Jeff Green | Feb 10, 2016


Tay Valley Township is joining with its neighbours in the Perth and the townships of Drummond/North Elmsley and Beckwith in the 200th anniversary celebration of the Perth Military Settlement of 1816. In that year, the first wave of settlers came into the region after the War of 1812 and they were granted land in the municipalities surrounding Perth.

In Tay Valley, there are four signature events being planned by the municipality in addition to a number of events being put on by community groups and businesses.

The first of the signature events was the Tay Bells Winter Celebration at the Maberly fairgrounds and the Maberly hall. The event featured heritage-themed games and races, such as a plank race and a tug of war, horse-drawn wagon rides, hockey, and indoor games, as well as performances by Fiddlers & Friends and Jessica Wedden in the hall.

Organisers were pleased with the turnout, and members of the fire department as well as others provided a strong volunteer crew to make sure everything went as planned.

The weather was not exactly as wintry as one would expect in February, but that didn't stop people from enjoying themselves.

The other three signature events in Tay Valley are the Scotch Line History Fair at the EcoTay Farm on June 11 & 12; the Settlers Heritage Days and Lanark County Plowing Match on August 19 & 20; and finally a Betwixt and Between family potluck and dance on December 28 in the Stanleyville Hall.

A host of other events are scheduled, both in Tay Valley and the other municipalities throughout 2016. For a full list, go to lanarkcountytourism.com, click on the 200th anniversary icon, and then where it says “events page” on the next page. There are one or two events just about every weekend until the end of the year.

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