Frontenac Heritage Festival 2010

Jeff Green | Feb 11, 2010

Throughout Central Frontenac, events are planned for the celebration of the past and the present that is the Frontenac Heritage Festival.

The fourth annual festival will include many of the features from previous years, and a few new events as well. Events will run for three days this year, between Friday, February 19 and Sunday the 21st.

One of the focal points of the festival will be the Crow Lake Schoolhouse, where interactive demonstrations about what life was like in rural Ontario about 200 years ago will take place on Friday and Saturday.

Inside the building up to 15 people will demonstrate traditional skills, including wool knotting, traditional foods and herbs, including some that were used as medicines. On Saturday, lunch in the form of goulash and pie will be available at reasonable prices.

Outside the schoolhouse, local residents Bob Miller and Mike Procter will be joined by a number of other people that have an interest in the way things were done in the era before machinery and electricity. “The skills that people needed to have in order to be able to survive interest those of us who get involved in this kind of activity,” Mike Procter said. “People needed to have a lot of ingenuity and self-reliance just to get by.”

Among the skills that will be demonstrated are: fire starting using flint and steel, the use of a variety of hand tools and tool-making equipment, and weaponry in the form of muskets. John DeWagner, who makes long bows, will also be on hand.

Bannock will be prepared, and for sweetening, Matthew Wheeler will be on hand to prepare maple taffy.

Mike Procter will have a busy day on Friday. Before demonstrating at Crow Lake, he will bring some of his passion for the past, along with some of his vision for tourism and perhaps an old joke or two, to the Sharbot Lake Legion. He will be the speaker at the kick-off event for the festival, a Business Over Breakfast on Friday morning at 8:30 am.

OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Photo Contest Extended! For those shutterbugs who have missed it thus far, entries can still be made for the photo contest because the deadline for entries has been extended. Entering the contest is easy. There are three categories, People – Nature – Recreation (action shots) and there is a special category for youth (16 and under) as well. Simply email a jpeg version of a digital photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., indicating which category it is to be judged in, by Monday, February 15 at 5 pm.

On Friday evening the Legion will also be hosting a Roast Beef Dinner, starting at 5:30 p.m., and at 7:00 p.m. at the Maples Restaurant the winners of the Heritage Festival Photo Contest and the Snow Sculpture contest will be announced, and a slide show of the entries will be shown.

Saturday

The feature day of the Heritage Festival starts off the way any cold winter day should start, with coffee at a country store, in this case at the Parham General Store, where in addition to coffee there will be a display of local photos.

In addition to the Crow Lake Schoolhouse events, which will continue on Saturday from 10am – 4pm, the Soldiers Memorial Hall (Oso Hall) in Sharbot Lake will be the site of displays from the railway committee, the heritage weavers, spinners, cheese making, and more.

At the beach in Sharbot Lake, a girls’ pond hockey tournament will get underway at 10 a.m., as well as horse-drawn wagon rides. At noon, also at the beach, frozen turkey curling gets underway (organizers note that no turkeys will be harmed during this event)

Meanwhile, in the village of Arden, the Skills and Thrills event will get underway at 11:00 a the rink. Participants will need to bring skates, a hockey stick and a helmet to participate.

The Tichborne rink will be hosting a 3 of 3 hockey tournament, starting at noon as well.

While all this outdoor activity is underway, the Sharbot Lake Legion will be hosting a Chilifest, with judging taking place after noon. A Jam Session and Hockey & Wing Night follows.

While in Sharbot Lake, there is one added event that people should go to. At the Seniors’ Centre (across from the Freshmart in the former United Church Manse) Northern Frontenac Community Services is sponsoring a Quilt Show And Sale, featuring a silent auction with reserve bids, between 12-4 pm on Friday, and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday.

In the evening, Jim MacPherson will be hosting the annual Variety Show at the Sharbot Lake High School Cafetorium, and the day will be capped off with fireworks at the ball field next to the school.

Sunday -

Sunday is more of an informal day at the festival. It starts with a heritage breakfast, put on by the Sharbot Lake Anglican Church Women's Group. (Anglican Church Hall – $5)

There will also be a heritage snowmobile ride guided by Wayne Harris. A family skate and fun day will take place at the Tichborne rink, followed the playoffs from Saturday’s 3 on 3 hockey tournament. After the tournament, the closing ceremonies will take place.

Celebrate Valentine’s and Family Day in Sharbot Lake

A few years ago the Oso Recreation Committee put on Canada Day events and maybe one or two other events a year, but lately that has changed, and this weekend is a prime example of that.

The committee will be presenting two events: a Valentine’s Dance for the grownups and a fun day at Sharbot Lake Beach on Family Day.

The dance will be held on Saturday night, February 13 at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake. It is a licensed event, featuring the Cellar Hounds, who are brothers Joe and Tim Asselstine, Randy Kempe and Pete Davis. Tickets are $10 per person, and are available in advance at Fit Plus and the township office.

Tickets have been selling well, but there will be some available at the door. The hall only holds 120 people so people are advised to come early or buy their tickets beforehand.

Family Day activities – Spencer Robinson's zamboni has been spotted on the west basin of Sharbot Lake. The rink is ready for the broomball game, and the oval is ready for the skaters as the February holiday approaches.

Free events are all scheduled to start at 1 o'clock on the school holiday, Heritage Day, Monday, February 15. Smoosh races, skating, broomball, snow shoeing, horse-drawn carriage rides and snowmobile/trail safety are all featured events, and everything is free, including spider hot dogs, hot chocolate and snow taffy. The recreation committee is even providing equipment for people to use if they don't have their own.