On Saturdays in September during the Farmers Market, the MERA School House in McDonalds Corners will present “Falling for Colour: A Celebration in Fibre!”, an exhibit and sale of Parsimonious Mats and Primitive Hand-hooked Rugs created by fibre artists Donna Sproule of Perth and Judy Bedell of Ottawa. On Saturday, September 5, the artists will be on site at the Farmers Market demonstrating primitive rug hooking and everyone is invited to meet them.

The McDonalds Corners Farmers Market is open Saturdays 9am-1pm, offering fresh local produce, where friends meet at the Market Café for fair trade coffee, and to sample tasty treats from the vendors. Pizza is served from the outdoor wood-fired oven. Come join us! To see more of Donna and Judy’s work, visit www.parsimoniousmats.weebly.com.

The lively cast of the Company of Fools’ production of William Shakespeare's “The Comedy of Errors” pose for a photo shoot after their stellar performance on July 22 at the MERA school house in McDonalds Corners. The cast delighted an all ages crowd that gathered for the outdoor performance, which tells the rollicking tale of two sets of twins who were accidentally separated at birth - two twin brothers and their twin servants, and their love interests. The misunderstandings, dilemmas and mounting confusion make for one entertaining piece of theatre. A wonder of words, sight gags and slapstick comedy, the play was brought to life thanks to the talented and energetic cast and crew along with eye-catching with colourful costumes, fabulous spongy wigs and topnotch sets. The cast each played their highly demanding roles with verve and passion and to great comic effect, making the evening one to remember and likely creating a whole new younger generation of Shakespeare fans.

Lovers of world music were treated to two special concerts that brought the sounds of far-off places to this neck of the woods.

The first concert took place on June 28 at the MERA schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners, where flamenco guitarist Jorge Miguel surprised guests and appeared with stellar flamenco singer, Fernando Gallego, in tow. The two performed two generous sets of top-notch, straight from the heart music and those unfamiliar with the power of authentic flamenco were hit hard with the intensity of emotion that it is.

Miguel, who has studied with the best flamenco guitarists in Spain, de-mystified the genre for guests. He explained that the music goes back to the Druids of 3000 years ago, and is a style similar to American blues in that it is the music of the people, and relies on the interaction between singer, players and dancer.

Though the dancer who normally appears with the duo was unable to make the trip out to MERA, these two left nothing wanting in their incredible performance. Miguel's fast-flying fingers built a solid and magically full sound that followed Gallego's lead and when the seemingly shy singer first opened his mouth it was like experiencing a powerful wallop of emotion that reaches right to the heart and soul of what is meant by real flamenco. The two performed a number of original tunes composed by Miguel, from his two album releases to date, one of which took him no less than eight years to complete.

With Gallego’s vocals accentuating Miguel's extraordinarily complicated rhythms and with the latter alternately hand clapping and beating on the “cajon”, a Spanish percussion box, the two managed to bring the heart and soul of Cadiz, Spain, which is the Spanish hub of flamenco music, to the crowd. The two have been performing together for a number of years, bringing authentic flamenco in all its power, beauty, sorrow, love and humour to appreciative audiences, many of whom, like myself, have never experienced the real McCoy.

McDonalds Corners/Elphin Recreation and Arts (MERA) will host its first multi-disciplinary arts festival on Sat. June 13, 10am-dusk at the MERA Schoolhouse. Except for a build-your-own-ukulele workshop that requires a fee & registration, the festival is completely free. The activities will include a number of workshops and demonstrations by various arts groups, including the MERA Heritage Weavers, the MERA Pottery group, the fine arts “Arts Circle”
and many others. plus activities for children. There will be a puppet-making workshop given by Montreal’s Flying Box Theatre. They make a variety of styles of puppets, tailoring their workshops to each audience, and are looking forward to teaching puppetmaking to young and old alike. They will also present a free performance of “Hans Dudeldee and Other Forgotten Fairy Tales” at the evening gala concert. Flying Box Theatre will also be giving two other performances at other locations: on Sunday, June 14, at 10am in the band shell at Sharbot Lake beach, and 1:30pm at Perth and District Public Library (admission by donation).
An evening gala concert will include Eve Goldberg, accordianist Chantale Urbain performing French gypsy tunes, and Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter David Ross MacDonald. www.meraschoolhouse.org

As the second of this summer's Blue Jeans Classical music series, MERA is presented the master pianist, Michel Szezesniak on Sunday, June 7th at 2:00 PM at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonald's Corners.  Many music lovers will recall his memorable performance at MERA as part of the Woodwinds and Piano recital in November, 2014.

Entitled "Fascinating Miniatures", the concert will feature piano gems by Beethoven, Scriabin, Gershwin, Satie and compositions by the pianist himself.  The common thread will be that all of the composers of these charming piano pieces are themselves pianists.  Along with playing these pieces, Michel will use his considerable wit and wisdom to entertain the audience about the music and the composers.

Michel moved to Canada from the United States in 1983, and since then has as a soloist and part of chamber recitals on CBC Radio, with five major symphony orchestras across Canada, and his compositions and playing has been featured on two recordings.

He has been based in Kingston since 1989 where he is a piano instructor at Queen's University School of Music, pianist for the Kingston Chamber players and accompanist for the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston.

The third in the Blue Jeans series will be held at 2:00 PM  on Sunday, July 12th, featuring the dynamic duo of Keenan Reimer-Watts, piano, and Emily Kennedy, cello.

Tickets for these concerts are available for $25 plus administration fee at Ticketsplease.ca, by telephone at 613-485-6434 or in person at Jo's Clothes, 39 Foster Street, Perth.  Children accompanied by an adult are free.

Painting trees is one way that artist Gwen Frankton believes she can actively take on stand on the environment and conservation, and judging by the turnout at her new show at the MERA school house, she is definitely succeeding in bringing that conversation forward. The show titled “Every Green Tree”, on display until April 28, puts trees front and centre and for those adverse to the term “tree huggers”, her paintings go a long way in making their case.

Frankton, who calls both Ottawa and Maitland, Nova Scotia home, has been painting ever since she acquired a BFA at the University of Windsor decades ago. Now retired and a full time artist, it is her love of nature and particularly trees that inspired this show, which she chose to hold at MERA, a first for her, because as she said, “It just felt like the right kind of place to display this type of work”.

Her mostly acrylic works are lush and vibrant depictions of what she sees when venturing out in the woods of both Nova Scotia and eastern Ontario. The strength of these works is their freshness and frank honesty and the artist's refusal to follow any prescribed formula. She fittingly refers to each of these works as a “portrait”. With a botanist for a father, her childhood was filled with nature and botany so it is no wonder that this kind of subject matter, in her own words “really speaks to me.” Each of her trees is captured as she finds it in the real world, depicted in its own unique and intimate space, in various shapes and forms, and in differing states of light and shade, which gives each painting its own unique composition, color and style. “I think of how I paint trees as portraiture and I treat each tree as an individual entity like you would a person,” she said when we spoke at her vernissage, which took place at MERA on April 12.

One large work titled “Ash Tree by The River”, focuses on one tree that bears a thick, rough, undulating bark surface, which Frankton captured by applying thick, three-dimensional layers of paint that rise from the canvas and invite the viewer's caress. Up close the work is an abstract collection of large swaths of color: blues, purples and mauves on its shady sides; browns, pinks and tans on its front face, and it is unlike any other painting in the show.

Similarly, in “Birch 2, Nova Scotia”, a three trunked birch tree appears lusher than the birches from this area and Frankton explains that this is the case since this particular east coast birch grows near a water logged dyke. Unlike the ash tree, the trunks of this tree are velvety smooth, their finely blended colors slowly transitioning one to the next and with imposing splotches of lichen greens showing the lushness of this tree's wetter surrounds. This work demonstrates Frankton's new tendency to look at trees “particularly where they meet the ground, which is something that has really started to interest me.”

One series of four long thin works titled "Trees 1 through 4" focuses on four different trees at their mid-trunk and each is again a careful and unique color study. Some have a purple-blue glow and others are painted in brighter daylight and boast lively blotches of reds, purples and oranges that define each tree's special and very individual birth marks.

For those who tend to take trees for granted, Frankton's works offer viewers a chance to reconsider that position, and will likely turn those who have yet to really see trees in all their glory into ardent huggers. For more information visit www.gwenfrankton.com.

Irish Ulster baskets were the focus at a special basket making workshop that took place at the MERA schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners on March 7. Veteran basket maker, Maike Polano, who lives in Brooke Valley headed up the workshop where six enthusiastic participants learned how to make Irish Ulster potato baskets, shallow circular willow baskets that were used by potato farmers in Ireland to wash and strain potatoes and sometimes also used to serve cooked potatoes in.

Polano, who has been making baskets since 2009, began by showing the participants how to make the initial hoop or rim of the basket, onto which they then secured a number of ribs that were woven into place. Individual strands of willow were then woven through the ribs and the baskets quickly began to take shape.

Polano said that the tricky part of making these baskets is their tendency to want to take their own shape. “Keeping that in mind, you have to work hard to maintain the shape that you are after and you have to work with your hands to keep a nice tight weave, since the basket always wants to do its own thing.”

Many of the participants were first time basket makers and Polano said that she was very impressed with their abilities.

The willow used for these baskets was the last crop of willow harvested from MERA's famed willow labyrinth, which is now no more. Ankaret Dean, who was participating in the workshop, said the willow came from one “mad Irishman”, who 20 years ago brought one such basket to the area from Ireland. He then proceeded to take it apart and planted the willow. Some of the cuttings from his basket made their way into MERA's labyrinth, which makes these particular workshop baskets unique, with an authentic Irish/ MERA history all their own.

The Irish willow is a variety known as “salix purpurea”. It is particularly long and straight and Ankaret said it is the perfect willow to use for these types of baskets. She added that the original Irish willow that was planted in the MERA labyrinth could have easily cross-pollinated with other types of willow that were also planted there.

The MERA willow labyrinth was originally planted in 1999 as part of the MERA's millennium celebrations and was inaugurated at a big party soon after its planting. It was designed with four-foot-wide walkways so that a wheelchair could easily move through it but as the willows grew over the years, the pathways slowly closed in. For that reason and the fact that it had “had its day”, it was dismantled, making more space available for the regular farmers' market, which will start up again at MERA in May. Polano brought with her to the workshop a number of her own large finished baskets, which I have included in the photo. She sometimes sells her baskets at local shows in and around Perth. Asked if she will be planning another workshop anytime soon, she said that if she has enough material she would consider putting on another workshop at MERA.

Over 30 local growers attended the 4th annual McDonalds Corners Seed Swap, which took place at the MERA schoolhouse on March 7. The event invites local growers to share the bounty of their cumulative efforts to grow and save their own seeds, many of which are heirloom and heritage varieties that they have been experimenting with for years. Set up inside the MERA schoolhouse were tables offering up a wide variety of vegetable, flower and shrub seeds.

Kristine Swaren is one of a small group of local growers who founded the annual event, and she owns and operates Blue Chicory Garden, where she and her husband produce honey and grow a wide variety of produce that they sell at the Perth Farmers' Market.

Swaren said the annual seed swap began not only as a way to help local growers share seeds but also to help them inform each other about what they have been growing and experimenting with, many with the goal of acclimatizing specific varieties to the local area.

Swaren is currently in the process of setting up a seed savers' network and guests who attended the event were invited to sign up to be a part of it. One benefit of the new network, Swaren said, is that it will encourage local growers to grow specific plants that need to be grown in isolation from other varieties to prevent cross-pollination.

“Take squash for example, which needs to be grown in isolation. The network will enable growers to plant and harvest one type of squash each year while other growers can plant and harvest other types. Then, at the end of the season we will be able to share the seeds and plants and swap them at the end of the year without the possibility of cross-pollination.”

Swaren was excited about a number of seeds that she acquired at the event, including the Doe Hill sweet pepper, a variety that has a very short growing season and survives in colder weather. She was also excited about a number of soup bean varieties, which she said “are very easy to collect seed from and a great plant to start with if you are new to seed collecting.” Hollow Crown Parsnip seeds that local grower Linda Harvey has been collecting were also on hand and in abundance and is one species no longer available in seed catalogues. “One of the goals of the seed network is to also save seeds from older varieties of plants like the Hollow Crown parsnip that are no longer commercially available.”

Swaren said that these days seeds are becoming more readily available from local growers and she gave the example of the Mountain Grove Seed Company located near Parham, where local grower Dawn Morden has been selling a wide variety of local historic and heirloom seeds.

Swaren said the annual seed swap is growing every year and in addition to its regulars, who keep coming back year after year, there are always new faces in the crowd. Growers who missed the Seed Swap at MERA and who want to join the seed network can email Kristine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

by Kristine Swaren

The best remedy for winter blues is to think spring! And that's best done in a convivial group, so come join us to swap seeds and garden stories. It's the fourth annual Seed Swap hosted by the McDonalds

Corners Farmers' Market on Saturday, March 7, at the MERA Schoolhouse. Bring seeds - the ones you saved from last year's garden or the left-overs (commercial or saved) that you didn't plant. Bring containers (small bottles or envelopes, plus labels and markers) for the new-to-you seeds that you'll take home. Bring friends to share the fun!

The seeds are all priceless, as we try to live the principle of free seed supply. On the sale tables will be garden accessories such as books and utility aprons, plus farmers' market jams, eggs and other

goodies. If you have garden-related items that you would like to sell, please contact Kristine Swaren at 613-278-1226 at least a week ahead.

Although it's a drop-in, any time between 10 am and 2 pm, be warned - you will want to stay for a while to share gardening tips as well as seeds! The Steady Way (Sean and Aynsley) will be providing café service with yummy treats. For more information on when and where, please visit the McDonalds Corners Farmers' Market page on Facebook, or the MERA website at www.meraschoolhouse.org

Contact: 613-278-1226, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amazingly talented people live among us in Eastern Ontario. One of them is Steve Boyd, a stained glass artist – and fortunately for those who are interested in acquiring the skills involved, he will be teaching classes at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners starting on Saturday, February 14.

In 1986, Steve started out by simply taking a course at Algonquin College. Part of the class-work involved helping out on a church restoration project – and over the next four years, he progressed from student helper to full time worker. He later opened his own studio near Westport. Then, from 2000 to 2004, he had an opportunity to work for Scotland’s National Trust, doing restoration work on Edinburgh Castle.

Now back in Westport, he currently works on a mix of new commissions and restoration projects, including restorations of the United Churches in Middleville and Hopetown.

Steve has produced an interesting format for the MERA workshops: he’ll be teaching a one-and-a-half day beginners’ workshop in which people will be introduced to the tools, materials, and procedures involved in making a stained glass panel, using the copper foil technique. That workshop will prepare people to go on to a more advanced class – to be held later in the year – where they will be able to develop more adventurous pieces.

The beginners’ workshop will be held on two Saturdays: on February 14 there will be a full-day session from 10 am to 4 pm, and on February 21, a half-day follow-up is scheduled from 10 am to 1 pm. The cost for both sessions will be $40 for MERA members ($55 for non-members) plus a $10-15 materials fee. Bring your own lunch. Coffee and tea will be provided

For further information, or to register, please call the Schoolhouse and leave a message at 278-0388 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.