The theme for last week’s Strawberry Moon Festival, the 12th annual, was beavers, ‘amik’ in Algonquin and indeed it was a busy place.

The official attendance tally was 193, the vast majority of whom were children, said organizer Marcie Asselstine.

That represents a considerable increase over last year. And they saw it coming which initiated the move to the Frontenac Arena grounds from the St. James Major schoolgrounds.

Asselstine said the festival is a “wrap up” for her program in which she visits area classrooms to teach students about Algonquin culture and traditions. Since her schedule has increased, attendance at the festival was no surprise.

“I started with two classrooms,” she said. “Now I visit nine.”

The festival draws its name from the fact that June is “strawberry month,” Asselstine said. “I start planning in May, calling my traditional volunteers and putting everything together.

“We chose amik (literally translated ‘builds with wood’) this year because the beaver represents wisdom and one of my classes built beaver lodges. It’s also the 150th anniversary of Canada and the beaver is Canada’s official animal.”

To that end, they set up six stations and the visitors travelled clockwise to each one.

The first station featured headband making, complete with beaver tails. Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation and Chief Doreen Davis provided the materials (as well as other financial support).

The second station was a traditional snack of corn bread and strawberries. Healthy Kids Community Challenge provided the strawberries.

The third station was drumming, with Red Sun men’s drum and a gathering of local women’s hand drums.

The fourth station featured local storyteller Danka Brewer telling how beaver got his distinctive teeth. She was assisted by a host of dragonflies, which she explained are the “keepers of children’s dreams.”

The fifth station featured early literacy teacher Susan Ramsey telling how beaver got his flat tail in a teepee arranged by Shawn MacDonald of the Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board.

The sixth station featured lacrosse, a traditional First Nations game and Canada’s national summer sport.

“A lot of us here are First Nations families,” Asselstine said. “One of my students said ‘I’m Algonquin and is it ever fun.

“This is about making it OK to share our culture and bringing people together.”

Asselstine had special praise for all of her colleagues at North Frontenac Community Services, who helped organize the event.

Use of the arena grounds was arranged by South Frontenac arena and recreation supervisor Tim Laprade.

At a public open house to discuss a proposed bylaw to regulate mobile food businesses in Central Frontenac, many issues relating to the business climate for restaurants in the vicinity of Sharbot Lake were aired.

Joe Gallivan, Manager of Planning for Frontenac County, came to the meeting looking for public input after he had looked at similar bylaws in other locations and tried to find “best options” for Central Frontenac.

Last September, Councillor Cindy Kelsey expressed concern about an unlicensed chip truck that had opened up on Highway 7 near Road 509, and then Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven reported to Council that although mobile food businesses were defined in the township zoning bylaw, there were no regulations in the bylaw about whether they are permitted or not and under what circumstances. This put several existing businesses in the township in legal limbo, and in February Neven brought forward a draft bylaw, which was presented to Council but not acted upon. Since then a new Chief Building Official, Shawn Merriman, has taken over, and Joe Gallivan has been working on developing a bylaw.

At the same time a business has come forward asking to be able to set up at Hwy. 7 and 38. The Spud Box is planning to relocate from Hwy. 7 and Hwy. 41 at Kaladar. Two weeks ago, at Council’s request, CBO Merriman presented a temporary use bylaw which would enable the Spud Box to apply for a permit to open this summer while Joe Gallivan and the county planning department works on a permanent bylaw, which will not likely be in place until the fall.

The meeting was set up to ask questions about the permanent bylaw, such as how to define mobile food businesses, which zones they should be restricted to, and whether there should be a separation distance between them and restaurants. But the pending opening of the Spud Box came up repeatedly in the questions that were asked by a crowd that was made up of most of the restaurant and other food vendors in the Sharbot Lake vicinity.

CBO Shawn Merriman repeated a point that he had earlier in the month in front of Council. “I think that in a commercial zone, like we have on Highway 7, it is not up to the township to restrict the kinds of businesses that come forward. Let the market take care of that.”

Frank White from the Sharbot Lake Country Inn said “this is something I completely understand and would definitely not contest or dispute if we were on the same playing field.   However, allowing a business to set up that would be in direct competition with other year round venues with low, low overhead and at far reduced cost with a fraction of the of the licensing fee for operations i.e.  $350 per year vs $9,000 plus in property taxes is not what I feel should be the long term direction of economic development, especially given that the local populous would not be sufficient to support all of the business in the area.”

The owner of the Spud Box, Jerry, piped in at that point.

“We do have other expenses, including rent, but I know what you are saying because I owned restaurants in the past. The restaurant business is finished. I’m sorry but it’s true. We will pay  a fair license fee. It does not have to be $350.”

Jonathan Desroche, who owns Gray’s Grocery and Bake Shop, which is kitty corner to where the Spud Box would be located if approved, said “I don’t have any issues with him setting up. If he brings more business to the corner, that’s fine with me. But we need to face up to the reality that all of our businesses are hurting because tourism has died off completely in this area. If we don’t turn that around, none of us will be around. I’ve noticed a dramatic drop since I opened in 2010, tourism is off and our sales are off as well,” he said.

As the meeting continued, other issues about the business community were raised.  

CBO Merriman and Mayor Frances Smith both referred to the pending approval for a new Ultramar gas station with a convenience store and restaurant component at the site immediately to the west of the LCBO store, on the site where The Junction and Bubba’s takeout were located.

Joe Gallivan said he has been working for two years, from the planning end, with the owners of that proposed business, which is waiting for approval from the Ministry of Transportation before starting site development.

Input on the technical issues around the new bylaw was gathered at the meeting. Most in attendance agreed that mobile food businesses should be restricted to commercial areas, but the issues around setbacks from restaurants are more complex and the response was mixed.

A draft bylaw should be coming before Council before the end of the summer.

As befits a crowd of entrepreneurs, the breakfast Annual General Meeting for the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation started early last Thursday morning (June 15) with Marty G Sensations breakfast pies on the menu, starting at 7:30. By 8 the meeting was underway. One of the key note speakers, Ryan Reynolds of Capital Waterfowling had to back out because he was pulled in another direction as his company continues its meteoric rise. Billy Day, whose high tech custom metal and 3d print shop on Sydenham Road came along in time to help Capital Waterfowling get underway, and now does work for a number of new companies, was also scheduled to speak. He asked to go early so he could get back to his shop to fill an emergency order.

He credits the CFDC with helping him get his start.

“They got me the funding for my first machine, helped me get the ball rolling. I try to tell everyone to go and see them as long as they are working in Frontenac County. At that time the banks had no interest in supporting what I was doing, but the CFDC was interested in a big way,” he said, when interviewed a few days after the meeting.

In terms of overall numbers, CFDC Board Chiar Jan Dines reported that the corporation loaned $1,776,925 to Frontenac businesses in fiscal 2016/2017, an increase of 38.75 over the previous year. Combined with $1,257 that the 21 businesses that received loans collectively invested from their own funds, it represents over $3 million in business spending in the county last year, impacting a total of 100 jobs.

A further $454,454 was injected in the local economy trough Eastern Ontario Development Program projects. Adide from loans and grants, business advice and counsellling are also a major focus for the corporation.

Anyone starting, expanding, or shifting their business to fit the times is welcome to call 623-372-1414 (1-888-372-9962) to find out what services they might be able to make use of.

The Buck Lake Boatilla sends physically disabled children to Camp Merrywood, a spe-cially equipped summer camp on the Big Rideau operated by Easter Seals.

Ironically, the Buck Lake Boatilla traces its origins back to an outbreak of petty crime in the 1990s. In response to a rash of break-ins,  some ‘take charge’ members of the community formed a Neighbourhood Watch and recruited others to conduct regular pa-trols and keep their eyes open for trouble. The crimes stopped when the culprit was found and arrested. It was not long before the  watch organizers decided the watch was no longer necessary. Rather than disbanding, they cast around for another useful pur-pose for the organization. They decided on supporting Easter Seals’ Camp Merrywood and created the slogan “Send a Kid to Camp”. That was in 2005, the start of the Buck Lake Boatilla.

That first year was both hilarious and a bit scary. Randy Ruttan and his campers agreed to have the participating boaters and others assemble for a barbecue at the Hidden Valley campground at the end of the parade of boats. The plan on that first day was for the boats to assemble at the culvert, parade around Pulpit and Buck Islands, and re-assemble in a sort of ‘floatilla’ in Christmas Bay. There was no advance canvas for funds; instead the suggestion was that people would donate $5.00 for every person on their boat, the collection being done by Ross Trudel. It was a great plan but it didn’t allow for the strong wind and high waves that day that made the ‘floatilla’ part impossible and produced any number of near dunkings as Roscoe precariously attempted to do his collections without ramming anybody.

It was quite a show, but a successful one that raised $3,750, enough  to send nearly two kids to Camp Merrywood; the goal had been funding enough for one. In those days it cost $2,000 per child; more recently the cost has increased to $2,500. The high cost is due to the need for a very high staff to camper ratio combined with the Camp’s having comprehensive health care services on site to keep the children safe and also with the specialized equipment needed for them to overcome the limits of their physical disabilities.

Each year since 2005 the Boatilla has grown both as a charitable and a community event. Thanks to Randy Ruttan and the campers, many of whom participate actively, that first frustrated ‘flotilla’ in Christmas Bay was replaced shortly thereafter by a com-munity barbecue at the Hidden Valley campground. The campers, largely from the Unit-ed States, are  generous contributors to Camp Merrywood and participants in he Boatil-la and BBQ.

Another great innovation adopted early on was to invite past and potential campers to the barbecue and, more recently, for Buck Lakers with big pontoon boats to provide them with rides in the Boatilla itself. Sometimes it has been quite a challenge to get those big battery-powered wheelchairs safely maneuvered onto the decks of pontoon boats but the resulting delighted smiles on the faces of the children and their parents have been well worth the effort.

Another more recent innovation has been live music at the wind-up BBQ. This has been provided by Caz’ band, a father associated with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra and his two daughters. A feature number in the last two years has been an original song written and sung by Kiera, a Merrywood camper, who has come with her parents sever-al times to the Boatilla. Another speaks well for the future. About four years ago, some children from Hidden Valley spontaneously showed up with a little plastic cash register and put on a bake sale, all proceeds (over $300) going to the Boatilla. It was a surprise to everyone except, of course, their parents who no doubt furnished encouragement, cooking skills, and the baked goods’ ingredients. In the same spirit of giving, other chil-dren on Buck Lake have put on a book sale and offered lemonade from a dock in the narrows with the proceeds earmarked for various causes, including cancer research.

The Boatilla’s contributes substantially to our community’s pride, its identity, and to the pleasure its seasonal and full-time members derive from their participation in it. Its con-tribution to Easter Seals is relatively easily measured in terms of the money raised for Camp Merrywood. Its contribution to physically challenged children is partially counted by the number of kids sent to camp. Getting measures of what going to camp means to those children, their enjoyment, development, self-assurance, and the respite provided to their parents is significant but not easily measured.

The first principle of the Boatilla has been that all donations matter and are welcome, small and large; it’s the spirit that counts. The second principle is that 100% of the donations go to Easter Seals and Camp Merriwood; the Boatilla incurs no administrative costs.

The 2017 Boatilla will be the 13th annual. Cumulatively (including the anticipated dona-tions this year) our community, through the Buck Lake Boatilla, will have raised over $200,000 over its 13 years, enough money to send to camp around 100 kids who would not otherwise have been able to have this great experience.

That’s something of which to be really proud!

The Buck Lake Boatilla is set for Sunday, July 2 this year.

July 8 is the third annual Sail Mazinaw.  The objective of the event is to identify Mazinaw Lake as a remarkable sailing venue.  On July 8, all cottagers, campers and transient sailors are invited to rig their boats and their boards and go for a sail.  It is not a race nor a regatta.  It's a fun flotilla and an occasion , or an excuse, to get boats on the water.  It's a great opportunity to introduce a new generation to the sport.

The day will begin with a crew breakfast at Mazinaw Lakeside Resort.  The staff will open the doors at 8:00 to get an early start for the sailors and friends.  Dock space at MLR is limited, so you are encouraged to arrive by car.  After breakfast, you have all day to enjoy a sail.

If you are near the lagoon in Bon Echo Provincial Park between noon and 2:00, pull your boat up on a beach and enjoy a hamburger or a hot dog prepared by Friends of Bon Echo.  The proceeds go to fund the many programs that The Friends organize throughout the camping season.  Your support will be appreciated.

Details of a potluck supper will be communicated at the crew breakfast.

Bring your boat, bring your board, crew with a friend, invite your neighbour, but get on the water for Sail Mazinaw, July 8.

When Doug Angle looks closely at a steam engine train, the mechanical parts look like a work of art.

Doug,  appreciates, like his family before him, the design, construction and operation of a train.

“My grandfather was a telegrapher for the Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo Railway,” confirms the 59-year-old process improvement consultant from Sydenham, who is also the President of the Frontenac Society of Model Engineers (FSME)

“My father fired on steam engines in the 1950s.. He shovelled four tons of coal every day.”

Familiar with that hot and heavy work, Doug talks about his father’s accomplishments with pride.

“On a full-sized locomotive, it takes two people to keep it running,” he explains about the fireman (person who shovels coal) and engineer (person who operates the train). “To drive a locomotive, you need to know everything about how it works or you will find yourself sitting on a train wondering why it won’t go.”

Armed with this family history and his own interest in trains, Doug joined the FSME ten years ago.

“I wanted to take on something new,” says the friendly father of three.

“I think what you’ll find with model engineers, particularly with steam engines, you can see all of the mechanical parts working. What’s really neat is that our steam engines have all of the same parts as full-sized locomotives.”

18 members strong, the club owns a 1,200 ft track, locomotives and riding cars in a field next to the Battersea Baseball Diamond. The club started construction on the township property in 2011. It completed the elevated track in 2012 and the ground line in 2015.

Tucked away in a corner of the village that is not visible from the main road, the club is bringing itself front and centre this Saturday by hosting an Open House from 11 am to 3 pm.

“This is a great time to see our operation and have a ride on a train,” says Doug. “People can view, and enjoy, a variety of miniature live steam locomotives on display and in operation. We expect to be running on both tracks during the day. We’ll be giving rides on the larger gauge track.”

The president hopes the club exceeds the number of guests at their open house in 2016.

“Last year, we had about 500 people come. That may sound like a lot, but it pales in comparison to the 1,300 passengers we hauled at the Battersea Pumpkin Festival last year,” he said.

“The Pumpkin Festival was a lot of work and we were happy people came-out and shared their love of trains. A lot of people are surprised there are still steam engines burning coal; that they do what steam engines are supposed to do.”

The club is eager to share its love of trains.

“At this event, we have time to show people how the equipment works,” says the president. “In a sense, it’s a way of preserving our steam heritage. There aren’t a lot of full-sized steam locomotives operating anymore. We’re happy to show people that.”

To ride a miniature live steam locomotive for FREE this Saturday, travel into the Village of Battersea and turn off Battersea Road onto Doris Lane. The club is located in the field at the bottom of the hill on the right. To learn more about the club or this event, please contact Doug Angle at 613-376-3908 or visit www.fsme.ca

The Wolfe Island Garden Party is a three day event that will feature music on Thursday and Friday Nights (June 15 and 16) and a day of open houses at farms and arts studios on the island and  much more music, food and local beer on Saturday (June 17).

The event has more or less developed into this form after Janette Hasse approach local musician and producer Chris Brown about a fund raising benefit. Hasse has been working with the students at Marysville Public School on  a community garden project at the Wolfe Island Medical Centre, which she is planning to expand to the grounds of the new senior’s building that is being constructed nearby and build a greenhouse.

Chris Brown has been producing music with musicians from far and wide at his Post Office Studio for ten years, and recently decided to form a label, Wolfe Island Records. At the same time, Casey Fisher from the Wolfe Island Grill and Rene Zieglemaier are launching Wolfe Island Spring Craft Brewery this month (see article on page 4 of the FCFDC supplement in this issue).

The idea of celebrating the link between art and agriculture on the island took off and the 1st annual Wolfe Island Garden party came to life. The event has turned into a coming out party of sorts for the music label, the beer company and local farmers and artists.

In the end 13 locations have signed on to participate, including 6 farms, 2 artists and 3 restaurants.

“We wanted to raise some awareness about food sourcing and the interdependence between food and art and music, and to celebrate some of the connections that have been growing in our island community,” said Chris Brown. “And when people came forward offering to hold open houses across the island, we knew we had something.”

Among the farms operations that are participating are DeRuiters Black Angus Cattle, the Posthumus Dairy Farm, Windkeeper Farm vegetables and seed, to name a few. Frontenac County is hosting an agricucltural panel on Saturday afternoon at the General Wolfe Inn. Later in the afternoon, the restaurants will be hosting musical events and serving food, and Chris Brown has invited some of the musicians who have recorded at his studio, including Jenny Whiteley and Joey Wright from Elphin, Luther Wright and the Wrongs, the Openhearts Society, Suzanne Jarvie, David Corley, Chris Brown himself and a host of others will be performing at the venues throughout the three days. For a full schedule, go to the Wolfe Island Garden Party Facebook event page.

Particularly on the Saturday, visitors from the mainland are invited to leave their cars in Kingston and walk onto the ferry or bring a bike. Many of the events are in Marysville or close by, and bike rentals are available and there will be a wagon providing free transportation. The idea of visiting the island without bringing a car is a focus this summer, to ease pressure on the ferry, make it easier to cross and for a more pleasant experience because walkers and cyclist can waltz onto the ferry while cars and trucks need to wait, sometimes for an extra hour.

Events start at 8:30 pm on Friday and Saturday and run from 11am until the evening on Saturday.

The ferry leaves Kingston  on the 1/2 hour from 8:30 in the morning until 12:30, and then on the hour from 2pm until 10pm. It takes 20 minutes to cross over.

The Bedford Open Mike turns 10 years old this year and they’re planning a birthday celebration July 9 at Glendower Hall on Westport Road.

Here’s a brief history of the sessions, according to Joan Shepherd, who along with husband Roy got the idea after attending the Florida Old Time Country/Bluegrass/Gospel open mike sessions at the Elfers Care Centre in New Port Richey, Florida.

“When we returned home in the spring of 2007, Roy commented on how much he was going to miss the jamming,” Shepherd said. “So we asked ourselves ‘why can’t we start our own open mike’.”

So, they got together with musical friends Homer and Wilhelmine Card and on July 1, 2007, 11 performers along with a handful of audience members held the first open mike session at the Second Depot Lake pavilion.

“I might add that over half of the original jammers are still attending the bi-weekly session,” she said.

On Aug. 26 of that year, they finished up with a barbecue but the desire to keep playing was still strong.

“The end of the summer brought sadness so in canvassing the performers and audience, it was decided to carry on the sessions at another location during the fall and winter months,” she said.

That location turned out to be Piccadilly Hall.

The Piccadilly Jam sessions began Sept. 9, 2007. Snowbirds Shepherds and Cards travelled south for the winter but Judy Albertson-Murphy, sound technician and Gerry Webster served as co-hosts while many folks from the audience took ownership of setting up chairs, making coffee, setting up the sound system, etc.

It didn’t take long before the event began to outgrow Pic Hall, with crowding and parking becoming issues. So in the fall of 2009, things moved over to larger Glendower Hall (aka Bedford Hall).

“Now, the problem was we were holding the ‘Piccadilly Jam’ in Bedford Hall, which was very confusing to to people, so the Piccadilly Jam became the ‘Bedford Country/Bluegrass Open Mike Session,’” she said.

Today, the sessions go every other Sunday, often featuring more than 30 performers and a full house of audience members.

They have some special things planned for the July 9 party, but you’ll have to show up at it to find out what they are.

NFCS and Central Frontenac Township invite you to Supporting our Community – talking about our mental health. When our youth, families and individuals struggle with loss and mental health challenges, how can we as a community help? This forum will provide an opportunity for individuals, families and youth to hear from mental health counsellors and to discuss: What are the signs that someone may be struggling? What do we need to know to help? How, as a community, can we build our suicide prevention skills?

When:  Monday June 26 from 6 to 8 pm Where: Oso Hall, Sharbot Lake

Back Forty Cheese will be open on Saturdays throughout the summer, and to mark the start of the summer season, they are holding an open house and party onn June 24 between 10am and 4pm. The converted drive shed that serves as a cheese factory and tasting room for Back Forty Cheese, and a loft studio for Jenna Rose, will be open and tours of the factory and studio will be offered at different times throughout the day. All of Back Forty’s sheep’s cheeses will be available, including Highland Blue, Madawaska, Bonnechere, Flower Station and Ompah, as well as fresh curd, ricotta and fried curd as well. Charcuterie boards and baguettes will be available as well.

Meanwhile, outside in the yard that leads out to the Mississippi River, Stalwart Breweries of Carleton Place will have a stand with at least 3 of their different beers, Luke Mercier and Chris Colgan will be playin Appalachian music, and there will be wine from Three Dog Winery from Prince Edward County, Kin Winery from Carp, and sparkling cider and wine from Scheurermann’s winery of Westport.

A BBQ, presented by Seed to Sausage, will be running all day as well.

Admission is free and all are welcome to enjoy great food and drink and the summer weather.

For information, go to artisancheese.ca/news.htm