplicity of the pattern allows your mind to focus on your meditation or prayer.
Labyrinths can be made of stone, wood, plants or other materials. They may even be painted or taped with masking tape on a floor. The one at St. Paul’s is a circular medieval five-circuit pattern lined with brick embedded in the grass lawn overlooking the Mississippi river. The path is the grassy part between the brick edges.
There are many ways to walk it, and no one correct way to do it. At St. Paul’s there is a sign beside the entrance to help you get started with basic instructions. From there you are welcome to make the walk your own in a way that is meaningful to you. The essential advice is to enter slowly, with an intention to calm and clear your mind.
The other piece of advice is to respect others in this space. Be kind and courteous and enjoy the peace of this special space.
Open your senses and focus on the process of taking slow and deliberate steps. Bring to mind an intention, a prayer, or a question to contemplate during your walk to the centre.
When you reach it, pause to reflect, contemplate, and listen. When you’re ready, begin the return journey.
Benefits of Walking
Meditatively walking a labyrinth can be surprisingly calming and clarifying for your thoughts. Even if you don’t have a spiritual side, slow, intentional walking in a quiet place on a set path allows for a level of focus that can be difficult to find in a busy life.
Some traditional designs weave back and forth and lead you seemingly close to the centre, then turn you away on many more zigzags before you once again approach the centre. This can conjure expectations about goals and how unpredictable tangents can arise in life. Using this time to reflect on your expectations and goals, and letting those thoughts arise without judgment, may offer you peace or unique new outlooks on your life.
If others are walking with you, you’ll at times approach them on your path and then be sent farther away. This can bring to mind how people enter and leave your life, allowing you to process those thoughts and feelings.
History
Labyrinth images are found in many cultures. The term is ancient Greek in origin but the design itself is far older and has been found in a wide variety of cultures from Ancient Spain, Egypt, Nepal, India, Ireland, Peru and Arizona.
In Christian usage, it was first created in manuscripts in the seventh and eighth centuries and then constructed in stone on the floors of at least eight cathedrals in France in the 12th and 13th centuries. The best-known cathedral labyrinth is the one at Chartres just south of Paris, which was built around 1201 CE. Chartres remains a popular pilgrimage destination today.
Where to Find Them
Today there are thousands of publicly accessible labyrinths around the world. In fact, there are around twenty-five in the Ottawa area. They can be found on beaches, in fields, forests, hospitals, and in churches. The World-Wide Labyrinth Locator is a comprehensive online resource to find one near you. You can search by country and city to explore over 6000 listings. The listings include descriptions, directions, hours, and photos.
The Labyrinth Society lists upcoming seminars, group walks and lectures. World Labyrinth Day is the first Saturday in May, and there are events around the world you can participate in. Search for them in your area and see if any of them are hosting such events.
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 are expected!
If the brawny caber-tossers, stone-throwers, and hammer-swingers aren’t enough for you, the Highland Games also has 100+ colourfully coordinated dancers, pipers, drummers, and bands (oh my!).
Got kids 12 and under looking for something free to do? The Highland Games is the place to be! Featuring their own mini-games, kids can participate in some traditional sports, just like the professionals, along with face painting, colouring, and a dress-up section complete with choices of backdrops for photo-opportunistic parents.
Get your tickets in advance at Baker Bob’s and The General Store in Pakenham or from the comfort of your own home at <Eventbrite.ca>. The North Lanark Highland Games take place rain or shine, and they hope to see everyone one come out and cheer on their favourite athletes, dancers and band members. For more information, please head on over to <almontehighlandgames.com>.
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 the criteria needed to win prizes. The complete Prize Book can be found at <almontefair.weebly.com>.
Institute member Mary Lumsden recalls entering last year. “I thought I’d give it a try, and I’m glad I did. My mittens won a prize! It also made it more interesting to examine other entries and I realized that there was a lot more to judging. I look forward to learning some tips at this workshop.”
This free workshop is organized by the Ramsay Women’s Institute and the North Lanark Agricultural Society. It takes place in the Agricultural Hall at the Almonte Fairgrounds on Tuesday, August 13 at 7pm. Register by August 6 to reserve your spot. For further information, phone Marilyn at 256–3130 or email <ramsaywomensinstitute@gmail.com>.
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?
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 route for the Anishinaabe people, and this installation will demonstrate their history in Carleton Place along with a sharing of cultural teachings.
The Four Directions Stone Pillars
In the park by the walking path, four vertically arranged natural stone pillars will stand approximately 7 feet tall each facing a cardinal direction. An engraved image of the bird or animal representing that direction will appear at the top of each pillar. Engraved beneath the images will be the Anishinaabe name and the English translation.
The height of the pillars invites a sense of reverence in having to look up to the animals relevant to the direction they are facing. Through Indigenous ways of knowing we recognize that the animals are closer to the Creator of our understanding than human beings are, because they are still connected to the harmony required to live naturally in the world without causing harm. So we look up to them.
In the proposed design, two paddles will appear on each pillar. One paddle will be standing upright and the other will face downwards. The upright paddles indicate that when raised, we are all resting and gathering strength. The downward paddles symbolize that we are all paddling and moving forward together in unison. The paddles are also a historic nod to the trade and travel route that is the Mississippi River.
Along the walking path and beside the river, a large plaque with a detailed and restored historical map of the Mississippi River will be installed to further explain the history of the first peoples of Carleton Place, and their life along the Misi Zibi River. The map offers details of the historical relationship between the land’s first occupants and the settler community. Local Métis artist Colleen Gray has kindly donated her artistic talents and cultural knowledge for this project, along with Debby Lytle (2011 CP Citizen of the Year for her work on the labyrinth project at the Heritage Museum). Colleen’s artwork will be represented on the pillars and in a painting called Gathering Wild Rice on the map.
Seeking Community Support
The committee is in the planning phase of this installation and is currently seeking community sponsors and fundraising support to help with the related costs of this project. Currently we do not have a completion date, but we hope to have the installation completed before June 2025.
To make a donation towards the development of the Misi Zibi Mamidosewin project, you can drop off a cheque at the Town Hall, payable to the Town of Carleton Place, or send an e-transfer to <treasury@carletonplace.ca>. The Town Hall address is 75 Bridge St, Carleton Place, ON, K7C 2V8. Be sure to include “4 Directions” on your donation. We are on Facebook at Mississippi River Gathering Place — feel free to join us and stay up to date on what’s happening.
Tax receipts can be issued on request for donations over $25. For more information or to get involved, please contact <4DirectionsCP@gmail.com>.
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 caller since 1999, the club practices modern square dancing with enthusiasm and expertise.
The heart of Mississippi Squares beats every Tuesday and Friday evening. Their engaging format alternates between Basic and Mainstream Tips on Tuesdays and exhilarating Plus Dancing on Fridays. This pattern not only ensures a balanced and exciting dance routine but also aids the swift integration of new dancers into the fold, fostering a warm and inclusive atmosphere.
In the heart of this club lies a sense of camaraderie that bridges gaps and fosters lasting friendships. The Mississippi Squares not only thrives in its dancing endeavours but also extends its reach to the community. The club’s dedication to fostering new talent and creating a welcoming environment has earned them a significant presence in the Eastern Ontario dance scene.
A Call to New Dancers
If you’re seeking a joyful and engaging activity, consider joining Mississippi Squares. The club offers an unforgettable journey into the world of modern square dancing. Their mission is to inspire, entertain and unite through dance, making every evening a memorable experience. Both couples and singles are welcome here. Dress comfortably in casual attire; no formal dress code applies. Plus, you don’t need a partner to enjoy the evening; everyone is welcome, whether you arrive solo or as a couple.
As a new season approaches, Mississippi Squares invites you to embrace the joy of square dancing. Join them at the Brunton Community Hall, just 2km south of Carleton Place at 2022 Beckwith Park Lane, beginning on Tuesday, September 17. The evenings unfold from 7:30 to 9:30pm, providing the perfect opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and discover the magic of dance.
For more information, please visit <mississippi-squares.ca> or contact Betty at 852–3496. Step into a world of rhythm, laughter and camaraderie with Mississippi Squares. Your journey into the joy of square dancing awaits!
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 itself through the generosity of local businesses and supporters to become a necessity of the community, the arts, and live music!
This year promises to be another great event with incredible talent that is all relatively local, so come on out for the 16th annual MUSICwestport outdoor festival on Saturday, August 17. Come sing, dance and enjoy! There will be eight musical acts performing on two stages. One is at the Lockwood Park Stage on George and Spring Streets and features four acts from 12:30–6:15pm. The other is at The Cove Inn Stage at Bedford and Main Streets and features four different acts from 12–5:45pm.
The Lockwood shows start at 12:30 with Foster, Shea & Sudac, a new acoustic power trio of Kingston’s finest singers featuring Christina Foster, Savannah Shea and Anna Sudac. Hear them get liberated while they sing their brand of laser-like, spine-tingling harmony folk in their inner triangle.
Frank Ryan from Kingston takes the stage at 2pm with his electric power trio. Stylistically, Frank distills the soulful falsetto of Jeff Buckley with the unbridled guitar of Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan and the slick groove of John Mayer.
Emilie Steele & The Deal puts their own spin on the folk-rock revival vibe. Hailing from Kingston, they have played Ottawa Bluesfest and have opened for The Sadies, Paul Langlois of The Hip, and more. Think Lucinda Williams meets The Velvet Underground. They play from 3:30–4:40pm.
The Gertrudes are to Kingston as Arcade Fire is to Montreal. An evolving collective of artists, their leader Greg Tilson channels David Byrne while the band paints a broad and exaggerated dynamic indie folk-rock sound in a folkestra kind of way. Playing festivals like Pop Montreal and Vancouver Folk, they have shared stages with trendsetting artists like Sarah Harmer and Calexico. Catch them from 5–6:15pm.
Over at The Cove, Dennis Bouwman Band brings a modern throwback edge à la Chris Stapleton to the stage starting at noon. This baritone wonder has been a staple in Kingston with an eerily familiar, yet classic country/folk thing going on that keeps you wanting to lean in closer.
Recently transplanted to Edmonton, Sean Pinchin is a JUNO-nominated, Maple Blues winner who will be performing with bassist Scott Fitzpatrick at 1:30. Sean’s attention to detail and depth of focus are the best attributes you could hope for in a guitar-playing singer. Think Robert Johnson meets Chris Whitley.
One of Montreal’s great unsung folk-rock acts, Sunfields are led by the fearless Jason Kent of locally-known Young Petty Stones, who has seven quality releases to his name. He has toured North America and Europe with the likes of Elephant Stone, The Dears, and Kandle & The Krooks. His sound bridges Neil Young, Wilco and Air. Sunfields plays from 3–4:10pm.
Libation Street Band are no stranger to MUSICwestport. For over 15 years, Toronto’s Larry Graves and Dave Chan have performed in groups here that embrace funk, world and jazz. From Mr. Something Something to Drumhand, their shows always engage and remain rooted in the earth we stand on. Catch them from 4:30–5:45pm.
All this wonderful music is absolutely free, but donations to MUSICwestport and the Westport Arts Council will be gratefully received.
After Hours & Kick-Off Party
From 6–8pm, everyone is welcome to the Patio Stage at The Cove to hear Eric Uren & Friends play some ethereal acoustic folk (admission by donation). And if you still haven’t had enough, catch the last train with Generator Party at The Cove from 8–11pm. Hop on an emotional journey with Toronto’s best alternative grunge band (admission is $25). Call 273–3636 for reservations.
The night before (Friday, August 16) features the MUSICwestport Kick-Off Party at The Cove Inn with Toronto’s roots reggae/calypso kings, Kobo Town! Doors open at 4pm, with dinner and the show running from 5–9pm. The cost for this event is $90, and you can call 273–3636 for reservations.
For more details about these terrific tuneful events, please visit <westportartscouncil.com/musicwestport>.
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 interviewing two of the finest, most talented young writers in the country, Fawn Parker and Hollay Ghadery. Both authors have garnered glowing praise from critics and readers with their previous work, and both have highly-anticipated new books due out in September.
Parker’s is called Hi, It’s Me (McClelland & Stewart), and it’s an immersive novel that might just read like a memoir. For good reason, according to Parker. “Hi, It’s Me takes place in one day: a fictionalized version of the day my mother died,” she explains.
This is subject matter Parker traversed in her exceptional poetry début, Soft Inheritance (Palimpsest Press), winner of the 2024 Fiddlehead Poetry Prize and the J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award.
“I am nervous about releasing something so intimate, but I don’t think this project would have worked if I had held anything back,” she adds. “The protagonist shares a full name with me, and I wanted to capture the true depth and breadth of my feelings in the early stages of grief.
“Excluding myself and my mother, I invented all of the other characters to protect the privacy of everyone else in her life. I see it as a sort of memoir of our relationship cast against a fictional world. It is also an exploration of self-hatred and self-harm which, again, I wanted to represent authentically.”
Considering the advanced praise Hi, It’s Me has received, it’s clear Parker has captured that authenticity, and rather well.
Casey Plett, author of A Dream of a Woman, says Parker’s novel is “a devastating book on absence and grief… a deeply complicated and felt story about womanhood… completely uninterested in bullshit.” Daughter author Claudia Dey calls it “a beautifully immersive and haunting novel produced by a sublime and original mind.”
Still, because Hi, It’s Me is such a personal book, Parker, the Poet Laureate of Fredericton, New Brunswick, admits to feeling a bit uneasy before its release.
“Of course I am nervous about readers having access to me in this way,” she says, “but my hope is that it might help someone else feel less lonely.”
Having read Soft Inheritance — an unflinching, deeply human, and beautifully written collection of tough and tender poems — I strongly believe Parker’s hope will be realized by many grateful, comforted readers.
You’ll find Hi, It’s Me at your favourite bookshop on Tuesday, September 17. You can pre-order it from your local indie bookseller, too.
Like Parker, Hollay Ghadery is another Canadian writer unafraid to tackle all things tough and tender. Proof of that: Fuse, (Guernica Editions), her award-winning memoir of mixed-race identity and mental illness, and Rebellion Box (Radiant Press), her spectacularly explosive début collection of poetry. Ghadery’s fearless work has quickly earned her legions of loyal readers.
They — and I — will be itching to read her short fiction collection, Widow Fantasies, which is due out from Gordon Hill Press on September 1.
“Widow Fantasies is a collection of short fiction — often, really short fiction — that explores the ways in which fantasies are used to subvert, explore, or free women and girls from oppressive or difficult conditions of their everyday lives,” Ghadery elucidates. “This is the theme the stories circle, at least: some stories more broadly than others.”
She says she’s excited and nervous before the book meets the world, but “mostly nervous.”
“I think my apprehension has a lot to do with the fact that these stories are quite short and ethereal (blame the poet in me). So people looking for a standard short story arc may be surprised, if not disappointed,” she figures.
“But the reason these stories exist as they do — the reason they are short and ethereal — is because I started writing them when I was pregnant, nursing, and home with my four young children, and I occupied this intense space of minutiae and emotion and exhaustion. My grasp on so-called reality was weak, and rather than trying to fight that and write something worldly, I did the only thing I could, which was honour the space I was in.”
Early praise for Widow Fantasies hints at a brilliant fiction début.
“The sassy-voices stories in Widow Fantasies seem to melt in your mouth like fruit gelees — yet the taste of their observations lasts. I savoured them all,” writes Molly Peacock, author of The Widow’s Crayon Box.
Salma Hussain, author of The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan, says: “Widow Fantasies is an astounding collection of short stories from poet Hollay Ghadery. With unflinching, fierce and tender honesty, Ghadery captures private, intimate moments in the lives of her characters. The wit, range and cheeky defiance in these stories will leave you breathless.”
Fiction written by a fine poet is often a profound pleasure to read. My sense is that Ghadery’s Widow Fantasies will prove that true once again.
As I mentioned, September is when the zaniness kicks in. There are stacks of notable books set for release this fall. Here are just a few by Canadian writers that I’m eager to read: The Capital of Dreams (Harper Collins) by Heather O’Neill; Scandal at the Alphorn Factory: New and Selected Short Fiction, 2024-1984 (Assembly Press) by Gary Barwin; The Sky is a Sky in the Sky (Coach House Books) by Stuart Ross; Like A Trophy from The Sun (Guernica Editions) by Jason Heroux; Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems 1961-2023 (McClelland & Stewart) by Margaret Atwood; Bad Weather Mammals (ECW Press) by Ashley-Elizabeth Best; All Hookers Go to Heaven (Invisible Publishing) by Angel B.H.; and Some Lines of Poetry (Coach House Books) by bp nichol and edited by Derek Beaulieu & Gregory Betts.
Zaniness, I tell you! But captivating reading, too.
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 through Norse Myth. It begins with a clash of fire and ice, goes onwards with Odin, and ends in a raging firestorm ignited by Loki’s betrayal. It’s a confounding and fascinating pathway through nine worlds inhabited by gods and goddesses, giants and dwarves, things of wonder and dismay, riddles that baffle, and much more.
Tellers and listeners find that the journey is as contemporary as it is old — as entertaining today as it was a thousand years ago. Hollywood story-makers knew this when they picked up the Norse myths to shape movies and television series. Using larger-than-life characters, we find out that we are as human as we ever were. Our lives demand as much heroism, endurance, kindness and justice as ever.
That’s the thing about these orally developed stories. Myths like the Norse ones share the truth about our life experiences. These stories were grown into shape by the old wisdom-tellers, storytellers who shaped human experience into a form we could enter. They transformed collected knowledge about the world into stories that are a bit like a mirror. Myths describe and showcase the very essence of who we are, where we came from, where we live, and how we might go forward.
The upcoming event, held in the charming loft of a Maberly barn, refreshes that oral tradition. In the same way that books, movies, and audio tapes offer different experiences, oral storytelling offers a particular way of getting into a story. Five fine tellers — Jennifer Cayley, Daniel Kletke, Jo Kuyvenhoven, Marie V. Roberson and Anne Schmitz of Ottawa Storytellers — will lead the way. The stories will be further enlivened by original music created by Kluane Takhini.
Please keep in mind that the barn loft is uninsulated and may be cool or hot depending on the weather. Light refreshments will be available, but do consider bringing snacks and a thermos to keep you sated during the telling.
This year’s event takes place on Sunday, September 1 from 1–5pm at Wildwood Farm, which is located at 2501 Old Brooke Road in Maberly. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students, and can be purchased through Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434).
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 painter.
Kathy McNenly, a resident of Almonte, is a highly skilled and accomplished artist renowned for her expertise in classical oil painting techniques. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University in 1986. Driven by a desire to study a more representational approach to painting, she took classes part-time with John Angel at the National Portrait Academy from 1982-1987 in Toronto. In 1991, Kathy travelled to Florence, Italy, and attended the Atelier Cecil-Graves for a term. She has also participated in figure painting workshops with Michael Grimaldi at the Grand Central Atelier in New York City and completed online Dutch Flower painting workshops with Carlo Russo.
With over 20 years of teaching experience, Kathy has taught traditional painting techniques first with the City of Ottawa and currently for the Kanata Art Club. Her teaching philosophy focuses on providing students with the technical means to produce representational images, ensuring concepts of form, tone, and colour are understood while allowing individual expression of style. Her multi-level classes suit all skill levels, incorporating demonstrations and personalized guidance to address students’ needs.
During the workshop, participants were invited to step back in time and embrace classical painting traditions. They gained a profound understanding of painting techniques, exploring the principles of colour mixing and various approaches to compositional theory. They refined their skills in arranging and portraying objects with precision and artistry, infusing ordinary items with beauty and meaning. Kathy led them through a systematic step-by-step process, from the initial underpainting to the final layers of realistic colour application. They were remarkable in creating depth, texture, and luminosity in their still-life artworks.
Nestled within the inspired setting of an 1860s stone manor estate, Stone Manor Studios provided a unique learning experience. The three days of intensive learning were accompanied by unlimited refreshments and delicious group lunches, fostering a warm and nurturing environment. There is great anticipation for Kathy’s next workshop in September, which will focus on the study of the Portrait in Oil using the classical method.
I had the pleasure of sitting with Kathy for an insightful interview before her still-life, 3-day workshop at Stone Manor Studios. We discussed her artistic journey, her teaching philosophy, what drives her passion for classical painting, and why she loves the challenge of painting the still-life. Here’s what she shared with us:
Stone Manor Studios: Tell me about how you will approach the composition of the still-life with your beginner students.
Kathy McNenly: I begin with a compositional handout created by a landscape painter, actually. Bryan Peterson produced a book about the composition of landscape painting and it kind of crosses over into still-life. His established themes about composition are central to how I am going to approach the topic. What’s interesting about composition is that there aren’t any established rules; today, contemporary artists break all sorts of rules. It’s true that even some classical artists broke the rules and did some pretty wacky things with their still-lives, but I am going to provide a basic lesson for the students to help them shape their compositions and set them in the shadow boxes that they will work on for the three days.
What are your favourite subjects you like to include in your own still-life paintings?
I certainly have a lot of pottery! I often see something and think to myself, “that’s beautiful” or “I like the shape of that,” and that’s where my composition starts. I build around this one kind of shape, and then I’ll try to work in colour compositions and designs around it. A lot of the time, I look at other artists from the past who I like and study their compositions. I saw a pot on Etsy recently by a Danish potter, and I just love the shape of it and built a painting around that. I bought a brass pot not too long ago and built a compositional story around it, so it always starts with an object I am attracted to.
I am drawn to the light in your compositions. There is obviously something unique about the reflections on your work.
I think that, like most still-life painters, I look for reflective surfaces such as metal or ceramic glazes because they have a whole sort of environment or story going on inside the reflections.
Do you ever paint yourself in those reflections?
Yeah, usually I’m in there somewhere. It’s ambiguous, but I’m there.
You are also known for your portraits, landscapes, and still lives. How do you balance it all?
I would say that portraits are 50% of my business, and the other 50% is still-life, and landscape is just stuff I do for fun. I still sell landscape paintings once in a while if I have time to do some!
Do you have a personal preference in your practice? Would you say you love portrait, still-life, or landscape painting best?
I find landscape painting the most difficult for me. It is the most challenging discipline because you have to edit out what’s in front of you. For instance, you’re faced with those massive trees and sky and water and all the landscape stuff, and you have actually to choose and manipulate things yourself into a manageable painting. Plus, the light is constantly changing. Whereas if you’re setting up a still life, you’re sort of designing it yourself, and you’re fixing it right there to create your story. And portraiture is the same. You pose the sitter, and you design and manage the light so you have control. You don’t have any control of the landscape. I would say it’s the most difficult for me. I definitely approach all three kinds of painting in the same way; it’s just the control of the subject that impacts me in the end and what my preference is—more control,
How do you approach teaching art to beginners?
I try to keep it pretty structured. I’d say I’m not too interested in them being super creative at this stage because many of my students are beginners. I don’t want to overload them with information, overtax them. So, this weekend, I’ll go through the composition theory, and I’ll help them build their own still life story if they need it. Then we’re just going to start at the very basics of drawing, then how to do the underpainting, and then proceed into colour. Colour is such a difficult subject for people to grasp, but I’ll simplify it a bit and then just go through the stages. That’s my approach, stages and do learn technique right from the start. It’s the best way to begin.
Tell me about your beginnings!
I’ve always been drawing; one of those kids drawing all the time. In my time, you didn’t go into the arts because you had to make a ‘living.’ I was originally going to take business at university; but I didn’t want to go through life regretting not following my passion. I went to study Fine Arts at York University in Toronto. It didn’t turn out to be what I was looking for. There were no teachers there who could teach traditional art or structure or classical techniques, so I had to look for that training somewhere else. I found John Angel, a well know painter and portrait artist who was starting his classical art school in Toronto. I would study with him a couple nights a week. After university and working for a couple of years, I packed up and went to Florence and studied with the Cecil-Graves Atelier. This was a perfect learning opportunity. It was very disciplined and structured, which I loved. I studied six months there and although I could not afford to do the full curriculum, I took what I learned to that point and began painting as a career. Part time at first, then full time.
Where do you have your Studio, and do you teach there or sell your work out of a home gallery?
Almonte, the artistic capital of eastern Ontario! I have a home Studio; it’s just my husband and me so I basically just said the livingroom has the best light, so I’m taking it over! I do not teach at my home studio but at the Kanata Art Club and now, this retreat at Stone Manor Studios. I have downsized my gallery presence but keep a few paintings at The General in Almonte, and I am part of the 10 Collective, where we have a show every couple of years. There is one coming in April. I get a lot of portrait commissions and other calls for work through my website www.katherinemcnenly.com, and am thinking about a solo show again, but that is a lot of inventory I would need to stockpile, and I am pretty busy with commissions and teaching.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists who are just starting their creative journey?
I would say find an artist that you admire online or in your area and study with them for a few years. This will give you the foundation for the type of art you want to explore and the confidence to work on your own. Also, art is a journey of discovery and you will find that learning new techniques, mediums or ways of expression will be life long.
— Kim Lulashnyk is the Owner & Creative Director at Stone Manor Studios in Newboro
www.stonemanorstudios.ca
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, watercolour and mixed media — and they’ll be on hand to greet guests, answer questions, and share their inspiration. If you need some new art for your home or a fabulous gift for someone special, you’ll definitely find it here.
Paint the Summer 2024 takes place on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25 from 10am to 4pm each day at the WTC Communications Centre (Westport arena), located at 37 Spring Street (at Concession). Admission and parking are free.
Check out the RLAA’s popular social media campaign, featuring two new pieces of art every day, on Facebook @rideaulakes-artists or Instagram @rideaulakesartists-assoc. And for more information, visit <rideaulakesartists.com>.
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! This gives us a special responsibility to preserve and protect them, especially given the threats to drain them in order to benefit housing developers and gravel mining.
The long list of benefits of wetlands can make one’s eyes glaze over. But it really is worth repeating. Wetlands are rich in the number and diversity of plants and animals. Anyone who enjoys watching birds and wildlife knows that a walk or a paddle in and around a wetland is the most productive. As Glenn Tunnock, President of the Friends of the Tay, says about his wetland: “It’s an area where we listen to a symphony of frogs, a land where mergansers breed and proudly lead their ducklings out into the lake, a frozen terrain traversed by deer in the winter, a landscape of luxurious and colourful pond lilies, a fishing station for a great blue heron, and a sanctuary for turtles and an untold diversity of other fish and wildlife habitat.”
Wetlands also filter and clean water. “No human engineered technology can clean such huge volumes of water as cheaply and efficiently as wetlands do,” says CNL Chair Scott Hortop, a former executive with a water treatment company.
There have been media stories about how threatening the regulation of wetlands is to private landowners, even going so far as to suggest this is the first step in the government’s expropriation of wetlands! It is too true that wetlands held in private lands serve our community interests and protect us all. In fact, according to Ontario government statistics, they give us $14 billion in economic benefits each year, every year! That translates to taxes and insurance premiums we don’t have to pay to try to replace those benefits.
Not only that, but wetlands protect against erosion and offer protection against wildfires!
Thankfully, we should consider ourselves lucky in Lanark County because we have so many wetland owners like Philippa Whitelaw, who told us: “In dry spells, we have fire suppression security that the wetlands provide, and as the ponds replenish the aquifers, our water supply is safe and abundant. The wetlands also buffer the impact of severe weather — dry or wet — and provide resiliency to the landscape for wildlife and people. Knowing that by protecting our wetland we are providing a climate change refuge for wildlife and creating a carbon capture sink (for free) is important to us.” Thank you to all the private wetland owners who value their wetlands!
In Lanark County, especially to the west, many of our wetlands are not even mapped. Yet “mapping is an essential first step to protecting these critical ecosystems and protecting us against the ravages of the climate crisis,” says Gord Harrison, who is CNL’s Co-ordinator of Nature-Based Climate Solutions projects.
CNL has been working with many local partners to protect precious wetlands, and Lanark County Council and staff have been very receptive. One of our successes was to bring a national program to Lanark County that pays farmers to undertake environmental projects; local farmers have already created several new wetland protection and restoration projects on their lands. But the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has expressed opposition to the mapping.
CNL is very disappointed with this latest development. There are 36 conservation authorities in Ontario. All the other conservation authorities except the three in eastern Ontario already regulate wetlands. “This latest decision flies in the face of the province’s stated goal of ensuring all wetlands under the jurisdiction of conservation authorities are regulated the same across the province,” says Gord Harrison.
Here’s the nub of it, he says: “We — the residents who live in these three areas — are second-class citizens who don’t deserve the same protection of our wetlands that mitigate floods and droughts, absorb carbon, filter drinking water and protect biodiversity.”
Call For Action
CNL has issued a call for action: Call or email our MPP John Jordan and tell him that protecting wetlands is critical for the planet’s and Lanark County’s wellbeing. Tell him you want this decision reversed. Mr. Jordan can be reached at 284–1630 or <John.Jordan@pc.ola.org>.
And please email or call Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Stephen Guilbeault at <Steven.Guilbeault@parl.gc.ca> or 992–6779 to encourage him to pressure Ontario to protect all wetlands.
Climate Network Lanark (CNL) is a community organization, bringing people together to implement practical solutions to climate change such as promoting the use of renewable energy, using natural systems to absorb carbon emissions, and improving building energy efficiency.
The final word goes to Philippa Whitelaw: “Over the past few years we have allowed a family of beavers to build a lodge and create a wetland on our property. The resulting beaver ponds provide habitat with an astounding number of different species of insects, birds, frogs and turtles. The wildlife provides us great enjoyment watching nature at work. With the availability of apps like Merlin and iNaturalist we can often identify who is there, even if we can’t see them, and learn the extent of the biodiversity now living on our property.”
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.
The show tells the story — not uncommon at the time — of a young city woman who comes to the country to teach for a year and experiences severe culture clash. The musical styles of the show alternate between the traditional country sounds of Mac Beattie, the Ottawa Valley’s best-loved songwriter, and music like that of The Beatles and other ’60s pop icons.
“The many rural one-room schoolhouses along remote backroads contained our world in the era before television,” says Ms. Zomers, who currently writes for The Eganville Leader, for which she has won awards from the Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Earlier in her career she freelanced in news, public affairs and features for TV and newspapers in Ottawa. “These schoolhouses provided our social life, our recreation and our entertainment, in addition to a well-rounded education. With our classmates we slogged through snowdrifts, fought off black flies, lost our rubber boots in the spring mud on the Opeongo Road. We fought, we played, we terrorized each other with tales of the cruel school inspector, the crabby parish priest, the imaginary scary witches and wolves surrounding us in the bush on all sides.”
While the story belongs to Ms. Zomers, the script and music were developed in collaboration with several others. Company producer and musical director Ish Theilheimer and Kathy Eisner worked with her on the story and script details. Mr. Theilheimer wrote most of the music, along with local musicians Clint Degarrie, Kirk Harber and Dexter Sernoskie, and he co-wrote the song lyrics with Ms. Zomers. The show is co-directed by Shirley Hill and Sarah Wright.
“The story and songs in Miss Pringle’s Mini Skirt are patched together from memories, made perhaps a little more dramatic and evocative in the telling,” notes Ms. Zomers. “Miss Pringle, her students, their parents, the school inspector and the parish priest are fictionalized composite characters but are inspired by the very real people who inhabited my childhood world. I loved writing this play, trying to capture the spirit of a simpler time and an era that was vanishing even as we lived it.”
In the play, Miss Pringle, the rambunctious “big boys”, the dreaded school inspector, deaf old Father Crabby, rebellious teenager Loretta and her exhausted mother tell the story in the songs and dances of the era. Whether it’s the warnings of missile attacks on the NORAD Pine Tree Line, or the rapidly changing role of women, Miss Pringle’s Mini-Skirt promises a lively fast-paced look into a time when everything was changing all at once.
Performance Details
There will be seven dessert-theatre performances this summer and five performances in fall, all at the Rankin Culture and Recreation Centre in Pembroke. Details and tickets are available online at <stonefence.ca> or by phone, toll-free at 1–866–310–1004. All seats this season are reserved seats, with the box office run by the company’s new ticketing partner, TicketsPlease (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434).
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 the theatres, the people and their purposes to be extraordinary. My first show in Perth was acting in Harvey in 2010, and my most recent show was as a director of a short original play recorded during early Covid lockdowns in 2020.
Wildly different skills are needed in community theatre, and I’ve done them all — props, set décor, set design, construction, costumes, stagehand, stage management, front of house, ticket sales, promotion, sound, lighting, acting, directing, producing and theatre administration. I have also done some adjudication (formal feedback and critique) in Ontario and Nunavut. This is my first time as Artistic Director for a theatre.
Why do you think it’s important for communities to have community theatre?
As a child I realized that being an adult meant serious business. Sadly, there was to be no Tom Foolery as a grown up. Then at 8, I discovered adults putting on the silliest fairy tales in costume, pretending all kinds of things, using amazing props and scenery, using big voices, and making complete strangers laugh and have feelings for the obviously make-believe characters. I knew theatre was my ticket out of the eternal drudgery of ‘adulting’.
Elementary to graduate school was thick with shows, skits, theatre and performance mixed with even more serious stuff: Noel Coward to Peace and Conflict Studies; Brecht and Shakespeare to adolescent brain development; Inuit Culture and Language to drama for maximized learning. Restorative justice, public speaking, fundraising, negotiation, parenting, marriage, and just being a friendly neighbour have all called on theatre skills.
Can you describe the process of bringing a show to the stage?
Community theatre is done by a collective of individuals who often have little else in common. There is a script or vision; however, it cannot be clarified and brought to life until this group puts their whole selves into it for a while. The simple process is to make space for a story, invite folks in, work like mad, and then share. In the big picture, it’s a mystery every time a show bursts forward as cohesive, attractive, engaging and alive. In involves many fragments meticulously brought together from the ingenuity and skills in that group. That’s skill bringing magic.
What is your vision for the future of live theatre in our community?
In this area, we have a population with the interest and willingness to make theatre. I believe there is room for increased variety and more performances, but maintaining quality is critical. The show quality here is far above the standard for community theatre in many areas of Canada.
Our community should have access to a variety of workshops for specific theatre skills and for targeted demographic groups; a full season of live shows for engaging and growing those skills experiencing the intensity of the project; partnerships between performing groups to share facilities, resources and skills; and the theatre doors should be swinging open to the public more often than not. Perth is well able to be a loadstone for live theatre for ourselves, visitors and tourism.
Theatre is one proven way to build community, fun, engagement, creativity and friendship, while cultivating a healthy side dish of madness. If you haven’t already, you should try it!
Are there other changes happening at Studio Theatre?
Yes, there are. At our last annual general meeting the Board announced a new president. Former Vice President Robert FeDuke has taken over the position of President of the Corporation, replacing Penny Silberhorn. Penny has now moved into the Past President role. Kat Watring-Ellis has moved into the position of Vice President. We are working towards adding some new members at our next Annual Meeting, so stay tuned!
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 lunch and an exclusive tour of their fire trucks. Excitement peaked with a “combat challenge” obstacle course where campers tested their physical prowess and firefighting potential.
This year’s camp theme, “Around the World”, takes our campers on a global adventure. Each week is dedicated to exploring different destinations such as Australia & New Zealand, Spain & Portugal, the Arctic & Alaska, and Brazil & Zimbabwe. Limited spots are still available for kids aged 10–18. For more information or to sign up, call 256–5959 or visit <mmyc.ca>.
Get Involved!
Beyond the fun, the Youth Centre plays a vital role in developing social skills and fostering confidence. Through collaborative projects, kids learn the value of teamwork while contributing to community initiatives such as baking treats for the free Thursday morning “Meal for All” breakfasts at the Community Presbyterian Church.
Simply put, the Mississippi Mills Youth Centre positively impacts young lives daily. As a registered charity, the Youth Centre relies on generous donations and volunteer support from people like you.
We are actively seeking new Board members to help shape the future of MMYC. Whether you have experience in fundraising, a passion for expanding our volunteer network, or expertise in financial management, we invite you to reach out. Email <chair@mmyc.ca> to learn more about how you can make a difference.
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 Fingers, a pair of bumbling criminals (Eddison Thompson and Adèle Laferrière), threaten to harm Margie, Dorothy Gale (Emma McIlvenna), Robin Hood (Mara Looby), Pollyanna (Isabella MacDonald), Sherlock Holmes (Finn MacDonald), Heidi (Élise Laferrière) and Tom Sawyer (Kaylan Looby) must work together to help Margie save the bookshop
Also making appearances are Fagin and Frankenstein (Holden Anderson), Long John Silver (Allissa Frizell), Doctor Dolittle (Saoirse O’Connor), the Queen of Hearts (Tayler Summers), the Wicked Witch of the West and the Lady in Red (Ivy Mackay), Hopalong Cassidy (Bryson Brown), Officer Ketchum (Aaron Sinclair), as well as Mom and her daughter Tammy (Matia Sinclair and Lucie Laferrière).
Through a series of humorous and touching events, the characters devise clever ways to protect Margie and the store, ultimately revealing the true value of friendship, imagination, and the magic of books.
Station Theatre is thrilled to welcome back Lynda Daniluk as the director of The Enchanted Bookshop. Her expertise and passion for children’s musical theatre have always brought out the best in her young performers. Come see the magic she will bring to this year’s show!
There is also an exceptional trio of professionals guiding the young performers in music and dance. Accompanist Rowena Pearl and vocal coach Bev McArthur are returning to volunteer their time to coach the kids and bring the music to life. New to the team this year is choreographer Alyscha Morrison. Heartfelt thanks to the many volunteers for their tireless efforts in bringing this show together!
With its amusing dialogue, catchy music and dynamic choreography, The Enchanted Bookshop is sure to create memorable experiences for all attendees. Don’t miss your chance to see it. Performances take place at 7:30pm on August 16, 17, 22 and 23, with 2pm matinées on August 18, 24 and 25.
Tickets are $24 for adults and $10 for students, and can be purchased at Special Greetings (8 Russell Street E, Smiths Falls), by phone at 283–2244, or online at <smithsfallstheatre.com/tickets>. If still available, they can be purchased a half-hour before showtime at the door. Check out all that is happening at the Station Theatre at <smithsfallstheatre.com>.
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 floral design with the theme “Bridging Communities”. The latter category includes some newer types of floral design and even something whimsical — hats made of plant material displayed on Styrofoam heads. Some of the societies have junior gardener clubs, and they will be able to enter their garden produce and flowers in junior classes.
While you are browsing the aisles of beautiful flowers and admiring the garden produce, you can take a break and partake of tea and lunch at the tearoom, cast your eye on items of gardening interest on the silent auction table, and shop at the vendors’ tables. The Show will feature artisans who make handcrafted glass bead garden art, copper jewellery made with material from nature, photography cards, jams and jellies, and of course perennial plants for sale.
This is a great way to spend a carefree afternoon. Who isn’t in a happy mood when they see a lovely rose, an extraordinary begonia or a huge tomato? Circle the date on your calendar — admission is free!
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 will be available for purchase every day, and drinks and baked good will also be for sale. There are porta-potties on-site.
Photos can always be taken from the roadway at any time, but the public is asked to only enter the property and fields during opening hours, and to stay on the designated paths.
Information and updates will be posted on Facebook and Instagram, and can be found at @rockyrapids_sunflower_walk.
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 handmade jewellery, pottery and paintings. Don’t be afraid to talk to the vendors about how their products are made. You never know what might spark an interest in a new activity or hobby.
Besides selling their butter tarts, vendors can enter their best baked tarts for judging. At noon, the Queen or King of Tarts for 2024 will be crowned. Rumour has it that she or he will take home a special prize in remembrance of the day.
This festival is centred around children, and there will be games to play and prizes to be won throughout the day. Various local musicians will also be performing. All the amenities of the park will be open, including the splash pad, the play structures, and plenty of grass for running. For those wanting a snack, both the canteen and the Lions Club food truck will be open for business.
As a special attraction, Kevin’s Magic Show will start at 11am. Who doesn’t love a magic show? You might even see Dorothy trying to figure out how Kevin does his tricks!
The festival is growing in popularity, becoming the place to be in late August for the most delicious butter tarts in Ontario. Everyone is invited, and admission is free. The Arnprior Rotary Club looks forward to welcoming you!
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 stars at one of the many restaurants and pubs, or savour takeout in the scenic Stewart Park along the Tay River.
To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience, street closures will allow guests to move about freely. A shuttle service will run from 2:30–10:30pm from several parking lots on the outskirts of Perth to the event area.
Experience the magic of Perth’s streets at night. Visit <perth.ca/nightmarket> for more information and to stay up to date on details.
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 stick, and walked away content in the naïve expectation of 2024 glory.
The bulbs didn’t disappoint in April, but every weed seed I missed sprouted, and what I thought were plants turned out to be clover, goutweed, grass and nonsense I didn’t want in there. Where are my lilies? Why is the Rudbeckia being so rude and growing on the outside of the retaining wall? One redeeming plant is a swath of silene, seeds from my mother’s garden of over 30 years ago. They’ve always been puny, but this year, prolific! Hurray! The echinacea are suggesting they might bloom, but the lilies are opting to take a year’s sabbatical.
Ever the optimist, I started planning a bigger project for this year. However, the rain and heat kept me from the task until the periwinkle was a lake of blue beside the dandelions. I couldn’t rip it out. Along came the forget-me-nots, sky-blue and delicate. The trilliums didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be in with the crane’s bill, and took over a whole bed. Beautiful! Before I knew what was happening, the old hydrangea that I tried to dig out was shooting up everywhere, with some crazy old shrub whose roots go straight to China threatening to grow again. The ever-present bladderwort came up in nasty little clumps, and then I found milkweed here and there. I couldn’t keep ahead of it. Suddenly lamium and bloodroot were sprouting over the bulbs; the hostas were exploding out of the ground. What was weed, what was flower?
Sometimes the best defence is concession. I got up off my knees, and threw in the trowel. I could either battle Mother Nature, or let her have her way with the garden and see what happened.
More rain and the heat — again! By late May the whole garden was packed with plants: the bulbs retreated under the hostas, the lilies started to set flower along with the amsonia beside the bridal wreath spirea and the bleeding heart. I was feeling smug until, dear Lord, here come the poppies!
These are red Legion-type poppies that grow from seed all over the garden. Instead of taking them out to make way for annuals, I left the whole works to flower along with the daisies, and what a picture I got! The plants are enormous with lovely upright fluttering flowers that aren’t deterred by rain or insects or even the weeds. Instead of cleaning out the annual bed and feeding marigolds and petunias to the earwigs, I had poppies and daisies, all self-seeded and glorious. Yay, thank you very much, Ma Nature!
Yet again, rain and heat, and by mid-July I had a veritable jungle. The phlox were three feet high and overtaking everything. The big daylilies were covered in blooms, and were cozying up to wild asters, evening primrose, rose campion, ferns, coreopsis, those bluebells that spring up everywhere, along with a few milkweeds and a couple of roses that vie for top billing with yellow daisies and viper bugloss. There was no way any of this was being disturbed. I know some of these weeds are invasive if left to their own devices, but I was beginning to see beauty in the bluebells. The grasses and sedges were setting flowers. The bladderwort had white bubbles; the violas were cute little yellow and purple surprises. What was I thinking when I wanted to remake flower beds?
So now it’s August, and everything is in full bloom, and no one could possibly see the wreckage of weeds beneath the glory of this garden. It goes to prove you can convince yourself of anything when sweat is dripping down your back, and you know you’re never going to wrest perfection from this chaos. Simply take off the gloves, put the wheelbarrow away, stand far enough back that you won’t be attacked by the periwinkle, and savour the non-work you have done this year. Maybe next summer… but not likely!
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 acoustic style. Classics include Smokey’s Cruising, Kenny’s The Gambler and Lionel’s Endless Love.
Earlier this year, the group gained significant attention with their buzz-worthy reimagining of Islands in the Stream — the beloved crossover hit from Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. The music video quickly went viral on YouTube.
“We took the Kenny Rogers classic and infused it with a contemporary acoustic vibe,” says The Undercovers’ Luke McMaster. “This fresh rendition comes at a perfect time, as the song experienced a resurgence in popularity after its heartwarming appearance in the 2023 Beckham documentary.”
They followed that with their stunning new rendition of the hit Motown single Shop Around, paying tribute to their friend and mentor Smokey Robinson, who called the trio’s version of Ooh Baby Baby the best cover of his cherished song that he’s ever heard. Watch the official music video on YouTube.
“We tried to imagine how the groove of this classic song might have changed had it been written just ten years later,” explains The Undercovers’ Joel Parisien, who takes lead on this track. “Less Miracles, more James Brown and the JB’s. And, of course, in our usual acoustic, stripped-down style.”
About The Undercovers
The Undercovers is a musical supergroup consisting of three of Canada’s most respected vocalists. The trio has united to reimagine timeless songs by some of the most iconic artists of all time, but their own career credits are equally impressive. Luke McMaster’s writing credits have sold millions of copies for superstars like Rihanna, and he has collaborated with legends like Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Felix Cavaliere and Jim Brickman, who he teamed up with for their hit single Good Morning, Beautiful. Joel Parisien is best known as the front man for Newworldson, earning four Juno Award nominations, penning three Top 5 Billboard singles, and headlining festivals around the world. Kevin Pauls is a Gospel and CCM icon, often sharing the stage with many of his musical heroes such as Gaither Vocal Band, Michael English, Russ Taff, Steve Archer, Steven Curtis Chapman and more.
Catch them in Perth on August 25, and find more information and a complete list of tour dates at <TheUndercoversLive.com>.
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 will be moving to Montreal to attend McGill University (on full scholarship), and in the meantime he would like to give back to the community by doing what he loves best — performing on his violin! Unfortunately, Bennett has needed to go to the Almonte ER on many occasions over his life, and the entire department at the Almonte General Hospital emergency department has always been extraordinarily kind and helpful; therefore he has decided that a benefit recital for the AGH—Fairview Manor Foundation would be a wonderful way to celebrate this transition from high school to university.
Bennett has had a busy few years of performing. In 2023/24 he performed professionally with the Ottawa Symphony, OperOttawa and the Gatineau Symphony. He has won multiple awards, competitions, trophies and scholarships, including two first-place finishes in Provincials, the Friends of the National Arts Centre scholarship, the IODE scholarship, the Musical Arts Club of Ottawa scholarship, the Edythe Young Browne Trophy, the James Rattray Wilson trophy, the Aruna-Rupa Anantaraman Trophy, and numerous others. Fiddle titles include every major competition in Ontario, including Pembroke, Ontario Open and the Canadian Open.
In this recital, Bennett will perform the Mozart Violin Concerto no. 4, Bach’s unaccompanied Fugue from Sonata no. 2, Beethoven’s Sonata no. 4 (first movement), the first movement of Bruch’s Concerto in G, and Wienawski’s Polonaise de Concert. Scott Richardson will accompany Bennett on piano. Bennett’s sister Charlotte also studies violin performance at McGill; together, they will perform Three Pieces for Violin by Rebecca Clarke.
Brother and sister might also be convinced to throw in a fiddle tune/duet, as Charlotte has been an award winner (for “best Waltz”) at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Competition and is the founder of the McGill fiddle club. At McGill, Charlotte currently studies violin with Violaine Melancon, and Bennett will study with Andrew Wan; however, both Charlotte and Bennett started their lessons in their very early years with Suzanne Snelling in Almonte. As children, they enjoyed performing monthly in the Almonte Town Hall for “Music Club”. Their older brother Finley is also a musician who graduated from Queens with a double degree of Bachelor of Music (cello) and Bachelor of Science (Physics).
The recital will be held on Saturday, August 17 at 1pm (doors open at 12:30) at the Almonte United Church. Admission is by donation to the AGH—Fairview Manor Foundation.
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 notched felting needles, and can be done with either dry or wet wool.
Using both techniques, Wendo has created a menagerie of captivating critters, from flamingos to beguiling puppies and pets (she does commissions). Her works include an all-encompassing range of sculptures, from “Flirts” to whimsical little sheep and pig pincushions. She will even create a commissioned pincushion to display in one of your own favourite antique cups or plates. Once at a craft show in Toronto, the sculptures she creates got her in trouble when she displayed them with the playful caption “Vegan Taxidermy.” An irate vegan attendee with an underdeveloped sense of humour berated her for her lack of sensitivity, and refused to consider that the sculptures only used wool — no edible product was involved. (Wendo subsequently discovered that many vegans eschew wool and beeswax and many other animal-derived products for a wide variety of reasons.)
Van Essen’s range of subject matter is astonishing. To share her passion, she has created a collection of needle felting kits that includes subjects as diverse as jack pine trees, tigers, pandas, dragons and tulips. One of her most impressive achievements is her large needle felted sculpture of a reclining nude displayed on a black marble base, titled Study in Marble. A viewer confided that he had initially mistaken the nude as sculpted from white marble. Marble created out of wool felt — sounds like a new take on Rumpelstiltskin!
Needle felting is Van Essen’s favourite medium, but it certainly isn’t her only way of expressing her creativity. Not only must she be doing something, she must be trying and learning new things. Even as a teenager she occupied herself with petit point embroidery, a medium whose small stitches excel in conveying realistic shading and depth. She showed me a large silk embroidery portrait of intense red flowers that literally had me doubting my eyes. It took her over six months to complete, and her painstakingly composed and textured work resulted in a textile piece that bears an uncanny resemblance to some of history’s most acclaimed floral paintings.
Her self-designation as a fibre artist is apt. In addition to her various types of felting, she has occupied her time with knitting, macramé (a form of textile produced using knotting rather than weaving or knitting techniques) and batik (an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth), and she has recently taken up rug hooking. For variety, she also has dabbled in pottery, bead stringing and making, and wire sculpting. And all the while, she listens to books online, which she has done throughout her entire career as an animator for the film industry.
Born in Brockville and raised in Prescott, in Grade 9 Wendo elected to take art rather than music or physical education, followed by “Welcome to the fabulous world of animation!” at Sheridan College in Oakville. She loved it, and her drawing skills and artistic talent took her to Phoenix, AZ, to work at 20th Century Fox for eight years. She came to Ottawa to work on Saturday morning TV shows (Raccoons, Care Bears, Curious George), and then to London, Eng., and Ireland to work on films like Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven. She came back to Ottawa in 1988, and then to Toronto.
She also went to Korea to work on the Emmy-winning Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?. Coincidentally, she shares that Emmy with a fellow animator, Jill Halliday, (featured in our April 2023 issue), who helped Wendo find her little house in Almonte years later. After a year in Los Angeles working on “Charmin’” commercials, Van Essen returned to her hometown of Prescott as the computer industry was rapidly eliminating animation jobs. She did another animation stint for a year in Berlin, designing characters for a film that was eventually shelved as computers changed the competitive and commercial animation landscape. It was there that she became infatuated with the incredible felted art installations on display at very high-end German art galleries.
When she returned to Prescott, she entered the next two-decade-long phase of her life as a companion and caretaker to her mother. Fortunately Wendo signed up for a felting course by Ottawa’s Maggie Glossop at the Mississippi School of the Arts and discovered her long-lasting artistic passion. When she eventually came to Almonte to teach, she realized how much she liked the arts-centric town. With Jill Halliday’s help she found a small house to rent, and moved to Almonte with her mom in 2021.
Since her mom’s death in 2022, Wendo has refocused once again on her art, and is now co-chair of the OOTB (Out of the Box) fibre artists collective. It is a perfect fit — OOTB is “…a cooperative association of artists passionate about creating innovative, thought-provoking works of art, and promoting fibre art through exhibitions, education, and professional development.” Van Essen personally promotes fibre art by offering a variety of felting workshops at various arts and crafts shows and venues, such as the recent Kawartha Yarn & Fibre Festival. She also provides a wonderful selection of do-it-yourself felting project kits and rug hooking kits via her website and facebook venues. Her rug hooking kits certainly opened my eyes to the modern range of creative possibility this time-honoured craft now affords.
Wendo Van Essen’s move to Almonte is also a perfect fit. On September 5 she will be conducting an afternoon workshop at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum as part of the annual Almonte Fibrefest. Check out her Artist Trading Card on the next page and consider signing up to discover Nuno Felting and create your own “Luscious Silk Scarf.”
Finally, the pun award this month goes to her for her business name and Facebook ID — Wendo Van Essen, Handmaiden Canada.
Artist Trading Card
WHO Wendo Van Essen, Handmaiden Canada
WHAT Fibre Artist
WHERE <wendovanessen.blogspot.com>; 349-7886; <facebook.com/fibreartbywendo>; <wendovan@gmail.com>;
WHEN Sept. 5, 1–5pm, Nuno Felt Workshop, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, 3 Rosamond St E, Almonte <ticketsplease.ca>
Sept. 7, 10–5 & Sept. 8, 10–4, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum’s annual Fibrefest, <mvtm.ca>,
Oct. 11 & 12, 10am–4pm, 28th Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour <crownandpumpkin.com>
WHY “I cannot not be making something.”
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 Brockville on County Road 42. The details and tickets for that Saturday afternoon’s event can be found on the land trust’s website at <tiwlt.ca>. There’ll be music by River City Junction, a live auction, ribs and chicken on the grill, tasty treats and a cash bar. We’ll celebrate landowner heroes and introduce you to the details of this very important project to protect, forever, the best of habitats for wildlife of this remarkable region.
Why here? In this watershed, in this UNESCO Frontenac Arch Biosphere, 64 of Ontario’s 264 species at risk find refuge habitat. There is no other place where five forest regions of eastern North America merge, giving a truly unique ecology to this superlative landscape. Not only is this a major wildlife migration route on the eastern continent; it is also a critical swath of forests that can help mitigate the effects of climate change.
Nature across the globe is under crushing stress due to climate change, and populations of wildlife and wild lands are vanishing. Working together now is critically important. By collaborating, the park, land trust, the Schad Foundation, generous donors and willing landowners will pull together a substantial and meaningful green and blue refuge that will endure through the ages.
For 31 years, the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust has worked with very willing landowners in its 1,000 sq. km region to conserve nature and the benefits that nature’s green infrastructure brings. As a non-profit registered charity, the land trust has many tax and legal tools to offer everyone great value for pitching in. We can’t wait to show you and tell you all about this landmark project, where you can be a part of a real local solution to climate change and to stem losses of the wildlife and wild places we all love. Please visit <Tiwlt.ca> for details, and email <info@tiwlt.ca> with questions.