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Travelling on his stomach has been made difficult by Covid-19. For obvious reasons it is hard to write about food and food establishments in these uncertain times. The muse is restless and demands attention; the Editor is tolerant and so untethered but not unhinged Weetabix returns to these pages.
A recent visit to Almonte was made by car and in stealth mode –beautiful day, nice scenery and lots of happy people out enjoying the obvious amenities. What could be wrong with any of that? Well, one hopes not much. But there in plain sight is the ‘elephant in the room’. We are, unfortunately, still in the early stages of a pandemic. This is not a gloom and doom piece but a warning piece with some actionable advice.
Weetabix is not a public health professional but has some training in relevant areas and really hates to lose readers through simple carelessness.
The first piece of advice is to remember that there is a difference between facts and opinions. Observations are relevant to arguments about causality. Covid-19 is not the flu. It is a serious disease with increasing evidence of long-lasting consequences. As of now there are few therapies that can improve outcomes and no vaccine is available. Weetabix is pro vaccines.
The second piece of advice is try not to get infected any and all ways available.
Thirdly, social distancing and wearing masks work well in other places but only if you pay attention and follow guidelines. This is not a ‘freedom’ issue, it is a community health issue. Plain and simple, giving Covid-19 to your friends and neighbours is not a friendly thing to do, even in a friendly town.
Unfortunately mask wearing, social distancing and other behavioral changes impact our daily lives in many ways that are tiring and disruptive. Economic and social consequences range from inconvenient to severe and we all need to remember to help our neighbours and be patient. Pretending that it is different here or not real creates real harm in the long run. Be prudent and stay as safe as possible.
Hi Humm Readers! Did you know that Kris and Rob Riendeau, owners of theHumm, have been behind the scenes championing, promoting and empowering artists in the Ottawa Valley for over two decades? And that Kris’s superstar mom, Sally Hansen, has done nearly 250 incredible in-depth interviews with local artists to share their work on theHumm’s cover each month? Not only that, theHumm has shared almost every event from Burnstown to Westport on their calendar, and is constantly promoting local makers, community groups, thinkers, theatre troupes, musicians, foodies, nature lovers and rural entrepreneurs with their creative ventures that colour and connect our community.
But vibrant community doesn’t just magically “happen”. It takes a lot of work. Kris and Rob have dedicated their careers to learning from the best community builders to master this craft. And I don’t know about you, but I’m so thankful to have them! theHumm celebrates our culture, characters and rural roots in a way that no other media does. And yet, as remarkable as this all sounds, nothing is COVID-proof. The lack of public events and festival advertising has made the costs of printing this unique publication challenging. But instead of giving up, they’ve been brainstorming to pivot their model to become more reader-supported, creating a Humm profile on Patreon. This is a platform that allows fans to support theHumm each month, and in turn get really fun inside access and unique perks — and we can all use a little perk right now!
So here’s your official invitation to join theHumm Patreon community — visit <patreon.com/thehumm> to sign up — with monthly memberships starting at only $5 USD. Every patron level will have access to behind-the-scenes looks at the colourful characters and content featured in each issue, and let you be part of a special community that is helping to keep us all connected. You can sign up to receive a copy of theHumm delivered to your door each month to help ease FOMO (fear of missing out) in self-isolation, or a limited edition Humm mask to help you support local in safety and style this winter. Exclusive advanced ticket notifications for live events will be offered as they happen with awesome partners like The Cove in Westport. Some patrons will have the chance to win experiences and free tickets each month, helping you get out in ways that are safe and fun — like private shopping sprees for you and your social circle at the Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm or an exclusive tour of Equator’s Coffee Roastery. You could even sign up for some of Kris’s famous homemade Hershey Kiss cookies for the holidays. Oh yes, I said cookies! I probably should have led with that one… go check it out!
Helping Kris and Rob put this vision into action has been so fun, but it also made me realize that I took theHumm for granted a little. It was a staple for me growing up. They shared all of my press releases — coffeehouses in high school, community book shop events where I worked in Carleton Place, and then fundraisers for the charity my husband was trying to start and which we grew for a decade. They shared SO many articles over the years, for free, because we had lots of enthusiasm but never much of a marketing budget. But that’s what theHumm does — they share your article, put your event on their calendar, and promote everything on social media to boot! I went on to live in Vancouver, Central America and Toronto, but I’ve never been able to find a similar publication, dedicated to community-building, that wants to come alongside you and see you succeed. And it turns out, I’m not the only one. I’ve been having conversations with so many Humm readers, columnists, advertisers and champions this summer, who all contribute to the arts, entertainment, and ideas in the Ottawa Valley, but who rely on this unique publication to champion them and their endeavours.
I’ve talked to folks new to town who found theHumm and immediately got connected to like-minded creatives, businesses and community organizations (we are SO glad you’re here). Folks who have lived here all their lives yet look to theHumm for planning their monthly social schedules. Artists, musicians, farmers and venues who use theHumm to promote their dreams and get their talents and handcrafted goods out into the world. Small-town entrepreneurs and their dedicated buy-local shoppers who have crafted their holiday shopping lists from theHumm’s curated gift guides. And families who rely on the events calendar and lessons features to plan their activities, since they are so sleep-deprived and happy to cough up their paycheques for something to distract their children for a few hours (ahem, perhaps speaking from personal experience here).
And so, for all of us stakeholders who would be devastated to lose this beloved paper, this is a great opportunity to sign on to ensure theHumm can stay online and in print through this unprecedented time; which really is the best perk of all. I mean, no travel this winter? We need theHumm to help us plan our fun! We know they’ll work to help our community to thrive and keep us as active as possible, under the guidelines. I hope to see you on theHumm’s Patreon page <patreon.com/thehumm> or behind your limited edition Humm mask this holiday season. Most of all, thanks for your love for the arts, entertainment and creative ideas, and the folks behind them, in the Ottawa Valley! We’re in this together.
When we think of autumn in Ontario, our thoughts normally turn to the beautiful and often awe-inspiring colours of forest foliage — the golds and reds and scorched orange and browns that mark the changing of the seasons. We think of children in their adorable and sometimes spooky Hallowe’en costumes, too. And we’re always reminded, whether we like it or not, of the cooler weather — and the cooler weather to come.
I submit to you that many of us, almost reflexively when October rolls around, begin to think about comfort food. A lot. We think about it a lot. To warm our bellies and our spirits. Big warm bowls of hearty soups and rich stews, homemade biscuits and chicken pot pie, crunchy-edged lasagna and fresh garlic — well, you get the idea.
Lucky for us, there always seems to be a charming little bakery around the corner that specializes in serving up such delectable delights. In Smiths Falls, C’est Tout Bakery has quickly become a favourite for many folks craving a lovingly-made breakfast pastry and a coffee, say, or a delicious picnic lunch to take to the park — or that decadent birthday cake or dessert for a special occasion.
One glance at their Menu of the Week — faithfully updated on Facebook and the bakery’s website — and I swear you’ll be struggling to hold yourself back. Owner Amy Rensby promises that, heading into autumn, C’est Tout will be cooking up some scrumptious meals.
“As we move into cooler weather,” she says, “we’ll start to introduce our homemade chili, soups and biscuits and hot lunches — all made with as many locally-sourced ingredients as possible!”
Local ingredients are an essential part of C’est Tout’s thinking, along with most everything being made on-site from scratch.
They will still be serving up lunches for two as part of the PICNIC Smiths Falls initiative, as the take-out dining program continues into October. C’est Tout Bakery has been one of the participating restaurants since June, and their menu for your “picnic in the park” is delectable: along with some sweet swag provided by the Town of Smiths Falls, their picnic includes one roast chicken sandwich, one chimichurri steak sandwich, a side strawberry-pecan salad and a side heart of kale salad, and two Bubly canned sodas. All that deliciousness, plus two special seasonal desserts, for only $35.
Amy says they’re very happy to be participating in this great program. “We continue to offer our premium paninis and sandwiches as part of the PICNIC program,” she says, “and have transitioned to fall favourite desserts including our pumpkin cheesecake and apple tarts.”
And if you have dietary restrictions, Amy says to please let them know ahead of time, and the folks at C’est Tout will happily accommodate your needs.
They have succeeded in doing that going on five years now — even in the most difficult of times, like when most everything was locked down in mid-March.
“We managed to stay open with a modified service delivery mechanism, using a takeout window throughout the pandemic.” Amy says. “Our foot traffic obviously decreased substantially but remained steady enough to stay open. Once the province re-opened, we did just as well after some renovations and have since seen an encouraging uptick in business.”
She expects that with the revitalization of downtown Smiths Falls business will remain steady, and perhaps even more folks will appreciate shopping and dining in town.
“The revitalization aims to create a more pedestrian-friendly atmosphere downtown, which in and of itself should draw more foot traffic,” she says. “My hope is that with a modernized infrastructure and streetscape it will create a more welcoming space for shopping, eating and generally enjoying the area.”
Smiths Falls’ Mayor Shawn Pankow hopes so too. He says that Smiths Falls now has “a completely revitalized downtown promenade” that features “narrower driving lanes and raised intersections to slow the speed of traffic leading to a much safer environment for pedestrians… pedestrian-activated crosswalks that further enhance safety and give priority to people on foot over people in vehicles… cycle lanes that safely separate families out for a bike ride from moving vehicles… wide and deep handicapped-designated spaces …”
“These features, when combined with new street furniture, new trees selected for their hardiness, new streetlights and traffic signals, all contribute to a downtown that is much safer, much more accessible and far more attractive and inviting than what had existed for decades,” says Mayor Pankow.
The merits of the revitalization, he says, “will benefit the community for generations.” Hopes are high for downtown businesses, all around.
C’est Tout has been open at its current location at 14 Beckwith Street South since 2016, and is “on the cusp of five years here in Smiths Falls thanks to our amazing customers,” Amy says.
She also gives a lot of credit for the bakery’s success to her exemplary staff. “Our skilled bakers and pastry chefs focus their efforts on made-in-house pastries, desserts, cakes and lunches — with sandwiches made on the bread we bake daily,” she says.
And what are the hottest items on the menu? “Our cheesecake and our lemon tarts are hands-down our customers’ favourite desserts,” Amy says, “and our pesto chicken sandwich is a long-time favourite lunch choice.”
C’est Tout’s favourite fall cake is back too — a three-layer spice cake covered in brown sugar buttercream and a delectable treat. It’s “perfection with a cup of tea!” Amy writes on the bakery’s Facebook page.
That sounds rather good to me. Then again, so does most everything on C’est Tout’s menu, which you can find on their website at <cesttoutbakery.com>. Or better yet, drop in and see them sometime soon when you get the craving for some comfort food — at this charming little bakery in Smiths Falls’ recently revitalized downtown!
It was inevitable. After 27 years of faithful service, my beloved clothesline pole succumbed to woodpeckers and rot, and slowly fell to its demise last Monday, sporting a full line of clean white clothes that floated into the ponds. I knew it was going when the line got slack a couple of weeks ago, and I gingerly gave the old tree a poke. It resonated like hollow wood, and swayed.
When we moved in here I didn’t have a clothesline, and strung ropes hither and yon between the trees. This method wasn’t too successful because the birds took them as territorial perches and “marked” their territory everywhere. Further, when we’d go to cut the lawn we’d be garroted by flapping towels or shirts. Occasionally the whole shebang would collapse, and I’d be gathering panties and socks from tree branches. I needed a proper line.
There was a convenient poplar tree that called for a reel and line, and since we were younger and sprier then, Alan climbed up fourteen feet and installed the clothesline. I could then hang the clothes from the deck to the poplar in proper fashion. Sunny days, sunny days! Freezing days, freezing days! I love the smell of fresh clothes, and nothing removes stains like pure hot sunshine.
A few years ago, the poplar started to shed its leaves. We called in an arborist to trim it up, take off the dead wood, but leave us the bulk of the tree. It was still in good shape, so it remained, a talisman to the old poplar that it had been. We had to cut back the pine tree, and take off some oak branches to use the full length of the line, but I still had it, and the arborist assured me it would last a lot longer.
Last summer the woodpeckers started to attack the bark, and I noticed some rot around the base, but nothing for concern. It was a big tree and they’d have to do a lot of knocking before it would be done. I planted a clematis at its base, and pictured my pole covered in flowers in the next year or two.
Not to be, however. The pole could have fallen on the pond, or on the day lilies, or heaven knows, on one of us if we’d been standing there, but instead it went down gracefully in a totally useful spot. We gave it a proper send off by cutting it in several lengths and laying it right where it fell as a border to the back of the garden bed. It’ll rot away there peacefully, and I will mourn the passing of my clothesline.
I doubt I will get a new pole. It’s got to be planted a good four feet into the ground if we want 14 feet above ground, and I fear that area of the yard is bedrock not too far down. We need someone with a posthole digger and a lot of patience to find the perfect spot. In the meantime I’ll have to be satisfied with the dryer that shrinks my jeans (oh, is that what weight gain looks like??), and hides the socks in the pockets of the fitted sheets, and turns the shirts into wrinkled messes if I don’t snatch them out of there as soon as the thing turns off.
I may end up back out in the yard stringing ropes from tree to tree. If you pass our house and it looks like semaphore flags out there, you’ll know it’s me trying to pretend I have a clothesline.
Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm will be open for weekends this fall! On Saturdays and Sundays from September 26 to November 1, they will be open from 10am to 3pm, and Fulton’s will be serving outdoor Pancakes on the Porch!
This is a great opportunity to come stroll around the beautiful farm and enjoy glorious fall colours. Bring your Christmas list and start your Christmas shopping early! You can pick up Fulton’s products and many other local gourmet food items, enjoy Fulton’s maple taffy on snow, and take a wagon ride and breathe in the pure country air.
There will be no indoor seating available and masks will be required while shopping indoors and on the wagon rides. Call 256–3029 to reserve your private weekday shopping appointment for your social circle, and visit <cedarhillchristmastreefarm.com> for directions and more details.
I’m so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers. I wish I wrote that. But no, some of you literary buffs may know those are the words of Lucy Maude Montgomery and her famous redhead from PEI, Anne of Green Gables. I had the pleasure of re-reading this 1908 classic to my 5-year-old this summer and I have to say, I was enraptured by the beauty of Anne’s simple world, and her vocabulary! Her zest for life and enthusiasm over the wonder of the natural world leaves us so much scope for the imagination, as she would say, in this season; deeper gratitude for the little things — a colourful tree, a bosom friend (google it, carefully), a good book.
So this October, I hope that each of our families can take a page from Anne’s book and focus on the things that bring wonder and joy to our homes. Apples. Pumpkins. Leaves. Snuggles. Cozy sweaters. Golden sunsets. Hot tea, cocoa, maple lattes. Because although fall can feel sad in so many ways, especially this year, it can also help to remind us of all the tiny blessings that are right in front of us. And there are oh, so many, living here in the Ottawa Valley.
My recommendation for the best place to start your adventure in gratitude this month is on the farm. It’s harvest season after all! Our farmers are working triple-time to get their beloved crops to our tables. But we don’t just encourage you to head to any farm, although that’s fun too — we suggest booking in a day at the Cedar Hill Christmas Tree farm! Wait, are you thinking I’ve mixed up my seasons? Unlike many businesses that have had to close during COVID-19, the tree farm is actually opening their season early for what they’re calling “Fall into Christmas” in partnership with Fulton’s Pancake House.
Here’s the backstory on the tree farm. The Deugo-Fulton family, led by community-builder and family matriarch Shirley Deugo-Fulton, has been farming in Cedar Hill for six generations! It all began with Shirley’s great-grandfather over at Fulton’s Sugar Bush, whose organic syrup is a prize to our maple syrup capital. Since then, under Shirley’s patient coaching and encouragement, her kids and grandkids have been sprouting up new farms and food businesses all over the Valley. The syrup production has since been passed onto Shirley’s son Scott. And a few seasons back, her daughter Pam and son-in-law Grant Martin took over the tree farm just down the road from the maple farm and turned it into a holiday wonderland.
Shirley is inviting you to “Fall into Christmas” and experience the simple pleasures that the Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm has to offer each Saturday and Sunday in October – open from 10am to 3pm through to November 1. If you head out to use the tree farm’s 114 acres as your playground for the day, you’ll likely find yourself being helped or served by Shirley herself, or at least one of her nine grandkids. This is family farming at its best. Dress warmly, pack your masks and spend a day watching the leaves change colours either on foot or by wagon ride ($3/person). Their covered bridge over the brook is the perfect backdrop for a family photo!
Fulton’s Pancake House will also be serving up “Pancakes On The Porch” — a takeaway breakfast that you can eat at an outdoor picnic table or byob (bring your own blanket). The farm is also home to fun, free kids’ activities including a straw-bale fort, playground, zipline, and scavenger hunts for all ages. The Christmas Shop and Market will be open and stocked with harvest wreaths, holiday treasures, and local goodies from Madeline’s English Pie Shop, HFT donuts, Fulton’s maple, and Pam’s house-made preserves. This is also your chance to get maple taffy if you missed your annual sugar shack visit during the shutdown this spring. You can even leave with one of Graham’s bunnies which will be for sale —yet another enterprise by one of Shirley’s grandkids.
Getting out on the land and bathing in the forest helps us to appreciate the beauty all around us. This doesn’t take away the grief or the fear of this season, but it does help us to keep it in perspective. Near the end of the book, Anne’s friend Jane says to her and her friend Diana, Wouldn’t you just love to be rich, girls?, to which Anne replies, We are rich… we’ve all got imaginations, more or less. Look at that sea, girls — all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn’t enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds. In Anne Shirley and Shirley Deugo-Fulton fashion, we’re wishing you and your family a very thankful October. We hope you can get out to the farm to enjoy the little luxuries the Ottawa Valley has to offer.
Family-Friendly Farms Worth a Visit this Fall
Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm, Pakenham – wagon rides, pancakes & taffy, country store <cedarhillchristmastreefarm.com>
Mountain Orchards, Kemptville – pick your own apples, wagon rides and corn maze <mountainorchards.ca>
Geobern Farm (The James’), Lanark – pumpkin patch & corn maze
Saunders Farm, Munster – campfires, mazes, and “Haunting Season” activities for all ages <saundersfarm.com>
Deugo Pumpkins & Gourds, Almonte – pumpkins, corn stalks, hay bales for décor (cash-only honesty box)
Driving or walking around town, I am struck by the number of households that have chosen to rip up the front lawn and replace it with all manner of vegetables, shrubs and flowers. I like to think of these innovative individuals as a new kind of homesteader, breaking sod to give life to a sterile space that formerly required high inputs of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and water.
I suspect that there are many motives for ripping up the lawn and planting — I know that for some folks it is about the creation of a beautiful space, for others a way to address concerns about food insecurity in a time of great uncertainty, and then there are those that feel a calling to leave Mother Earth in better health than they found her.
One of the most striking front-yard transformations that I have witnessed over the last couple of years is at the corner of Martin and Augusta Streets in Almonte. It is a glorious jumble of vegetables, annual and perennial flowers, fruiting trees and shrubs and many medicinal plants. A bit intimidated by this demonstration of horticultural wizardry, I finally summoned the courage to knock on the front door.
Naomi de Ville is a lifelong gardener, cook and animal lover. After an academic path and career in zoology, resource management and forest ecology, she turned her curiosity and energy to permaculture and farming, leading to learning and teaching in Cuba, Sweden, Australia and South Pacific nations. Her motivation is towards regenerative approaches — repairing, restoring, healing — she believes that “our land, water, soils, all creatures and our connections to these, to ourselves, and to each other need this kind of care and kindness in order to benefit our future world”.
Starting in late 2018 she’s been transforming her medium-sized lot in Almonte into a permaculture homestead and demonstration edible/pollinator landscape. Her gardens have every kind of veggie and culinary herb including greens, roots, fruit, and some storage crops. She always plants easy ones (beans, kale, radish, basil, zucchini, tomatoes), so she can feel successful and have fresh nutrient-dense food to eat. She is also branching out into food trees and shrubs, native plants for pollinators and butterflies, medicinals and herbaceous edibles.
Her gardens produce a lot of food — in the first year 220 pounds of food from 180 square feet of raised annual beds. (I feel very happy if I am able to get a pound of food from a square foot of garden!) She has a mix of annual and perennial beds and uses some of the perennial bed space for annuals like flowers and squash while she waits for her fruit trees and shrubs (plums, pears, cherries, saskatoon, seaberries, currants, raspberries, blackberries, goji berries and haskap) to get established and start producing.
Her garden produce does not go to waste. Her meals during harvest time are packed with veggies from the garden and she preserves much of the excess mostly by way of fermenting, pickling, and canning — her most precious relishes, salsas, chutneys and jams are given as gifts or sometimes sold. She observed that at the beginning of the lockdown she didn’t go into any shops for over three weeks as she had enough in her cellar (jars of food from her 2019 harvest), pantry and freezer to keep her nourished for probably a few months.
Naomi opined that one of the results of the pandemic is that more of us are getting a sense that our supply chains have fragility. She argues that it’s up to each of us to make more secure choices for our food: “whether it be planting a garden, joining a community garden, going to local farmers’ markets, signing up for a CSA, buying in bulk, buying whole/half animal orders, cooking from scratch, and preserving, freezing, canning and fermenting when produce is in abundance and in season.”
She concludes that there is an enormous benefit from making local choices for our food: “a sense of interconnection, community, satisfaction, wholesomeness, slowing down and simplification”.
Her approach to gardening is to learn from and work with nature. For her, it is critical to understand and manage water and soil as our most critical resources. She regards the garden ecosystem as a whole — using plants that are deterrents to known or likely pests, and creating and building up habitat for beneficial insects and other wildlife.
Naomi now has most of her front yard converted into gardens and will keep expanding with perennial plantings in the back yard and side yard. She is busy setting up a better outdoor composting system and adding cold frames to overwinter the perennial plants. Plans for next year include a living willow fence, an arbour to grow grape vines on, a greenhouse, more water storage, some signs, and a bench to enjoy the garden.
Naomi offers ecological landscaping, regenerative design, urban agriculture and permaculture living services and education. Her business name is Honeyberry Permaculture — her website at <honeyberrypermaculture.ca> is under development.
Art… and Soul
A disparaging remark by a fellow exhibitor spurred Ginny Fobert to expand her artistic horizons. In 2013, at only the second showing of her beautifully composed photographic prints, another exhibitor — a painter — confronted her angrily and asserted, “This hurts my eyes. I can’t look at it! You don’t belong here — photography isn’t art.” Proving him wrong has been an exciting and rewarding journey.
A glance at the back of her Trading Card (on the back of this page) shows just how successful she has become in developing (literally) a portfolio of innovative photographs. Fobert stretches traditional expectations of the medium. She experiments with a variety of techniques to achieve her exceptional images, from intentional camera movement to post-processing of multiple stacked images. The latter range anywhere from several images shot in rapid succession to hundreds of shots taken over a longer period. She then stacks and blends the individual shots together using computer software during her processing phase. From sunsets to marketplaces, her stacked images capture a unique view of the passage of time.
One of her most popular series relies on another process she calls “in-camera inverted double exposures.” After composing a shot of a carefully selected target scene, she then turns her camera upside down and takes a second shot. Her post-processing “involves removing colour and adjusting highlights and shadows to expose the ghostly shadows of the two exposures.”
In fairness to her hurtful critic, it is her painterly eye, combined with an innate artistic gift, that elevates her photographs to the realm of fine art. Her inverted double exposures reveal a true gift for composition. Fobert doesn’t just flip the two images; she plays with shapes and balance and colour and texture to create “canvases” of surreal reflections of exquisitely chosen landscapes and horizons. The “Impressionist” shots she achieves by intentionally moving her camera at varying shutter speeds provide further evidence of her ability to create “Fine Art Photographs.”
Another striking attribute this photographer brings to her chosen medium is aptly defined in her Artist Statement on her website at <mynds-i.com> — “Photography allows me to get outside the box, be a bit rebellious, break some rules and get away with it.” Her beautiful “Music in the Air” collection of stacked photos reflects this sentiment again — “Music is a universal language. It has no rules or boundaries and is enjoyed and understood by everyone.” That is her photographic goal.
Fobert’s list of juried exhibitions, shows and awards testifies that she is indeed getting away with it. Her works are available for sale from October 9–31 as part of the West Carleton Arts Society’s Expressions of Art online juried art exhibition and sale. Previewing is available now at <wcasonlineshows.ca>, and it is an excellent way to cope with pandemic isolation and enjoy the abundance of talent and creativity that enriches life in the Ottawa Valley.
Just Do It!
Ginny Fobert was born in Guelph, raised in Kingston, studied psychology and criminology at Western University, married a teacher and moved to Mississauga where she raised three daughters. Once the girls were in school, she embraced the Nike “Just Do It” slogan before Nike did, started a company and became an organizer and event planner as a contractor to government agencies like the Canadian Food Inspections Agency. When her position at the Canadian Society for International Health was downsized, she decided she had had enough of 80-hour work weeks. She made a list of all the possible things she could do, wanted to do, the kinds of bosses she did and did not want to work for, and based on previous experiences, decided to become an independent real estate consultant specialising in marketing, staging and photography. The only problem was that she didn’t own a camera and never had.
In April of 2011 she bought the most expensive camera she could afford (a Canon 60D), a wide-angle lens, a flash, camera bag, tripod and a Book for Dummies, and started learning about real estate photography. She realized she needed to distinguish herself from other real estate photographers, so she experimented and created “Twilight Photos” of homes lit up at dusk. She also applied for a government entrepreneurial grant (she characterizes it as a mini-Dragon’s Den), developed a business plan, and was accepted. She modestly attributes her success to the fact that she was old enough to help them meet their quota for candidates over 45. She started taking photos of babies, quickly outgrew her camera, replaced it with a full-frame Canon 5D Mark III camera, and signed up for evening Digital Photography courses at Algonquin College, finishing the four-year program in 19 months. (She now shoots with the much lighter mirrorless Fuji X-T2.)
Her penchant for doing it her way soon resulted in interesting dynamics with one of her instructors. Undaunted, she persisted and experimented with photographing glass orbs, water dripping into puddles, frozen flowers, using colour filters on her flash, moving and turning her lens out of focus — all to find new ways of seeing. She remembers his comment when she started blurring images through intentional camera movement; he said, “Ginny, you are presenting first. I want to get the craziness over at the beginning.” Eventually she earned his grudging admission that her work had merit — she learned he was using her highly original and experimental images in other classes as examples of “thinking outside of the box”.
What Is Art?
The definition of art has been debated from time immemorial. Your intrepid arts reporter recently spent an absorbing afternoon online seeking updated enlightenment. A common theme emerged — sensory engagement is not enough (e.g., can food be art?); aesthetics and emotional engagement are generally considered to be vital components. As far back as 1897, in his book What Is Art, Leo Tolstoy defined it as anything that communicates emotion. Philosopher Richard Wollheim declared the nature of art as “one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture.” And to top that off, at <lumenlearning.com> it states: “The idea of defining art today is far more difficult than it has ever been. After the exhibition during the Pop Art movement of Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box and Campbell’s Soup Cans, the questions of “what is art?” and “who is an artist?” entered a more conceptual realm. Anything can, in fact, be art, and the term remains constantly evolving.” Conceptual art proves that to be (alarmingly in some cases) true.
Ginny Fobert’s photographic art is accessible and aesthetically and emotionally rewarding. Please refer to the back of her Artist’s Trading Card for additional routes to enjoying the creative results of her rebellious nature.
This year marks the eighth time that Home Hospice North Lanark is participating in the annual Hike for Hospice, part of a national initiative organized by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. 100% of all funds raised will stay in the community in which the Hike is hosted, thanks to the generous support of GSK and Amgen.
But this is a different year, and it requires some creative thinking to figure out ways to raise funds and invite our community to be involved with the organization in a safe and enjoyable way. Home Hospice North Lanark has organized a different kind of hike to ensure safety and social distancing. Participants will be given a red silicone bracelet to identify that they care, and they can complete their hike any time in October. Gather a team! Challenge your coworkers, church group, family, friends or sports team!
Registration takes place online at <hhnl.ca/hike>, or participants can make arrangements to pick up a registration form by calling 614–9838 or emailing <hike@hhnl.ca>. Once you’re registered you can pick up your new bracelet and start hiking! They’ll also be at the Farmers’ Market in Almonte on September 5 if you want to pick up a pledge form and bracelet there. Then you decide where and when to complete your personal hike and how far you are going to hike (a minimum of 1km is recommended). You can do it in one day or spread it out over the whole month. Set a goal for yourself or your team!
Participants may choose to hike in memory of someone special. To encourage a feeling of community, organizers ask that you send a photo of your loved one to <hike@hhnl.ca> so they can post it on their Facebook page; add a little story if you like. While you’re hiking, snap some pictures of the views you see, of your kids, of your adorable pet… and send those along too.
You can simply hike around your town — perhaps with your family, members of your social “bubble” or your fur baby. Or how about hiking at one of the many beautiful local trails, such as The Mill of Kintail, High Lonesome Nature Reserve (Pakenham), cliffLAND (Blueberry Mountain near Lanark), the Poole Family Nature Sanctuary (Carleton Place), or the Ottawa Valley Rail Trail. You can even walk on a treadmill or in or around your home! Please remember to follow current guidelines to keep yourself and others safe. There will be prizes for most money raised, cutest pet, and the biggest team.
Money raised through the Hike provides emotional and social assistance to clients, their families and loved ones. Home Hospice North Lanark is one of the many hospice organizations working toward ensuring that more Canadians, especially in our own community, receive their desired end-of-life care.
To support or participate in Hike for Hospice Palliative Care, or for more information, please email <hike@hhnl.ca> or visit <hhnl.ca>.
Every Monday evening at 7pm the Hackberry Men’s Shed has been holding, and will continue to hold, e-meetings via Zoom.
Zoom meetings are by invitation, and so far notice of these meetings has gone only to current members. But if there are men in the communities of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills who would like to find out about Men’s Sheds and meet (virtually) some of the guys, they should send an email to <treasurer@hackberrymensshed.org> and include their name and email and ask to be invited to the meeting. The meeting host will then send them the link to join. If they want to continue to attend the group’s e-meetings, a follow-up email to the treasurer asking to be added to the Hackberry Men’s Shed email list will get them an automatic weekly invitation.
Until COVID restrictions are eased, this is about the only routine event the group is holding. Men’s Shed member John Peters explains that: “We are attempting to keep in touch with one another and have had a few open-air, socially distanced gatherings, each separately planned. If there are men who want to find out more about Men’s Sheds (and how they help men cope) and what is happening for men locally, they are welcome to contact me at <almontecarver@gmail.com> and I’ll see that they are included in information as I have it.”
Sue Brandum is a local climate leader who has been instrumental in creating the Climate Network Lanark (full name Climate Action Network of Lanark County, Smiths Falls and Region). In this month’s column, she talks about her background, how she came to be so involved at a local level, and how she and many others are working to improve the future prospects of all of us.
Can you describe your background and how you came to be involved in environmental activism at the community level?
Sue Brandum: Back in the late ’80s I had transitioned from being a reporter and journalist observing and documenting things, to a corporate and government writer writing about big-picture issues. It still wasn’t enough — I wanted to be involved, to be making, creating the pictures. I joined a neophyte organization called the Coalition for a Green Economic Recovery. Its founders included Jack Layton. We were now in the deep recession of 1990, and the NDP government of the day was seeking ideas to help get our province out of recession and working again. The Coalition challenged itself to come up with a few ideas that created good work and economic activity and rejuvenated the natural world. When they came up with 50 ideas, they knew they were onto something. The government thought so too, and adopted a few of the ideas. It took until 1996 for others including Greenpeace to acknowledge that we had to both create jobs and save the natural world at the same time. It was no longer a competition between one or the other, even though today there are still some who are stuck in that old paradigm. Wayne Roberts and I then documented those ideas, and many more, in a book titled Get A Life! How to Make A Good Buck, Dance Around the Dinosaurs and Save the World While You’re At It.
Those were the real, grass growing between the toes, grounded ideas that I wanted to be a part of, at the community level. When I then moved here to Lanark County, I got involved with the Rideau Environmental Action League and started to implement some of them, including home energy audits and backyard composting, caring for your well and septic systems, and creating the REAL Deal Reuse Store as a social enterprise that has created local jobs, generated revenue for REAL, and put, literally, tonnes of good materials into the local Circular Economy.
But many of those programs that I ran were what are called “incremental”, they were based on taking small steps. We’re so long past that, we need to take giant steps now if we are to slow the decline, nevermind turn things around. And it has become abundantly clear to me that we have to work at the local level on the climate crisis. We can’t wait for international collaboration, we can make big changes “right here, right now,” as Greta Thunberg would say.
It’s also clear to me that I rely on my community for my security in a very insecure time — for food, for shelter, for companionship, for all sorts of supports. It’s a two-way street, I can’t take from my community without giving back, without supporting all my neighbours and local businesses. While I have long volunteered, I chose to run for municipal office in my township, Drummond/North Elmsley in the last municipal election. I so enjoyed running, meeting people at the door, and it was informative. I saw firsthand the change in the wind about the public concern for the climate crisis, and that people wanted action. That was the final straw for me, that pushed me into starting this new organization.
One initiative that many people aren’t aware of is that Climate Network Lanark was able to bring the architecture of a Local Climate Action Plan to the County Council and have it unanimously adopted. Can you describe that process and what it means to the wider global movement to help mitigate issues related to the climate crisis?
A few years ago, with the prodding of our predecessor (an informal group called the Lanark County Climate Action Network), the County signed onto the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection program. This required them to develop a plan, but nothing was happening. Climate Network Lanark had met, had some 200 people engaged, and decided to move the County along. We met with and talked to Councilors about how critical the climate crisis was, and we organized the public to express their concerns. We presented to Council in October 2019 to what many said was the greatest public turnout ever in those chambers. Council ratified the motion in January 2020 and later budgeted $200,000 for the two-year planning process, required staffing and some actions.
While ecoPerth opened the door to local level climate action 25 years ago, it’s becoming clear that Climate Network Lanark is in the vanguard of bringing climate action down to this lower level of government in collaboration with the community. Many have mistakenly thought the climate crisis has to be addressed only on an international or national level, yet our municipal governments have authority over or influence just about 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions! More Canadian communities are forming community climate action networks now.
The LCN has people involved on 10 different working groups focused on the Climate Crisis and the Action Plan. Can you describe briefly what each of these groups is working on?
Communications (active). While each Working Group will do some of its own communications, we have a central group that is coordinating outreach to the local and social media, our own network members and local government and community leaders, that includes information on the effects of climate change here, actions we can all take, and activities that are under way.
Compost / 4Rs (first meeting Oct. 20). Organic waste in landfills releases methane and in Lanark County we have a lot of organic waste in landfills. This group is just getting going.
Energy (energy efficiency, renewables and supply, active). Focusing on home energy and increasing renewables here.
Farms (part of our ALUS steering committee, active). Working on bringing the Alternative Land Use Services organization here which would pay farmers for taking the actions they do that benefit us all and move to regenerative agriculture and working on a local testing program for carbon.
Food (local food / food security, first meeting Oct 22). We’re facing great food insecurity, yet we have great local opportunities that need support and growth.
Forests and Nature-based Climate Solutions (active). Taking advantage of what nature can provide us by increasing vegetation, forests and natural solutions can get us more than a third of the carbon storage we need.
Local Government (active). Working with the County to develop a Working Group that will advise the County on its Climate Action Plan and integrate the lower-tier municipalities and the community into the planning process.
Transportation (first meeting Oct. 27). Promotion and development of Electric Vehicles and public transportation systems.
Youth. We have a special Youth Working Group that is just getting organized and will be defining its own interests in the next little while. We’re especially inviting more youth to join.
Is there a need for more community members to help out the grassroots environmental work via the CNL? And if so, do people need any special skills?
We’ve got about 200 people engaged with the Network right now, some 70-80 serving on the various Working Groups. Of course, we need and welcome more people. Volunteering is always a great way to learn and develop new skills, so don’t hesitate to contact us even if you feel you don’t have anything specific to offer. That said, we are looking for experienced people with leadership skills for a couple of the Working Groups, for help with a database, with research and with fundraising.
Can you describe what people on an individual /family level can do to support the goals of the Climate Network?
One of the slogans of the youth in the climate movement is “System Change, Not Climate Change.” For the past 20-30 years, we’ve focused on individual action. What the youth are saying, and they are so right, is that we need to multiply those individual actions into societal changes, into system change. Everybody converting to electric vehicles isn’t going to solve our problem. We need to reduce our need for transit, live closer to where we work and have public transit to take us there – imagine having a service that sends an electric car to pick you up at home, and a few of your neighbours from their homes, then delivers you and them to your respective workplaces, and is partly subsidized because it’s a public transit system! That’s system change. And it’s viable in our local, small town, rural region. The Network will soon be covering our website as well as general and social media with actions people can take, right here, right now.
Act personally, act in your groups, and push for political change.
Lastly, can you say what your hopes are for the future of living in Lanark County — related to the inescapable issues of sustainability?
We all know we live in a special part of the world here in Lanark County and Smiths Falls. We are, on this Earth, in an enormous mess, with quite frankly a not promising future. We are fast heading to a 4-degree Celsius increase, if not greater, and our simple survival requires us to hold to a 1.5-degree increase. We’ve already increased by 1 degree, so we don’t have much wiggle room. Not lying, we are in for very hard times. But, my favourite slogan is “Change… or Be Changed”. I would far prefer to have a say over the changes that are coming, to have some capacity to manage them, because my community is informed and thinking and preparing, rather than to be taken off-guard by calamities. I know we have the breadth and thoughtfulness and ability of people here to do this.
The Mississippi Mills Youth Centre has a variety of free, COVID-safe youth and community focused programs that change monthly. We focus on offering fun, educational and healthy living activities that foster a positive relationship between youth and their community. Below are some of the highlights of our programming for the month of October.
From October 5 to November 9, on Mondays from 3–4pm we are hosting in-person Forever Young! Ukulele programming. Youth and seniors are welcome to register to learn how to play Ukulele — this is a beginner’s program so no experience is necessary. This program will be the beginning of a music program that will end in a performance next spring. There are limited spaces available for this program, so register early.
From October 6–27, Tuesdays offer online drop-in from 3–4pm (the link is always posted on our Facebook page). From 4–6pm we are running a four-week Zoom “From Us to You: Online Cooking Program”. Registered families will either pick up or have their grocery supply box dropped off. These boxes include all of the ingredients youth will need to cook a healthy meal for their family. Youth then tune into our Zoom lesson and learn from our Program Coordinator and special guest cooks how to make each recipe. Youth must register for this program and there are limited spaces available. Early registration is a must as these fill up fast.
From October 7 to November 25, on Wednesdays we are hosting a socially distant in-person theatre-making program from 3–5pm. “This is what happened here” is an eight-week program led by Emily Pearlman, all about exploring Augusta Park and finding the untold stories that live there. Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided to any who need it. Youth will interview people of all ages who live/have lived in and around Augusta to learn their stories. They will then use those stories to develop their theatre-making abilities. This program will lead to a live theatrical performance held in Augusta next spring. Registration is required for this program and there are limited spaces available. Our regularly scheduled in-person drop-ins on Wednesday will be moved to 5–6pm.
From October 2–23, Friday nights from 6–7pm will feature drop-in at the centre, and from 7–9pm we are offering in-person outdoor sports! Come play hockey, bump, hide-and-seek or any fun and active games you want. We can accept eight participants at a time to meet COVID restrictions.
Haunted House!
On October 29, 30 and 31, under the guidance of our local health unit and strictly following government safety standards, we will be offering a scary haunted house as a safe Hallowe’en option for families. This haunted house is geared towards people 10 and older, but younger children can attend with their parents/guardians. This is a fundraiser for the youth centre and admission will be by donation to support our programming for local kids. Beware! Our haunted house will be frightening to even the bravest of souls. It will run Thursday, October 29 from 6–9pm; Friday October 30 and Saturday October 31 from 6–10pm. We are limiting the number of people congregating together by implementing a registration for set time slots, so please check our social media for the link to register for a timeslot (registration opens October 1).
Want to register? Learn more about our programming? Maybe donate funds or goods or volunteer? Please email our Program Coordinator Sara at <programcoordinator@mmyc.ca> or call 257–5959.
Studio Theatre Perth is one of the town’s treasures, but it’s been a tough year for this community theatre. Pandemic shutdown and restricted openings are taking a huge bite out of the group’s financial resources.
“Our lease comes up for renewal in April, and unless we can raise enough funds before that, we won’t be in a position to renew,” explains Kat Watring-Ellis, chair of the promotions committee.
That would mean the volunteer group would have to walk away from their little gem of a theatre and all the investments they’ve made in the space with the help of the community — including an elevator, theatre seats, sound and lighting equipment, curtains — the list goes on.
When the province moved to phase three of re-opening the economy, the theatre group immediately mobilized to host movies at drastically reduced capacity. But that reduction in numbers means little to no revenue. Still, they’re not going down without a fight. The group is launching a targeted fundraising campaign and it starts on Hallowe’en.
“There are no new films being released right now, so it was really exciting when we were approached by Mark Bailey with an opportunity to show Nosferatu, set to his original score — and in terms of timeliness, well, Hallowe’en made it happen!” says Watring-Ellis.
It’s definitely spooky, it’s a classic, and it is the perfect Hallowe’en offering. The movie is based on Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, published in 1897, and was sued for copyright infringement. In fact, the Stoker estate won the suit and the court ordered all copies of the movie burned. Luckily a few copies survived, though much of the original score by Hans Erdman was lost.
There have been several scores written for this classic horror movie since then, but this is the only one made in Perth, Ontario! “I started working on a score for Nosferatu about a year-and-a-half ago, as a bucket list project,” explains Bailey.
A resident of Perth for the past ten years, Bailey’s knowledge of music is extensive. He played the trumpet in the Central Band of the Canadian Forces and arranged music for the band for 22 years. He’s a recognised composer with original compositions published by Carl Fischer in New York, and Southern Music Company in San Antonio, Texas. Still, he admits that writing a score for a movie was a lot harder than he initially anticipated. “I had to learn to give the movie breathing space and ride along with it,” he says.
Bailey ended up taking five months off to read and study the art of writing a movie score.
“I learned more as a musician from this experience than all previous experiences,” he says, and that’s saying quite a lot for a man who has played and arranged music at major performance venues around the world.
The end result is a sweeping score that sounds like a 60-piece orchestra but is actually mostly computer-generated. “It has sound effects and melodramatic moments, scary chords and themes for each character,” explains Bailey.
If you have never seen the original Nosferatu, directed by F.W. Murnau, now’s the time, and if you have, well now’s the time to watch it with Bailey’s original score!
Putting the fun back in fundraiser, Studio Theatre Perth invites residents, supporters, theatre and movie lovers to come out on Saturday October 31 in as much or as little costume as they like and enjoy the premiere of Bailey’s Nosferatu. A wine bar will be open for the Saturday performances.
Tickets are $25 per person, and available only through <ticketsplease.ca>. Numbers are limited, and masks are mandatory in the lobby. The first showing will be at 6:30pm with a second showing at 9pm on October 31. A third screening will take place on Sunday, November 1 at 2pm. Each screening will begin with a short introduction by Mark Bailey. “I just want to see how people react to the score,” he concludes.
If for any reason you can’t make it to the Studio Theatre’s fundraising events but still want to support the theatre, there is a donation page now at <studiotheatreperth.com>. Tax receipts will be emailed to donors.
Caroline Ji: Blue Hour at Sivarulrasa Gallery
From October 14 to November 20, Sivarulrasa Gallery in Almonte is pleased to present a solo exhibition of paintings by artist Caroline Ji. Caroline Ji: Blue Hour can be viewed in person during regular gallery hours, Wednesdays to Sundays from 11am to 5pm.
“Blue Hour” is a reference to the period before sunrise and after sunset when a serene blue light permeates the sky. “Blue hour is when I’m most inspired and most prone to pause work in the studio and look outside and start thinking about stuff,” Caroline notes. “It’s magical like golden hour, but less glamorous and less in your face. It’s fleeting, too, and that makes me sad, but I am comforted by the knowledge that it will arrive again tomorrow.” The artist refers to many of the paintings in the show as blue hour paintings. During the pandemic she spent much time in her Toronto studio painting in the blue hour before sunrise.
Caroline Ji’s figurative works are evocative and intimate depictions of people she has met, re-lived conversations, and memories. Her paintings of still life and interior scenes are a way for her to record daily life by herself in the studio. Her work exudes solitude — “though I paint my friends a lot, the inspiration comes from moments of solitude” she states. With oil as her chosen medium, she employs a striking colour palette with careful attention to lighting choices. “In a painting, unlike a movie, time happens all at once,” she notes. Her compositions are aimed at creating a simple, cohesive idea from a multitude of complex, fleeting inputs. Some objects and individuals have a recurring presence in her works, including her blue guitar, an instrument she likes to play in the studio. Caroline Ji’s paintings are held in private collections in Canada, the United States, Europe and Hong Kong. Her work has been exhibited in Toronto, Ottawa and the United States.
Caroline Ji will join live via Zoom to talk about her work and inspiration at an Artist Talk & Virtual Vernissage on Wednesday Oct 21 from 7–8pm. You can join from the comfort of your home through a video link that can be accessed on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Please email <info@sivarulrasa.com> for the link. For more information, please visit <sivarulrasa.com>. The gallery is located at 34 Mill Street in Almonte.
New Glass Work by Jennifer Kelly
Forest walks always reveal little vignettes. They appear as stories of what happened while the humans were off busily forgetting about living. Mississippi Mills artist Jennifer Kelly has been busy recreating some forest story sculptures in glass, and her new collection will be unveiled virtually and live outside her studio on the weekend of October 24 and 25. There will be an outdoor display of her new Forest Story Boxes, demonstrations, glass gifts and lots more.
Please contact <Jenniferkelly@rogers.com> to register online or to arrange an in-person visit. All work is kept secret and not posted online until the Trunk Show weekend!
You can find more information about Jennifer at <jenniferannekelly.com>. And be sure to check out her amazing take-home fused glass kits for all ages and skill levels at <glasskits.ca>!
Found: Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour
The Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour is a go — virtually. Due to you-know-what, artists are excited to present their wares online at <crownandpumpkin.com>.
The updated website will launch Thanksgiving weekend with new photos of artists’ creations. From the comfort of their home, art lovers can visit their favourite artists and meet others they might not have had time to get to in the past.
Need we mention that, like so many of us, artists are also struggling in “2020: the lost year”? Some have embraced the pandemic and immersed themselves in their art. For others, creativity this year has been a challenge. Either way, all participating artists are pleased to welcome your virtual visit, and Hummingbird Chocolate will be open for visitors during the weekend.
Part of the great experience of previous Crown and Pumpkin tours has been the spectacular autumn scenery and the historic points of interest along the way. While artist studios are not open this year (with the exception of Hummingbird Chocolate), you can still go for a drive along country roads to drink in the atmosphere. The historic Clayton General Store will be open all three days! The 2019 Crown & Pumpkin Tour Map has been left up on the website as a suggested route, and historic points of interest can be found under “Heritage”.
Purchasing arrangements can be made directly with the artists.
Perth Autumn Studio Tour
The 2020 Perth Autumn Studio Tour is going virtual and will begin on October 10.
Considering the current state of the world, the members of this collective of local artists are adapting to these changing times and bringing the tour right into your living room. It will be a change from driving the country roads lit in their fall colours and having a delicious lunch at the Brooke Valley School, but your ability to browse and support local artists is easier than ever.
Franc Van Oort, Susie Osler, Dunn Sohn, Brent Kirkham, Anne Chambers, Rita Redner, Zoë Lianga, Catherine Orfald and Willa Murray are the members of this artist-run tour. You can reach them via <perthstudiotour.com> and their personal websites as well as through social media.
This year the online-only tour will run from October 10 to 18, when many artists will be available by appointment for you to pick up online purchases. COVID-19 safety measures will be practised, and each artist will inform you of their policies when appointments are made.
While you are always welcome to browse each artist’s website before the launch date of October 10, the artists will be reserving pieces to release during the October 10–18 online studio tour.
Red Trillium Studio Tour
As of press time, organizers of the annual Red Trillium Studio Tour in West Carleton are still planning an in-person event on the weekend of October 24 and 25. Their website at <redtrilliumst.com> expresses: “Heartfelt gratitude to everyone that comes to visit us on our Tours, you are truly appreciated. We will be following all the necessary COVID restrictions for everyone’s safety. In this current climate we realize more than ever how grateful we are to be part of a vibrant arts community in West Carleton”.
You can also continue to support their artists by visiting them online or through social media or email. Contact information for all artists is available on the tour’s website.
This year’s tour will feature art in a wide variety of media including pottery, stained glass art, eco women’s clothing, watercolours, acrylics, wood turning, wire-wrapped gemstones, handmade glass jewellery, glass art, stained glass, fabric sculpture, painting and fine art textiles.
Living through a pandemic has forced parents and children to juggle a modified school year. Even though most children are back to school, hours in the classroom have been adjusted and the threat of future closures looms large. In order to educate and entertain kids through this strange time, local libraries have many free resources to help.
In every local library, parents will find a collection of leveled junior readers. Children can work through the levels at home or try read-along CDs as an alternative reading companion. Nonfiction titles are also great ways to supplement curriculum, with titles ranging from computer coding to Canadian history.
To encourage some adventure, libraries offer fun alternative resources for families. For instance, Lanark libraries have MAPsacks available for checkout. These nature-themed backpacks are filled with books and activities that will inspire families to explore the outdoors. If a trip to the city is in order, families can borrow museum passes to Ottawa museums and galleries, which allow up to five people free entrance into the various venues. In Mississippi Mills, we also have themed READY to go Backpacks which are filled with books, games and activities on subjects like the arctic, bears, transportation, and farms.
Exciting news for this school year, the Mississippi Mills Library is offering STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) programs. To inspire and incubate STEAM learning, the Library will offer STEAM workshops at the Almonte Branch. Thanks to generous funding from the Elizabeth Kelly Library Foundation Inc. and Young Canada Works, kids from 10–16 years of age will learn computer coding, robotics, basic electronic and mechanical engineering in fun and creative sessions. Registration will begin in the fall so please check <missmillslibrary.com> for updates. STEAM will also be the theme of the Friends of the Library funded Craft in a Bag kits. For example, the October kits for children will include materials and instructions to make a pan flute, studying the science of sound and recording music while using their fine motor skills; and the teen kits will have materials and instructions to make Hallowe’en crystal candy while exploring the science of solutions and crystals. To order the monthly STEAM kits, email <almontelib@gmail.com> or call 256–1037.
Perth Library is taking a hybrid approach this year. Go to <perthunionlibrary.ca> to explore all of the kids’ resources! Sign up to get weekly Storytime videos sent right to your inbox, and while you’re there, older children can sign up for the Pen Pal Program to get paired up with another child in the community. All letters are sent through the library, so addresses are not shared, only fun stories and friendships! If all goes well this fall, Perth is bulking up the free one-on-one tutoring program so they will have lots of tutors and spots to support your child’s learning this year. The library also has take-home kits for all ages. There are STEAM boxes filled with materials and activities to help children explore Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math as well as Literacy Kits to help children develop phonics and reading skills. This year, Perth is introducing Kinder Kits to support the development of kinder-readiness skills, such as getting dressed and cooperation.
Arnprior Library <arnpriorlibrary.ca> has created themed book bundles for families and educators to borrow. After offering themed bundles throughout the summer months that included craft components, activities and jokes, they realized that families appreciated the option to pick books up via curbside pick-up and decided to continue to offer the program. Many of the bundles tie into the school curriculum and will be a valuable resource to families who are educating at home this year.
The Carleton Place Public Library <carletonplacelibrary.ca> continues to offer a LIVE Storytime on their Facebook page every Wednesday morning at 10am (except for the first two weeks in October). They already have some kindergarten classes participating and would love to have any groups who might be looking to expand some of their programming needs to join. It’s perfect for the JK/SK range. For kids aged 5-10, they are also offering a weekly “Art Attack” directed drawing session on Tuesdays at 10am. On Fridays at 1pm they are doing a weekly craft for kids of all ages on Facebook.
All local libraries offer excellent online resources for school-aged children and youth. Overdrive kids has a wide collection of downloadable eBooks and Audiobooks found under clever genres like Belly Laughs, Find Your Next Great Read, and Audiobooks for the Whole Family. Cantook is the French collection and has over 2100 titles for kids and teens. For quality programs, Kanopy Kids offers access to education TV series like Sesame Street, animated picture books and age-appropriate science and math shows. Most of these free collections can be accessed through your local library’s website.
theHumm is reaching out to members of our Ottawa Valley community to ask how they are finding ways to use their gifts and skills in these challenging times. Patrick Malone is the owner of Bowie’s — an amazing live music venue in Smiths Falls. We contacted Patrick to find out how a musician approaches running a music venue, and how those venues are stayin’ alive through COVID.
theHumm: Before we get into the COVID stuff, can you tell me about your goals in opening a music venue? As a performing musician yourself, I imagine you had some ideas about how to do it right.
I always loved performing in small / intimate venues. It was my bread and butter for a long time. House concerts, small theatres, cafés, bars etc. I got to work with so many great presenters all over the world, and I also got stuffed in the corner in front of the hockey game all too often. Small rooms are so important to the early stages of musicians’ careers. I wanted to create a place that does up-and-comers justice. We set up the room all black like a theatre with a very dramatic backdrop so that the audience’s eyes know where to look. We have a squeaky-clean PA system, and I love to flex my audio muscles to make sure the sound is on point. We dim the house lights, and have a couple proper spotlights on the stage. Our front room is separate from the back, so chatters and socializers don’t bother the performers or the audience. I have been known to move patrons to the front room if they are interrupting the show. We hope to play our part in developing local, national and international talent by packing our little room and treating performers with respect.
This year has been pretty tough on performers. What musical plans have you had to cancel, and have you found ways to “pivot” and explore other options?
Oh boy. We had to cancel about 20 shows. Our weekly New Music Night was dead in the water, as was our monthly Songwriter Concert Series. Our Sunday Bluegrass show was also on hiatus. We “hosted” a few online streaming shows to keep our audience entertained and try our best to scrape up a few bucks for our cancelled performers. Although a few of them were really well done, it’s just not the same experience. We are so happy to have our doors open again.
As we head into fall (and inevitably winter), what kinds of support would be helpful to Bowie’s — either from the town and the health unit or from your patrons and the community?
Well, it’s such a confusing time to be operating a business that basically sells an experience where people gather. We are following the Health Unit guidelines, which are pretty straightforward. We just need patrons to work with us. Most people have been very understanding and supportive, wearing masks, and not mingling with other tables. We aren’t offering service or seating at the bar itself, only table service. We are running at roughly half-capacity right now, so the situation is certainly not ideal.
Why do you think it is important to continue to try and engage people in creative activities even with the challenge of maintaining safe practices and physical distancing?
Now, maybe more than ever, people need a little joy in their lives. People is people. Social creatures to the last thread of our DNA. We are inundated with bad news, but we all know the guidelines to help quell infection. We can weather the storm and get back to normalcy soon enough I’m sure. But for now, we really want to do our part bringing a little light in these confusing and difficult times. Although we shouldn’t be getting up close and personal right now, we owe it to ourselves to make the best of it. Hey hey, my my, rock and roll will never die.
What are you personally most concerned about at this time?
I had to close my six-month-old business for four months. I can’t believe my luck! If I spent all day addressing my many concerns I wouldn’t be in good shape mentally. I’m trying to see silver linings, and the forest for the trees. This crazy time will be in our collective memory eventually. Personally I just want to keep my head down, along with the bills, and wait patiently for better times ahead.
What are you optimistic about in terms of what happens to live music during and after the pandemic?
Maybe people will appreciate what they’ve been missing. Moving music off the internet and back on stage almost seems like a novelty. We are looking forward to the warm embrace of community. I bet there will also be an outpouring of creative juices. The best art is born of tragedy.
Hot on the heels of their successful Zoom production of Couples, Rural Root Theatre is bringing another virtual play to your computer screen!
In Bad Auditions… On Camera by Ian McWethy and Carrie McCrossen, a casting director has one day to find an actor to fill the role of a lawyer in a crime procedural. But what seems like a simple task proves impossible when the pool of actors includes stage thespians who cannot tone it down for the screen, performers completely unable to keep themselves in frame, and an actor who seems to believe this is a toothpaste commercial.
After auditioning 30 actors, the selections for the 13 parts have been made. Kim Blanche will be playing the Casting Director and Dave Coleman will be her assistant Roger. The 11 actors who will be auditioning for “the part” are Jinesea Lewis, Holly Veale, Sasha Gardner, Kevin Anderson, Mallory Mason, Alex Henkelman, Melanie Matheson, Ann Empy, Kimberley Vo, Tom Kobolak and Myrna Ferris.
The audience will vote at the end of the play for their preferred audition, and decide who is the best of the worst!
Bad Auditions… On Camera will be presented by Rural Root Theatre Company on Zoom on October 21, 22, 23 and 24. The production will be directed by Ron Gardner and produced by Charlene Gardner, with stage management provided by Roy Ballantine, and technical assistance by Harold Swaffield. For more information, please visit <ruralroot.org>.
Here’s the scoop, folks. Our area is home to a dizzying array of community theatre organizations, and you can hardly throw a diva fit without hitting a wildly talented actor, costume-maker or stage manager around here. But alas — their talents are in danger of atrophying, and they may be on the verge of driving family members insane with incessant monologuing and singing in the shower. At the same time, those aforementioned organizations are struggling to pay rent and bills as month after month goes by with no hope of full houses on the horizon.
To try and address some of the above concerns, Humm Team Productions (who brought you last December’s sold-out run of Who Stole Christmas from Mississippi Mills?) have assembled a crackerjack team of local playwrights, directors and actors who are getting ready to entertain you — just in time for Hallowe’en. On the evening of Friday, October 30, you are most cordially invited to an online viewing of Spider Web-inar: Hallowe’en Shorts!
This frighteningly fun evening will feature seven short plays, interspersed with snappy and wildly inappropriate commentary by puppeteers Noreen Young and Stephen Brathwaite. Inappropriate puppeteers?! I hear you gasp? Why yes — and for that and several other good reasons, this is an 18+ production. All of this amazing local entertainment will be offered up by donation, and any profits (after expenses) will be distributed between the Mississippi Mudds of Carleton Place, Studio Theatre Perth and the Station Theatre in Smiths Falls. You’ll be able to donate online during the performance to help keep community theatre thriving!
And now for the line-up of shows…
The Séance
Charlene drags Ben to Madame Yolanda’s Hallowe’en seance. Sam drags Bobby to Madame Yolanda’s Hallowe’en seance. Together, they and the ghost of Elvis try to sort out some relationship issues. This one is written by Rob Riendeau and directed by Kris Riendeau, and features Jenny Pfitzer, Kristen Ritchie, Peter McGaugh, Stephanie Gilman, Tove Hunding and Ed Lawrence (as the ghost of you-know-who).
Disguise the Limit
Written by Jennifer Pfitzer and directed by Catherine Clark, this play will take you to a wild and crazy Hallowe’en costume party without leaving the comfort of your home! In this short comedy, the emotions run high and the booze is flowing as the contestants are by turns happy, sad, bitchy, envious, petty, nervous, rude and competitive. About the only thing they have in common is they ALL want to win the grand prize — $500 in cash and a sexy trophy. What could possibly go wrong? Vying for top honours are Zach Brown, Stevie Silver, Mike McCormick, Jeff May and Grey Masson.
Monstrous Meeting
Written by Dan Bova and directed by Kaz Lapointe, this glimpse into the working world shows that it’s hard to be a monster these days. How can you scare kids when they’re spending all their time on iPads and they’ve already seen the Blair Witch Project? Hiding in closets is tricky when they come from Ikea and fall apart easily. But management wants results! The monstrous cast includes Monika Engel, Janet Rice, Adam Pelletier, Peter Meyer, and Mike McCormick as the Boogeymanager.
Another Bloody Pink Slip
This is a short snappy play that explores what it really means to give your life to your work. Directed and written by Danielle K.L. Gregoire with character exploration by Dawn Xankin and Erika Pruden.
Family Dinner
In this play written by Janet Rice and directed by Adam Pelletier, a lonely woman has her two daughters over for supper on Hallowe’en Eve. There are the usual sibling rivalries and spats, but all is not normal with this family. This one features Kaz Lapointe, Karen Gallagher and Helen Gillis.
Sexy Lumberjack
Written and directed by Kris Riendeau and co-directed by Karen Gallagher, this play is set in the very near future. Newly single, Jack (Dan Bova) plans to re-enter the dating scene by attending a singles’ costume party with his younger brother (Nils Hamster) and a zany friend (Zach Brown). First, though, he needs to be brought up to speed on how interactions with women have altered since #yourturn, and why he may need a plaid flannel thong…
Stalls
Written by Natalie Dalton and directed by Karen Gallagher, Stalls introduces two young women (played by Helen Gillis and Monika Engel) who meet accidentally when they take refuge in adjoining bathroom stalls after playing Hallowe’en “tricks” on their bullies. They got into trouble separately; can they get out of it together?
To join the fun, just visit
<hummteam.com>
Jude Zander is a shy, inexperienced small-town girl who has disguised herself as a boy and is on the run from an abusive father. She desperately wants to find her mother who left her without warning.
Jude has never been in a city before. Soon after she arrives she is confronted by hookers, bikers and street punks... and she avoids the police because of an incident with her father. Her only contact in the city is an aunt who wants nothing to do with her. Alone and without survival skills, Jude drifts on the streets until she meets Rags and Gunner, two old panhandlers who offer her a place to stay at an old abandoned warehouse they call The Brickbox. After Rags saves her from a dangerous punk, he introduces Jude to a diverse group of battered and discarded street people whose resilience, humanity and humour surprise her. They all do their best to teach Jude how to survive on the streets, except for one of them... an ex-cop who wants Jude gone. When she is ultimately forced to face her oppressive father in court, Jude’s street friends find the one witness who can save her.
Author WL (Bud) Gorman is a retired Canadian army officer who has lived in many interesting places and faced some interesting challenges. He and his wife live in Almonte, where a small-town lifestyle suits them best.
When asked why he wrote this book, Gorman explains: “I have had an interest in homeless people for a long time. In the summer before my last year of university, some buddies and I worked on an isolated railroad gang in the middle of the British Columbia Rockies. We met a lot of interesting people that summer — immigrants from Europe, full time railroad workers, indigenous men. They were all memorable, but the ones who made the biggest impression on me were the homeless men. I knew nothing about people who lived on the streets. Some of these men were working on the gang because they were given the choice of jail or the rail gang. Most of them were there so that they could earn some money during the summer months then return to Vancouver and drink their way through the winter.
“But as sad as that may sound, these men were still living, breathing human beings, most of whom treated me well. It took some time to gain their confidence, but when they opened up, their personal stories were very interesting. None of them looked for pity. All of them were honest and most exhibited a capability for introspection that I never could have imagined had I not met them. What I learned from them was that the public’s stereotype of homeless people was not accurate — there was no “one size fits all” description that could be ascribed to them. Certainly some of them were aggressive and hard to live with, but most of them were kind, thoughtful and shy. And several of them were as smart and clever as anyone I had met at that point in my life. So when I finally got serious about writing my first novel, I knew that I had to take a crack at knocking down the stereotypes about homeless people. Also, since I was young and because this experience had a considerable impact on my perception of things, I wanted to write a coming of age story, but not about myself.”
Gorman plans to use the proceeds from sales of his books to support veterans in need. You can find out more about him and his books at <budgorman.com>, and you can purchase your copy of The Brickbox at Mill Street Books in Almonte!
The Youth Centres Coalition of Lanark County is proud to announce the launch of the Food and Nutrition Security Project. This initiative will be facilitated by the Coalition, which includes Carleton Place Youth Centre, Lanark Highlands Youth Centre, Youth Action Kommittee and Mississippi Mills Youth Centre. This project has been made possible by United Way Ontario East through the Emergency Community Support Fund from the Government of Canada.
This project will help meet the unique nutritional needs of youth across Lanark County and strengthen access to hygiene products, personal protective equipment and food, building capacity to get these essentials directly to youth throughout the County. Through the use of coaching, mentoring and modelling, it will help strengthen young people’s knowledge and life skills.
The Youth Centres Coalition will be offering in-person and online programming to youth and families across Lanark County. They will offer activities such as cooking classes, skill building workshops, health information sessions and so much more.
Through the duration of this project they will be working in partnership with agencies across Lanark County to provide food services and health information that promotes food security and develops life skills and the capacity to achieve nutritional health.
For more information, please contact the Food and Nutrition Project Coordinator, Lilli Nothnagel, at 256–5959 or <nutritioncoordinator@mmyc.ca>.