The following Articles and Images have been added to the database
Picture-perfect in every direction with lush colours, textures, and lots of history, Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm is over 200 years old with many original features, including the house itself. Located on the Indian Creek near Pakenham, it has evolved over the years from a sheep farm to a berry farm and now a Christmas tree farm. The Martin family has taken this historic farm to the next level of Agritourism and were recognized as Ottawa’s Best Winter Attraction by the 2023 Ottawa Awards.
Grant and Pam Martin (née Deugo), along with their four sons, sold their dairy farm in midwestern Ontario and bought Cedar Hill from the Ralph family in 2016. The Martins have continued to expand the farming operation and in 2021 they built another shop completely dedicated to creating wreaths, planters and centrepieces for the Christmas season.
In 2020, the farm was opened on weekends to allow folks to enjoy the spectacular fall season. The sugar maple trees lining the laneway leading up to the Hallmark-movie-famous covered bridge is the perfect backdrop for any photographer. There is also a fun array of pumpkins, gourds, squash, rainbow corn, straw bales and corn stalks grown at the farm and available to purchase.
Christmas at Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm is always magical, but the fall season here is simply glorious. Fall at the farm takes full advantage — maple, oak and birch trees wearing autumn’s finest; pumpkins, gourds and squash in every shape, size and colour; rainbow corn to decorate your home; a straw bale fort and maze to explore and climb; a zipline for the kids to ride; refreshed playgrounds throughout the property; tractor-drawn wagon rides to see the farm. The grounds are perfect for leisurely walks and great pictures, Christmas trees are everywhere, and there’s also the gift shop and farm market with their thoughtfully chosen wares to ooh and ahh over.
This year the gift shop has been revamped with an amazing mix of new items and favourite collectibles. There are gnomes, gnomes, and more gnomes — from itty-bitty to gi-gnome-ous! A delectable new line of candles, fun ornaments, snow globes galore, beautiful nutcrackers and so much more adorn the shop.
It is truly a one-stop-shop for all your entertaining and hosting needs with seasonal linens, pretty napkins and an expanded Ontario gourmet food section offering frozen and refrigerated food. You’ll find homemade pies, Ontario cheeses and flavoured milk, Fulton’s maple butter, Mennonite-made farmers’ sausages and more. The pantry carries exclusive Christmas blends from Fluid Solar Roasted Coffee, jams, tree farm honey, a variety of ciders, cold and baked dip mixes, and Fulton’s gourmet food items. For those with a sweet tooth, you’ll find hard and chewy candies, lots of fudge, so many hot drink mixes and a delightful selection of Christmas chocolates.
You can happily spend a few hours at Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm by yourself, with a group of friends or your family… and come back the next weekend to do it all again! It is a wonderful experience you don’t want to miss in either the fall or Christmas season.
Crown & Pumpkin Time
The farm is proudly hosting a stop on the Crown & Pumpkin Studio Tour on Thanksgiving weekend (October 7 and 8). Come out to visit seven talented local artisans featuring pottery, woodturning, jewellery, basketry, weaving and more.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite, stop by the café for delicious homemade food and treats as well as a nice selection of hot and cold drinks. Enjoy the outdoor dining area overlooking the creek and bridge.
Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm is open on weekends from 10am to 4pm, from October 7 through to November 5, including Thanksgiving Monday. Starting on Saturday, November 11, the hours are Monday to Thursday from 10–6, Fridays from 10–8, Saturday and Sunday from 9–5. Please visit <cedarhillchristmastreefarm.com> for more information.
Trinity St. Andrew’s is an affirming faith community within the United Church of Canada, located in Renfrew. The music program at Trinity St. Andrew’s is expanding in a new direction to provide a monthly community group singing program as an outlet for those in Renfrew County who are living with memory loss or any form of dementia. Entitled “Music to Memories”, it is designed for those with memory loss or dementia to attend with their caregivers, and is also open to family and friends. Research is only scratching the surface of the impacts of music on the brain thus far, but we are aware that music has tremendous and noteworthy long-lasting and positive influences on brain function.
Trinity St. Andrew’s is also inviting caregivers to send in their loved one’s favourite songs in advance. A song binder will be compiled with the favourites for each attendee. The repertoire will include easy, light and familiar songs, to bring comfort and to offer a place of community through song. No experience is required.
Sessions will be held on the first Thursday of each month from 11am to noon with an intended start date of October 5. They will correlate with The Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County’s monthly Renfrew Coffee Club, which coincidentally occur at the same time and location on the first Thursday of each month. Sessions will be guided by Trinity St. Andrew’s Music Director and local music educator Danah-Lee Krieger.
“We are excited to expand our music offerings in this direction,” Danah-Lee explains. “We know that music continues to stamp indelible and lasting impacts on people. We see that even when folks lose life memories, music has the potential to last. It is amazing. Monthly meetups are designed to uncover the true magnitude of music’s power in the brain. We will take monthly song requests, and together we will accomplish something incredible. We hope folks will join us as we capture moments in time, through song!”
Caregivers are invited to register for this free program and to send in their loved one’s favourite songs. They can do this by contacting Danah-Lee at <TSAmusicteam@gmail.com>. The program will launch on October 5 at 11am in the chapel at Trinity St. Andrew’s United Church at 291 Plaunt St. S. in Renfrew. The church is wheelchair accessible and there is an elevator available.
Back for its second year, Studio Theatre presents the iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday, October 28 on the big screen! Grab your friends and come sing along with Studio Theatre’s very own rockstar MC “British Columbia” (Columbia’s northern cousin, pictured below).
Rock out in the aisles to the tunes that are sure to make you shiver with antici…
…pation, such as Science Fiction Double Feature, Toucha, Toucha, Touch Me, Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite, just to name a few!
For this show, Studio Theatre is also proud to present the premiere of the horror film The Warbling — filmed in Perth and created by local filmmakers Justin and Paula Ferrant. Justin and Paula will introduce their film and talk about the making of The Warbling at 7:30pm, and then the 20-minute film will screen at 7:40. At 8pm, British Columbia kicks off the Rocky Horror fun!
Tickets are available from Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434) for $15 plus fees, or at the door. Find more details at <studiotheatreperth.com>.
The Christmas in the Valley Artisan Show is thrilled to be back again this year on November 4 and 5 from 10am to 4pm each day in the upper hall of the John Levi Community Centre, located at 182 Bridge Street in Almonte. With over twenty artisans and crafters presenting their original creations in a relaxed, friendly and festive atmosphere, you are sure to find gifts with originality, quality and attention to detail. Forgo the gift cards, big box stores and stressful malls and make this your first holiday shopping destination.
The Valley Artisan Show always strives to bring in lots of new artistic talent as well as returning favourites to provide a wide variety of handcrafted items for those special people and pets on your shopping list. You’ll find great items to put under the tree, add to gift baskets and fill stockings, plus a few things you’ll want for yourself! Find gifts such as sun-catching fused glass, pottery in many forms, scented soaps and scrubs, beeswax candles and flavoured honey, repurposed silver-plated jewellery, silver crocheted wire with gems and lovely necklaces made with colourful beads. Delicious cookies and sweet confections, decadent jams and jellies, and fresh spices will tempt your taste buds. Talented vendors create items in leather, metal and felt, as well as miniature quilts, silly gnomes to decorate your home, and games to play with the family.
For more details on participating vendors, please visit <valleyartisanshow.blogspot.ca> or follow the show on Facebook. Parking and admission are free, and you can enter a draw for a great door prize. The Lanark Animal Welfare Society <lanarkanimals.ca> will be selling raffle tickets, calendars and other items to raise money for their shelter.
There are plenty of other reasons to plan a daytrip to Almonte besides a visit to the Christmas in the Valley Show. Take a stroll down the main street with its boutiques, antique stores and restaurants, and enjoy the views along the winding Riverwalk pathway. For even more “handmade” shopping, there are several other crafts sales happening in town that same weekend!
The Merrickville Readers Book Club and Beth Donovan Hospice are hosting an afternoon discussion with Giller Prize finalist Frances Itani. Frances Itani, C.M., is an award-winning bestselling author who has published 18 books (novels, stories, poetry and children’s work), as well as many reviews, articles and essays. She has travelled widely and has lived, worked and studied in seven Canadian provinces. She has also lived in England, U.S.A., Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Croatia and Cyprus. Her work has been translated and published in 18 countries. Her latest novel is The Company We Keep. Frances lives in Ottawa.
On Sunday, October 15 from 2–4pm at the Merrickville Legion (245 Main St. W), Itani will discuss The Company We Keep and invite questions from attendees on this and her other books. Admission is free but space is limited. To reserve your ticket, look for the event on <zeffy.com> or contact Beth Donovan Hospice at 258–9611 x2.
The organizers would like to thank the Canada Council of the Arts through the Writers Union of Canada for their assistance in sponsoring this event.
Friday the 13th! What a delicious day to open our fall murder mystery! And not just any old murder mystery. The Mousetrap opened in London’s West End in 1952 and ran continuously until March 16, 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued. It then re-opened on May 17, 2021. The longest-running West End show, it has had by far the longest run of any play in the world. After the show it is always requested that the audience not reveal the murderer, so that future viewers can enjoy the game as well!
Director Katharine Coleman has an affinity for murder mysteries. They are what she reads in her down-time, and she finds that putting them on as plays is entertaining as well as challenging. The best way to put a great show together, Coleman feels, is to get a strong cast who can create defined characters capable of subtlety. There are so many clues that come out in what might seem like throw-away lines, but you have to listen closely and really pay attention to figure them out. And even then, she’s pretty confident that you won’t have guessed correctly!
Says Coleman “There are so many possible suspects in this story that although it makes perfect sense that one character might have done it… they didn’t. That’s what keeps it exciting!” With a brilliant set created by Bill Hamilton, and amazing sound managing by Tim Bisaillon, there are a lot of elements combined to get you in the right frame of mind to be here, with us, at Monkswell Manor Guest House.
The story is as follows: Giles (Rich Croteau) and Mollie (Katharine Coleman) have been married for a year. They are excited and a little nervous to open their home as a Guest House, wondering what type of guests to expect. What they get is a mish mash of characters, all very different from each other and all hiding secrets! We meet Christopher Wren (Matt Baker), an architect who shows more interest in being a chef; Mrs. Boyle (Liz Stienberg), a jurist who isn’t pleased with anything; Major Metcalfe (Mike Adams), a retired Army major; Miss Casewell (Wendy Monagle), a secretive woman with a curious background; and Mr. Paravacini (Jesse Gibson), the unexpected guest.
As they are snowed in by inclement weather, all the guests are getting comfortable when Sergeant Trotter (Noel White) shows up on skis to warn them of a murderer who has their sights set on someone at Monkswell Manor. When one of the guests is murdered, it’s up to the detective to figure out who did it, whilst all the remaining guests try desperately not to reveal their secrets before the third blind mouse is killed! Anyone could be the murderer, and all can be considered suspects. This is definitely a cat-and-mouse game that needs to be solved before the snow melts.
Performances take place on October 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21 at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinées on October 15 and 22 at 2pm. Tickets are $22 for adults, $10 for students, and can be purchased at Special Greetings (8 Russell Street in Smiths Falls), online at <smithsfallstheatre.com> or by phone (283–0300) with credit card. If tickets are still available, they can be purchased a half-hour before showtime at the door, but please note that the matinées are already almost sold out.
The Friends of the Mississippi Mills Public Library (MMPL) annual book sale is happening in October, and organizers invite everyone to come out and buy books to help support library programming at the Almonte and Pakenham branches.
All books can be purchased — by donation, cash only — at the Rexall Mall, located at 430 Ottawa Street in Almonte (just follow the signs!). The sale takes place on Friday, October 20 from 4–8pm, Saturday, October 21 from 10am to 4pm, and Sunday, October 22 from 11am to 3pm.
Donate Your Books!
Members of the community are asked to donate their gently used books by dropping them off at the former Joy of Beauty store right next to the Rexall Drug Store. Books can be dropped off from October 1–19, any time the mall is open. Enter the mall at the Rexall end and simply follow the signs.
Please donate books that are in good condition and published within the last 5 years. Books for kids, young adults and adults, as well as French books are most welcome. The Friends cannot accept encyclopedias, textbooks, bibles, books that have been exposed to dampness, or old books.
Thanks so much for your generosity in supporting the library. Please contact the Friends at <friends@missmillslibrary.com> for general questions, and at <judithdifruscio@gmail.com> for book sale details.
No one taking in the sights of Lanark County would miss a visit to the village of Pakenham. To call attention to Pakenham as a tourism destination and a peaceful retreat from the agitation of city life, the local Civitan Club has created a travel poster.
In the half-century before television, posters were a recognized art form and an important advertising medium. Travel posters — featuring tourist attractions and often sponsored by the railway or ocean liner that would take you there — were extremely popular. Now, understandably, poster art has become a preferred element of home décor. The Pakenham poster is ready for the space above your sofa (or in your kitchen, office, hallway or shop!).
“In our bicentennial year, we thought a poster would be a nice gift to the community”, explains Doris Rankin, Pakenham and District Civitan Club past-president. “Money collected from the sale of the posters stays here and helps people in times of need”. And, she adds, “Everyone loves the poster.”
Local artist James Hrkach created the poster, which features iconic landmarks and captures the feel of the village’s history and appeal. In the tradition of travel posters of the 19th and 20th centuries, the 18”x24” poster is hand-lettered and warmly welcoming. It is a beautiful piece of art.
The Pakenham poster is available at Nicholson’s store and at the 1840s General Store, both on the main street of Pakenham. It costs $20 and, again, all funds raised go to support Pakenham and area residents who need a helping hand.
As the colours brighten and the days grow shorter, the list of things to do at Heritage House Museum in Smiths Falls grows longer!
Fall Fest
Come out to the Museum for Fall Fest, taking place on Sunday, October 1 from 11am to 2pm. There will be wagon rides ($5 per person), a BBQ, bouncy castles, midway games, music, a vendor market and tons of fall activities. The museum will be open by donation.
Smiths Falls Ghost Tours
Tiptoe through the candlelit corridors of the Heritage House as a costumed interpreter leads you through tales of local ghost sightings, oral traditions and mysterious happenings of the Smiths Falls area and the museum. Stories have been discreetly shared by local residents, carefully selected from local news articles or experienced by museum staff and volunteers working in this eerily beautiful 1860’s home.
Tours take place on Wednesday, October 11 and Thursday, October 12, and run at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for youth, and can be purchased in advance from <sfghosttours.eventbrite.ca>.
Friday the 13thParanormal Investigation
Join the Nightwatchmen and GHOST Paranormal Investigation teams at the museum on Friday, October 13 to investigate the museum. The early investigation takes place from 6–10:30pm and costs $50 per person. The late-night investigation is from 11pm to 3am (yes, we’re going to investigate until witching hour) and is $60 per person. For both investigation times, the Nightwatchmen and GHOST will go over the basics of how to use the equipment, which you can then take through the house to investigate the museum for yourself. This event is for participants 18 years of age and over. Tickets are available from <Friday13investigation.eventbrite.ca>.
Haunted Heritage House
Are you prepared to go through the Heritage House 1860’s home… at night? If you dare to enter the museum after hours, come out on October 20, 21, 27 and 28 for the Haunted Heritage House. After your tour, calm your nerves with some homemade apple cider and seasonal treats as you tour the grounds and vote for your favourite pumpkin in the Community Pumpkin Carving Contest! Tour tickets are $10 per person from <sfhauntedhouse.eventbrite.ca>. The Haunted Heritage House will be from 7–9pm. Drop in any time in-between this time frame — entry to the house is first-come, first-serve.
For more information about any of these events, contact the Smiths Falls Heritage House Museum at 283-6311 or <heritagehouse@smithsfalls.ca>.
Art… and Soul
A small woman with a huge appetite for social justice, Valley artist Bel Angeles’ art aspires to conjoin her community life and advocacies with her creativity. She succeeds admirably. Her innovative and captivating art challenges us to examine our prejudices and stereotypes. Angeles deploys her artistic creativity in ways that delight us, challenge us, and open our eyes.
Her goal is to create art that initiates a dialogue about structural inequalities, hoping thereby to strengthen empathy and solidarity. In her creative efforts to entice us into a fuller appreciation of what it means to be privileged, she dances effortlessly between overt and subtle, between accessible and unconventional. She invents artworks that challenge viewers to participate in rating themselves on a scale of privilege. She creates recto-verso (two-sided) displays that beguile and entice us into looking for the hidden/deeper meanings in her paintings.
Everyone has a story. Bel encourages you to look beyond the surface — to see that there is more. Her works are a call to empathy. When you look at the flipside of her recto-verso work there is an “ah-ha” moment when you get it. Bel’s hope is that we’ll keep her message in our consciousness, and it will open our eyes and hearts to ways in which we can make a difference for all those who live in the margins.
Art is also her recreation and her therapy. Many of her vibrant abstract paintings reflect the joie de vivre she has maintained throughout an astonishing career as an international humanitarian aid worker, working with refugees and internally displaced people. She started painting in 2006 as a form of therapy during high-stress jobs in chronic emergency situations all over the world. Her first teacher was an exiled Karen refugee artist (the Karen are an ethnic nationality of an estimated six million people who primarily reside in Burma), and she continued to learn from practicing artists in the different countries where she worked and lived. Primarily self-taught, she starts intuitively, often gravitating towards mark-making, layering and texture.
Claiming Space, Sharing Space
In her own words: “I explore ways to ‘claim space and share space’, acknowledging my identity as a woman immigrant person of colour that gives me conditions of marginality but also privilege. I also explore the intersections of art and social justice, creating art based on reflections about structural inequalities.”
Personal privilege is associated with the distribution of wealth, opportunities, access and participation. Angeles was raised with her seven siblings by a well-educated and civic-minded family in Manilla where she enjoyed the privilege of earning a B.A. in Psychology at the University of the Philippines. After a decade of working in various jobs, she embarked on a challenging and highly rewarding career with postings around the world for international development and humanitarian work in the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Uganda, Rwanda, Jordan, Canada, Southeast Asia region and the East Africa region.
Along the way she garnered a Master of Arts in Development Studies at the International Institute for Social Studies at the Hague in the Netherlands. Her name (Maria Belen Angeles) appears in three publications, based on research commissioned by the FAO of the United Nations, and by UNESCO, for whom she did a study on trafficking of women in Africa. Her astonishing CV summarizes her work history by stating: “My main technical expertise is in gender, gender-based violence and working with refugees. I have extensive experience in senior-level management, board work, independent evaluations and organizational development. I am an active roster member of CARE International for Gender in Emergencies Advisor posts in humanitarian settings.”
A socially just society gives everyone equal access to wealth, opportunities and privileges. Angeles’ interest in and fight for social justice has never waned. Since coming to Canada in 2012 with her Canadian husband, she continues to claim space for herself and all other marginalized persons.
Angeles shares space by amplifying voices. Her intriguing art is only one way in which she does so. She is rooted in community. Her actions reflect her strong belief that it is important to participate in and contribute to the communities of which you are a part. Since moving near Perth she has volunteered with numerous charitable organizations and arts groups. She has been a board member and volunteer at Lanark County Interval House. After years of volunteering with The Table Community Food Centre <thetablecfc.org> in Perth, she has just joined them as their Operations Manager and Acting Volunteer Coordinator.
As always, her art continues to flourish and nourish her. She is a member of Arts Carleton Place and the Smiths Falls and District Arts Council. As a member of OMMA (Ottawa Mixed Media Artists Association) she displays mixed media pieces that include themes of housing insecurity and women, as well as a selection of glorious abstracts that reflect her love of life and her intrinsic, indomitable optimism.
Although her home is near Perth, she now works out of her studio at the recently opened Artisan Village at the Falls in Smiths Falls. The spacious and beautifully lit building features ten rooms of various sizes, several of which are leased by other local artists. Bel’s works are beautifully displayed, her studio is spacious and comfortable, and she smiles when she tells me she has been able to reclaim two rooms in the house she shares with her husband, Kevin Malseed. The couple share their fervor for making the world a better place. He is the founder and still active with KHRG, a grassroots Karen-led human rights organization established in 1992 and now operating across rural southeast Burma/Myanmar. This is how and where Bel met her first refugee art instructor.
Perth Autumn Studio Tour
The weather forecast predicts this will be a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday opportunity to meet this gifted and dedicated artist/social justice defender/community advocate. Bel Angeles will be participating in the annual Perth Autumn Studio Tour on October 7 and 8 as one of seven regional artists at Studio 4 at 590 Brooke Valley Road <perthstudiotour.com>. Join her in her journey to claim space and share space, and enjoy her beautiful, original, inspiring art. Coordinates are on the back of her Artist Trading Card at the top of this page.WHO Bel Angeles
Artist Trading Card
Ornithologists have a special term: zugunruhe, from the German zug (meaning “move”) and unruhe (“restlessness”). It is a fairly obscure word used mainly in academic settings. But for everyday birders like us, the phenomenon is simply known as migration.
Migration might be a simpler word, but the phenomenon itself is complex. Birders and scientists alike have been studying the travel patterns of birds for hundreds of years. Ancient Greeks thought that some birds hibernated during the cold season, while others transformed into different species — for example, warblers turned into robins. But reality is more remarkable than those fictions!
We’re all familiar with the classic image of fall migration: Canada geese in their undulating V-shaped flocks, punctuating the sky like big arrows. But geese are only one of about 350 bird species which embark on this long and arduous voyage, from their summer homes to their winter grounds — and back again in the spring.
During its first migration, a bird creates a map in its brain which will allow it, on future journeys, to navigate with extreme precision over thousands of kilometers. That’s how more than half of songbirds make it back to the same territory every spring — like your backyard!
Migratory birds have an internal clock that tells them when it’s time to migrate — it’s triggered by lower temperatures and changes in day length. So don’t worry, a nectar feeder will not dissuade your hummingbirds from migrating.
There are three types of migrants: short-, medium- and long-distance. Short-distance migrants don’t go very far; for example, from higher to lower elevations. Medium-distance migrants cover distances of a few hundred miles. Long-distance migrants, the champions of migration, leave their breeding ranges in North America to reach their wintering grounds in Central and South America. Their migration patterns have evolved over thousands of years, and they have transmitted their migratory behavior to their brood.
Birds are masters of navigation and their skills aren’t fully understood; they have an inner compass. At night, some birds are able to navigate by the stars, apparently by watching the rotation of the entire sky.
Many birds rely on the sun to orient themselves. Scientists believe that birds can sense the “linear polarization” of skylight — another fancy term — and discern the sun’s position even on cloudy days. Birds might be using photomagnetic receptors, processed by the left side of the brain which has stronger ties with the right eyeball. In layman’s terms, birds can “see” the earth’s magnetic field in one eye, a strange concept to grasp to say the least. After more than 50 years of research, scientists are still not able to fully explain birds’ magnetic migratory sense.
Migrating birds fly thousands of miles every year, often following the same route. A lot of juveniles make their first migration on their own. No one knows how they find their winter home, even though they have never been there before; perhaps it’s an innate ability, or an instinct bestowed by their parents.
A long migratory journey presents countless dangers: lack of adequate food sources, bad weather, attacks by predators. Over recent decades, other threats have been added to the list: illuminated tall communication towers and structures, and brightly lit buildings. Many birds are attracted to those lights and millions of them are killed each year in collisions. The Fatal Light Awareness Program <flap.org>, based in Toronto, was created to offer options and solutions to alleviate this life-threatening situation. From October 2–8, FLAP is hosting their Global Bird Rescue annual event to raise awareness about bird-building collisions and how to create bird-friendlier homes and workplaces.
Next time a songbird visits your yard, take a few minutes to reflect on the perilous journey it has undertaken, over thousands of kilometers, using a brain weighing no more than a gram.
And that’s not fiction!
Did you say Blues at... The Cove? Yes indeed! For 17 incredible years of music, laughter, community and overall great times, Blues on the Rideau has been one of the longest-running blues music series in Canada, but now the torch is passing to The Cove Inn.
Thanks to the team of James Doran, his wife Diane Leduc-Doran and their Choose the Blues Productions, thousands of ecstatic blues and live music fans have flocked to The Cove to enjoy evenings of dining and dancing to Canada’s greatest JUNO and Maple Blues Award-winning acts. We thank them for all those years of partnership, and honour them by dedicating the 2023/24 Series to them as we transition to Blues at The Cove, highlighting some of the best of the series over the years!
Since the new season starts on the evening of Friday, October 27 with the phenomenal Tony D Band, I thought I would reach out to Tony to ask him a bit about his music and influences.
Seamus Cowan: How did you get your start in music? Do you remember your first gigs?
Tony D: I was around 17 or 18 when I started gigging in my first blues band. It was a rocking 5-piece and we got a good following quite quickly. I hustled my ass off getting as many gigs as possible, playing the clubs in Ottawa and street dances or what have you. There were many places to play back then.
How would you say the music scene has changed over the years of your professional career?
There are many more bands out there and they are quite good. Social media has taken over as the promotion, which makes it easier and can be good, but you can also get lost in the mire. Before it used to be radio, TV (rare), and print. If you’re talented and good you will get noticed, that remains the same.
You are one of the three members of the great Ottawa band MonkeyJunk. The dynamic has changed in that you all play in other groups now as well. Can you tell us about that?
MonkeyJunk comes from three guys who have always had an independent nature. In fact, MonkeyJunk comes more from our other groups first. It’s just that MonkeyJunk is unique and we’ve written some fantastic tunes. We love going back and forth between MJ and our other groups.
Your latest record is called Speak No Evil, which makes sense as it is all instrumental. There are many styles you touch upon. Are there particular artists that you were influenced by when writing these songs?
Yes: Elmore James (Blues Party), Django Reinhardt / surf music (Argentinian Surf Tango, Blue Gypsy, Turn Out The Lights), Kenny Burrell (Fat City Blues), Jimi Hendrix (and his ’70s Big Muff), T-Bone Walker and Stevie Ray Vaughan. So many others, but also different styles of music.
You’ve shared stages with many legends over the years. What would you say you have learned from these experiences and incorporated into your own music?
I remember opening for Stevie Ray Vaughan in the ’80s, and he taught me to allow all the influences of music and let them in and it will flow out of you in your own style. I also played with Buddy Guy, and [the trick] with him is to listen intently while you’re on stage. You will add so much when you listen to everyone without getting in their way. MonkeyJunk is very good at this.
What can audiences look forward to when they attend your show at The Cove?
A night of blues, rock n roll, funk… all of it, actually, and all-out musical fun. Buy the ticket, take the ride… and get ready to “shake a tail feather”.
Picture a warm, intimate venue setting in a historic waterside inn on the Rideau Canal featuring a tasty buffet dinner and a donation to a local charity, add a highly danceable performance by a truly great blues band, and you have Blues at The Cove! Get your tickets for the new season by emailing <thecoveinnwestport@gmail.com> or calling 273–3636 for reservations. For the full line-up, visit <coveinn.com/music>.
The Covid-19 pandemic was challenging for many community sectors. Arts and Culture organizations, which were not deemed “essential services” during lockdowns, were hard hit when they had to close their doors.
The Perth and District Community Foundation (PDCF) recently helped two local arts organizations, MERA (McDonalds Corners and Elphin Recreation and Arts) and the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, adapt to the long-term impacts of the pandemic through grants it made to them from the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund.
PDCF was one of over 100 community foundations across the country that was charged with awarding the federal money to local community service organizations whose projects aimed to improve internal systems and processes to recover from the impacts of Covid.
A Hub of Creativity
The MERA Schoolhouse has been a place for visual artists, musicians, potters, weavers and others involved in the arts community to gather, share their work, teach and learn for over two decades. When the pandemic hit, MERA was “practically shuttered”, according to board member Louise Ennis.
“We realized that, to keep the community engaged, we had to connect in new ways,” says Ennis. The organization quickly pivoted programming to offer an online book club, online gatherings and a virtual speakers’ series. They were all popular and carried MERA through the lockdowns.
Coming out of that experience, the MERA board realized that it had to find new ways to strengthen, broaden and diversify communication with the communities it serves. They looked towards technology to do that. MERA applied for a CSRF grant to create a communications plan, update their website, develop an online registration system and provide training to volunteers once the technology is in place.
Using the CSRF grant, MERA has already drafted a communications workbook and hired a website designer. They are on track to launch their new website in time to announce their 25th anniversary celebrations, which will begin in June 2024. They also plan to have the online registration for the kids’ camp up and running for the summer. They hope that the new communication systems and tools will expand their reach and ease the administrative burden for volunteers so they can focus on creating arts-based programs that inspire and encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to participate.
Diversity at the Museum
The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, located in Almonte, tells the history of the woolen mills and the workers who laboured in them during the 19th century. It also brings together exhibitions and activities featuring local and global contemporary textile art for the public to enjoy.
Like MERA, that museum had to close its doors during the Covid lockdowns and was not able to count on fees for admissions and events or revenue from the gift shop. Covid also made fundraising difficult. Moving to online platforms while closed to the public, they expanded virtual engagement, but the programs did not raise enough revenue to support these new initiatives. The board realized that they needed to come up with a solid plan for the future. MVTM Executive Director Michael Rikley-Lancaster calls this a “post-Covid reboot.” They applied for a CSRF grant to do that.
With the grant, the museum hired a consultant to do an assessment of their current fundraising approaches and develop a new fundraising strategy which will become part of their overall strategic plan.
“Once the plan is solidified, fundraising tools will be developed and board members, staff and volunteers will be trained to use them. That way, there will be comfort and skill in using the tools across the organization,” explains Rikley-Lancaster. “The aim of the project is increased resilience and long-term viability of the Museum so that we can continue to grow and appeal to more diverse communities.”
The Perth and District Community Foundation was delighted to be able to help these two local organizations with CSRF funding. Along with MERA and MVTM, grants were awarded to Youth Action Kommittee of Perth and District (YAK), Home Hospice North Lanark, Perth Enrichment Program for Older Adults (PEP), Climate Network Lanark, and Lanark County Community Justice. The CSRF grants committee was convened by PDCF and comprised of volunteers from across Lanark County who used criteria set out by the CSRF to review applications. The committee distributed a total of $290,000 in CSRF grants.
This October, Stone Manor Studios aims to use Halloween and the holidays as a way to promote artistic engagement. Anchored in its core principles of immersion, creativity and nurturing, the studio is rolling out a captivating lineup of seasonal workshops, offering participants much more than mere skill development.
Adopting a long-held tradition to celebrate the holidays through artistic pursuits, Stone Manor Studios invites people looking to try new things to delve deep into its immersive experiences. The concept? Holidays, and particularly the allure of Halloween, are seen as a catalyst for creativity. Stone Manor Studios believes in the transformative power of such gatherings. Not only do they hone skills and build community, but they also fortify mental wellbeing.
Leading the lineup of Stone Manor Studios’ workshops is stained glass artisan Diana Kemp of White Heather Glass Creations in nearby Newboro. Back by popular demand, Diana will help participants immerse themselves in the art of stained-glass crafting, designing a whimsical Halloween-themed pumpkin adorned with a witch’s hat light-catcher.
Following this luminous experience, the Studios welcome Westport’s own watercolourist Barb Wilson. With a rich history of 35 years in education, Wilson champions the joy inherent in the learning journey. Under her expert instruction, participants are set to craft a detailed haunted house, bringing the spectral charm of Halloween to paper.
Lisa Paddle, fibre artist and owner of Wool and Paddle in Manotick, rounds out the studio’s diverse offerings by introducing a tactile exploration into felting. Enthusiasts will have the opportunity to shape robust Halloween pumpkins, employing natural fibres complemented by a variety of bespoke additions.
In essence, Stone Manor Studios offers more than a mere workshop experience this season. It promises a joyful experience learning art and crafting skills, all while fostering community ties and individual wellbeing. To step into Stone Manor Studios this season is to step into an immersive, joyful and nurturing realm where artistry thrives and connections are forged, one brushstroke, glass shard, and fibre at a time.
It’s fall, it’s studio tour season, and the Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour is returning for its 27th year on Thanksgiving Weekend! Taking place on October 7 and 8 from 10am to 4pm daily, the tour wends its way through Mississippi Mills’ colourful fall scenery with 15 stops in Almonte, Clayton and the surrounding rural area. Over fifty artists and artisans are showcasing their fine art and craft, fine foods and beverages.
The tour returns to its popular studio-visit format, with nine locations welcoming visitors to workspaces, in addition to three group venues. Three artisanal businesses in Almonte will host guest artists: Hummingbird Chocolate Makers, Dairy Distillery (producers of Vodkow vodka), and Duffield Design at its new storefront on Mill Street.
Crown and Pumpkin is delighted to have the historic and picturesque Mill of Kintail as a new venue, with one artist in the Museum and six artists in the Gatehouse. Sarah’s Kitchen, a familiar presence at the Almonte Farmer’s Market, will be offering snacks and beverages as well as prepared frozen meals for take-away. The Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm will welcome six artists and there are five at Union Hall near Clayton. Each group stop is designed to offer a variety of creative work.
There will be demonstrations of various crafts, including glass blowing and bead making, basketry, felting, pottery, sculpture and special knitting techniques. Work includes photography, painting, pottery, jewellery, pewter, metal and woodwork, fibre arts and leather work, as well as maple products, honey, natural beauty products and soaps. All the artists are eager to discuss their work and look forward to meeting art and craft lovers once again.
The new easy-to-navigate website has maps and more details, and offers easy access on both computers and mobile devices. Visit <crownandpumpkin.com> for details, and check out crownandpumpkin on Instagram and Facebook as well.
Canada’s top ’50s, ’60s and ’70s show band, Eddy & the Stingrays, is returning to Almonte on Saturday, October 14 at the Almonte Civitan Hall. Always a sellout, the dinner and dance event kicks off at 5:30pm. Tickets are $60 per person, with proceeds benefiting the Almonte General Hospital Fairview Manor Foundation.
But that’s not all… This year’s organizers have added a new twist to the evening of great music, dancing and prizes! Two lucky winners will join Eddy and the Stingrays at the beautiful Grand Bavaro Princess Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic from January 20–27, 2024. To get in on the draw, tickets are $100 with only 250 being sold. The draw for the trip will take place at 9pm during the show in Almonte.
“What could be more fun than a whole plane of Canadians descending on a resort in the gorgeous Dominican Republic?” asks AGH-FVM Foundation board member Christine Deugo, who joined the charter earlier this year. “Eddy and the Stingrays performed several shows throughout our week’s stay. Even in the tropical weather they donned their pink blazers and threw parties at the beach and the pool, and hosted a private event in the ballroom for those of us in the group. They never fail to entertain with their music that makes everyone want to dance. We had excellent service and enjoyed the many restaurants on-site. The beach is stunning, the weather was fantastic, and did we mention it’s all-inclusive?”
Dance and raffle tickets are available at the Almonte General Hospital Gift Shop, Ridge Rock Brewery in Carp, Winchester Travel, Bean Chevrolet in Carleton Place, and Perth Brewery. All in-person sales are cash only.
To order tickets to the dinner and dance, or for more information, please call 256–2500 x2296.
North Grenville Community Theatre is proudly hosting the Eastern Ontario Drama League One Act Festival from November 3 to November 5 at the North Grenville Municipal Centre in Kemptville.
Eastern Ontario Drama League (EODL) is an organization that supports community theatre groups with new innovative ways, grants and student scholarships. To make it interesting for their membership, there are two festivals held every year by host groups. One of them is the festival of one act plays.
What is a one act play? According to EODL’s guidelines, a one act play has no intermission and must not be longer than sixty minutes but no shorter than twenty-five minutes. Nine theatre plays is the maximum allowed for the festival. Being short in nature, three plays are performed on the Friday evening, three at the Saturday matinée, and the last three on Saturday evening. Participating theatre groups are coming from as far away as Belleville.
This is an adjudicated festival, and on Sunday, November 5 the Awards Brunch will take place in the North Grenville Municipal Centre. After the brunch, the adjudicator awards trophies to deserving individuals or groups in various categories.
This festival is rewarding not only for being entertaining, but also as a learning process from the Public and Detailed Adjudications being made available to the public.
Tickets will be available at the door prior to each set of three plays, or from Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434). For more information on participating theatre groups and plays, please visit <NGCT.ca>.
The West Carleton Arts Society (WCAS) is delighted to announce that its signature show, Expressions of Art, is returning this fall! This exhibition and sale will showcase the creative talents of more than thirty top artists from the Ottawa region, all selected through a formal, independent jurying process. The show has been held annually for more than 25 years and is currently presented at the Carp Agricultural Hall.
It will be a fabulous show! Expect a high quality, vibrant display of images and colours with everything from landscapes and abstracts to photography and glass. There will be a variety of artwork and artistic media to please every taste.
Admission to the show is free and there is plenty of free parking. The venue is fully accessible. Cash donations to the West Carleton Secondary School Fine Arts bursary program are gratefully accepted.
Organizers are also hosting a Silent Auction of original art from participating artists. All pieces will be 12”x 12”, with bids beginning at $50. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a piece to begin, or add to, a collection of original art. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the WCAS bursary program that provides an award to a senior student from West Carleton High School who is going on to study art in a post-secondary setting.
For more information and a preview of some of the artwork, please visit <westcarletonartssociety.ca/expressions-of-art>.
It’s that time of year again — the air is getting chillier and the leaves are changing colour, which means it’s a perfect time to trek out to cliffLAND in Lanark County to view the stunning fall colours atop Blueberry Mountain!
The Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust (MMLT) invites you to come out to Blueberry Mountain for the annual Fall Colours Walk on Saturday, October 14 (rain date October 15). Howard Clifford and his family generously host this special day of fundraising each year to celebrate and support MMLT’s important conservation work in the region. Stop by anytime from 10am to 2pm to walk the trails, climb to the top of Blueberry Mountain, and immerse yourself in the glorious fall colours at this popular fall destination. They don’t call Blueberry Mountain one of the Seven Wonders of Lanark County for nothing!
Directors and volunteers from MMLT will be onsite throughout the day to answer any and all questions. Whether you’re curious about the land trust’s current projects, migratory birds or rock exposures, they’ll have experts on hand to share their knowledge. MMLT also invites visitors to pause at the Circle of Gratitude along the Blueberry Mountain trail, which is a series of posts with plaques that commemorate MMLT’s generous and dedicated supporters. During the Walk, Howard Clifford will make a special presentation from 1–1:30pm to explain the significance of the Circle of Gratitude and give personal thanks to the listed donors.
Blueberry Mountain can be found at 502 Hills of Peace Road in Lanark, Ontario (K0G 1K0), and parking is available at the start of the trail. Please visit <mmlt.ca/events> to learn more about MMLT and this upcoming event on Saturday, October 14.
This fall, MERA (McDonalds Corners and Elphin Recreation and Arts) will have the Schoolhouse bustling with all sorts of activities for people of all ages. Join them at 974 Dalhousie Concession 9A in McDonalds Corners to discover how you can bring more arts into your life!
Choose from one of five workshops on offer — or do them all! Workshops take place on Saturdays and include coffee or tea and great company. Please register by emailing MERA’s friendly administrator at <meraschoolhouse@gmail.com>.
In Glass Art with Judy Wall, you’ll learn the basics of working on glass art projects in this self-paced workshop. Students will learn what tools, supplies, equipment are required and how to use them. Judy will guide you through the process with safety tips to consider when handling glass. Learn techniques of cutting, grinding and shaping glass and work your way up to creating a design and laying out glass. The fee of $75 for MERA members and $85 for non-members includes glass, based on the MERA inventory. It takes place on September 30 from 10am to 3pm.
Rose Moses is Ojibwe First Nations from Northern Ontario and is a textile artist who has been making dolls for over 30 years. In Doll Making with Rose Moses, she will guide you through the process of making a hand sewn doll. Choose from an array of different colours and fabrics to make yours unique. It takes place on October 14 from 10am to 3pm ($45/$55).
Clowning can be the perfect way to connect to your creative power. In Intro to Clowning and Your Creative Genius with Alexis Scott, you will be guided through playful exercises to meet your clown and help you plant creative seeds. This workshop aims to be a celebration of your uniqueness and a safe space for all to explore. “Clowns are not just acting out silly situations to make us laugh. They are reaching down into their own humanity, connecting with the thing we all fear the most.” It takes place on October 21 from 10am to 3pm ($75/$85).
In Make a Handwoven Tray with Ankaret Dean, MERA’s own master basket maker will guide weavers of all levels through the process of making a handwoven tray with a wooden base. A braided border will be added to finish the piece. Adults and children over the age of twelve will enjoy creating and decorating the tray to their own liking. Some materials will be provided. It takes place on October 28 from 10am to 3pm ($75/$85).
Amanda West Lewis is a writer, theatre creator, calligrapher, teaching artist and author of novels, picture books and crafts books. In the hands-on, collaborative workshop entitled Writing from Memory with Amanda Lewis, participants will start with the writing prompt: “What is your earliest memory?” Together, they will create a series of group poems that are specific and personal. They’ll also look at examples of how this same memory prompt inspired Amanda’s verse novel These Are Not the Words. This poetry writing workshop explores ways that our memories and dreams can spark ideas and springboard us into larger writing projects. It takes place on November 4 from 10am to 12:30pm ($45/$55).
MERA is committed to facilitating and promoting activities and programs for all ages which help bring their rural community together, and to promoting awareness and understanding of the arts and wellbeing. For more information, please visit <meraschoolhouse.org>.
It’s time to prepare for a fun night out on the town, house-hopping for a Safari Dinner on the evening of Saturday, October 21. In a nutshell, this feast takes everyone from table to table on a 3-course journey through tasty trails in and around Almonte.
Here’s the best part — you don’t know who you are dining with until people arrive!
To participate, you need to:
Register as a couple — join with your nephew, your spouse, your friend…
Agree to host an appetizer, an entrée or a dessert for 6 people(2 of these being your couple)
Donate a minimum of $30 per couple; all proceeds go to The Hunger Stop
You will feast in three different homes over the course of the evening, all of which will be within a 15-minunte drive from the Almonte Old Town Hall. Drop us a line at <safaridinner23@gmail.com> to get the full scoop and to register for this most amazing dining adventure.
In the meantime, share the word! Find a partner and look over your favourite recipes. Let’s be generous and help the hungry through Generous Helpings. We can’t wait to meet you on October 21!
It is sure to be a dark and stormy night when six guests assemble at a remote mansion where they become isolated when the weather washes out the road. They are trapped there, when the unthinkable happens — murder! Come help the Mississippi Mudds figure out WHO did it, WHERE they were, and with WHAT weapon. Things are not always as they seem…
Directed by Adam Pelletier and produced by Cheryl Swackhammer, a small but dedicated cast has been working hard perfecting lines and timing for the hilarious murder mystery Clue. The cast and crew is a wonderful mix of experienced Mudds and people new to the organization.
Performances take place on October 27, 28 and 29, and November 2, 3 and 4. Tickets are $25 (fees included) from Tickets Please on sale through Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434).
The Guatemala Stove Project (GSP) is a charity run by local volunteers who raise funds to build safe, efficient masonry cookstoves in western Guatemala. Built by Guatemalan masons out of concrete, mortar and steel, the GSP-funded stoves greatly improve the lives of rural Maya families. The stoves include a metal chimney which removes toxic smoke from the home. The enclosed firebox shields children from open flames and greatly improves fuel efficiency. This saves the limited resources of Maya families and reduces deforestation. Over the past 23 years the GSP has funded the building of 7568 family cook stoves and 40 larger school stoves. These stoves have improved the health, life expectancy and overall wellbeing of over 46,000 Maya people!
Besides all the above benefits, efficient cookstoves reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by an average of 2–3 tons per year. Over the lifespan of one stove, the reduction would more than offset the average carbon footprint of a typical Canadian (calculated at 14.2 tons in 2019). When considered collectively, GSP stoves will have offset over 190,000 tons of CO2!
Although efficient cookstoves have always been the main focus of the GSP, the organization expanded its mandate to respond to emergency situations and provide disaster relief (floods, crop failures, combating the debilitating financial effects of Covid) in western Guatemala. The GSP also funds microloans for small farmers and educational bursaries for rural students.
The GSP has organized annual exposure trips to Guatemala every February for volunteers from Canada and around the world. Although Covid has restricted in-person operations in Guatemala, the GSP is hoping to be able to resume trips again in the future.
This November the Guatemala Stove Project continues to support Maya families with two upcoming fundraising events. The first is their 4th annual online auction. Hosted at <32auctions.com/2023GSP>, supporters will have the chance to fund a stove, support a microloan, help a rural girl get an education or bid on a variety of interesting and useful items. The online auction opens November 1 and runs until November 6.
The GSP Perth Fundraising Dance is back on Saturday, November 18 at the Perth Civitan Hall. Get on your feet and move to the sounds of classic rock and country music! Visit them at <guatemalastoveproject.org> or on Facebook for details.
Did you know that you can save money and help nature in a big way by the small effort of composting? Many people are still new to this idea, so here is a little guidance. Nature is both simple and complex, which makes it challenging and beautiful. The KISS (keep it sweet and simple) principle really applies to vermicomposting! A few worms in a container can convert all your raw kitchen scraps into beautiful nutrient-rich black earth to feed your plants. Also compostable indoors are floor sweepings, vacuum waste, hair, fur, feathers, string, thread, shavings and all paper products.
If you take your worms outside, the amount of biodegradable material converted to soil includes all dead carbon-based material. The big picture always thrills me to realize that we do not need garbage dumps if we only created compost that can feed our hungry planet.
If you want help getting started or if you want a bit of hand-holding as you venture into creating a vermicomposting habitat, please contact me (the “Worm Lady”) by text at 613–583–7509 or by email at <worm.education@gmail.com>.
I will also demonstrate worm composting at the Perth Farmers’ Market Thanksgiving market on Saturday, October 7 from 8am to 1pm <perthfarmersmarket.ca>. There, I will help people get their indoor habitats and outside composters prepared for the winter.
Thanks to an overwhelming show of support, the Mississippi Mills Film Society is on the cusp of inauguration. Organizers Marny McCook and Heather Loube, along with Wanda MacDonald, Dale and Elizabeth Dunning, have been liaising with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) since February to bring top-rated films to the community on a monthly basis on Sunday afternoons. St. Andrew’s United Church in Pakenham has become a cultural hub for Mississippi Mills. It is an ideal venue for showing films, with good acoustics and good viewing thanks to curved, cushioned seating. There is ample parking at the church with easy access into the building, and places to meet for lunch or ice cream prior to the movie.
What better time than a Sunday afternoon to enjoy a unique movie you will definitely not see on Netflix, Crave, Amazon Prime or Apple TV? Further, you’ll be in the company of like-minded people who are eager to find new and stimulating entertainment.
The organizers have scheduled the first two movies for Sunday, October 29 and Sunday, November 26. Judging by the titles, they will be full house showings. Both films feature English subtitles, so none of the drama will be lost and those with hearing difficulties will not be disappointed.
The October 29 film is Driving Madeleine. If you enjoyed an earlier “driving” story, this French film will resonate and surprise as you make your way with Madeleine and Charles through sunny Paris. Perfect for an October afternoon!
The November 26 film, To Kill a Tiger, documents a Hindu family’s campaign for justice to avenge a crime against their daughter. This powerful story of perseverance and hope won TIFF’s Best Canadian Film in 2022 and Best Feature Length Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards this year.
Building on the anticipated success of the fall season, the Film Society is already planning future Sunday afternoon showings once a month from February through April.
Show times will all be 2pm. Individual tickets for $15 (fees included) will be available in advance through Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 495–6434). There will not be a series subscription this season. Be sure to check theHumm or subscribe to Hummail for previews.
Kudos to the organizers for their commitment to this novel and much-anticipated project. All proceeds will be directed to the Mississippi Mills Public Libraries in Almonte and Pakenham, as well as St. Andrew’s, making the new Mississippi Mills Film Society a true win–win for our communities.
A comedy-drama that follows the fortunes of an attractive widow who uses her womanly wiles to seek financial security, Jane Austen’s Lady Susan opens at the Studio Theatre on October 12.
The play comes from New York writer Rob Urbinati and is based on the famous author’s novella. It tells the story of a thirty-something widow who leaves late 18th century high society in London for the country house owned by her brother-in-law Charles Vernon.
Given Lady Susan’s reputation as a vamp, the lady of the house, Catherine Vernon, is rightly suspicious and not exactly thrilled at her arrival. Catherine’s discomfort increases as her impressionable younger brother Reginald arrives and is immediately smitten by the new house guest. His arrival is quickly followed by that of Lady Susan’s headstrong 16-year-old daughter Frederica. She is accompanied by Susan’s confidante Alicia — certainly no fan of the country! Enter Sir James, already smitten by Susan and unaware that she is trying to palm him off on her daughter, and things get complicated (but very funny).
Jane Austen’s Lady Susan is Annemarie Polis’s first opportunity to be a director, having taken on the role of producer for Tempting Providence in June. Beginning as backstage support a few years ago, Annemarie has worked as box office director and also in front-of-house. “I wanted to know the various jobs before I took this role. Jane Stott, our Artistic Director, has been mentoring me for a year,” Annemarie explains.
The show brings a few new actors to the Perth stage, along with some very familiar ones.
New to the Studio Theatre stage, Kelsey Smith plays Reginald. “He has enthusiastically jumped into the role and absorbs the ways of the theatre from those around him,” notes Liz Theobald, the play’s producer.
Olivia Swett, who plays Frederica, has appeared at the Station Theatre in Smiths Falls and was recommended by Lynda Daniluk, a frequent director of plays there. “She’s an amazing find,” enthuses Annemarie.
Taking on the femme fatale role of Lady Susan is Chrystine Williams. “She has been a fun character to play,” notes Chrystine. “She’s all over the place, but she comes out okay in the end. It wraps up quite nicely for her.”
Joanna McAuley Treffers is back on the Perth stage after a short hiatus. She takes on the part of the long-suffering hostess Catherine. Her husband Charles is played by Mike Erion, most recently seen in Scrooge. Jen Perkin returns to the theatre in the role of Alicia.
Many Perth audiences will note the total contrast in roles for David Bird, whose most recent performances have included Macbeth and Ebenezer Scrooge. He has the role of Sir James, the bumbling but rich suitor of Lady Susan. He loves his part and the play. “It’s a supporting role but it drives the story. It’s a play of words — and so clever.”
Given that the play is set in the Jane Austen era, the costumes are appropriately lavish and the men’s outfits suitably dashing. “I thought it would be interesting to use a Bridgerton palette for this show,” notes costume design manager Loree Tannett.
“All the women’s dresses are original, sewn from an historic regency pattern produced by Laughing Moon Patterns. Also, I had a couple of saris in bright colours that I wanted to use. We managed to borrow a pair of RCMP boots from a contact and a few pieces from the Goulbourn Museum for the men. “
There’s a lot of work bringing this level of lavishness to the stage. Each character’s ensemble would have between six and eight hours of sewing or acquisition work, Loree says.
Seduction, scheming, laughs and wonderful costumes. It’s all here!
Jane Austin’s Lady Susan opens on Thursday, October 12, and runs until October 22 with Thursday to Saturday performances at 7:30pm and Sunday matinées at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased from Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434) or at the door if available. For more information, please visit <studiotheatreperth.com>.
Lanark County Paramedic Service (LCPS) is participating in the Lanark County Female First Responders Camp. This is a two-day immersive camp for self-identifying females aged 15 to 20 who reside in Lanark County. The camp will be held on the evening of October 13 and the full day on October 14.
“The goal is to provide a glimpse into firefighting, paramedics and law enforcement, and encourage young women to see these as viable career opportunities,” explains Paramedic Superintendent Amanda Taylor. “This is the first year we’ve been involved in the camp, and we are looking forward to the weekend.”
The camps are led by the Lanark County Fire Departments in collaboration with Ontario Provincial Police, Smiths Falls Police Services and LCPS. Register at <perth.ca/lcffrc>.
Among many of the new items on display this month at General Fine Craft in Almonte is the fine and functional pottery of Leta and Don Cormier. For nearly 50 years they have shared a life and a ceramics studio. Along the way they’ve become renowned specialists in high-fired stoneware/reduction atmosphere pottery, which has distinctive techniques and aesthetic qualities.
Leta and Don work independently on their own pieces, but share raw materials, glazes and kiln firings. Both create functional pottery; Don focuses on small forms like bowls and teabowls, while Leta loves the challenge of larger vessels. They often use traditional glazes like shino, celadon and temmoku, while also adapting and formulating new glazes.
Their work is based in the practices of twentieth century studio potteries influenced by the teachings of Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada. They’ve attended workshops with potters Tatsuzo Shimaoka, Lucie Rie, Mick Casson, Warren Mackenzie, Wayne Ngan, David Leach and Otto Heino, among others, and have taken numerous study trips to England, Japan and France.
Leta Cormier’s introduction to clay began as a child, digging red earthenware clay out of the banks of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. She received formal training in ceramics at the Nova Scotia College of Art and the Vancouver School of Art.
“I’ve been making pottery in the Ottawa area since 1975,” Leta says. “My pots can be used in the rituals of daily home life in the kitchen, at the table, in the garden. This chosen focus of the ‘vessel’ provides endless opportunity to investigate concept and structure, the intriguing relationships of idea, form, texture and surface. Traditional pottery of Japan, Korea, China, the Cycladic culture, African textiles and masks are rich sources of reference for my work.”
Don Cormier is a retired architect who also had pottery training in the “Leach tradition”. Many years of making and study have created a reservoir of experience and inspiration that helps inform the work he makes today.
“For me, the form of a pot represents its bones,” he explains. “During a firing, the melting glazes drape and flow over that bone structure to help create the final look, feel and expression of the finished piece. No two pots are ever exactly the same. I strive to make pottery vessels that embody a natural quality of wholeness and beauty that people can use and enjoy in their everyday lives.”
There are many qualities to admire in Leta and Don’s work: attention to design, purity of balanced form, exquisitely beautiful glazes. Some liken the style to mid-century modern, but it is indeed a timeless aesthetic with a quiet strength that is visually arresting, contemplative and appreciated even more through touch and use.
General Fine Craft (located at 63 Mill Street in Almonte) has a generous selection of their work (and that of 70 other regional artists) available in the shop and online at <generalfinecraft.com>.
Last year, Renfrew artist and arts entrepreneur Patrick John Mills spent 52 days in a coma, 62 days on life support, and 99 days in hospital. He lost 86 pounds. He was not expected to live.
From October 7 to November 4, Mills is celebrating his extraordinary recovery with a solo exhibition titled Love On Fire. His exuberant paintings are his way of communicating the love, feelings, gratitude and spiritual energy relating to his incredible journey back to life.
For more than a year he was not able to paint in his artist studio space at the dauntingly ambitious Art Factory Warehouse. At a former derelict factory site located at 11 Bridge Street in Renfrew, Mills is creating an art venue that is propelling that town into the area’s cultural orbit. After a year of forced inactivity, the renovation is proceeding with the same energy and passion that Mills brings to his art.
His recovery is remarkable. Suffering from cancer and unable to breathe, complicated by persistent pneumonia, on his fourth day in the ICU doctors told the love of his life, Tanja Kisslinger, that he had a ten percent chance of survival. In Patrick’s words, “My Love Tanja Kisslinger pleaded for my life. Relentless — my Love Tanja was at my bedside 12 to 14 hours a day, every day for 99 days. I thank God for putting her in my life. She is the reason that I am alive today — it was her relentless effort to advocate for my life and healing. Love Always Wins.” His Love is now also his wife.
His new body of work, titled Life Is Beautiful, is as incredible as his recovery. When he woke after 52 days in a medically induced coma, he was unable to hold a pencil. “My muscles, my whole body felt like a boiled spaghetti noodle that lay in a bed. I could not sit up, stand or walk. I could not talk or breathe on my own. The journey that was ahead of me was beyond anything I could comprehend… All my life force, emotions, energy were directed towards staying alive and healing. All my passion for life and love has exploded onto my canvas. I am so happy to be alive, and I feel that I am doing my most positive and significant work.”
In addition to their undying (indeed!) gratitude to all the dedicated and compassionate medical personnel at the Queensway Carleton and Renfrew Victoria Hospitals who joined them in their refusal to admit defeat, Tanja wants to take this opportunity to “mention the significant presence that comforted me throughout some of the loneliest parts of this journey… and that was your (Patrick’s) very own community. The community that loves you, Bubba, and the soul that you are. Some know you from the past, some know you from the Art Factory, and some simply know you from social media. But there were so many… hundreds of people prayed for you, and for us. They read every one of my Facebook posts, they messaged me, and they constantly sent such love and encouragement. Honestly, at some points, this alone helped me to stand up and face one more of those 99 days. Even during the darkest parts of your ICU journey, my belief and hope were magnified and given back to me by this incredible and loving community of prayer. For each and every one of them, I am eternally grateful.”
The new works are powerful. Patrick has always been celebrated for the emotional intensity he is able to convey with his dynamic abstracts. He paints from his soul. In his poetic style he describes the intense emotional journey he embarks on as he completes a new work:
“In the final stages of working on this painting, I feel like an egg. I feel like an egg being dropped from an airplane. Skydiving or suicide. I am completely alive. My heart is beating so passionately. I can feel the red blood pumping like a volcano.
“I savour the moment. I am not in a rush, everything slows down, pay attention. I actively participate in this conversation with my canvas. I feel perfectly content. My heart grows. My blood warms.
“I feel everything. I cut myself open. My soul is unzipped and my flesh is left on the ground like a snake skin. I keep bleeding and I keep believing.
“I empty over fifty large tubes of paint in under two hours. It is a massive party. I have all the voices singing inside my head. It is a house party where all my friends celebrate creativity and we all drink, dance, and share love. There are no rules, only pure freedom…
“I fall into the sky. My soul is open to everything. Thousands of butterflies are released. I am naked. I am completely vulnerable. All my senses are sensitive. My nose smells the perfumed air like a lover that has blanketed herself over me. I am distilled, cocooned, nested in this perfect intimate moment.
“I keep falling... the egg is falling and falling. This moment continues. And I hold this bliss. Then I have reached the summit of the mountain. I have reached the top of K2 in my creative mind. And then suddenly the egg hits the ground... And everything inside me has exploded on the blank canvas.”
Patrick John Mills, Tanja Kisslinger, and innumerable friends and fans are delighted to invite you to celebrate Patrick’s personal and artistic rebirth at his solo exhibition Love On Fire. Patrick writes, “After a year of not being able to paint in my studio. I am painting the with such colossal, epic, abundant passion, love and gratitude for life and love. I have been painting for over thirty years. My work is collected all over the world. I have won international awards. It is my pleasure to share my new series of paintings with you.”
Opening night is October 7 from noon to 5pm at the Art Factory’s Warehouse Gallery at 11 Bridge Street in Renfrew. Regular exhibition hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm until November 4. Admission to the exhibition is always free, and you can find details online at <liveloveartfactory.com>.
As someone who is passionate about arts and entertainment, and who was born and raised in Almonte and is now living in Carleton Place, I am very excited to be working for theHumm! Throughout the years my family and I picked up theHumm every month, looking forward to having intel on what would be going on in the Ottawa Valley for art, entertainment, opinions or ideas. I believe it is so important to have an easy, accessible source for things happening locally, as it provides opportunity for visitors or residents of all ages to not miss out on events and stories that they would be interested in or want to be involved in.
I lived and did my undergrad in Toronto, Ontario, and then moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a couple years after. During my time in these cities, I learned and experienced so much within the arts and entertainment communities, and had a general change in lifestyle. My passion for creativity, connecting with new people and places, and discovering more personal interests led me to move and travel during the seven years since I left Almonte. The Valley has grown so much with diversity, inclusivity and opportunities. Seeing that growth, I knew it was time to come home and be even more a part of it — also knowing it would be another new lifestyle compared to when I lived here before, because of that growth. I gained an extra appreciation for the Valley during my time away. The sacredness and quaintness of it is a special thing to experience, as it is becoming rarer to come across. I am eager to help enhance and encourage local artists, musicians, venues, organizations, and anything else that builds the livelihood, connection, and enhancement of the oVal towns and communities. I am thrilled and proud to be back to my roots and on theHumm team!
Social media has exploded for exposure and creativity for businesses and artists, providing insight with the tap of a screen on what’s going on. It will show more of theHumm’s insider details and frequent updates during each month of current and future events, organizations, activities, and more! Curated for all ages, all different preferences of media intake will be able to access theHumm’s local buzz. While keeping the authentic monthly newspaper and website, theHumm social media accounts will enhance the local happenings in the art, entertainment and ideas community. Follow theHumm on Facebook at @thehumm, Instagram at @readthehumm and Tik-Tok at @readthehumm. Email me at <leanne@thehumm.com> to reach out with ideas, local intel or media.
After a wildly successful Fibrefest event in September, the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum has more great events and exhibits coming up in October (and beyond).
Create a “Nature Narrative”
On Saturday, October 7 from 10am to noon, create an evocative and exciting composition that combines the work of your hands with that of Mother Nature. Join Among the Garbage and the Flowers artist Alice Vander Vennen for “Nature Narratives”, a $50 workshop at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, and leave with a finished and framed artwork!
As fall arrives, allow the rich texture, brilliant colours and nuanced lines of stitched textiles to interact with the ancient beauty of autumn treasures: imprinted stone, the bending branch, the fragile leaf. Participants will create an assemblage by cutting, positioning and juxtaposing a variety of elements into a composition that tells a story. The finished art piece created from these treasures, found through exploration or everyday encounters, is subtle and compelling as a new narrative emerges. The finished piece will be a framed composition that allows the elements of nature to become a part of this visual “poem”.
The instructor will bring everything needed to create the finished product, including copper, textiles and all framing materials. There is a limit of 15 participants. Come and enjoy this workshop, taking place right in the gallery surrounded by the art of eleven incredible textile artists on the last day of the Among the Garbage and the Flowers exhibit. Please register at <mvtm.ca>.
Participants are invited to bring natural treasures: a leaf, a stone, a branch or a floating feather. It will also be helpful if participants bring a needle, threads and scissors, as well as a small assortment of a variety of textiles — found, precious, colourful or fascinating, if possible.
“Right in the exhibit space, this workshop is a great way to close Among the Garbage and the Flowers,” says Michael Rikley-Lancaster, Executive Director/Curator. “Alice’s work shows a great depth of understanding for composition, and I look forward to her sharing her expertise with our community.”
A Lifetime of Collecting
A new exhibit is coming to the museum on October 21 — A Lifetime of Collecting Part 1: Canadian Handwoven Jacquard Coverlets from the Dennis and Sylvia Mills Collection, guest curated by Dr. Adrienne D. Hood. Coverlets from the MVTM’s collection will be displayed at the Museum from October 21 to December 23, and the exhibit opening will take place on October 21, from 2–4pm.
Dennis and the late Sylvia Mills can trace their roots to long-established Ontario families. Meeting when they were both secondary school teachers, they began a life of collecting together. Dennis had been a serious collector of Canadiana since his teen years, with a special fascination with handwoven textiles, while Syliva’s engagement with fabric had manifested in her own collection of vintage clothing and fashion accessories. Both of these avid collectors moved beyond simply acquiring objects and became committed to researching and showcasing them through conferences, seminars and special exhibitions. As Dennis says, “collecting is not about gathering (or hoarding) artifacts, but unveiling the stories within and around them.”
Dennis Mills’ collection of Canadian handweaving was inspired by the work of Royal Ontario Museum curators Dorothy and Harold Burnham, whose research on Canadian handweaving culminated in their seminal 1972 exhibit and publication of the same name, Keep Me Warm One Night: Early Handweaving in Eastern Canada. Recently, the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum acquired Dorothy Burnham’s papers and a group of volunteers contacted Dennis to explore the possibility of borrowing some of his artifacts for an exhibition of Canadian handweaving related to the Burnham archive. This, in turn, led Dennis to consider donating his comprehensive and well-documented collection to the museum, beginning with the most spectacular examples — 19th-century jacquard coverlets. He chose these lovely textiles as the first part of his donation because they derived their patterns from a series of punched cards (in effect, an early computer) and thus “are a significant link between the handweaving cottage trade and the mechanized industrial mills of the late nineteenth century in the Ottawa Valley.”
The exhibit is curated by Dr. Adrienne Hood, a professor emeritus of History at the University of Toronto and former curator of Canadian Textiles at the Royal Ontario Museum. Her books include: The Weaver’s Craft: Cloth, Commerce and Industry in Early Pennsylvania and Fashioning Fabric: The Arts of Spinning and Weaving in Early Canada. This exhibit will showcase the first installment of the Dennis and Sylvia Mills collection and provide a preview of what is to come.
For details on these and other exhibits and events, visit <mvtm.ca>.
During a pandemic lockdown, Charlotte Gray’s long-time editor, Phyllis Bruce, told Gray about a remarkably interesting fact: that Jennie Jerome and Sara Delano were born in 1854 within 100 kilometers of each other in New York State. Gray, one of Canada’s finest historians, was reasonably intrigued. So intrigued, in fact, that she decided to write a dual biography of the mothers of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt.
“I’ve always enjoyed writing about women, and not just the pioneers, like Susanna Moodie, or path-breakers, like Nellie McClung,” Gray explains. “My very first book was Mrs. King, about the mother of William Lyon Mackenzie King. Phyllis had been thinking about my next project, and said, ‘Why don’t you come full circle?’”
Gray decided to.
“I was intrigued by the coincidence of their births,” she says, “and then — as I read more widely — by the difference in their trajectories. But there were similarities too. Both shocked their parents with their choice of husbands. Both were widowed early. Each was, in her own way, a formidable woman, with many strong views and interests. So I wanted to see how, within the restrictions on women’s roles during their lifetimes, both were able to exert a lot of agency.”
When she began her research, Gray was challenged by the fact that the biographers of Churchill and FDR — who were almost all male — tended to denigrate both men’s mothers and minimize their roles in their son’s lives.
“They reflected the misogyny of the late nineteenth and twentieth century, and always emphasised Jennie’s party-going and debts, and Sara’s over-protective maternal style. I wanted to right the balance,” Gray says. “My approach was to see what the women, and their contemporaries, had written about them, before both became overshadowed by their sons.”
Initially, Gray had trouble accessing key primary sources.
“Covid lockdowns were not good for biographers; we couldn’t access the raw materials in archives,” she explains. “I was thankful that I had chosen subjects from famous families, so there were quite a lot of secondary sources — published memoirs, volumes of collected correspondence — from which I could draw.”
When lockdowns ended, Gray was hugely relieved and travelled to Churchill College in Cambridge for “the Jennie material,” and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in the Hudson Valley for “the Sara sources.”
“I could touch the paper on which they had written to their sons,” she notes. “I could check that I hadn’t missed anything, or if previously-published letters had been edited too rigorously. I could see the wild swirl of Jennie’s handwriting, and the careful precision of Sara’s cursive. I could go through their photo albums, and collections of dinner menus. I would love to have spent far longer in both places.”
Still, she came away with reams of excellent material. In the hands of one of Canada’s finest biographers, the book crackles with these fresh, fascinating, insightful and generous details.
Gray’s hopes for readers of Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons are multifold.
“I want readers of this book to enjoy seeing how two strong-willed women could shape their own lives, even within the restrictive gender assumptions of the nineteenth century,” she says. “I expect that readers will also enjoy the social history and political context in which I embed the biographical details. I hope that a deep dive into these women’s stories will allow readers to learn what has and hasn’t changed in the pattern of women’s lives.”
“Exploring their complicated relationships with their sons proves that there is no cookie-cutter ideal way of raising a child,” Gray adds. “However, in both families, the mother-son bond was super-strong, and both men emerged from their childhoods with rock-solid egos — an essential ingredient in political success.”
The book, an instant bestseller in Canada, has been widely praised as “entirely original and brilliant,” “magnetically written,” deeply perceptive and superbly researched”. I wholeheartedly agree with those assessments; Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons is a luminously insightful examination of the lives and influence of two truly remarkable women. It reads like a fine novel (hums along at a good speed; its “characters” are thoroughly compelling) but as a dual biography that deftly weaves together the parallel and complicated lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt, it is a masterpiece.
Gray’s latest belies the belief, still held in some circles, that historical non-fiction is boring. A skilled and shrewd historian, Gray is mindful of this.
“Historical non-fiction can be criminally boring, when it is just one damn thing after another,” she admits. “If people want ‘just the facts,’ they can go to Wikipedia (although many facts are challenged these days). But great historical non-fiction should be a narrative that tells a story with insight and accuracy, while illuminating a larger context for the reader. I’m always asking myself, ‘What does the past look/smell/sound/taste like? What was it like to stand on Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, on an October Sunday in 1854?’ I want to take readers into the past. I learned my writing skills by writing for magazines, in Canada and Britain. The editors taught me how to structure a story and bring it alive. The death of so many good magazines in Canada has meant that younger writers may not get that chance today.”
Gray confesses that writing Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons was “very hard work,” especially because she was essentially writing two biographies.
“There were times during writing the first draft when I felt crushed by the challenge I had set myself,” she says. “The Covid lockdowns didn’t help — in normal times I recharge my batteries by seeing friends, playing tennis, visiting libraries and archives, and meeting people. My husband was terrific at keeping my spirits up, and cooking delicious meals for us.”
Still, writing the first draft wore her down.
“However, once I had completed the first draft, and the world began to open up,” she is quick to add. “I started enjoying the reshaping, rephrasing and ruthless cutting that is part of the second draft. And I was starting to get positive feedback from my editors, so my confidence grew. Now, the fantastic reception that has greeted Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons fills me with joy.”
Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt is available at your local independent bookstore, and everywhere fine books are sold. Charlotte Gray will be reading from the book on Tuesday, October 10 at 6:30pm at the Almonte Branch of the Mississippi Mills Public Library. That event is free, but registration is required at <missmillslibrary.com>.
The Mississippi Mills Youth Centre (MMYC) is proud to partner with the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (MVTM) this October to host the 5th annual Haunted House Fundraiser! This highly anticipated annual fundraiser supports free and low-cost youth programs offered by MMYC all year long. Scaring the socks off Almonte since their first Haunted House at the youth centre in 2018, volunteers aged 10–18 have been dedicated to raising funds for the community organization, and are now excited to help and host at a new location — the Textile Museum.
The theme for this year’s Haunted House will be a spooky sleepaway camp! It will take place on October 29 (3–4:30pm for all ages; 5:30–9pm for ages 10 and up), and October 30 (5–9pm for all ages). The cost is $10 per person for ages 10 and up, and $5 per person for ages 9 and under.
Since opening their doors in 2016, the Mississippi Mills Youth Centre has become a well-known community resource supporting youth, families and the greater community. MMYC offers a go-to location for youth aged 10–18 where they can “drop-in” in the evenings; during critical hours when important resources are often unavailable to youth. MMYC empowers youth by offering training and leadership opportunities where they learn life skills and use them to give back to the community through volunteer opportunities, charitable fundraisers and youth-led projects. Over the course of the next few weeks local youth will be working tirelessly to make this year’s Haunted House the biggest and best yet. From storytelling to prop creation, youth will be learning to work together and utilize their unique strengths in an effort to bring exceptional scares to Mississippi Mills.
As Canada’s first Rainbow Registered museum and national historic site, the MVTM endeavours to weave a truly inclusive tapestry of local history with the stories of underrepresented communities. The youth centre appreciates the opportunity to partner with MVTM in their efforts to make MMYC, the Museum, and the greater community safe, welcoming and open to all.
Support the local Youth Centre, the Textile Museum, and the next generation of community leaders by attending the Haunted House, or let MMYC and MVTM know how awesome they are by donating online! Donations to MMYC can be made at <canadahelps.org>, and donations to the MVTM can be made at <mvtm.ca/donate>. If you’d like to volunteer for the Haunted House event, please email Lilli at <executivedirector@mmyc.ca> or call 256–5959, or email Michael at <m.rikley-lancaster@mvtm.ca>.
Cathy Giles has a picture of her mom working at the Appleton mill when she was only fourteen. Still, she was delighted to spot a similar photograph on Facebook in a poster advertising ticket sales for Spinning Yarns: The Millworkers’ Musical.“What the heck? Mom’s on Facebook!” Giles laughed as she decribed her initial reaction to me over the phone.She had been a little more circumspect in an earlier email she sent to Kris Riendeau. “What a surprise I got when I saw the Spinning Yarns playbill on Facebook this morning,” Giles wrote. “The young girl in the foreground is my mom working on one of the machines. She was fourteen years old at the time.”
“The photograph was taken by Malak Karsh, a famous Canadian photographer of the day,” Giles continued. “He also took a picture of my dad, who worked in the carding room. I had both images framed for my parents for Christmas a few years ago.”
When Riendeau forwarded me the email my interest was piqued, just as it had been months ago when Spinning Yarns’ producer Barb Dickson asked if I might like to help with publicity for Fern Martin’s latest musical.“It’s about the former textile industry in Almonte — the people, the players, the politics — that kind of thing,” Dickson said. “It’s full of intrigue, interesting stories and songs. Lots of songs.”
Many small towns have big histories, and Almonte is among them. The woollen mill on Coleman Island was one of the largest in Canada in the late-1800s, and as such played an important role in the Canadian economy.The mill, which was established by an Irish immigrant who fled his home country after shooting someone amidst sectarian violence, attracted scores of others seeking employment and security. Some of their descendants live in the area to this day.Cathy Giles is herself descended from an Irishman who immigrated to Ontario. “My grandfather on my father’s side worked in the mills in Ireland before he immigrated to Canada to do the same,” Giles told me when I got in touch to get more details about her family history.
“My grandmother on my mother’s side wasn’t an immigrant but she worked at the #1 mill on Coleman Island. Her name was Louella Coe. My parents worked together at the mill in Appleton, although they didn’t get married until ten years after Karsh took their pictures there.”
The region’s rich history, particularly that of the Rosamond family, their woolen mill and the workers who laboured within its walls, proved fertile ground for playwright Fern Martin’s creativity. Her two-hour musical Spinning Yarns spans over one hundred years. It includes a cast of more than thirty characters and a suite of fourteen sets of original lyrics sung to the tunes of old favourites such as Downtown (Petula Clark), Proud Mary (Tina Turner) and Twist and Shout (The Beatles).
There’s also an original song in the play, composed by cast member Andy Williams. I heard Williams sing his tune during a spring rehearsal — there wasn’t a dry eye in the room by the time he had finished. Bring tissues. Also be prepared to laugh spontaneously at the lighter side of this delightful production.
Martin, who was born in the Rosamond Memorial Hospital and raised on a dairy farm near Blakeney, began writing plays more than a decade ago. Since then she has become somewhat of a local celebrity, despite having moved to British Columbia in 2017. While her plays are mostly historical in nature, they tap into universal themes that appeal to audiences of all kinds. They are fun, funny, lively, touching, heartfelt and tender.
Tickets to Spinning Yarns: The Millworkers’ Musical are $25 for adults, $15 for 18 and under, available from Tickets Please (TicketsPlease.ca, 485–6434).
There’s not a day goes by that someone doesn’t tell me they’re “downsizing”. Maybe it’s because we’re all of a certain age, but I think we’re tired of hauling around possessions we likely have forgotten we even owned.
A chance meeting on Facebook required me to open storage boxes to find pictures of my grandfather. What a treasure trove I discovered… completely reeking of mould! I managed to retrieve a couple, and then with not a speck of regret, fired the rest into the garbage.
One box led to another: kids’ books, some original Thornton Burgess books, Treasure Island, Favourite Fairy Tales, all beautifully illustrated. I set them out in the sun for a full day, but there was no denying that they too had to go. I doubt that box had been unsealed in forty years, considering that all our kids are now over 50. I’d harboured the notion we’d be reading them to grandchildren, but that wasn’t the case, and instead of passing them along when we should have, they were ignored and rotted. The memories flooded back as I riffled the pages, recalling my Dad reading those very books to my sister and me, and us reading them to our kids. The memories will have to suffice, because the books were unsalvageable. Anyway, are they even relevant anymore? Do kids read fairy tales?
Under that box was another. Oh my goodness, Raggedy Ann and Andy, a plaid teddy bear, and a one-legged Barbie with a motley collection of dreadful clothes. All of it was a disaster. The toys were bedraggled, dirty, absolutely un-playable. Why I even kept them is beyond me, when they were obviously past their Best Before date when they were packed away. I suspect thirty years ago we simply shoved them in that box, sealed it up and forgot about it. It too was hauled to the curb.
The storage space led to file cabinets being emptied and taken away. Did we need the roster for the 1981 house league hockey team? I hope not, because it’s gone with the other tonne of papers.
If it’s not nailed down it’s in line for disposal these days, and let me tell you, things are leaving the house like Elvis leaving the building. Alan’s been out buying new clothes, knowing that if he doesn’t, there’ll be nothing in his closet next time he looks. Mine is getting the same treatment. Garments not worn in over a year are out of there, and that includes the tuxedo and the sparkly New Year’s Eve sweater. I can’t imagine they’d fit or be in fashion anymore.
Even the dog toys are getting culled. If they aren’t playing with them, why keep them? A couple have been squirrelled away, so I guess they are the keepers. But if I don’t see action with those, they might go too.
There are certain areas of the house I simply cannot touch — yet. We have a china cabinet full of cups and saucers, Wedgewood dinnerware and family heirlooms that I am certain none of the family is going to want. However, I open that cabinet, look at the stuff, and close it again. I’m making an effort to use the silverware and the dessert set any chance I get, but the rest sits unused. To free up space, I got rid of crystal that was de rigeur for any new married couple 60 years ago. We never entertained eight guests needing port, sherry, champagne or parfaits in the proper glass, but I could have done it. That one shelf sits pristinely empty; I love it!
Then there’s my artwork that’s stashed under the beds and at the back of the closet. I’m no Rembrandt, but maybe the kids will want that. It can’t go yet because I change the wall décor from time to time.
I also have a trunk of my best sewing pieces from years ago, like a hand-stitched kilt and quilt blocks I created for a course I taught. I handle the fabric and remember the time I spent, and back it goes into the trunk. Maybe next month…
My plan is to rid ourselves of excess before we are forced to do it. I’ve seen many unhappy people mourning the loss of their possessions which have defined their very existence. Needs must, and they are forced to reduce themselves to a mere handful of precious things while the rest of their lives is unceremoniously dumped. The decisions should be theirs to make, but that can’t always be. Further, I don’t want our family to be burdened with sorting through the remains of our days when we’re no longer able to do it.
So here I go, sorting, tossing, and keeping very little except the memories, which in time might get sorted as well. I’m looking forward to seeing empty shelves and storage containers. I need to stop procrastinating and finish the job. One day when the weather’s cold and my temper is as well, I’ll fly at it and “git ‘er done” the way I know it should be. It’s a work in progress.
From September 29 to November 3, Sivarulrasa Gallery is delighted to present Sherry Park: Sanctuary, a solo exhibition of new paintings by artist Sherry Park. The paintings are based on artist residencies she completed in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia (2019) and Chateau Orquevaux, France (2022). The works explore the forest as sanctuary, evoking the serenity of the natural environment unspoiled by human intervention. Working with oils and acrylics, her gaze is often drawn to dense woodlands steeped in shadow and mystery.
Born in South Korea, Sherry Park’s studio is based in Alton, Ontario. She graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), majoring in Fine Art, and also spent her fourth year in an off-campus program in Florence, Italy. “I paint what I see and witness in life around me”, she says. “I have two series that I work on continuously, landscape series and portrait series.” Her works have been shown in exhibitions in Canada and internationally. She is the winner of several awards, including the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, and the Mary Pratt Crystal Award from the Society of Canadian Artists.
There will be a Meet the Artist reception on Saturday, October 14 from 2–4pm, and Sherry Park will be in attendance. Sivarulrasa Gallery <sivarulrasa.com> is located at 34 Mill Street in Almonte.
On October 14 and 15, come out and enjoy a lovely day or two taking the self-guided Red Trillium Fall Studio Tour in rural West Ottawa, only 35 minutes from downtown Ottawa.This is a wonderful opportunity to visit with artists in their studios where they create their work.Some will be hosting guest artists as well. There will be a warm welcome for you at all stops along the tour. You can visit the artists’ studios, have lunch at local restaurants, and enjoy the beautiful countryside and stunning fall colours.
The Red Trillium Studio Tour was started by a group of talented local artists, all working alone in their rural studios, who wanted to collectively share and bring awareness to the art and fine craft in their community. The tour is still organized by volunteer artists and has now been running for over 24 years!
When you visit artists in their studios, you enter their private worlds where they create honest, authentic and original works. You will discover the special places where the artists transform raw materials into original personal creations using the specialized tools and traditional practices of their craft and art.
On the Red Trillium website <redtrilliumst.com> you will find the tour map and brochure with studio locations and artisan and artist information. For more details, email <redtrilliumst@gmail.com>.
A critical component of growing vegetables is the development of strategies for dealing with wildlife. The previous two years saw racoons rampage through the patches of sweet corn being grown by the Blakeney Project of the Lanark County Food Bank (the Hunger Stop). Our two-acre garden measures about 200 feet by 600 feet and is on the edge of a 25-foot-deep ravine that serves as a four-lane highway for racoons. This year we were determined to win the battle.
A bit of research suggested planting a patch of corn close to the ravine as a sacrificial decoy for the racoons, and then planting our main patch of corn as far away as possible and surrounding it with squash or pumpkins. This advice appeared consistent with descriptions of indigenous gardening practices. Gardening lore paints a rosy portrait of the historical gardening practices of Indigenous people featuring “the three sisters” — sustainable patches of corn, beans and squash with a fish buried for additional nutrients. Our Canadian Agricultural Museum has even named their educational hall on the Central Experimental Farm the Three Sisters Hall.
Many years ago, I tried this approach and ended up with a horrible tangled mess. When I tried to pick the beans and the corn I stepped on the squash plants, and it was difficult to find the beans in amongst the corn and the prickly squash vines. In hindsight it appears I made a few wrong assumptions. Rather than planting sweet corn and beans for picking fresh, it works a whole lot better if corn and bean varieties are chosen that are allowed to reach full maturity and that are then picked and stored as dry beans and corn. The prickly vines and leaves of the squash plants act as a deterrent to wildlife such as deer and racoons — as well as to humans!
Since we were planning to harvest fresh sweet corn at Blakeney we decided to go with only two sisters. A small patch of corn (about 500 square feet) was planted near the ravine as a decoy and a much larger main patch (about 5200 square feet) was planted on the opposite side of the garden. The small patch was not protected in any way; the larger patch comprised twenty 50-foot rows of corn surrounded on all sides by 70 hills of pumpkins. The pumpkins spread to form a 12-foot-wide barrier on all sides of the corn patch.
So, was it successful? The small patch was planted on May 18 with Revelation, an early 69-day corn. Incursions by the racoons began a couple of days before the corn was ripe. Cobs were ripped from the stalks and the patch was soon demolished. There appeared to be no interest in the large patch.
Half of the large patch was planted on May 25; the second half on May 30. We used a later 78-corn, Honey Select. A large pumpkin variety named Mustang was planted on May 26 and 30. Growth was very vigorous, benefitting from the frequent rains in mid-summer. The corn attained heights of eight feet with large well-filled cobs; many of the pumpkins weighed in at 35 to 45 pounds. The corn and pumpkins have been a huge hit with Food Bank clients. We were delighted that there was minimal damage from wildlife. In my mind I picture one very smart racoon who figured out a path through the pumpkins but was not willing to share his secret with the rest of the tribe.
Our success led me to further research — Indigenous knowledge about food security is incredibly complicated and regionally diverse depending on climate and other resources. The “three sisters” concept was more apt to be a model for agriculture in southwestern Ontario. While Indigenous people in our region collected and ate a large number of berries, nuts and other plants, I was surprised to learn that wild rice was a very important food staple.
Wild rice is Canada’s only native cereal. It is a wild grass that grows from seed, annually producing a very valuable grain that has been used by Indigenous people as food for thousands of years. The plants grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. The grain is eaten by aquatic wildlife as well as by humans. It is often harvested by canoeing into a stand of plants, bending the ripe grain heads over the canoe and threshing the grain by beating it with wooden sticks.
If you want to help the community and learn much more about vegetable gardening (and try new exciting techniques!), might I suggest volunteering at the Blakeney Project of the Lanark County Food Bank (the Hunger Stop). This two-acre garden will be starting its fourth year in May 2024. In the first three years over 40,000 pounds of fresh organic produce was grown for Food Bank clients. Volunteers are asked to commit to a weekly 3-hour shift throughout the growing season. Experienced gardeners lead the work in a gorgeous rural setting. For more information, please contact Food Bank manager Tammy Parent at <lcfb.thehungerstop@gmail.com>.
The Carleton Place Environmental Advisory Committee (CPEAC) in cooperation with the Carleton Place Chamber of Commerce, proudly presents Waste Not! Waste Reduction and Composting in your Home, Business and Community. Come and learn more about what we can do to reduce waste and create a healthier, more sustainable community.
This free presentation takes place on Friday, October 20 from 10–11:30am at the CP Town Hall auditorium, located at 175 Bridge Street. Pre-registration is required at <eventbrite.ca/e/723350289187>. Three different groups will be presenting.
Environmental Consultant Peter Landry will speak on Waste Reduction Strategies for Small Businesses and Organizations. Peter will explore the benefits and challenges of Zero Waste for municipalities and businesses and offer practical tips on how to get started.
Peter is an environmental consultant with 29 years of experience as an auditor, trainer and business/systems analyst. He has been the director of his own company, Viridis Environmental Inc., since 1994 and is based in Ottawa. Peter has completed projects across Canada and has managed or personally completed over 800 waste audits encompassing all regulated sectors.
Peter is a certified Environmental Professional specializing in Waste Management and holds a master’s Certificate in Business Analysis from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a Bachelor of Environment and Resource Studies from the University of Waterloo.
A panel of speakers from Climate Network Lanark, including Chair Scott Hortop and co-founder Susan Brandum, will speak about Reducing Organic Waste in Our Community. Scott and Susan will paint a picture of the extent of greenhouse gas emissions related to organic waste. They will suggest possible models for county-wide collaborative management of organics, and make the link to the positive benefits for soil health and carbon returned underground. There will be an open discussion around opportunities for organics associated with the benefits from the shift to Extended Producer Responsibility for recyclables.
Just Good Compost offers a unique approach to community composting that is designed for smaller, rural municipalities. This new service picks up kitchen scraps from households and food service businesses every week and turns them into high quality compost for its customers. It is a social enterprise that employs local people with intellectual challenges.
It was founded by Dr. William Affleck, a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa, who, like his wife Kelley, grew up in farm country outside of Almonte. Moving back in 2021 to raise their family, they were surprised at the lack of composting options available in Lanark County. Just Good Compost was started to fill this gap. Having received great support in Almonte, they are excited to be coming to Carleton Place in October of 2023.
This October presentation is a perfect way to celebrate Circular Economy Month. Week three is Waste Reduction Week, and the 20th is Food Waste Friday!
For more information, contact Barbara Purdy at <cpeac@townofcarletonplace.ca> or find the event on Facebook at <fb.me/e/1ljfTm6m6>.