The Friends of Lanark County and the National Farmers Union Local Chapter present "Pollinators, People And Pesticides", a speaking event that will interest members of the community who care about the pollinator crisis and human environmental health in general. Speakers will explore the effects and consequences of pesticide use (including roadside spraying) on human and pollinator health.

With Margaret (Meg) Sears Ph. D., Chair and lead scientist for Prevent Cancer Now, will speak about the environmental and health impacts of toxins including pesticides in our environment.

Vicki Wojcik Ph.D., from the Pollinator Partnership - the largest organization in the world exclusively dedicated to saving pollinators, will speak about new and emerging pollinator issues including the plight of our bees and the monarch butterfly.

Thursday April 6, 2017 at 7 p.m., McMartin House 125 Gore street, Perth. Free event. Light refreshments offered.

Get ready for some maple-inspired fun on April 1 and 2, during Maple Weekend’s third annual sweet celebratory event. Taking place right in the heart of maple season, Maple Weekend is the perfect time to plan a trip to a local participating sugar bush and sample maple treats while experiencing some old-fashioned family activities!

Hosted by the Lanark & District Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (LDMSPA), Maple Weekend celebrates the maple season at local participating sugar bushes throughout the Lanark, Mississippi Mills, Portland, Brockville, Frankville, North Frontenac, Sharbot Lake and Perth areas. During this popular two-day event, participating maple producers host activities, specials and events to draw visitors to their operation.

LDMSPA President, Mel Conboy, explained this year will see many returning maple producers, and a new addition to the group, all with special activities planned for Maple Weekend, including educational exhibits, interactive activities, and of course, maple taffy.

“You can expect to see some fun activities this year, we really want people to come out and enjoy a day at the sugar bush,” Conboy said.

Visitors can head out to a participating maple sugar bushes on April 1 and 2 anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and explore how maple syrup is made, from tree to table. Make it a day trip or drop by for a few hours at a time; visit one sugar bush or visit multiple locations!

Whether it’s boiling sap in a cauldron over an open fire or processing it through high-tech RO systems and modern fuel efficient evaporators, the results always taste great. Visitors are invited to chat with a local maple syrup producer and find out everything there is to know about how maple syrup is made and its long history in Canada.

With Canada celebrating its 150th year in 2017, there has never been a better time to participate in such a quintessentially Canadian activity like a visit to a local sugar bush, snacking on maple taffy or even enjoying a pancake meal with fresh-from-the-evaporator maple syrup. Maple Weekend visitors can also learn more about the history of maple syrup and the impact it’s had on Canadian culture, and the local economy.

“Making maple syrup is something that has a special meaning to Canadians,” Conboy explained, “A springtime visit to a local sugar bush, and even the smell of fresh maple syrup can bring back so many memories for people…it’s a special time of the year.”

Check the Maple Weekend website for a full list of participating sugar bushes, and bring your family and your sweet tooth for some maple-inspired fun. Maple Weekend activities vary at each participating sugar bush; in past years, activities have ranged from pancake breakfasts to sugar bush trail adventures, sugar making demonstrations, taffy on snow, sleigh-rides and more.

Visit www.mapleweekend.ca to find out what each participating producer has in store for this popular springtime event!

Community dinners are certainly not new to this area. There are the regular Friday night dinners at the Sharbot Lake Legion. There are excellent breakfasts hosted by the Lions club.  There are pot luck dinners hosted by community groups and recreation committees in every village. There are annual church dinners and those wonderful pancake breakfasts hosted by the volunteer fire departments.  You hardly ever need to eat at home!

But this year will offer something different. The Canada 150 committee sponsored by the St. Lawrence College Employment centre will provide every hosting organization with place mats promoting Canada 150. Every event using these Canada 150 place mats will be listed as a “Canada 150 Dinner” in the Frontenac News’ Northern Happenings column. They will also have the event posted on the Canada 150 Facebook page and website.

And there’s more. A tear-off portion of the place mat will serve as a free entry ticket for a raffle. The draw will be held at the event “A Soiree with Sir John A” to be held On October 28th. The prize is a beautiful, hand-made wooden train set offered by a generous supporter and kept on display at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy.

The Canada 150 committee would like to thank all those who support this initiative – the pharmacy, the newspaper, the college, the anonymous train set donor and, of course, all those wonderful people who prepare and serve the meals.

On Wednesday, March 29, volunteers from the Sydenham Food Bank will be hosting a spaghetti dinner for the community, to help raise funds for the food bank.

The Community Spaghetti Dinner will be held from 4:30 to 7:00pm on Wednesday, March 29th, at Grace Hall, 4295 Stage Coach Road in Sydenham. Tickets are on sale now, at $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12, and are available at Southern Frontenac Community Services office, and are being sold by food bank volunteers.

“We wanted to do something fun for the community,” says Janet McComb, a food bank volunteer, “so we thought a pasta dinner would be a simple, good idea.” The dinner includes choice of spaghetti or penne, meat or marinara sauce, salad, bread, desserts and beverages. Says McComb: “We’ll even have take-out available so you can take the night off from cooking.”

As well as being a low-key night out, the Spaghetti Dinner is a way to raise profile and funds for the food bank. Food Bank Coordinator Vicki England says; “the food bank serves about 50 families each month. Our community is terrific at supporting it with donations and food drives. But there are other costs to operate the food bank.” Funds raised from the dinner will be put towards construction of an accessible ramp.

“One of the big challenges we have now that the food bank has moved to its new location at the Grace Centre site, is having an accessible entrance to allow clients and volunteers with physical barriers the ability to access the service. A ramp is also helpful for loading food donations,” says England.

The cost for constructing a ramp is estimated to be at least $10,000. “This event will help us raise some money, and we’ll have a 50-50 draw as well. It’s a start,” says McComb, “we hope that everyone will come out and just enjoy themselves.”

About a month ago, Roseanna Redmond got the idea that it might be fun to get some couples together for a bit of ballroom dancing.

Ken Fisher thought that was a good idea and “I put the wheels under it.”

But they kind of needed an instructor.

No problem. They recruited Tim White, who many might remember as The Music Man in North Frontenac Little Theatre’s production and/or his choreography in several other productions. White brought along Gillian Hofmann, another NFLT alumnus as his partner and co-instructor.

White would seem to be the natural choice to guide this group. His resume as a dancer/choreographer/teacher/actor/etc is a long one which began in St. John’s, Nfld, when he was 19 and includes a stint (1985-1988) at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a student and teacher. There’s also been aerobics, yoga and Pilates in there.

“I’ve done a lot of ballet and jazz,” he said. “I even did opera.

“(But) contemporary modern dance is my forte.”

But it seems ballroom dance comes quite naturally as well.

“We’ll be learning forms tonight,” he said. “Secondary moves, steps, how they transition, rhythmics, and promenades.”

In the eight-week course, participants will be going through the slow waltz, both contemporary and traditional, smooth jazz, and the nightclub two-step.

“We may even get to the tango at the end of the session,” he said.

Fisher said the spots for 17 couples filled up quite quickly and unfortunately they can’t accommodate any more for this session.

However, given the initial interest, it’s possible things could continue after this course is done.

“It may become a monthly event,” Fisher said. “Perhaps in the afternoon.

“It’s a great winter/spring activity.”

The balmy weather brought out 34 participants and two dogs on Family Day Monday to raise $300 for the OSO recreation committee rink fund.  The finisher cookies were yummy and very colourful this year.   Runners and walkers were from Sharbot Lake and area, Crow Lake, Sydenham, Hartington, Perth, Carleton Place, and Japan.  The St. Lawrence College Employment Centre 10k winners were: 1st. Miyu Shimokawa, 2nd. Cathy Byrnes,  3rd. Anne-Marie McCauslan and 1st. Cory Plant, 2nd. Rudy Hollywood,  and 3rd. Bob Harding.  The Central Frontenac Heritage Committee 5k winners were: 1st. Kris Plant, 2nd. Erin Bridge,  3rd. Lynette Whan and 1st. Kai Plant, and 2nd. Andrew Martin.  The Central Frontenac OSO Rec. Committee 2k winners were 1st. Laura Bridge, 2nd. Alison Bridge,  3rd. Linda Harding-Devries and 1st. Denis Morel (lead by his dog Willow),  2nd. Darrell Bridge,  and 3rd. David Martin.  TriRudy.com presented two special awards: one to Lloyd Whan for his volunteer work and one to Miyu Shimokawa for the person who travelled the furthest to race.

When Rosemarie Bowick took on the task of organizing a quilt show for the Frontenac Heritage Festival this year, she wasn’t sure they’d be able meet the mandate of 150 quilts in honour of Canada’s 150th Anniversary.

“I only had to make three phone calls,” she said. “The next thing you know, we had more quilts than we knew what to do with.

“We had to limit many to three or four quilts.”

While the final count probably won’t ever be official, nobody could claim they didn’t make their goal of 150 quilts. In fact, the more accurate question might be how much they exceeded it by. There were four official venues (the Masons Hall, United and Anglican churches in Sharbot Lake and the United Church in Arden), each packed with quilts and each played host to a steady stream of visitors.

“We’ve been jam packed all day,” said Bowick at the Masons Hall. “And people just seem to be blown away.

“One thing people seem to like is the little cards on each quilt with the story of how the quilt came to be.

“That was Janet’s (Festival organizer Gutowski) idea.”

At each venue there were a mixture of heritage and modern quilts, all brought in by local residents.

Which ones were the most popular?

“I can’t say which one is the most popular,” Bowick said. “All of them?”

One quilt in particular did get its share of attention, the 150th quilt.

Debbie Embry did the quilting and Bowick did the assembly, along with husband Bill.

It’s to be raffled off over this year with the winner announced at the New Year’s Eve Dance.

With Central Frontenac Council approving the idea in principle at their January meeting, The Seed to Sausage Day of the Pig annual food festival is set to move from the cramped confines of the Seed to Sausage store and butcher shop site on Road 38 to the Sharbot Lake Beach.

Mike McKenzie of Seed to Sausage has been talking with Councillor Victor Heese and Oso Recreation Committee Chair Lesley Merrigan for several months with a view towards arranging for a change of venue for the event, which last year drew an estimated 3,000 people over 7 hours on the Sunday of the Victoria Day long weekend. McKenzie was happy to hear that Council is on board.

“Everything looks good now that we have this approval. I have already been looking at the site and it will be a great opportunity to take this event to another level entirely,” he said, when contacted last week.

Among the plans for the new site are an expanded stage and more entertainment in addition to improved facilities for the many food and craft vendors who participated in the show before, and the opportunity to increase the number and variety of vendors.

McKenzie said that there will have to be fencing for the new site, as there was at his own property, because regional breweries and wineries have been and will continue to be an important part of the event. Big Rig, McKinnon Brothers, Beaus and other breweries have been involved in previous years.

“We might be looking at a modest ticket price this year, maybe $10 or $15, which is a change from what we have been doing, but I want to take the opportunity to bring in some more expensive entertainment,” said McKenzie, who does not expect to see the event turn a profit but would like to see it as a break even proposition.

“When we started I looked at it as a party to open the store for the season, but it turned into an event, which should be able to support itself” he said. “If it ever did turn a profit the money would go towards next year’s event.” Among the entertainment he is looking at for this year is the Blue Mushroom Circus Psyshow which combines dance, theatre, vaudeville, burlesque and puppetry. There will be musical acts as well.

The Day of the Pig will continue to take place on the Sunday of the long weekend to enable some of the chefs from Kingston, Ottawa and beyond who are fond of using Seed to Sausage products in their cuisine, to attend.

Last year, there were 5 suckling pigs prepared throughout the day and at the new site there may be more, but they will all be prepared in the morning this time to make sure there are ready at all times during the day.

“I think at this location, in Sharbot Lake, there will be a greater impact on the local community and we can really show off all the food producers in the area, the beauty of the lake, and the charm of the village,” he said. “I see no reason for this event not to grow and be a way to demonstrate what is possible at other times during the summer season.”

A Canada themed tour of South Frontenac, along with enhanced Canada Day celebrations, will be South Frontenac's way to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary.

The rally, which will take place either at the end of August or the week after Labour Day (the exact date will be determined shortly) features locations and Canada themed activities in each of the four districts. The locations include some of the hidden gems of the township, including the train track park operated by the Frontenac Society of Model Engineers in Battersea, Fermoy Hall in Bedford district, as well as more well known venues such as the Point in Sydenham and rally headquarters at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith.

Each location will be devoted to one of the Canadian Provinces, and there will be an activity at each location for those who want to complete the entire rally and be eligible for prizes.

“The rally will take up to 5 hours to finish,” said Pam Morey, head of the organising committee, but it is also fine for people to go to only one or two stops or come to Centennial Park where there will be lots to do for kids and the whole family. The event is designed for fun and for South Frontenac residents and visitors to see different parts of the township. Many of us live in one corner or another of the township and never see some of the most beautiful spots. In addition to the sites we are announcing now, there will be some surprise locations people can visit as well.”

A number of groups and organisations are getting together to put the rally on, including the Storrington Recreation Committee, The S&A Club, the Bedford Recreation Committee, The Verona Lions and the Verona Community Association.  South Frontenac Rides will be providing opportunities for a complementary cycling rally, and the township is providing support as well. The rally has also received a grant for up to $10,000 from the federal government to help out.
The organising committee has been meeting monthly since October and more details about the rally will be forthcoming over the next few weeks.

“We all come from different parts of the township and it’s a lot of fun to work together on a unifying event, especially since we are celebrating the entire country this year. And the rally will be a lot of fun,” Morey said.

Hurry, Hurry. Come one, come all to the free Annual Community BBQ sponsored by Northern Frontenac Community Services on Thursday, August 21 at the Oso beach in Sharbot Lake. For almost 40 years, NFCS has been a driving force in the social development of North and Central Frontenac areas and our annual BBQ is a chance to say Thank You to all the supporting communities. In addition to free hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and drinks, activities for all ages will be happening from 5 to 7 pm. For the children: air castles, face painting, pony rides and petting zoo. Everyone will enjoy the horse drawn wagon rides, live music, mini golf, bingo (over 21) and tomahawk throws, all for the one low price of….FREE. Whether you’re a year round resident or a summer visitor, we hope to see you there. Bring your lawn chairs, enjoy the music, no need to cook supper tonight. For more information call NFCS at 613-279-3151. Remember, Thursday, August 21 from 5 to 7 at the Sharbot Lake beach. See you there.