Back to HomeFeature Article - May 14, 2009 Tour of an Eastern Ontario gemby Julie Druker

The Friends of the Salmon River bus tour disembark in Lonsdale and tour-goers get a look at the old mill ruins. (photo courtesy of David Field

On May 9, friends and members of the Friends of the Salmon River (FSR) - 50 nature enthusiasts - boarded a bus in Tamworth and set out on a day-long tour of the Salmon River. David Field, co-president of the FSR, organized the tour, an annual event that has happened since the group was founded in 2004 by Gray Merriam, also a co-president.

This year members decided to run the tour in the spring instead of the fall to give tour goers a different look at the landscape of this pristine river when it is running high in the spring.

On board the bus were FSR members and past board members geologist Dugald Carmichael, historian Michael Rehner and biologist/naturalist Don Cuddy, who provided a running commentary of all aspects of the river and watershed.

At Story Lake, at the top of the watershed, the toured disembarked and Carmichael spoke about the basalt pillows, smooth black forms on the side of the Arden Road, a particular geological feature unique to the area. He explained how they formed millions of years ago and throughout the tour he explained how a lot of the natural features in the area, such as glacial lakes and rocky outcrops, had formed. Field described the information as “fascinating since it puts the area in a context.”

Rehner, the historian, talked about the various villages in the area: Henderson, Harlowe, Lonsdale, Forest Mills, Croydon, and Milltown and put them in their historical context numbering the hotels, mills and naming who settled them and when. Rehner also read interesting news clippings from archives that related to each town.

In Arden he read from an historical archive about an Arden resident who owned a bull that enjoyed being ridden around town and who would knock on his owner's door asking to be ridden. Field explained, “It’s the kind of thing that makes history alive for people.”

Halfway up the Arden Road, the group stopped at an off-the-grid house with one of the earliest log buildings in the area, built in the 1830s; it is supposedly haunted by the knocking sounds of a woman who was confined to the attic.

Tour-goers learned what these small towns were like in the thriving 1860s when some had over 50 houses, numerous hotels, grist mills and various stores and other services, all of which came about because of logging and the availability of water.

Most of the tour-goers were residents of the area hoping to find out more about the watershed. According to Field the intent of the tour is “to spread knowledge of the Salmon River, its history and its ecology and through doing that, our hope is that there will be a greater appreciation of the area so that when we need support on issues there will be a supportive group of people.”

On Monday the FSR had planned a tree planting workshop at Beaver Lake for FSR members, who planned to plant 1200 riparian trees on their properties along the river, encouraging its continued ecological health.

The FSR are currently addressing various threats to the river's health and have taken the position that a dump located on the river's banks in Roblin should be closed. They are waiting for a response on that issue.

They are also drawing attention to recent changes to environmental legislation that allow projects like mini hydro projects to go ahead with less rigorous environmental assessment than previously required. This in turn could pose future threats to the watershed and the river.

Field, who lives on the river, has a vested interest in its continued health and has been an FSR member for four years and on the board for two. In his words, “We swim in it, ski on it and it’s almost our barometer for how we’re going to feel that day.”

For more information on Friends of the Salmon River, please visit www.friendsofsalmonriver.ca.

Back to HomeLetters - February 12, 2009Letters: February 12

Re: High speed internet for North Frontenac, Pat Maloney

Re: High speed internet for North Frontenac

According to your story  Proposal would bring faster Internet to much of North Frontenac in the Jan 29/09 edition, North Frontenac is going to embrace the further uglification of our county by applying for funding to install half a dozen or more Broadband internet towers.

There are now nine communication towers in the 24 km stretch of Hwy#7 between Sharbot Lake and the Arden Road. There is hardly a bend in the road that isn’t punctuated by one of these steel monsters lording it over the once sylvan landscape. The hamlet of Mountain Grove is now hunkered below a Broadband tower so tall that it dominates the landscape for miles around and sends an endless red pulsing swath from 5 miles away across the waters of Arden’s Big Clear Lake all night long like some coastal lighthouse. Yet another of these engineering marvels is planned for the Arden area even though two other towers already sit nearby and the technology exists to mount multiple applications on one tower. Yet another cell phone tower is planned for this same stretch of Hwy#7. More and more towers are marching up Road 38.

But let someone propose installing some electrical generating windmills and every NIMBY between here and Cornerbrook will be screaming bloody murder. While there is no alternative to collecting wind for power there certainly is for high speed internet. It involves stringing cable, just like the North Frontenac and Westport Telco’s have already done for their customers.

If our local governments weren’t so slavishly wedded to the dubious advice of local Economic Development hacks they would realize that any real economic development would come from the employment of local line installers and not from a doubtful surge in home based internet businesses; from keeping overhead costs reasonable and not ridiculous for customers.

While high speed access might be nice it certainly isn’t worth 10 times the cost to me. I pay $5.00 a month for unlimited dial up and do everything I want with it including banking, purchasing, email, file transfers and surfing. Sure it’s slow by comparison but Broadband is going to lock users into paying exorbitant costs to a monopoly. Improved phone lines would allow competitors to provide cheaper local and long distance phoning as well as high speed internet and allow consumers a choice of providers. When faced with the impact this uglification is going to have on our tourist industry the whole approach becomes insupportable.Bell Canada has done little to improve telephone lines in our area, concentrating instead on upgrading equipment for profitable fee for service toys. The funding that’s being thrown around would be better spent “bribing” Bell to upgrade existing lines or providing access to its poles and switching equipment so that other lines could be installed.

We have only one viable industry in the Frontenacs and turning our beautiful landscape into a southern version of the DEW line is destroying it. The only economic development from this is going to the guy selling the tower and the company in Kingston gouging for the connection.

Patrick Maloney, Arden

Photo: Easter Passion play in Arden

In an effort to give church and community members a deeper insight into the passion of Jesus Christ, the congregation of the Arden Pastoral Charge acted out the Easter Passion play in an outdoor service on Good Friday at the Arden United Church. The play has been put on before at the church and resumed this year after a five-year hiatus.

Reverend Barbara Mahood led the service, which included songs of worship performed by Chase and Derek Matson. Rev. Mahood decided to hold the outdoor service because Easter fell so late in the season this year. ”We also wanted to put a face to the story and I think it’s important, for the youngsters especially, to see visually what took place. Really, though, it is for all of us to experience Easter in a more impactful and memorable way. It also helps bring people out who might otherwise not come to a regular church service.”

The play of the last days of Jesus' life included roughly 20 participants, a real pony and a very dramatic final crucifixion scene. Following the event participants and members of the community gathered to share refreshments at the church. Glen Matson said events like these are “a great way for the community and the church community to bond together.”

A member of the congregation, Betty Matson, directed the play and was pleased with how it turned out, especially since there were no prior rehearsals. Jeff Matson, who has been playing the part of Jesus in the Easter plays at the church for the last 20 years, said it’s nice to be able to participate in community events like this one.

Photo: Jesus Reyes of Columbia, who is visiting Canada, took a turn carrying the cross on Sunday.

In Verona, Pastor Cory Bursey of the Lakeview Gospel Assembly led a special service on Easter Sunday that included a “Walk for Jesus” parade through downtown Verona. The parade of close to 25 participants, which included members from various churches in the area made its way from the church to the south end of town, where Pastor Cory held a short service and erected a large wooden cross across from Revell’s used car lot beside Mrs. Pero’s home. Pastor Cory, who hails from Alberta, has been at the church for nine months and wanted to have a Walk for Jesus to celebrate Easter. “We wanted to dedicate the community of Verona to the Lord through this Walk for Jesus and also wanted to show others that we are not ashamed of what Easter is really all about. Many times Easter can get a bit mixed up with bunnies and chocolate so we wanted to show the community the real significance of Easter.” The cross will stay at its location for about a week or two and will be moved to a different location, which has yet to be determined.

 

Martin Racine, Andrew Neale, Justin Tryon, Jamie Lavoie and Keilan Kelsey

For die-hard anglers,  a biting, raw wind is not enough to keep them from packing up their gear and heading onto the frozen lakes.

Over 100 participants took part in the annual Arden fishing derby that took place on Big Clear Lake on Feb. 6. Angie Deline of Arden was holding down the shore-side central hub, courtesy of the Arden Legion, and was serving up steaming coffee, hot chocolate, chili and soup to derby goers in need.

Funds raised from the $10 ticket sales go to the Legion and in turn are funneled through various avenues right back into the local community.

Out on the lake in the bright sunshine anglers had set up their make-shift huts and trailers, many equipped with stoves, beds and other comforts from home.

Lorne Hiltz of Arden was gracious enough to drive me out onto Big Clear Lake in his truck on Saturday to see what all the fuss about ice fishing is about and he shared a few key ice fishing facts with me. Lorne has been fishing since he was kid and doesn’t use a hut but just dresses for the weather. When the wind would howl he and his friends would haul a dead log onto the ice and using snow build a wall for a wind shield. “It’s a great sport if you like being outdoors and it’s great for the economy.”

Driving out in his truck he mentioned some well-advised safety precautions regarding the ice: “Stay clear of the channels that might be fed by running springs; be wary of skiffs of snow since they might be hiding thin ice underneath. And it’s always wise to steer clear of large bumps, and pressure cracks."

Those out for their first time on any lake would be wise to talk to locals about known unsafe spots on particular lakes.

The first group we came across were five friends from Flinton, Northbrook and Arden and they showed off their catches of a 5.3 lb northern pike that Andy caught at 9 a.m. that morning. The five had been fishing since 5 a.m. and pointed out that it is indeed mostly locals like themselves that you'll come across. They planned to fillet their catches and cook them the way they like best, in a bit of butter and lemon pepper.

Most anglers are after pickerel, which they agree is the best eating fish. Andy pulled out a hooked line from one of his holes with a live shiner, with which he was hoping to make his next catch. Ice fishing is also a chance to be creative and he proudly showed me his “boardinator“, a device he concocted wherein his line is attached to a stick hooked into a board that lies flat on the ice adjacent to his fishing hole, which keeps his line upright.

The guys inform me that two lines are the legal limit per person and that two extra lines will cost you about $1200 in fines at court in Sharbot Lake.

The next group of derby goers we came across were a large group of family and friends packed like sardines into Arden resident Donny Oliver’s wooden hut, a rather high-class affair equipped with 4 fold down beds, a radio, wood stove and two open fishing holes where you can peer down into the clear 12 foot depth of water below. The hut offers fishers a chance to relax and warm up. The combined group hadn’t caught any fish on that particular derby day but Don informed me that he had been set up in his hut for a few weeks and had caught over 14 pickerel. He said that winter fish taste better than summer fish since the cold kills bacteria and makes the fish fresher tasting and less slimy.

What keeps Don on the ice every year is the great outdoors, the peace and quiet and the chance it offers for bonding with friends and family.

For those who missed the Arden derby there are many others coming up, including one this weekend at Desert Lake Campground (see preview on page ?) and the Trapper's Council Fishing Derby on Sat. Feb. 27 held at Big Gull Lake on Newton's Bay, with top prizes awarded from all fish weighed in. For information on the latter call Wilf Deline at 613-336-8359

 

Central Frontenac approves road projects, budget.

Public works Manager Mike Richardson brought a proposed list of road projects for 2010. New projects include work on Queen and Bridge Streets in Arden, including improvements to sidewalks, as well as work on Mary Moore and Westgate Roads. Other projects, which are follow up projects to work that was planned or started in previous years, include Brock, Wagner, Piccadilly, Thompson, Arena Boundary, 2nd Depot Lake, and Wemp roads.

Because the township did not receive a $500,000 road grant, a few projects have been put off until 2011 and 2012. Planned work in Arden on Bridge Street from the bridge to Elm Tree, and in Sharbot Lake on Cannon Road, has been put off until 2011. Plans to upgrade Elizabeth Street in Sharbot Lake have been put off until 2012, and Richardson said it would be an idea to do some engineering and planning before doing the Elizabeth Street project.

“I support this plan,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski, “it is logical and well thought out. I agree with the approach.”

Councilor Gary Smith said he was pleased that Arden would be receiving some attention.

“Improvements to Arden will bring benefits generally to the township,” Richardson said.

“How many of these projects will be done by township staff and how many will go to tender?” Gary Smith asked.

“They will all be done by outside contractors,” said Richardson, “we don’t have the equipment or expertise to complete them in house. We can do some of the work, ditching and so on, but we will have to contract out.”

“And you are confident that the numbers you have budgeted will be sufficient to cover the tenders?” Smith then asked.

“I’ll let you know in about three months,” Richardson replied.

Fire presentation – Fire Chief MacDonald and Deputy Chiefs Young and Cowdy brought Council up to speed concerning fire crew activities. MacDonald said that improved compliance with the township burn bylaw among residents has had a positive impact.

As well, fast responses by crews to brush fires led to at least two properties being saved from the potential impacts of brush fires.

Some newer firefighters have come onto the force, and 62 crew members recently attended a CPR workshop.

MacDonald said that a fire ban was put in place for a short time last month, but with the dry weather another ban is a possibility in the coming weeks. “We have to balance the desire to burn with the cost of response to brush fires,” he said.

Mayor Gutowski pointed out that the township is offering residents another option.

“Brush is accepted free of charge at the Elbow Lake transfer station south of Parham on Road 38,” Gutowski said. “People do not need to burn brush.”

Budget approved – The 2010 budget bylaw was approved unanimously without debate.

While the 2010 tax rate was the same as 2009, a 9.4% total increase in property assessment in the township will result in an increase of over 9% in the total amount being charged to ratepayers

Afterwards, Mayor Gutowski said, “The budget process was very productive this year. We had a good discussion. I’m really pleased with the work of this Council.” 

 

It started like most good things do - just a bunch of people getting together to share something that they love to do. Back in 1994 a group of seniors would regularly finish off their meetings by gathering around a piano to sing a few songs.

Glee Club director Helen Praskey recalled, “We thought it would be nice to have something a little more formal and that is how the Arden Glee Club began.”

The Glee Club just started up its 14th season again after its regular three-month winter hiatus and the 38-member group is once again filling the Kennebec Community Hall in Arden with the sounds of music.Helen Praskey, who has been involved in music all of her life in various forms as a teacher, singer, choir leader, piano player and arranger, has been leading the four-part a cappella male/female SABT (soprano, alto, bass, tenor) choir since it first formed.

The group rehearses weekly on Tuesdays from 1 - 3:30 PM at the Kennebec Community Hall and have a repertoire of over 100 songs, which include swing, contemporary pop, jazz, folk songs, spirituals and show tunes.While most members are resting their vocal chords during the winter months, Helen stays busy, keeping her ears open for new songs for the group. After seeing a performance of My Fair Lady in Windsor in March she chose “On the Street Where You Live” as one of the five new songs that the club will tackle this season.Other new tunes: an old folk song called “The Water is Wide”, which James Taylor recorded a version of; “Something’s Gotta Give”’ an upbeat swing tune from the 1950s; and “For All We Know”’ an old post-war love song.Helen not only directs the group but is also the club’s sole arranger, which enables them to forego the expense of purchasing sheet music and helps to keep their operating costs down. The job can be time consuming and not every song is suitable for a four-part a cappella group. “Finding songs that lend themselves to four-part harmony can be a challenge; still, I am happy to take requests from members and I am always looking for songs that the group will enjoy,” says Helen.

Though the Glee Club is a secular choir and as a rule does not perform sacred music, some of their selections are very spiritual, like Simon and Garfunkel’s "Bridge Over Troubled Water".

Other favourites that the group performs are "Chattanooga Choo-Choo", "What a Wonderful World", "Catch a Falling Star", and "Oklahoma". 

The group performs regularly at various seniors’ centres in Perth, Merrickville, Northbrook and Kingston.Ten years ago the group auditioned for the Annual Seniors’ Jubilee held at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto and after their first performance there were invited back to perform for the next nine years.

At one time the club would offer paid ticket concerts but gave that up preferring to sing for free as volunteers. In Helen’s words, “It just felt better that way.”

The Arden Glee Club is a group of seniors performing for others, and like many seniors, some of the members have different medical issues. Helen does not limit her musical understanding to the music alone and she and a few members of the Glee club recently attended a workshop in Kingston with Dr. Jacalyn Duffin of Queen’s University, who gave a talk titled,  “Music and Memory - What can dementia teach us about the brain.” It was there that she learned that music is one of the last senses to leave the body at the end of life, which, if nothing else, shows how deeply music can penetrate our beings.

Though Helen admits that the club takes up a good part of her time, for her it is a true labour of love. “Music is just in my very bones - it’s a part of me.”

Glee club members are not required to read music and those more comfortable singing melody only can join as lead singers. Membership is open to all and Helen encourages interested listeners to come and listen to the group at their Tuesday rehearsals.She stressed that the group is really like a big family. “It is not just the music that keeps us together. We all really care for one another and support one another. Every single member is important and I admire every single one of them."

Audrée Tomkins is the group’s business manager and she takes care of the bookings, uniforms, and, as Helen adds, "She knows how to keep us all in line.”

The Arden Glee Club's next performance will be in May at the Lanark Lodge in Perth.

It could have been much worse.

Central Frontenac Township works crews found five 20-litre pails of as yet unidentified chemicals off the eastern side of Arden Road near Highway 7 early in the afternoon on August 12.

The pails were located at the edge of some swampland that drains into the Salmon River through a culvert under the Arden Road. When some of the chemicals spilled onto the arm of a township employee, causing a burning sensation, the township called the local fire department, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MoE) and the OPP.

The fire department managed to block the entrance to the culvert with a boom, and the MoE sent an investigative team. When it was determined there was a threat, the road was blocked off by the OPP, and Scott’s Environmental Services were called in to clean up the site.

According to MoE spokesperson Michel Finn the clean up was a success. “The area has been contained. No environmental impacts are anticipated. The clean up crew was on site and took care of the removal of the material,” he said.

Central Frontenac Clerk Administrator John Duchene said that the township employee was able to wash the substance off his arm without incident. The chemical is still being analysed by the MoE, but “the township is facing a bill for the clean up that is in excess of $20,000,” Duchene said.

OPP officer Lori Lobinowich of the Sharbot Lake detachment was one of the officers at Arden Road on the day the spill was discovered. The road block lasted a couple of hours. “We have launched a criminal investigation aimed at finding out who is responsible for the incident,” she said.

Central Frontenac held a hazardous waste recycling day on July 24. Hazardous waste was gathered free of charge at that time.

 

Mark Burnham's wooden house wares

There is no shortage of art shows and tours in Frontenac County and Labour Day weekend offers a multitude of venues to those looking to browse and buy.

Now in its fourth year, the Sundance Studio Tour near Maberly has become an increasingly popular art event. Carmen and Cam Allen once again opened their home and property to over 20 artists from all over Ontario.

At one time Sundance was part of the Inroads Studio Tour, and Cam explained how their own tour evolved as they increasingly became interested in providing one location where more artists could gather. “It was something that we wanted to pursue and it seemed to fit with the green life style that we are living here.”

The couple promotes the event as a one-stop-art-shop. Visitors could opt to be shuttled from the car park area in electric golf carts to the show site, where artists’ booths were set up on various wilderness paths and live jazz was performed again this year by Clay Young on piano and Dave Renaud of Gatineau on clarinet and saxophone.

Visitors dined at an outdoor patio on delicious locally-sourced food prepared by Michele and Paul of the Fall River Pub and Grill.

The tour promotes environmentally friendly art and art lovers had a chance to peruse a wide variety of work in various mediums. Cam explained, “We go looking specifically for environmental artists and though not all mediums can allow for that, one of the standards that we set is that there is some kind of environmental element to the work if that is at all possible.”

John Pierre Schoss of “Dog Bite Steel” in Uxbridge cuts up old propane and oil tanks to create Canadiana, vibrant colourful metal sculptures and forms that can live outdoors and which he says Canadians can “appreciate and understand”. His work includes poppies, robins, maple leaves, beavers, moose, gods, cats and bats, and of course-the Canadian flag. He also creates functional metal drums in the shape of mushrooms as well as metal bird baths. Schoss studied art at the Ontario College of Art and Design and got into metal by accident. “I was fixing the car and had too much metal left over, so I cut it up into hearts and sold them. Then I made birds and they sold too.”

Dennis Webster of Smiths Falls was the tour’s mystery guest this year. He makes rustic furniture, primarily chairs and tables, from hard maple and pine. The backrests of the chairs are unique, hand carved fish, which he often paints with a subtle matte finish.

Alice Hinther of Ottawa uses old bits of photos, letters, books, newspaper clippings and china, which she solders together with lead-free silver solder to create two-sided pendants. Her work mixes the best qualities of the old and the new and recycling is the main theme that motivates her creations.

Also included on the tour this year was

MJH Glass Designs of Kingston with their hand-blown wine stoppers, glasses, vases and bowls and decorative ornaments.

Multi-media artist Marilynne Gowan of Ottawa displayed her clay wall sconces stuffed with juniper and feather bouquets along with her wire worked wall poppies, hanging candelabras and mobiles. This is her third year at the show and she said, “Its a fantastic venue and extremely well organized. We get so many people returning year after year that it’s like visiting old friends every year.”

Also on display were stone bowls by John Schweighardt of Lanark, wooden house wares and furniture by Mark Burnham of Maberly, outdoor stone sculpture and furniture by Scott Switzer of You Rock from Bloomfield.

Meanwhile, out on the back-roads, the 18th annual Inroads Studio Tour was in full swing and visitors to the Kennebec Hall in Arden had a chance to view work by six new joiners to the tour this year, including four Arden quilters, Helen Hoogsteen, Lorraine Pickett, Thelma Hughes and Sheila Neudorf. The four ladies combine traditional and machine quilting techniques and machine embroidery and their rich display included old style Jacob's ladder designs, bargello-style quilts, embroidered wall hangings and a myriad of others styles too numerous to mention.

Joining the Arden quilters at the hall were Margaret Taylor and Kathryn Currie of “By Hook or By Crook” who displayed a variety of exploded lace clothing and house wares including shawls, skirts, cowls, scarves, wraps, and mittens. Both ladies learned the craft from their grandmothers and have been working together for five years. They just recently began doing shows.

Also new to the show and displaying at the hall was painter Jean Finlayson, who reproduces scenes of the Canadian Shield in works that are both colourful and subtle.

Returning to the Inroads tour again this year were well-known and established local artisans who opened their homes and studios to the art loving public. One of a kind prints by Martina Field, functional and sculptural pottery by Joanne Pickett of Arden Pottery, batik work by Sarah Hale of Arden Batik, jewelry by Laurel Minutillo of Laurel Leaf Studio in Parham and fine wood working by Nick Hally of Maple Hollow Studio were just some of the works by the returning artists this year. Anyone who missed the tours is invited to visit www.inroadstour.ca and www.sundancestudio.ca and to contact the artists to make arrangements for a visit.

 

In addition to pianist Shari Tallon, Mezzo Soprano Martine Buissart, and featured pianist Michael Costello, there will be another star making its debut in Arden at the fifth annual Arden and the Arts Celebration next Saturday, October 16: a newly-acquired baby grand piano.

The concert series has always had the acquisition of a grand piano as one of its goals, and earlier this year, Arden-based piano tuner Larry Lightstone, who founded the concert series, managed to secure the donation of a piano to the Kennebec Hall by an anonymous donor.

“The new piano is a great improvement, and it is really ideal that it is a baby grand because the hall is used for so many purposes and a full-sized grand would end up being in the way too often,” said Janet Gutowski, who has been organizing the concert series with Lightstone on behalf of the Central Frontenac Economic Development committee.

The piano will be the focus of the concert

Michael Costello of Carleton Place is known as an interpreter of the music of Frederic Chopin. “I love Chopin’s music,” he says on his website, “Chopin’s rich harmony and expressive melody create a magical quality that inspires me to express my innermost thoughts and feelings. Chopin’s compositions voice a spirit of emotion, patriotism, turmoil, and dreaming that I hope connects with the listener as it does with me.”

During the opening half of the concert, Costello will be playing works by a number of composers, including Chopin’s Fantasie, Claire de Lune by Debussy, and Turkish March by Mozart.

After the intermission, pianist and composer Shari Tallon, who is now living in Sharbot Lake and who has played at Arden and the Arts before, will play two of her own compositions, Everlast in D minor and Floating in A minor. She describes her pieces as a musical journey of melodies, rhythms, and improvisations.

Mezzo Soprano Martine Buissart, a new resident of Harlowe, will follow Shari Tallon, singing songs from Gershwin and others.

The final piece in the concert will be Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise in Aь Major, performed by Michael Costello

Admission is $15, and includes wine and cheese, (all proceeds will go for upgrades to the Baby Grand). The concert starts at 7:00 pm.

The evening will also feature a special tribute to Helen Praskey, the Director of the Arden Glee club, who has been a great force for music in Arden and the surrounding area for many years.

Photo: Mayor Janet Gutowski presents Helen Praskey (photo left) with a paddle in recognition of her contribution to the arts scene in Arden.

Arden and the Arts celebrated its fifth anniversary last Saturday in front of the largest crowd ever to attend one the concerts.

The concerts have always been focused on the piano, which is fitting since they were originally organized by Ardenite Larry Lightstone, a dedicated piano tuner and unabashed lover of piano music. This year, with the addition of a baby grand piano that is now permanently located at the Kennebec Hall, piano music took centre stage once again.

The first half of the concert featured Michael Costello from Carleton Place. Costello is a versatile interpreter of the classical piano repertoire who matches his playing skill with an ability to put the audience at ease with his self-deprecating wit.

He began the concert playing a Schumann piece, followed by Turkish March by Mozart, Debussy’s Clair de Lune and a piece by George Gershwin.

Costello then talked about his abiding interest in the work of Frederic Chopin, and when he played two Chopin selections to end the first part of the concert, the audience could see the ease in his manner at the piano and hear a flow to the sound that was different from his approach to the works of other composers.

After the intermission, Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski made a presentation to Helen Praskey, the founder of the Arden Glee Club, in recognition of her contribution to the arts scene in Arden. The audience, a number of whom are Glee club members, could not have agreed more.

Martine Buissart, a mezzo-soprano from Montreal who now resides in Harlowe, took the stage next. With Michael Costello accompanying her on piano, and putting her at ease a little since she has not performed often as a soloist, she also went to the Gershwin songbook, performing Summertime and some other pieces. The audience was so taken with Martine Buissart that they gave her a standing ovation at the close of her performance.

For her encore Buissart sang an a cappella version of the Edith Piaf standard La Vie en Rose, which she performed in her native French.

Then, after having heard some well known classical pieces and Gershwin, the audience was treated to original music by local pianist and composer Shari Tallon.

Everlast in D minor is a piece Shari Tallon has developed over the years. It features a variation in pace and tone from section to section, without losing the thread of the melody, and it fit in with the Chopin theme of the night in its ability to create a peaceful mood in the listener.

Floating in A minor, her second piece, was more of a challenge to the listener, because even though the title suggests otherwise it has a more rumbling, complicated sound that forced the audience to concentrate more, whereas Everlast was easier to simply roll along with.

After an enthusiastic ovation for Shari Tallon, Michael Costello returned for a performance of the famous Heroic Polonaise by Chopin.

Costello had saved his best performance for last; he gave the Polonaise a rousing interpretation, and it was a fitting end to another enjoyable evening of piano music in Arden.

After the concert, Larry Lightstone, who continues to be involved with the concerts from his behind the scenes vantage point (and of course he tunes the piano), couldn't help mentioning that the audiences in Arden are particularly warm and welcoming to the artists that perform these concerts.

“This reception was a reassurance to me that appreciation of fine arts is not dead in Canada,” he said