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Lanark County

A Sweet Guinness World Record Achieved!

Written by  |  Thursday, 27 March 2014 15:40  |  Published in Lanark County
Vernon Wheeler with his vast collection of maple sugar moulds, photo courtesy of the Wheelers.
Lanark County, the Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario, has even more sweetness to celebrate: a maple-related Guinness World Record holder can be found here! One of the largest maple farms in the county, Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp, has also gained worldwide recognition for achieving the Guinness World Record for “largest collection of maple syrup production artefacts.” “Wheelers already achieved recognition from the Government of Canada in 2009 with a National Historic Plaque for paying homage to our nation’s maple history through its museum and display,” said Marie White, Lanark County Tourism manager. “Now we extend our congratulations to the Wheelers again on this new achievement, which is another way the family continues to spread word of this culturally significant industry to everyone.”…
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Another very MERA Christmas

Written by  |  Thursday, 29 November 2012 10:19  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: painter Greta McDonald of Perth Holiday shoppers got an early start at the MERA school house in McDonalds Corners for MERA's annual Christmas Fair on November 24. Local artisans filled the main hall and had on display and for sale a number of locally made items that make for perfect holiday gift giving. The MERA weavers had a large booth displaying a number of knitted and woven items including place mats, scarves tote bags, wall hangings, table runners, floor rugs, all made by MERA weavers Ellen Good, Lise Loader, Florence McGuire, Mary Donnelly, Annette Hewitt and Ankaret Dean. Margaret Sullivan was selling her unique “Second Wind” Christmas ornaments and jewelry made from recycled preserve jar lids and bottle caps, which she paints in a wide…
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ABC Hall

Written by  |  Thursday, 15 November 2012 10:18  |  Published in Lanark County
  Photo: regulars at the ABC Hall Open Mic and Potluck l-r, Mel McDougall, Frank Coleman and Glenn Russell The old adage "If you build it they will come" is proving to be the case at the old ABC Hall in Bolingbroke. In an ongoing effort to revitalize community life in the area, members of the recently formed Althorpe-Bolingbroke Community Association have been breathing new life into the association and their home - the ABC hall. The hall, which is located near Bolingbroke on Hwy 36, was originally built and founded as the Sherbrooke Community Club by seven members of the community in 1947. It was built with the vision of becoming a central hub where members of the community could meet, work and socialize together…
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Hay East comes to Lanark County

Written by  |  Thursday, 01 November 2012 11:18  |  Published in Lanark County
Maberly farmer and Lanark Cattlemen’s Association member Gordon Patterson is not shy about approaching governments for support. When it comes to supporting local farmers in covering cost of transporting hay from western Canada to cover the shortfall caused by a drought this past summer, he has been downright aggressive, and creative. He has approached all of the eight municipalities in Lanark County to support a fundraising event in Almonte this weekend. Knowing that township councils never want to part with taxpayers' dollars (he sat on council for 16 years himself), Patterson and his cohorts from the Lanark Federation of Agriculture and the Lanark Cattlemen’s Association have asked each council to provide a cake for auction instead. “I know that at least one of them, Drummond…
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Eh?! Concert & Workshop Oct 19 & 20 at MERA

Written by  |  Thursday, 11 October 2012 11:16  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: Emilyn Stam, Anne Lederman and James Stephens form the trio Eh?!, who will perform at MERA in McDonalds Corners. Two master Canadian fiddlers/multi-instrumentalists with eclectic tastes team up with a brilliant young musician (piano/5-string violinFour and five-string fiddles, voices, piano, accordion, mandolins, guitars, percussion and feet all weave their way through an Eh?! experience. Eh?! is dedicated to exploring the myriad pathways between tradition, innovation, collaboration and improvisation. Drawing from many great Canadian fiddle traditions - Québécois, Metis, Irish, Cape Breton, Newfoundland and Old Time, Eh?! is never content to let old tunes lie. Alongside their own compositions, the tunes of several generations of Canadian composers rub shoulders. Emilyn Stam is a young pianist and fiddler who worked closely with Oliver Schroer as a founding member of Twisted…
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Sundance Tour thrives at new location

Written by  |  Thursday, 06 September 2012 11:13  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: John Schweighardt of Livingstones with a few of his stone sculptures and a view of the old grist mill ruins at the Sundance Studio Tour in Maberly Artists and organizers alike welcomed the change in venue location for this year's 5th Annual Sundance Studio Tour. The one-stop tour, which was taken over this year by Paul and Michelle Zammit, owners of the Fall River Restaurant, moved its location to the banks of the Fall River in Maberly at the corner of Highway 7 and the Bolingbroke Road, and the increased visibility made an impact. Paul Zammit said when he was approached to take over the tour that he jumped at the chance, wanting to “preserve what we thought was a good thing for the community.…
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Sundance artists move to Fall River

Written by  |  Thursday, 30 August 2012 11:12  |  Published in Lanark County
For five years, Sundance Studio Tour has welcomed thousands of patrons throughout the Labour Day weekend. To facilitate growth, allowing more artists to participate, a move to The Fall River Restaurant’s “river view” location was a natural progression and to reflect the expansion, the name has been changed to Sundance Artisan Festival. The festival, which takes place Sept 1st to 3rdthis year, is an evolution of creative, innovative and traditional artisans, local farm-to-plate cuisine and eclectic toe-tapping music. As always, the theme of Sundance is individual creativity with an element of reclaimed, recycled or natural materials, with impressions in wood, stone, cloth, metal, clay and other media. The original expressions of the returning artists will be complimented by new artists, 30 in all. Along with…
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Natural, wearable art sculptures unveiled at fieldwork

Written by  |  Thursday, 09 August 2012 11:11  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: artist Alicia Marvan “wears” one of her works at her opening show at the fieldwork site located near Maberly Art has a tendency to come alive when viewers are invited to become an integral part of it. That was the case for visitors to fieldwork 's latest sculptural installation by international and interdisciplinary artist Alicia Marvan. Marvan who hails from Michoacan, Mexico, is just finishing up her residency at fieldwork, the outdoor art gallery located just past 2501 Old Brooke Road near Maberly. Her time there culminated in a show that opened at the fieldwork site on July 27. The installation includes five individual sculptures, all made from natural materials that Marvan found and built with on site, and which speak about the human body…
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One monk’s mind over matter and many, many miles

Written by  |  Thursday, 19 July 2012 11:09  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: Korean monk Daeung Sunim in Sharbot Lake with his bicycle, which he will ride for 2 years on his 30,000km trip across the two American continents. Daeung Sunim, a 42-year-old Korean monk who is on a bicycle trip circumnavigating North America and then continuing on to the southern-most tip of South America, spent the night in Sharbot Lake at the home of Jule Koch Brison on July 14. Daeung, who has been a practicing monk in Seoul, South Korea, for 24 years, calls his trip a “Journey of the Spirit “and his aim is to “test his spirit” on this self-inspired trip, which will take him over 30,000 kilometres across North and South America. He estimates that the journey will take two years. Daeung began…
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Shakespeare on the Lawn at MERA

Written by  |  Thursday, 28 June 2012 11:08  |  Published in Lanark County
O! for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene. All rabble and monarchs are herewith invited to behold a torchlight presentation of Shakespeare’s Henry V, at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald’s Corners on Thursday evening, July 5. The Company of Fools are the actors, and the McDonald’s Corners Farmers’ Market is your host. Supper is served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and the play begins promptly at 7 p.m. Bring lawn chairs or blankets, and be prepared for weather and insects. Admission is “pass-the-hat-pay-what-you-can” with a suggested minimum donation of $10. The Fools are an Ottawa-based troupe inspired by the rogue Elizabethan players that once…
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Observing the 2012 Transit of Venus in Maberly

Written by  |  Friday, 01 June 2012 11:06  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: Amateur astronomers in Maberly, Fred Barrett, Bob Hillier and Tom Ray offer passers-by an up close look at the 2012 Transit of Venus. Given that two local amateur astronomers have set up their own personal observatories in Maberly, it was not surprising to find three of them gathered by the side of Road 36 just south of Maberly on Tuesday June 5. And because amateur astronomers tend to be of a generous nature and like to share their discoveries with curious passers-by, the three came well equipped with multiple ways to view the transit of Venus. Armed with safety eclipse glasses, of the astronomers' own making as well as the store-bought variety, a welder's mask, and two high-powered telescopes, they offered those who joined them a…
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“Memories” mavin Mary Cook charms listeners in Maberly

Written by  |  Thursday, 24 May 2012 11:05  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: Mary Cook at the Maberly hall Many readers are familiar with “Memories” columnist, author and speaker Mary Cook. For many years Mary has been writing and speaking about her life as a youngster growing up on a farm in Northcote in days long gone by. Cook, who now resides in Carleton Place, wetted the eyes of numerous listeners at the Maberly hall on May 19, at a special engagement courtesy of the Maberly Agricultural Society. For those who have only read her column or her books, seeing this polished professional speak in person is a special delight. Cook is a classic and top notch story teller, one who has that special gift you don't often see these days - that special combination of matter-of-fact…
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Local food the subject of University Women’s event in Perth

Written by  |  Thursday, 19 April 2012 11:01  |  Published in Lanark County
Each year the Canadian Federation of University Women sponsors an information evening in Perth. Last year the difficult topic of prescription drug abuse was explored. This year, the information evening was called “The Power of Local Food”, and was held on April 16. Janet Duncan, the co-owner of Dunbrae Farms in Almonte, hosted the event, which was structured around short presentations by a range of presenters, from farm-based businesses, to restaurants with a commitment to local produce and meat, Foodsmiths food store in Perth, and the upstart farmers market in Sharbot Lake. Duncan did not mince words in describing the general state of agriculture and food production in the region, however. "Sixty years ago Canada’s agricultural policy was focused on feeding ourselves, but that has…
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Fiddle–A–Thon at Maberly Hall

Written by  |  Thursday, 19 April 2012 11:01  |  Published in Lanark County
The Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra will be joined by a number of musical groups and other friends as they host the first ever community fiddle-a-thon at the Maberly Hall on Sunday afternoon. The entire community is invited to join what promises to be a large community jam from 1-7 pm. Orchestra members have gathered sponsors for the event, which is a free event, complete with music and refreshments. Orchestra Director Cindy McCall said that she came up with the germ of the idea for the event when the orchestra was brainstorming earlier this year to come up with a new fundraising event. “Over the years I’ve been involved in a lot of fundraising for community groups,” she said, “there were walkathons, bike-a-thons, even a…
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Westport's sand and story man

Written by  |  Thursday, 12 April 2012 10:57  |  Published in Lanark County
Photo: a sand tiger by The Sandman, Ken Rose On March 31, Ken Rose, a.k.a. “The Sandman”, entertained a group of interested listeners at the Wordsmith in Westport as part of an artists' talk series, "Breakfast with the Arts", presented by Artemisia Gallery and Wordsmith. Ken, who for years created and sold one of a kind original art works made with colored sand, spoke about his life, both as an art maker and a story teller. “Art and creativity were really my saviors,” he began, “and were what I turned to when times got difficult for me at certain points in my life.” It was after working as a respiratory therapist for children in Ohio and after seeing some very traumatic cases that Ken felt…
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