This summer, Main Street in Verona will showcase the gardening skills of dozens of volunteer gardeners in the First Annual “Adopt-a-Barrel” flower growing competition.

The Verona Community Association (VCA) has provided over 35 flower barrels lining Main Street, located in front of businesses, private homes and public spaces. Each of these barrels will be “adopted” by individuals or groups who will apply their gardening skills while competing for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100.

The participants will provide the plants, the tender loving care and the creative skill which they hope will impress the independent judging panel sometime in August. In the meantime, residents and visitors to Verona will have the opportunity to enjoy the floral displays all summer. Winners will be announced at the Annual Garlic Festival, the first weekend in September.

The competition is open to any aspiring gardeners/resident in the Verona and nearby area. Entry forms are available at the following locations in Verona: Local Family Farms, Jitterbugs, Nicole’s Gifts, Main St Mercantile and Tea Room, Verona Hardware. Entries must be received by May 7. If there are more entries than barrels available, a draw will be held to assign the barrels.

“We’re really excited about this”, says Joyce Casement, a director of the VCA. “This area has some real gardening talent, and I am sure that the participants are going to put a lot of skill and pride into it.” (All the barrels will have the “Adopter’s Plaque” prominently displayed unless they ask to remain anonymous). “It’s going to be fun watching our favourite displays take shape over the summer, and cheering on our friends and neighbours as they turn Verona into a Garden of Blooms”.

The VCA is a volunteer organization that sponsors projects and events that enhance the Verona community through celebration, beautification and community support. New volunteer members are always welcome. Anyone interested in helping to make Verona an even better place to live may contact Marcel Quenneville at 613-374-1982.

For more information on the Adopt-a-Barrel competition, or for an interview, please contact Debbie Lingen at 613-374-2091. For more information on the Verona Community Association, please call Debbie Lingen or Marcel Quenneville at 613-374-1982.

The Verona Festival Association is excited to announce a new venue for the 2010 Verona Festival. For the first 14 years, the Verona Festival was held at McMullen Park; however, a steady growth of entertainment, crafts people and attending crowds made a move to a larger venue essential.

The new venue for the recently renamed “Verona Cattail Festival” will be the Lions Club Centre on Verona Sand Road in Verona. This venue offers many significant improvements over McMullen Park. The Lion Club grounds are 50% larger than McMullen Park, allowing the Festival Committee to book more entertainment, to bring in additional unique vendors and craftspeople, and to add enhanced rest areas, making a visit to the Festival even more enjoyable.The enhanced night time lighting of the Lions Club will allow increased enjoyment of evening entertainment and activities. Handicapped access and facilities will be markedly improved in the new venue. The fully equipped indoor kitchen and canteen will allow a wider selection of food, including a more health conscious menu.The Lions Club site will also offer greater protection from inclement weather. The new outdoor pavilion and the Lions Club Hall will allow some activities to continue that would otherwise have had to be cancelled in the old venue.

The famous Duct Tape Boat Races and the Soapbox Derby will still be held in their traditional locations at McMullen Beach and the Carleton St hill respectively. The popular Free Methodist Church Pancake Breakfast and the Trinity United Church Fish Fry will be held in the same locations as previous years. Free shuttle service will be provided to all these events.

The change in venue was unanimously approved at the General Meeting of the Verona Festival Association held on March 30, 2010. The Verona Festival Association is an all-volunteer group. New volunteers are always welcome. The next Festival meeting will be Tuesday, April 20 at the Verona Lion’s Club on Verona Sand Road. 7PM. For more information visit the Festival website at www.veronafestival.com or contact Wayne Conway at 613-374-3807.

Centre CFDC board chair Liz Crothers and CFDC executive director Anne Pritchard

The Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) invited guests to a breakfast at the Trinity United Church in Verona on Mar. 30 to help them celebrate the over 97 projects that have been completed in Frontenac County through funds received through the Eastern Ontario Development Program.

In her opening remarks CFDC board chair Liz Crothers announced that between the EODP Funds and CFDC’s community adjustment funds, a total of $1.1 million was available for various programs and out of that a total of $793,300 was given out to local businesses and organizations for various loan and grant projects.

The CFDC Youth Internship program employed seven interns including a Communications and a GIS Intern at the County of Frontenac, a sales and marketing intern at the Land O’Lakes Tourism Association, a marketing and development Intern at Wintergreen Studios, a case management intern at Rural Visions in Sydenham and a marketing Intern at The Frontenac Stewardship Council.

The CFDC’s executive director Anne Pritchard is very proud of the CFDC’s intern program and said, “I have a special soft spot for that program in particular since it is often the first real work experience these young people have and they are always very excited about it. I am also very proud of the amount of loan dollars that went out this year in the last 5 or 6 months which a lot of good will be coming out of.”

Local businesses and organizations that benefited from CFDC funding though the EODP this last year included the Verona Community Association’s local sign project in Verona, the Verona Lion’s Club and Frontenac Farmers Markets new outdoor pavilion,The Greater Sydenham Community Association new business directory, The Frontenac Cattleman’s Association research project, the Eastern Ontario “Invest in Cheese” initiative program, and The Frontenac Arch Biosphere trail mapping project to name just a few.

Another big winner this year was the Regional Green Vision and Strategy Project, a joint venture between the County of Frontenac, the Kingston Area Economic Development Corporation and the CFDC. The project received $60,000 and will focus on promoting and encouraging green initiatives in the area.

Mid way through the breakfast Anne Pritchard announced that the CFDC has received another round of EODP funding beginning April 2010 through March 31 2011 which was great news.

Anyone business or organization looking to expand and or grow their organization or business can find more information about the CFDC’s various programs by visiting the Frontenac CFDC’s website at frontenaccfdc.com. Deadlines begin in April for the Internship program.

Girls’ cottage weekends are great, and they get better as we get older. The stories and chatter is more reflective. Our kids are almost grown, parents are becoming fragile or passing, marriages too. Our level of independence has been fully stretched and we have the loosening skin to prove it. We drink less, go to bed earlier and read more.

So armed with all this empowering stuff, I was quite comfortable to stay alone at the cottage after my girlfriends had headed back to Toronto. To be honest, I made the decision after a beer and a nap. It was just too good to leave. I had stayed alone at the cottage before, but this time I didn’t have the dog for company. I decided that the time alone was worth any nervousness I might feel after the sun went down.

Located in the Land O’Lakes area north of Kingston, our lake isn’t even on the map. If you mention “Spring Lake” at the nearest grocery store in Verona, people are polite, but clearly they’ve never heard of it. There are a lot of lakes, ponds and streams. In fact, the two little lakes connected to Spring Lake to the east are referred to as the ‘Polly Toads’, a name that I’ll definitely not mention in Verona.

Spring Lake has fewer than 20 cottages and attracts small fishing boats, canoes and kayaks. The tranquillity is incredible. My family has explored every nook and cranny of the lake, from my fisherman husband to my predatory children who would catch turtles, snakes, frogs and minnows. We have canoed or kayaked from the cottage, through culverts, over and around beaver dams, through swamps, down a waterfall (albeit small), all to get to Verona for a chocolate bar, or lunch if we’ve had the foresight to bring enough money.

The call of the Loons and, later in the evening, the Whip-poor-will are the sounds I look forward to most at the cottage. On this particular Sunday evening I had the cottage windows closed because it was a little chilly. I was absorbed in my reading when I glanced up at the full-length window to see a man gesturing to me from just outside. I jumped up, raised my fist in the air and yelled: ”NO. GO AWAY.” The intruder started to retreat.

He was thin with long wiry greying hair under an old straw hat, his kaki pants wet and torn at the knee and he wore a camouflage patterned life jacket. When he was safely off the deck, I opened the sliding door to deliver a couple more “NO. GO AWAYs,” when I heard his apologetic voice: “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you saw us down at the dock. My son’s kayak sprung a leak and we’re trying to repair it.”

I realized there were two of them. And indeed, the young one had his kayak belly up on my dock. I grabbed a roll of duct tape and was ready to hurl it down to them, when the man said: “No, we don’t need it. We have a repair kit. All we need is some paper towel to dry it, so it will adhere.”

I felt a little more confident at this point. They did seem to know what they were doing. I actually ventured outside with the paper towel to hand to him. He thanked me and apologized again for giving me such a fright. “My heart is still pounding,” he said. Mine was too.

I asked him where he was from. He didn’t say exactly, but he did say they had kayaked all the way from Verona. I was still a little suspicious and asked him a couple of questions. “How did you get through the culvert?” He answered aptly, “We had to go over it.” This was correct. Last year a large grill was fastened to the culvert, presumably to keep the beavers out. When he described their paddle west of the ‘Polly Toads’ he made the mistake of referring to the adjoining lake as ‘13 Island’ instead of ‘14 Island Lake.’ That’s when I decided to cut the conversation short and head back in to the safety of the cottage. I wasn’t going to take any chances.

Once the kayak was repaired, the man brought the extra paper towel to the deck. He apologized again, and this time, so did I.

When I got back to Toronto, I sent an email to the girls with this addendum: “P.S. I ended up staying Sunday night at the cottage and had a man visit at 8:30 pm. I’ll have to tell you about it in person. Let me just say that both our hearts were pumping! And yes, John knows all about it.”    

We women are not usually at a loss for things to say, but this experience will give us some fuel for the fire.

Rick Smith and Free Beer got people's toes a-tappin' at McMullen Park in Verona

The Verona Community Association is pleased as their second annual free concert series held at McMullen Park in Verona continues to grow in popularity.

The second of three summer concerts took place on June 11 and attracted upwards of 150 people, who set up chairs in the beachside park to listen to country crooners Rick Smith and Free Beer, who played two sets of toe-tapping country favorites.

Thanks to the renovation of the park “cottage”, which was part of the recreation committee's master plan to improve the park, bands can now play in the daytime under cover with a beautiful view of the lake and beach.

VCA member Joyce Casement, who founded and organizes the event, also books the bands and says she never has trouble finding local talent to play. “Local bands love this venue and many have actually tracked me down asking if they can play here.” That was the case with Crooked Wood, the well-known folk/Celtic band who played the first concert in the series and jammed the park with their loyal followers.

Joyce says one of the aims of the concerts was to promote the Verona area and the park. “What we have here is the perfect park, with a nice venue, tall shady trees and a beach. And a lot of people don't even know that it exists.”

Rick Smith and his band, which includes Rick Fraser on bass, drummer Garth Bowes, Andy Schick on steel guitar and Keith Dawson on lead guitar, have been playing traditional country, new and old since 2001 and are a fixture on the local country music scene. This is the first time the band has played the venue and Rick seemed very pleased with both the venue and the turnout. “We love it and are hoping that the organizers might start doing it more often.”

Joyce says that Rick is not the first to make that suggestion. “Right now we feel that three concerts, one per month is manageable. That being said we are considering trying to include more family fun on concert day, perhaps a BBQ, and will see how things go.”

The last and final concert in the series will be Bauder Road on Sunday, August 15 from 2-4 PM. Admission is free and listeners can make a donation to the VCA. In the event of bad weather the concert will take place at the Verona Lions Club on Sand Rd.

Municipal elections are held under cool autumn skies in Ontario, but in South Frontenac the candidates were lining up as the weather was just heating up in early June.

In fact, as of Canada Day, there were 19 candidates for 10 positions in South Frontenac (one mayor, two councilors in each of four wards, and one school board trustee). No one is going to win a position by acclamation in 2010.

In contrast to South Frontenac, candidates have not exactly been chomping at the bit in neighbouring districts.

In Central Frontenac, there are also 10 positions available but only six candidates have registered thus far - Logan Murray for mayor; Tom Dewey for council in Kennebec ward; Richard Greenstreet and Wayne Millar in Oso ward; Philip Smith in Hinchinbrooke and Ann Goodfellow for school board trustee.

Incumbent mayor Janet Gutowski has indicated that she intends to run but has not yet registered.

In North Frontenac, only Jim Beam (for mayor) and incumbents Fred Perry (Barrie ward) and Bob Olmstead (Palmerston-Canonto) have registered thus far, and in Addington highlands only current Reeve Henry Hogg and Bill Cox (Council – southern ward) have put their names forward.

Some interesting races are already shaping up in South Frontenac.

The mayor's race between incumbent Gary Davison and current councillor John Fillion will be particularly interesting. Davison has made formal amalgamation of South Frontenac services the hallmark of his tenure, and for four years Fillion has been one the main forces of resistance against centralizing power and authority at the township office.

Confrontations between the two men have been commonplace at the council table, and this race should yield some lively debates later on in the fall.

In Loughborough District, both incumbents, Ron Vandewal and Alan McPhail are seeking re-election, but there are two other candidates as well, both of whom are well known. Percy Snider, who is a long time contractor for the township, and Fran Willes, a former councilor and mayoral candidate, will give Vandewal and McPhail a run for their money.

In Portland, long-time council member Bill Robinson is seeking re-election, as is one-term incumbent Jim Hicks. Other candidates include Doug Lovegrove, who has taken on roles with the Verona Festival, Prince Charles Public School and other organisations. John MacDougall rounds out the field thus far. MacDougall is active with the Verona Lions Club and the Verona Community Assocation. He has spearheaded the Verona “Find a Doc” campaign and has recently chaired the Sydenham Library construction committee of Council.

In Bedford District, the incumbents, David Hahn and Del Stowe, are also both running, as are Mark Tinlin and Pat Barr. Mark Tinlin is active with the Bobs and Crow Lake Association and is concerned that Bedford District does not receive its fair share of services from the township.

In Storrington District, Larry York is seeking re-election, and there are two other candidates as well, former councilor Peter Roos and Cam Naish.

Barb McLaren is seeking re-election as school board trustee and she will be opposed by Suzanne Ruttan of Perth Road Village.

So, while conversations at community barbeques this summer will be dominated by talk of the weather and gasoline prices, there may be a bit of local politicking going on in South Frontenac communities. 

Verona Festival mascot Cameron the bog lemming and his bog buddies at PCPS

Cameron the Bog Lemming, beloved mascot of the newly renamed Verona Cattail Festival, made a special appearance at Prince Charles Public School in Verona in the hopes of searching out a number of bog buddies to join him in this year's parade. The parade will open the festival on the evening of Friday, August 6 and will proceed along Main Street to this year's new festival location at the Verona Lions Club.

Close to 40 students dressed as butterflies, beavers, lemmings, ladybugs, flowers, skunks, turtles, bees, blueberries and cattails joined Cameron on stage in the school gym. The Verona Community Association (VCA) puts on the annual three-day festival and VCA President Debbie Lingen welcomed all the bog buddies and handed out free ice cream vouchers to each. Cameron chose five lucky winners from the pack, who each received two passes for free admission to all of the scheduled events, which include musical entertainment, the ever popular cardboard duct tape boat races, the vendors' market, canteen, games and much more. Congratulations to Max Orser, Jamie McIlroy, Aurora Black, Alyssa Teal and Keisha Murphy.

Cameron's visit to the school was intended to introduce children to Cameron and the festival and to begin generating interest for what has come to be one of Verona’s major summer events and attractions. Debbie Lingen was pleased with the enthusiastic turnout at the school and said, “The new theme, the Verona Cattail Festival, is a really appropriate name and theme and it gives us a lot of opportunity to introduce some new and exciting ideas this year. It will not only be the only cattail festival in Canada, but likely all of the world. The point of today's event was to bring the festival together with the children of Verona and introduce them to this year’s parade theme ... And as you can see, they have done a really terrific job.”

The 15th Annual Verona Cattail Festival takes place the weekend of August 6, 7 and 8. Admission is $5 for the entire weekend. For more information visit www.veronafestival.com

Councilors Jim Hicks and Bill Robinson cut the ribbon at the dedication of the Donna Clarke Pavilion in Verona

The official opening of the Donna Clarke Pavilion took place in Verona on May 29 and many came out to honour the former Verona Lions Club member, who donated a bequest from her estate to partially fund the outdoor building. A number of Lion members formed the committee to develop and undertake the project, which was completed in January at the Verona Lions Hall site. Also instrumental in the project and named on the plaque were the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, the Frontenac Farmers’ Market, Rivendell Golf, contractor Steven Peters, and R. W. Electric.

Lion member Louise Day spoke first at the ceremony and gave a history of the Verona Lions Club. Lion president Wayne Conway made the official dedication and spoke of Donna Clarke, who served the community both as a teacher and as a long time Lion member.

Councilor Jim Hicks, a friend of Clarke, spoke at length of their friendship and ended his speech with these words: “Donna had a passion for life and gave everything she did her best. I’m sure she’s looking on us today very pleased that the money she donated has been put to very good use.”

The pavilion will be used for the Frontenac Farmers’ Market, The Lions Jamboree, The Lions Garlic Festival and the Verona Cattail Festival. It will also be available for rentals for wedding parties and family gatherings.

Darcy Clow of Bel-Char Farm in Godfrey introduces youngsters to his Simmentals

Local Family Farms in Verona hosted the Frontenac Cattleman’s Association Annual Local Beef Promo day and visitors had a chance to get up close and personal with a fine array of beef cattle from the Bel-Char Farm in Godfrey and the Perry Maine-Anjou Farm near Verona.

Members of two Frontenac 4H Clubs served up local beef burgers fresh off the grill to raise funds for their clubs. Also present at the event were members of the National Farmers’ Union, the Frontenac Federation of Agriculture, Kingston’s Big G and the Matthews of KIX 93.5 FM who were broadcasting the event live. The promo day aims to educate the public on the many benefits of purchasing local beef. In the words of Kim Perry, co-owner of Local Family Farms, which sells a wide array of cuts from their own Black Maine-Anjou and Angus herds, “It’s healthier, fresher and helps local farmers in the area.”

You can pick up a FCA brochure at Local Family Farms to find out the quick facts about beef and where your nearest local beef supplier is located.

Local Family Farms sells a wide range of local beef, fresh produce and other locally-made products. They are located at 6674 HWY 38 in Verona.

Don Bates conducts The Verona Express, a festival favorite for youngsters

The Verona Festival underwent two major changes for its 15th season both in name-The Verona Cattail Festival - and place, the Verona Lions Club and Frontenac Farmers Market site. And judging by the turnout it seems that change can sometimes breathe some fresh life into what was already a good thing.

Cattails loomed large, especially at Friday night’s opening parade, which included frogs, fairies, Prince Charles Public School's float of “bog buddies”, the Deline family's prize-winning bog trailer, Debbie Lovegrove's fancily decorated boggy bug mobile and a number of other impressively decorated vehicles, costumed walkers and horse riders.

After the parade festival goers headed to the festival's new hub location and found ample entertainment, snacks and a record number of vendors at the marketplace, which all kept attendees entertained till well into the twilight hours and throughout the entire weekend. One of the organizers, Debbie Lingen, estimated the number of attendees this year as approximately 2000-2500.

The Lions canteen provided munchies and diners lounged comfortably under cover of the new Donna Clarke pavilion. Kids had their choice between a number of hands on crafts, mini-golf, petting zoo and took frequent rides on the Verona Express.

Photo Right: Team Whalen's Curtis and Justin off to a good start took best overall finish at the duct tape boat races

Regular events held at McMullen park and beach like the antique car show, dog show, antique engine display and classic car show, were well attended thanks to the frequent shuttle bus service. Long-time festival favorite, the duct tape boat races had a record number of entries this year, seeming to prove that attendees are embracing the new changes.

Many of the high lights occurred on the main stage and this years entertainment hit the mark many times over with an eclectic array of high quality groups ranging in styles that included rock, blues, gospel, bluegrass, reggae and country. A professional marquee naming the individual bands and their scheduled appearance times added a nice touch.

Doug Lovegrove was the festival’s “green guru” who organized the recycling station that took care of virtually all of the festival garbage and recycling and his booth was a particular hit with the youngsters.

Rain is forever an unfortunate visitor to any outdoor summer festival but Sunday's deluge hardly dampened the over 300 attendees who gathered undercover at the new pavilion and waited out the storm, enjoying Sunday's line up where Luther Wright and the Wrongs gave a heartfelt encore performance.

Festival organizers who might have been hesitant of this year’s changes warmed up by the end of the festival as visitors raved about the changes. Debbie Lingen, who emceed all weekend long along with Dick, said, “We've gotten great reviews about everything and we feel that every year it is just going to get bigger and better. Those who were unsure about the changes I think have been won over.”

The festival's general manager Wayne Conway was equally enthusiastic. “The new location is just terrific-I'd have to call it awesome. It's bigger, safer, and we have no health, safety or parking issues. I think that the numbers are up and the signage and the free transportation have made it easy for people to attend all of the events. The really great thing is that this year for the first time we are incorporating all of Verona.”

The festival is funded by a number of local and area sponsors and the Verona Community Association and is run solely by volunteers. It continues to be a long time favorite attraction for locals and visitors alike.