Loughborough Lake Holiday Park (LLHP) owner Del Vezeau is ecstatic over Mr. Justice Hurley’s rejection of South Frontenac Township’s request for an injunction on music concerts and weddings at the park.

“I’m pleased, yeah,” Vezeau said after receiving written conformation of the judge’s ruling last week. “I love the way this guy (Hurley) writes.”

The Township had sought an injunction on concerts and weddings at the park, contending that they contravened its zoning bylaw.

One such concert is the annual Canadian Guitar Festival that brings world-class acts to the Township and one that Council has supported in the past.

Hurley made the following “declaration.”

“I do not believe that an injunction in the terms sought by the applicant (the Township) is appropriate at this stage. The impugned functions have been irregular and there is no allegation that (LLHP) has failed to comply with the bylaw in any other way.

“South Frontenac has supported the Canadian Guitar Festival and it appears that the neighbouring landowners do not object to it. If I was to grant the injunction requested by South Frontenac, this event could no longer take place. The municipality is free to decline an exemption under the noise bylaw for it but I do not want to, in effect, tie its hands by issuing a permanent injunction at this time.

“This does not mean that an injunction would not be granted should (LLHP) contraene the bylaw in the future or fail to abide by the declaration I have made. If that happens, South Frontenac will be at liberty to bring another application or seek a contempt order.”

“The way I read it, as long as I don’t turn this place into a mini-Woodstock, I’m good to go,” Vezeau said. “And I’m not going to do that.

“I don’t want to do anything different than I have been. This is a campground first and while music is recreation, this was never going to be a concert hall in a field somewhere. Without the campground, I have no business.”

Vezeau said the park has a rule that all music shuts down at 11 p.m. whether there’s a concert on or just around a campfire.

“This (action) has cost me money but I’m not bitter and I’m not smug about winning,” Vezeau said. “I just want to work with the municipality and I hope this doesn’t turn into some acrimonious feud.

“I’d like to sit down with Council and discuss how to do business in this township.

“I may even run for Council in the fall.

“I knew I was right but I wasn’t sure I’d win.

“Group hug.”

The Township declined to comment on the matter.

Since January a group of creative children and adults have been hard at work rehearsing for the Spring production of “The Little Mermaid”.. It is a delightful little musical based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson. Rehearsing during winter months poses many challenges due to weather conditions and of course the common “cold”. Having dedicated parents on board to help out with bringing children to practices is essential. We are also grateful to have parent volunteers helping with set construction and sewing and creating costumes and props. Once again, Artistic Director, Brian Robertson, has chosen a show which engages the imagination and will lead the children into the world of make believe that will come to life on stage in the Spring.

Look for future updates on the progress of this production in future articles in the News.

Al Rankin doesn’t settle for good when he knows he can achieve great.

Sitting in his historic limestone house nestled inconspicuously on a country road north of Kingston, Al speaks passionately about the music he showcases in his Inverary home and to the broader community..

“My whole thing is, I don’t want good music here, I want great music,” says the retired drama teacher as a pellet stove hums softly in the background.

Talking from a tastefully decorated living room, Al, 68, is a well-known member of the Canadian music scene. He is the artistic director of three local groups that bring music to public theatres, school auditoriums and his private home.

Not far from his armchair is a curtain hung in a doorway to stop heat from escaping the rooms used by his family. Outside the curtain is a sunken showroom with a stage called The Rankin Gallery; home to eight house concerts a year by musicians on tour.

Lined with old church pews where hundreds of the best musicians in the world have played, the room feels like a significant part of Canadian history. It is a charming space that fits 65.

“There’s an incredible number of musicians out there trying to make a living and the only way to make money is to perform live concerts,” says Al about the purpose of the space. “It’s tough for them.”

Picking up where he leaves off, Al’s partner Brenda Lyon notes, “This way, they can come here and play a concert and make a thousand dollars. They get a free place to stay and a warm dinner and breakfast. They’re just so appreciative. It’s a good feeling.”

Gesturing to the walls where dozens of posters are displayed of bands that have played in The Rankin Gallery, the couple is clearly proud of the music performed in their home and the musicians they room and board. Personal messages of gratitude are scrawled across the posters from bands such as the Good Lovelies and solo acts such as Serena Ryder and Rose Cousins.

Some of the musicians who have played at the gallery have travelled from as far away as Serbia, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Europe. Most are from Canada and the United States.

For a house on a quiet country road in Frontenac County, it feels like the heart of the global music scene.

“We get a wide-range of musicians coming to The Rankin Gallery concerts” says Al with pride.

“His biggest job is saying no because everyone on tour wants to stay here,” adds Brenda, 67. “We get 1,500 requests a year.”

“We do end up saying no to a lot of people,” responds Al who doesn’t invite musicians to perform in his home; rather, they ask him.

“It’s a lot of work,” adds Brenda about the organization, promotion and hospitality required for each show. “But it’s great when the concert is going.”

Asked why they open their home to the musicians and the public, Brenda answers kindly, “We’re supporting a lot of Canadian musicians. It is unbelievable how hard they work and how hard it is to make a living. We’re trying to encourage them.”

“It’s great for the community,” adds Al. “A lot of people who come to our house concert wouldn’t attend a concert at a larger venue in town. They love the closeness to the performers. It’s a whole different experience for members of the audience.”

Asked to pay a nominal admission fee of $20 to support the musicians, guests travel from as far away as Trenton, Smith’s Falls and Westport. Within 12 hours of a show’s notice, they are always sold out.

“It’s not just for our neighbours,” says Al about the memorable performances in his home. “It’s sort of a secret. A secret a lot of people know about.”

“When people come here, they know it’s going to be great because Al is very picky about who he brings here,” says Brenda.

“We’ve never had any problems with the concerts or people coming to the house, even when we let them wander upstairs,” she says gratefully. “It doesn’t bother us at all. It feels a bit like a community hall most of the time which is fine.”

“Of course, we don’t have any cutlery left,” adds Al with a laugh.

In addition to hosting house concerts, Al and Brenda also bring musical acts to the area through their company, Rankin Productions. The work involves booking a headline act (such as Pete Seeger, Leon Redbone, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Judy Collins and Arlo Guthrie), renting a theatre, selling the tickets and arranging the band’s hotel rooms.

“We only do that a couple times a year,” says Al about the bigger shows.

Al and Brenda are also involved in a volunteer organization called Live Wire which arranges six musical shows annually in Kingston and supports musicians performing in local schools.

Referring to all of the performers they have met over the years, Brenda says with a smile, “It’s like we have 100 sons and daughters now.”

Happy to host and support the best performers in the world, Al notes, “It’s unfortunate that we’re saying no to some incredible people. We just can’t fit them all in.”

To see upcoming shows by Live Wire, please go to www.livewiremusicseries.ca  To learn more about Al Rankin’s shows, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613-353-6650.

They had their dancin’ boots on at the Hall in Maberly Saturday night as a packed house do-se-doed and balanced their way around the room to some rousin’ fiddle tunes.

This is a semi-regular event but a lack of regular schedule doesn’t seem to bother anybody.

“It’s more of a Sort-erly Quarterly,” said Maike Polano, one of the organizers (at least she seemed in charge of the coconut crème). “It doesn’t always happen and there’s nothing official.

“But when we can pull it together, we do. I’m away for awhile but we’ll probably have another one in the summer.

“We usually have one in the fall . . . around Halloween, . . . and one in winter.”

The band is usually a one-off collection often organized by Teilhard Frost, perhaps better known as Sheesham of Sheesham and Lotus and Son and this was no exception.

They billed themselves as Bees and Flowers after an old Newfoundland fiddle tune by Rufus Guinchard (they made the name up on the spot but we’ll give it to them).

Besides Frost, the band included fiddler Doug Dorward (who hails from Dundee, Scotland originally), CBC Q radio host/Dardanelle Tom Power on guitar and his Dardanelles bandmate Eilia Bartellas also on fiddle.

Frost met Power when they were both playing at the Summer Folk Fest in Owen Sound and they’ve be collaborating ever since.

“I love this,” said Power. “It’s important for me to play some music and this is a nice chance to play for dancers, which I used to do all the time.”

As for Frost, his recent forays with Power et al don’t mean there will be no more Sheesham and Lotus and Son projects.

“Actually, we’ve got a tour of the Netherlands, Ireland and Wales coming up,” he said.

And, Frost said he’s just putting the finishing touches on a solo album, which should be completed sometime this week.

Caller Sarah Vannorstrand goes over her notes while the band — Doug Dorward, Emilia Bartellas, Teilhard Frost and Tom Power warms up at the Maberly Quarterly last Saturday night in Maberly. Photo/Craig Bakay

Since January a group of creative children and adults have been hard at work rehearsing for the Spring production of “The Little Mermaid”. It is a delightful little musical based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson. Rehearsing during winter months poses many challenges due to weather conditions and of course the common “cold”. Having dedicated parents on board to help out with bringing children to practices is essential. We are also grateful to have parent volunteers helping with set construction and sewing and creating costumes and props. Once again, Artistic Director, Brian Robertson, has chosen a show which engages the imagination and will lead the children into the world of make believe that will come to life on stage in the Spring.

Look for future updates on the progress of this production in future articles in the News.

Over the past 15 years, the custom animal carvings of Robin Deruchie have begun showing up at cottages and northern locations all across Ontario. He’s done demonstrations from Sarnia to Ottawa to Timmins.

One park near Sarnia has 32 of his works spread throughout the park.

Last Saturday, he was in Arden for the Frontenac Heritage Festival, a gig he’s done several times before.

Many of his creations come to life at Wolf Creek Carvings, his studio/home in the Cloyne area, but he always draws a crowd at events, perhaps because he seems to be enjoying himself when he’s taking a chainsaw to a log.

“Well, it is relaxing,” he said, taking a break from the owl he’s been working on. “I also do some fine-detailed carving, mostly on birds of prey like hawks and owls, which are my favourite subjects.”

The public seems to like his owls too, along with bears and strangely enough — turtles.

“I’m sold out of turtles today,” he said.

Deruchie has always had a passion for art and wildlife, having painted as a boy. But he sort of found his life’s calling somewhat by accident.

“I stumbled across it while building a house on Skootamata Lake,” he said. “I just started fooling around with it.”

He said he’s probably done more bears than anything but that’s probably because he can do them quickly and they sell well.

But while he estimates he’s done close to 5,000 (about 250 to 300 per year) carvings in his career, he maintains each one is different and that helps keep him going.

“I don’t work from drawings,” he said. “I let the wood dictate what the end result will be.

“I may say ‘I’m going to do a bear but the pose, and the variety the facial expressions, will all come from the individual piece of wood.

“If you draw them first, they tend to be all the same.”

Deruchie likes to work in walnut but that can be hard to come by, so the majority of his works are pine. That also works well with his personal philosophy.

“I tend to work with the community,” he said. “If somebody wants a tree taken down, I’ll do it in return for the wood and I’ll likely leave them a little carving as a token of appreciation.

“I’m not going out there cutting down trees just for carvings.”

Like many artists, when he first began he was a little reluctant to give up his creations, he said. But now that he’s making a living from it, not so much.

“My wife (Jackie) has scored maybe five over the years,” he said. “But when I retire is when I’ll do pieces for our own yard.”

Deruchie’s works start at as little as $45 with most in the $100-$125 range. They’re based on size however with a two-foot bear costing as much as $250.

His website is wolfcreekcarvings.com

On Sunday, March 11 at 2:00 pm the Clan Hannigan is performing at MERA. This is an intergenerational family band based out of Baltimore Ontario that takes traditional Irish music and blends it with elements of Jazz, Pop, and other folk traditions, to create a unique high energy sonic soundscape.

Steafan Hannigan and Saskia Tomkins have been mainstays on the traditional Irish and world music scenes for the last thirty plus years working with acts like. Uriah Heep, Loreena McKennitt, Olivier Schroer, Julian Lloyd Weber, Bjork, Depeche Mode, Martin Carthy, Sin É, LinnTilla, The Afro Celt Sound System, The Chieftains and countless others. Since they moved to Canada in 2007 they have started collaborating with their three children Oisin, Eile & Ayisha and thus Clan Hannigan was born.

TICKETS: available at Tickets Please in Perth, 613-485-6434 or www.ticketsplease.ca

One of the region’s best-kept secrets in its own right, The Centre Culturel Frontenac has been steadfast in showcasing some of French Ontario and Canada’s best-kept secrets in the areas of live music, theatre and comedy. The 2017-18 offerings have been wide ranging: from the quirky, charming musical stylings of a denim-clad acoustic band, to an uproarious and poignant white-trash comedic play, to a songwriters’ circle featuring an eclectic mix of emerging Franco-Ontarian musicians.

The CCF also brings in well-renowned French-Canadian talent. In recent months, comedian Philippe Laprise and singer-songwriter Luc de la Rocheliere have made appearances.

Founded in 1978, the CCF began operations in earnest in 1982 in a century home on Frontenac Street before moving in 1996 into its current location on Dalton Avenue. To this day, its mandate remains to unite the francophone community, but its programming appeals to a wide audience. As Executive Director Chantal Prud’homme explains, the organization aims to reach the entirety of the Frontenac region, as well as the Thousand Islands, including non-French speakers. Plays are generally subtitled and, explains Prud’homme, “there is a richness and a musicality to the language that make it accessible without understanding everything that is said.”

Prud’homme notes that one of the priorities of the CCF is to promote French Language artists and productions from within Ontario. Théâtre français de Toronto, along with theatre company l’Irréductible petit peuple, present the play “Avant l’archipel,” On February 21. It is an unconventional love story of a woman who grows dragonfruit and relies on her tears to sustain them. When she falls in love with a troubadour and is no longer prone to crying, her livelihood is threatened. Matters are further complicated when, in an effort to save the fruit, she cries so much that the peninsula she lives on floods and becomes an island, cutting her off from her lover.

The play is driven by the two lead characters, Brevelaire – the troubadour and Lenaique, the dragonfuit farmer. Much of the story is presented through song – duets sung by the pair with Brevelaire’s ukulele accompaniment. Throughout, the actors improvise and summon audience participation, which gives each performance moments of humour distinct to that evening’s audience.

The remainder of the 2017-18 season includes a contemporary dance performance late March, a spoken-word arts concert early April, and a French-language comedy gala late May. Performances are held at the CCF’s Octave Theatre, 711 Dalton Avenue.

Highland artists Greta Mcdonald, Deb Shea and Molly Forsythe join together to reflect the world as they see it in this exhibit running at the Dean Hall in MERA during the month of March. Vernissage to take place March 10th from 1-4 p.m at MERA, 974 Concession 9A in McDonald’s Corners. The show will be on display until the end of the month.

Greta Mcdonald is known for her paintings which depict birds and animals in colourful surroundings injected with elements of fantasy and bright patterns.

Deb Shea paints from a place of serenity in landscapes from around Lanark Highlands and other environments while reflecting her emotional connection to the piece executed.

Molly Forsythe follows the true folk artist heart in her reflections of life both in Lanark Highlands and Cape Breton through her relief clay tiles.

Ask any ‘clogger’ and they’ll probably be adamant that clogging is not square dancing, or tap dancing or any other kind of dance. It’s clogging and that is an art form in itself.

The word ‘clog’ essentially is an old Gaelic term for ‘time.’ And that’s a big part of the dance with the heel keeping time.

While it has roots in European folk dance (Irish, Scottish, English and German), its deepest roots come from the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700s where all of these styles began to merge with elements of First Nations and African American dances to create a uniquely North American art form. At one time, industrial or wooden shoes were worn to provide a good clear beat but today oxfords with attached ‘double taps’ are generally worn to give a special sound.

But it’s not tap or step-dancing.

“Absolutely,” says Joyce Lemke, the driving force behind the Land O’ Lakes Cloggers, who meet at Clar-Mill Hall on Fridays to work on steps and routines. “It’s totally dancing and we do a lot of moving around.”

The LOL group consists of eight dancers, two of which travel all the way from the Merrickville area.

“That’s dedication,” said Lemke.

“Well, that’s not what some people say,” said Audrey Baker, one of the ‘commuters.’

But most are from the area.

Lemke lives just down the road and her two sisters, Elva Hamblin and Shirley Cuddy are also in the troupe.

“I grew up here, on McNeils Lake,” Lemke said. “I just couldn’t wait to get back to the place I just couldn’t wait to leave.”

They have many reasons why they dance in this style and are only too happy to extol its virtues.

“My husband Reuben and I square danced for year in Peterborough,” Lemke said. “Then one day I talked to a lady who said she clogged.

“She said ‘we have taps on our shoes’ and I said ‘I’m in.’”

She’s been doing it ever since, starting up the Plevna-based group in 2000.

“I like the people, the teacher (Lemke) and the music,” said Baker.

“I like the exercise,” said Cuddy.

“It’s a wonderful tension release,” said Lemke. “There’s a lot of memory involved.

“If you’re hear thinking about what step is next, you can’t worry about what’s going on in the office.

“I think it helps avoid Alzheimer’s.”

Essentially, they’re a performance group, doing shows all over the area at seniors residences and events like the Festival of Trees in Sharbot Lake.

“We do have some rules for shows,” Lemke said. “Everybody does the same step at the same time (and) I attempt to have everybody look and dress the same.

“Nobody stands out, we’re a team.”

They don’t charge for shows, letting the enjoyment of the audience be their reward.

“We’re actually just getting back into performing,” she said. “We’ve done nine or so in a month and a half.

“We’ll do fundraisers, like for Pine Meadows or with Fiddlers & Friends.

“We’ll do some for kids with mostly pop music and a lot of jumping around but we’re mostly old school, dancing for seniors who relate to songs like Maple Sugar and usually a gospel song or two.

“When we’ve gone to places, faces light up.”

They’re not averse to new members but they’d prefer people who’ve clogged before (“It’s surprising how many people have clogged”). However, Lemke does work with beginners sometimes and is starting a new group in MacDonald’s Corners.

“If I can get 10-12 people . . .” Lemke said.

Call 613 479-2967 if you have 10-12 people and would be interested in starting a new clogging group.