Submitted by MERA

Every month a new local artist's work is featured in the main hall at MERA - a community arts organization in McDonalds's Corners in Lanark Highlands. You can catch the end of the October art exhibition at MERA before it comes down on October 31: Paintings & Portraits by local farmer, Rosemary Kralik. MERA receives 20% of all art sales for the exhibitions. Encouraging local artists and musicians is part of MERA's mandate.

The November art exhibit features “Fenceline and Shoreline" - landscape and heritage drawings by Michael Neelin There will be an opening at MERA on Sunday November 2nd from 2 pm - 4 pm

In his realist graphite pencil drawings, Michael seeks to capture and share moments out of time from the Ottawa Valley’s rich natural landscape and built heritage. Before moving to Lanark Highlands with his wife Lyndal earlier this year, Michael was active in the Pontiac Artists’ Association and Pontiac Studio Tour, with solo and group shows in Western Quebec and Ottawa. His artistic exploration of our region’s hidden treasures dovetail perfectly with his academic background in architectural history and his professional life as a designer of custom timber-frame homes.

Check the MERA website at meraachoolhouse.org for the monthly art exhibitions at MERA or contact MERA at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to exhibit your work.

If the first of the three classical music concerts in the MERA Schoolhouse's Blue Jean Classical Sunday Afternoon concert series is any indication of what is to come, I'd have to say, get your tickets now.

On October 19 I caught the stellar second set played by flautist Gertrude Letourneau and guitarist Garry Elliot, who captured and enraptured listeners with their top-notch playing. I did not get a chance to hear Letourneau sing, which was unfortunate since if it was anything like her playing, it must have been a real treat.

That being said what I did see was mesmerizing. The two covered a wide range of musical styles from Piazzolla's Argentinian cafe-style music to Bach, to Bartok's Six Romanian Dances. This duo are powerful and talented players, both virtuosos in their own right, who come together to create music that is so much larger than what you might think possible from two single musicians. Their repertoire demands much from both; for the tangos Elliott has to not only keep up the pace with multiple rapid-fire rushes of staccato notes but also change rhythm and tone at the drop of a hat in the dramatic style that the passion of tango demands - and all without missing a beat.

LeTourneau is a good as it gets on the flute; she demands attention with a rich, strong sound when need be, which is lots of the time, and her melody lines are so long and lustrous that they seem close to impossible. Often her playing is so light and airy one imagines a feather floating upwards to the realm where angels dwell.

You can tell these two have spent hours mastering their techniques for this demanding repertoire and hours together polishing it to the point of perfection. Yet their eye contact is minimal - a quick glance here or there and hardly ever.

They saved some of their finest until the last and their variations on the theme of Carmen brought a tear to my eye. The duo received a well-deserved standing ovation after their final note played. One additional treat was the fact that Elliott was playing one of Oskar Graf's guitars and Graf, who was in attendance, no doubt must have been pleased with what he heard.

The only disappointment was that I did not see any teenagers in the audience. What a missed opportunity since they can attend the concert series free of charge. For those who missed an exquisite afternoon of some of the best classical music around, you can hear the duo and much of the repertoire they played on their CD titled Habernero. If you want to catch them live, the duo will be joined by Guy Edrington on the French horn and the three will performing “The Great Songs of the Great War” at St. Andrew’s United Church, in Metcalfe, Ontario on Sunday Nov. 9, at 2pm and again at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 1:30pm.

The next classical concert at MERA will take place on Sunday Nov. 9 at 2PM. Cecelia Ignatieff will be performing Dances on keyboard. Ignatieff will bring more than 30 years of professional playing and teaching to her MERA concert, where she will offer a wide-ranging repertoire from Scarlatti to Scott Joplin. After many years as collaborative pianist with other musicians and vocalists throughout Ontario, Cecilia now lives in the Lanark Highlands and is excited about sharing her passion for music with a local audience. Single advance tickets are $22 and MERA members get a discount. Tickets can be purchased on line or at Tickets Please, 39 Foster Street in Perth (at Jo's Clothes) or by calling 613-485-6434. For more information about other events and concerts taking place at MERA, visit meraschoolhouse.org

The MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners will once again be filled with audience-pleasing classical music as the third annual series of Blue Jeans Classical Sunday afternoons begins again. All performances start at 2 p.m.

This series of classical performances is aimed at bringing professional musicians to play in the intimate space of the MERA Schoolhouse. As part of the relaxed atmosphere, the players will be introducing their repertoire, discussing their instruments and answering questions from the audience.

On Sunday, October 19, Gertrude Létourneau and Garry Elliott will be offering an intimate concert of virtuosic and passionate pieces for the flute and guitar. Gertrude and Garry have performed together since 2007, presenting their brand of lyrical music to a wide range of audiences. Gertrude plays the flute and sings, and Garry masterfully plays a Oskar Graf-built classical guitar.

On Sunday, November 9 Cecilia Ignatieff brings more than 30 years of professional playing and teaching to her MERA concert, where she will offer a wide-ranging repertoire from Scarlatti to Scott Joplin. After many years as collaborative pianist with other musicians and vocalists throughout Ontario, Cecilia now lives in the Lanark Highlands and is excited about sharing her passion for music with a local audience.

On Sunday, December 14, MERA presents "Music for Double Reeds and Piano". After wowing the MERA audience at the very first Blue Jeans Classical music event several years ago, Richard Hoenich is returning with his musical friends and teaching colleagues to present a wide array of memorable pieces. This afternoon promises to be a rich musical experience with a trio of very experienced musicians, pianist Michel Szczesniak, oboist Barbara Bolte and bassoonist Richard Hoenich.

Tickets are $22 in advance or $55 for a three-concert series, and are available from Tickets Please at 39 Foster St. In Perth (Jo’s Clothes), by phone at 613-485-6434 or online at www.ticketsplease.ca. Tickets can be reserved at Tickets Please and picked-up at the door. Teenagers are free.

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by Marilyn Barnett

In this day and age of plastic and metal baskets most children have no idea that a basket can be made by hand using natural materials. Baskets are a very good craft to teach children as the only tools they need are their hands. The basketry project is being organized by MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners and spearheaded by Ankaret Dean. Funding is provided by The Basketry Network, a group in Toronto, now defunct, whose purpose was to encourage and teach basketry throughout Ontario.

Members of MERA are volunteering to go into the local schools in Lanark Highlands, Perth and Tay Valley and teach children in grades 3, 4 and 5 how to make a small basket to take home. Each basket is made using round reed and dyed in bright colours and woven in the traditional manner.

MERA hopes to visit all the local schools. Local organizations who would be interested in basket making may contact MERA at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if your group would like to learn how to make a basket. Visit www.meraschoolhouse.org for more information about MERA's ongoing community arts programming.

If you're a lover of all types of Celtic music, a concert on Sunday August 24, 2pm at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners is the place to be. Performing will be the Celtic Rathskallions, an Ottawa-based duo who have entertained and impressed Celtic music lovers across Ontario and around the world during their more than 1,200 performances.

Wendy Moore is the founder, manager and one of the lead performers of The Celtic Rathskallions, which she created in 1998. Before that, she performed as oboist and English horn player with the Kingston Symphony for 10 years and with numerous chamber music groups. During the concert, she will play oboe, English horn, tin whistle, Celtic harp, bodhran, shuttle bagpipes, and sing and stepdance.

The other half of the duo is Arthur McGregor, the owner and founder of the Ottawa Folklore Centre, an experienced, versatile performer who has played on stage since he was 12 years old. Besides being a Rathskallion, he leads community singing, writes songs about topical issues, and arranges unusual versions of national anthems. A master of many instruments, Arthur will perform on guitar, banjo, mandolin, autoharp, bodhran, and djembe, as well as supplying percussion and singing.

Opening for the Rathskallions will be Japhy Sullivan, accompanied by his brother Noah and sister Margaret. They are members of the multi-talented Sullivan/Dorner family, which features a range of accomplished singers, songwriters and musicians.

This concert is presented in association with MASC, (Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities), which has been offering educational arts events for 25 years in the Ottawa area.

Tickets are $20 and are available on-line at Ticketsplease.ca or by telephone 613-485-6434, and can be picked up at the concert. Children under 16 are free. For more information, please visit meraschoolhouse.org.

Feature Article - January 26, 2006

Feature Article

January 26, 2006

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An evening with JohnMuir at Cafe Merea

by Les Russett

CafMerea, held at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald's Corners last Friday evening, presented a showcase of literary works. The highlight of the show was a performance by Howard Clifford, a writer and actor from Lanark who cares deeply about issues involving conservation. "An Evening with John Muir, Creator of the Sierra Club" dramatized the life of well-known Scottish-born conservationist, John Muir, who visited Ontario at time when the wilderness radiated a mystical aura and was populated by massive pine trees that rivaled the towering Redwoods and Douglas Fir trees of the West. "The Cat", a short story read by Gene Bassett told the tale of a barn cat who came to live with Gene in his cabin one winter. "The cat was scarred about his muzzle with white and pink lines and one ear was askew from an old wound. Wary menacing eyes absorbed all of his new environment". The audience was spellbound as the story unfolded in the darkened hall, a single light on Gene as he read. Gene’s entertaining book, “Short Stories/Tall Tales” has become quite popular in McDonalds Corners and Lanark and hopefully, will soon be followed by a new collection of short works by this talented author. A long-standing member of the MERA Writers Group, Sandy Rennick read a story written in a classical style that spoke of lifes journey, called "The Old Man". Sandy delighted listeners with her poem for the evening, which was a humorous response to the challenge in life to stay positive, and was simply called "My Poem". Michelle Larin entranced listeners with a spiritually charged poem called "The Wishing Well" that was filled with the archetypal dreams of life. Michelle has become a regular presence on the stage at CafMerea and her unique and talented writing style reveals a compassionate heart that always moves the audience in a special way. During intermission, pianist Les Russett and bass player Ed Ashton played an eclectic set of original jazz compositions with titles like "Transcendental Heart" and "Snow Angels" that was later described by one listener as lyrical, fluid, and possessing a driving beat. After eight months of production, CafMerea has established itself as a popular event that features local and regional talent in the growing artistic community of McDonalds Corners. As part of MERA's arts and recreation programming, CafMerea provides an opportunity for performing artists to present their work in a comfortable and intimate setting. Executive producer, Les Russett invites all local performers who are interested in playing at CafMerea to call 613-279-1081 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The next CafMerea will be held on Friday February 24th at 8:00PM and will feature award winning author Michael Norman Steeves from Sharbot Lake. Admission is $10 pp and $15 Family.

Feature Article - August 10, 2006

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Feature Article - August 10, 2006

Fibre to Fabric:Pioneer TextileProduction

by Ankaret Dean

The old expressions "to raise your hackles”, "dyed in the wool" and to "spin a yarn" will be more easily understood when visitors see the new exhibition, "Fibre to Fabric: Pioneer Textile Production" opening at the Rideau Canal Museum on August 12 and continuing until October 31. This fascinating exhibition is being presented by McDonald’s Corners and Elphin Recreation and Arts, otherwise known as MERA.

Featuring many old pieces of equipment used by the settlers in this area, they will show the progression of sheep’s fleece from carding, spinning and natural dyeing to weaving. The process and preparation of flax will also be included.

On August 12 and 13 there will be demonstrations of this equipment by members of MERA. These will include spinning, beating and “hackling” the flax, as well as rag weaving on an old pioneer loom rescued from a barn a few years ago.

Some of this equipment has been lent by the Middleville Museum and the Rideau Canal Museum , but much of it has been donated to the MERA collection. Many of the pieces are made from local lumber, and provided the early settlers with warm clothing and household linens as well as hours and hours of work in their log cabins. Also included is a sample of knitting, with instructions on how to teach a child to knit.

MERA has an active group of spinners and weavers. The Heritage Weavers specialize in weaving pioneer-inspired textiles, and these will be available in the Museum Shop.

The museum is open seven days a week from 10 am to 4:30pm. Admission: Adults $4; Seniors $3.50; Youth $2.50; Children free.

Refreshments are available at the Museum.

The exhibition is on the third floor at the Rideau Canal Museum , at 34 Beckwith St. South , Smiths Falls .

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Feature Article - October 5, 2006

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Feature Article - October 5, 2006

Marigolds at MERA

by Linda Rush

Friday, Sept. 29th, was one of the coldest evenings we’ve had so far, and the furnace was not working at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners, but this did not deter an audience of about 60 people from enjoying a terrific concert put on there by “The Marigolds”. This group is composed of Suzie Vinnick, Caitlin Hanford and Gwen Swick, each of whom is an outstanding singer songwriter in her own right. Singing a mixture of blues, folk, country and jazz tunes, they captivated the audience with their wonderful voices and beautiful harmonies. The MERA Schoolhouse is a wonderful setting for an intimate concert, with its good acoustics and comfortable ambiance. This concert was one of a series organized by Jenny Whiteley of Elphin. Several of these excellent events have been offered in the Maberly Hall in the past year or two. Our community is indeed fortunate to have a musician of the caliber of Jenny who is willing to bring quality musical events to local audiences. Jenny does not have another such concert finalized at the moment, but if you want to keep up to date on her activities you can visit her website at jennywhiteley.com

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Feature Article - April 12, 2007

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Feature Article - April 12, 2007

KateWeekes at MERAby JeffGreen

For singer-songwriter Kate Weekes, appearances at MERA in McDonalds Corners on April 26, and a house concert at the Platenius’ home north of Verona on April 27th will be homecomings of sorts.

Although Kate is now known as a performer from the Yukon Territories, where she has lived for the past four years, she was raised in Eastern Ontario, and returns home every summer to visit family and go to the Blue Skies Music Festival.

She is also the daughter of Carolyn Stewart, the director of the Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra.

Kate is promoting her second CD, Kate Weekes, in a week of shows in Ontario, including a show at Hugh’s Room in Toronto and one at Rasputin’s in Ottawa.

Material from her new CD has found its way onto the airwaves courtesy of the CBC in recent weeks. It is her first full-length recording, and features most of the songs from her “Land Shaping the People” EP as well as 9 new songs. A recurring theme in her work is one of travel, in songs like “West of Winnipeg” and “Truck Driver’s Waltz” and “Why’d I buy the ticket”.

While the new recording features a clean, airy folk sound, the addition of fiddle, drums and backing vocals make for a rich, satisfying sound.

Kate Weekes will be accompanied by fiddler Keitha Clark and double bassist Genessee Keevil.

The MERA show, on Thursday, April 26th, starts at 7 pm. Tickets are $10 and they are available at Shadowfax in Perth, or from Carolyn Stewart – 613-267-0295.

Tickets for the Platenius house concert on April 27th, which cost $12, are available from Inie Platenius at 374-2248.

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Back to HomeFeature Article - September 17, 2009 Vandalism strikes MERABy Jeff Green

MERA administrator Hilary Barrett point to the mural, damaged by vandalism.

A mural that has graced the side of the Lanark Highlands Township garage in McDonalds Corners has been slashed and cut up repeatedly in recent weeks, and a police investigation has been launched.

The vandalism has spread to the grounds of the McDonalds Corners Elphin Recreation Association (MERA) Schoolhouse, which is located across the parking lot from the garage.

Pieces of the mural, which was created in 2004 as part of MERA’s Nordic Festival, were found to have been cut out and left lying around on two or three occasions this past spring, but MERA members were able to fix them back to the mural.

Nothing happened as the summer wore on, until the Mississippi River Heritage Festival took place in August. When MERA volunteers were cleaning up after the festival, they found that a port-a-potty that was rented for the festival had been cut, causing $400 worth of damage.

Since then more damage has been done to the mural, and to the MERA building and grounds.

A couple of weeks ago a hose by the side of the building was turned on and left to run for over a day, causing flooding in the basement. More damage was also done to the mural, and the screens on the building were slashed.

Police were called in, and they launched an investigation.

On Saturday morning, September 12, as vendors arrived for the weekly market day at the site, they found that more pieces of the mural had been removed, including the image of a pig, which had been stuck up a tree in front of the building. A cedar tripod, which was part of a shanty display left over from the festival, had been placed on the roof of the shanty, and there were several gashes in the mural itself.

“We're very concerned,” said MERA Board Chair Tom Shoebridge, “this is public property that is owned by the community. It gives the hamlet a bad name, associating everybody with one or two vandals. When something like this happens regularly you have to assume it is someone local.”

Shoebridge said that some of the damage has been done at a height of over 6 ft. from the ground, so he does not suspect that younger children are responsible.

“At first we were advised to let it be, and hope that it was isolated, but all that has changed with these repeated acts,” he said. “With regard to the mural, it is quite fragile and we've had it for all these years with a lot of co-operation from the public works department. The whole thing is disheartening.”

MERA was founded when the former one-room schoolhouse, which had been converted to the township office for the Township of Lavant – Dalhousie and North Sherbrooke, became a surplus building because of municipal amalgamation in 1998.

A community group was established to renovate the building and turn it into an arts and cultural centre. MERA hosts events on a year round basis. It is the location for a Christmas craft show, a summer farmers market, and has been the hub for several large festivals over the past 10 years.

“We've had people come from hundreds of miles to visit MERA over the years,” said Shoebridge. “It has helped put McDonalds Corners on the map.”