CF Canada 150 Committee looking to expand celebration to entire township

Jeff Green | Jul 13, 2016

Bill Bowick, chair of the Central Frontenac Canada 150th Anniversary committee, said that it was no coincidence that the committee held its public meeting at the Kennebec Hall in Arden on Monday night, July 10.

He said that thus far the committee that has been established by Central Frontenac Council is over-represented by members from the Sharbot Lake area, at least partly because Sharbot Lake has been the focus of Canada Day festivities in the township over the years. However, the group is working to change that.

“Our goal is to help all of the communities that make up Central Frontenac share in the Canada 150 celebrations. The projects we support will respect the heritage of our communities, establish a legacy, and bring the peoples of Central Frontenac together as a single community.”

The committee is encouraging events and ongoing projects that take place throughout the sesquicentennial year, rather than only on the Canada Day weekend.

“As a group, we are here to facilitate and publicise events, and maybe help with grants, but we are looking for individuals and groups with ideas and the ability to take the projects on as well,” said committee member Linda West.

West, who is the current chair of Villages Beautiful, which has membership from seven of the hamlets in the township, said the group is looking at replacing some of the deteriorating wooden benches they put in 10 years ago with new red steel benches bearing the Canada 150 logo as a small legacy project.

“We are looking for grant money for that now,” she said.

Other ideas that are already being worked on include a heritage-themed geo-caching project that is being organised by Doug Steele, and the Fitness 150 project, an app to help residents track their physical activity towards the Fitness Canada-designated goal of 150 minutes a week.

A project that will be seeking stories and anecdotes for a kind of human history of the township is being worked on by Linda West. It will lead to a series of articles that will be published in the Frontenac News in 2017.

Two new groups indicated they are going to come on board. One is the Kennebec and District Historical Society. Its current president, Sarah Hale, said that the society has chosen the Memorial Park that is being created across the road from the Mill Pond in Arden as its focus for a sesquicentennial project. The project, which is a joint venture with the Friends of Arden, may include historical plaques marking local events or anecdotes and perhaps the red bench for Arden will be located there as well. Hale also said it might be viable to hold an anniversary event in Arden in the fall of 2017.

Brian Robertson, who represented North Frontenac Little Theatre, said the company is considering presenting programming with heritage and local themes next year.

Marcel Giroux also brought an update about Frontenac County’s signature project for the 150th anniversary, the planned completion of the K&P Trail between Kingston and Sharbot Lake, where it can join with the Trans-Canada Rrail.

The completion of an 8 kilometre section of the trail between Tichborne and Sharbot Lake, where the trail runs through 22 different private properties, requires that a deal be struck between Frontenac County and each of the landowners.

Giroux reported that all but one of the landowners have been contacted, and that while only two final deals have been struck, most are in process.

“There are only two landowners who have said no, and even in those cases we feel there may be an opening that we can explore, because the trail is very close the road allowance for Road 38 in both locations,” Giroux said.

He indicated that while he is confident that it will all be done, having the entire trail open by Canada Day 2017, which is the goal, might be difficult to accomplish.

“Things happen pretty slowly in the public sector,” he said.

One of the things that the Canada 150 committee will be taking on is publicity in the run up to 2017 and throughout the year. A Calendar of Events is being planned, and an events page for Canada 150 in Central Frontenac has been set up on Facebook.

Committee meetings are all public. The next one is set for Monday July 25 at 7 pm, and will be held in the board room of the Central Frontenac Housing Corporation at 1096 Clement Road (the building is at the end of the lane and the board room is at the far left). Bill Bowick can be reached at 613-279-3341.