Fans of old-style English music hall humour are sure to enjoy an evening of skits, songs and dance courtesy of the five-member cast of “On No, Not Again”.

The play, a collection of comedic pieces, is the brain child of long-time pals Dick Miller and Peter Lovett, who have been acting together for over 14 years. The two wrote and directed the play, which is actually now in its fourth installment. The original was formulated seven years ago and has been put on for audiences in Kingston and also at the Selby Theatre. The skits include many clever costume changes, which I will not reveal here, and which form the basis for some very entertaining sight gags, racy conversations and classic old-school English shenanigans. Both Miller and Lovett are stage chameleons of sorts, as comfortable sporting their talents as Elvis tribute artists as they are bundled up and bonneted in cotton onesies or boasting black and white habits.

The two gentlemen's antics are buoyed by their two female counterparts, Miller's daughter Lisa Wilberforce and her long time acting pal Julia McKay, who have also worked together before onstage. Some of their primo offerings include a funny musical take on Canadian nationalism, a new and interesting way of cementing the nine times table and some top notch musical faves that they perform with aplomb.

And we cannot forget the lovely and talented Sandy Turcotte, who plays a hard to please accompanist. She also has some very powerful vocal stylings of her own and caustic one-liners to add into the mix. The evening includes one intermission and Miller describes the show as “ a fast-paced evening of entertainment that will keep people laughing.”

Comedy is one of the toughest of stage genres to nail and timing is of course of the essence. Both male and female leads were able to work on their parts independently of the others before bringing them together in five weeks of final rehearsals, which made for a night of seamless back-to-back fun.

The actors’ wives, Jan and Debbie, work hard behind the scenes on costumes, props and sets and behind the lights are Howard and Lynne Hutcheson.

For those who missed this weekend’s performances, the show continues on with three more: Friday & Saturday, Oct. 3 & 4 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 pm at the Schoolhouse Theatre in Bellrock.

“I'm eager to paint where my co-habitants live because all depend on a natural place to survive.” Those are the words of Hartington artist Nicole McGrath, the painter whose 50 landscape paintings graced the walls of the Blueroof Farm near Bellrock on June 7 and 8.

Blueroof Farm is the home of award-winning Canadian artist Kim Ondaatje, who invited Nicole to show her work at Blueroof. The farm is the perfect backdrop to McGrath's richly colored and expressive works, which focus on the natural beauty of the Frontenac Arch. The works are small in scale, most measuring 8x10 inches, and at first glance are reminiscent of the small preliminary landscape sketches made by many members of the Group of Seven. However, unlike the latter, which were used as studies for much larger works, McGrath's small paintings are resolved and complete unto themselves. They are bright, colorful and fresh, each projecting a quiet, interior, meditative feel that invites the viewer to relax into each unique scene.

McGrath says that painting out of doors is an integral part of her practice and she enjoys the quiet contemplative feeling that the natural surroundings bring. “I found that painting from photos never gave enough information that I needed so I took an en-plein-air class and began painting out of doors. I found that I could see much more clearly what I was trying to paint.” McGrath said that being in nature puts in her in a place where she is "better able to function as an artist”. She adds that the movement of en-plein-air gave painters in France (where it began) the freedom to be outside and paint landscapes in their real, natural light. “I love to look at the light as it is on objects and how it's almost always changing. It's a beautiful space to be in your mind.”

McGrath paints in oil and her landscapes include forests, hills, shorelines and watersheds painted in each of the four seasons. The colors are often vibrant and eye catching, as when subtle purples and mauves are outlined and put side by side with striking red lines. Some works are painted in a more impressionistic style with visible brush strokes made apparent on the surface and others are more smooth and blended. “I try to let the landscape I am painting tell me how it wants to be painted. Sometimes it looks more impressionistic and sometimes more like the Group of Seven but I never set out to paint in a certain way.”

Asked about the challenges of painting outdoors she said you have to paint fast. “The light and shadows are always changing, faster or slower depending on the season and the time of day so you have to be prepared and work quickly to get what you want on the canvas before things change. I really don't have much time to think things out and plan the paintings; I just quickly compose the piece, focusing immediately on the color and the placement of things to the point where it seems I am almost working from the subconscious.”

In fact it is due to the quickly changing color and light that outdoor painters learn to paint the foreground first whereas in studio painting, the background is often painted first. Plein-air also requires practical preparation. Having the right clothing and equipment is key. Multiple layers and a waterproof shell are key in the winter months, when McGrath says she often sits in the snow. Similarly two types of gloves, fingerless and not, come in handy, the first for better dexterity while painting and the second for warming up.

Summer offers its own challenges where heat and rain are factors though one can be out working for much longer periods of time. McGrath said she will soon be traveling to Peru where she looks forward to painting the rain forests. Hopefully we will have a chance to view some of her new works on her return.

 

Back to HomeFeature Article - July 9, 2009 Residents rally to save the Bellrock community hallBy Julie Druker

Kevin Wenkoff and Doris Ritchie at the Bellrock Community Hall

It has been said that history often repeats itself. Such is the case for members of the Bell Rock Community Hall Association who, because of dwindling finances and membership, have been struggling to keep alive the last and only public building and outdoor park space left in their community.

The hall was originally a one-room school house built in 1870. Back in 1949 the school closed down when Prince Charles Public School opened in Verona. In an effort to keep the Bellrock school open as a community center, 20 concerned members of the community held a meeting and formed the Bell Rock Community Hall Association.

With 100% community support they collected donations and were able to purchase the school and its adjacent playing field, which houses a ball diamond, basketball nets and a playground. By purchasing the building, the 20-member volunteer group took on the responsibility of funding, maintaining and operating the hall and the adjoining field.

An entertainment committee was quickly formed that organized dances, receptions, reunions, card tournaments, movie nights, seasonal festivals, annual holiday celebrations and regular fundraising events making the hall a popular gathering place and a focal point in the community for the last six decades.

In the past, members have donated a well, constructed indoor plumbing and washrooms and carried out other numerous tasks involved with the building’s upkeep.

Now 60 years later, the members realize that they are in desperate need of some new volunteer muscle and, of course, money. The cost is roughly $5,000 annually just to keep its doors open.

Doris Ritchie, who is now 75, was one of the original members of the association. She was the association's secretary from 1995-2009 and understands the social and historical significance of the hall, having attended the school and celebrated her wedding reception there in 1950.

In Doris’s words, “The problem now is that a lot of the original members have either moved away or are getting on and can’t do the things that we used to.” But that is not the only issue. Doris explained, “Another problem is that some of the new people in the community have no historical connection to the hall and so are not even really aware of it." Doris still plays euchre at the hall and has been a regular visitor since she was five years old.

On May 25, in an effort to raise community awareness, Doris walked door-to-door speaking to the people of Bellrock about the historic hall. She delivered to them a letter stating the precarious financial situation the hall was in and invited them to attend an emergency meeting. Her efforts were successful. Eighteen interested people showed up, just two less than the original 20 that showed up in 1949.

Next, members of this initial small group wrote up an historical outline of the hall with a survey asking for new ideas and interested volunteers. A total of 150 surveys were sent out along with an invitation to attend a second emergency meeting.

At the second meeting held on June 15, it was found that of the 30 people who responded to the survey, 100% of them wanted to see the hall preserved. At that same meeting a new Bellrock Community Hall Committee for 2009/2010 was formed and the group immediately began brainstorming new ideas for fundraising and community events.

Kevin Wenkoff, who moved with this wife to Bellrock four years ago, is the new chair of the committee. He needs no convincing of the importance in keeping the hall alive for present and future generations. He explained, “There are a few people who definitely want to see the hall kept. A big part of the problem is that some of the younger people here are finding themselves too busy. I’m hoping, though, that we can still convince these people to come out and give any small amount of time that they do have.”

Kevin sees the issue of saving as having come full circle since 1949. He explained, “We’re asking the same questions now: ‘who can help? How can we pay the bills and who can physically help to do these things?’”

The community's wheels are once again turning and thanks to the newly formed committee, a number of events are starting to take shape. Yoga classes will begin on July 13 and a raffle, potluck and vegetable exchange will happen on September 19. Like many good things that exist in our communities, it is the initial impetus and effort of a few that bring about a common good. Thanks to the efforts and Kevin and Doris and many others too numerous to mention, the Bellrock Community Hall looks as though it is entering an exciting new era.

The committee will meet again on July 20 at 7PM and everyone is invited to bring their input. Anyone wanting further information can call Lynn Hutchison at 613-374-1470 or visit www.bellrockcommunityhall.reztel.ca

by Faye Prettie (Grade 9, Sydenham High School)

Photo by Jack Prettie

On Tuesday, May 3, a barn was engulfed in flames in Bellrock, west of Verona. It was spotted around three o'clock by students on the high school bus coming home from school.

It was a cloudy day and raining slightly when one of the students spotted the smoke. The smoke was darker than the other clouds and hundreds of feet in the air. At first they thought it was just dark rain clouds, but soon they realized it was smoke. Looking to the north side of Bellrock Road they spotted the building engulfed in flames. Once the bus drove closer they realized it was a barn.

The students who spotted it were neighbours of the people who owned the farm. When the students got off the bus they called fire department. Fire trucks and an ambulance arrived by 3:30 pm. The roof had caved in by this point and all you could see were flames high in the air. The horses were running wild and spooked in the field. By 4:00 pm there was nothing left of the barn, just flames.

Kevin Wenkoff with one of the signs

Since the revitalization campaign of the Bell Rock Community Hall Association (BCHA) began in August of last year a lot has changed in the community of Bellrock.

Included in that change are seven brand-new signs for the village and the community that will be erected by the end of the month.

The signs were acquired by the BCHA after they received a $9000 grant from the Local Initiative program, which is funded by the Eastern Ontario Development Program through the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC).

The seven signs were made by local artist Donna Larocque of Artemisia Gallery and Art Services. Two large welcome signs will be erected on the Bellrock Road at either end of the village, two will be located at the community hall and 3 signs will direct people to the hall.

The timing could not be better since this year the BCHA is celebrating its 60th anniversary and the community hall its 140th.

The community hall was built in 1870 as a one-room schoolhouse and closed in 1949. In 1950 the Bellrock community purchased it and began running it as a community hall. It now remains the last single public building in the community and in 2000 it was incorporated as not-for-profit community building.

Kevin Wenkoff, who moved to Bellrock with his wife Karen four years ago and who now chairs the BCHA, joined together with long-time members of the BCHA and spearheaded a revitalization campaign that invited new and old members to join forces in order to keep the hall open and running.

After a team completed a door-to-door community survey last summer it was agreed that the association should focus on signage promoting the natural and historic beauty of Bellrock.

Wenkoff is thrilled with the new signs. "The grant provided us with an immediate opportunity and we seized it,” he said.

According to Wenkoff the goal of the signs is three-fold. “We are hoping to raise awareness of the natural and historic beauty of Bellrock, especially the local and area gardens and also draw attention to the historic community hall and the various community events that are being held here." He added that the new signs will help make Bellrock a tourist destination and encourage people to settle in the community.

Since the BCHA's revitalization last summer new events at the hall have included yoga classes, a fall harvest potluck supper, ongoing Euchres and lunch held every other Thursday, an ongoing flea market, and a Valentine's Day dinner and dance. The events are an opportunity to generate funding for the hall and also to provide a chance for the community to come together.

The association has divided itself into various groups in charge of activities like fundraising, entertainment and others and Kevin admits that the group is still in much need of members and volunteers. He encourages others to get involved.

Upcoming at the hall on Saturday April 17 from 7-10pm is an evening of Celtic traditional and contemporary music and dancing with the Kingston Ceili Band. Joining the event are Steve and Julie Rainer of Bellrock who will be calling the sets and dances. All proceeds will go towards supporting the hall, which still requires a number of renovations. Tickets are $10 and are available at Local Family Farms, Toppers, Verona Hardware and Starke’s in Harrowsmith.

Anyone interested in joining the BHCA can contact Kevin Wenkoff at 613-545-5165. The hall is located at 6034 Leveque Road.

 

Photo: Kevin Wenkoff and Rowena (Leonard) Reynolds a former teacher in Bellrock celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Community Hall

In May of 2009 a revitalization campaign began to save the Bellrock Community Hall. Just a year and a half later, the committed volunteers who have worked tirelessly on the campaign had a busy day celebrating and reaping what they’ve sown. On September 25 over 100 diners tucked into a festive meal of roast pork (the first old-style pig roast to be held at the hall in over a decade) for a fundraiser celebrating the rebirth of the 60-year-old community hall and former one-room school house. The school closed its doors in 1949 and shortly thereafter became the Bellrock Community Hall.

The meal followed an earlier afternoon meet and greet where former students and staff of school gathered to remember the past and celebrate the future of the hall that is once again becoming the focal point of the Bellrock community.

Kevin Wenkoff, who helped instigate the campaign and who is chair of the Bellrock Community Hall Committee, spoke of the long way he and his committee have come in such a short time. “It's all happened pretty fast. So far with the help of two separate grants from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) we have completed signage for the hall and the village and also done a number of hall upgrades, which included the rewiring of the entire building. That work will be completed this week.”

The committee is also hoping to secure a grant from the Trillium Foundation that will allow upgrades to the kitchen along with the construction of accessible washroom facilities and much more.

Wenkoff said that there are also plans in the works to form the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theater, which Wenkoff says will become a subsidiary of the hall association. “For years there has been widespread interest in forming a theater in the Verona area and the hall is a perfect location for a small theater venue. Our goal is to promote the arts in the local community and to get people of all ages involved.”

The venue will seat 84 theater-goers and Wenkoff is hoping that a Trillium grant will allow for improved lighting and the building of a new stage and dressing room.

“We'd love to have the stage completed before Christmas, in which case we would be able to put on our first show this spring.”

So far Kim Ondaatje of Blue Roof farm has donated a piano and a tape recorder to the cause.

Upcoming events at the hall include an Aboriginal Thanksgiving celebration and potluck on Saturday October 2, where participants will learn aboriginal teachings and how to make drums.

In Bellrock the old adage “If you build it, they will come” is proving to be true.

Photo: Ebeneezer Scrooge, played masterfully by Fred Colwell, sees the light on stage at the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre

In a special performance on December 15, members of the Bellrock community presented Dickens' famed classic A Christmas Carol at the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre. The play was a pared down but impressive take on the classic tale of the man whose name now applies to modern-day Christmas skeptics and misers. It was produced and directed by Fred Colwell (who also played the lead role of Scrooge), with Suki Falkner managing the stage and set design.

This is the tale of the cold-hearted, cheapskate Ebenezer Scrooge, who miserably fails to empathize with his fellow human beings. Miraculously, Scrooge changes his ways after being visited successively by numerous ghosts; first that of Marley, his former business partner (Tom Falkner), then the ghost of Christmas Past, (Dick Miller), and lastly Christmas Present (Bob Brown). The visitations ultimately lead to Scrooge's rebirth and in the end he is transformed into a compassionate and generous old mensch.

The set was designed masterfully by Suki Falkner, given the smallish stage and the generous length of the tale. The first hurdle was overcome by keeping the sets to a manageable minimum and cleverly utilizing the stage doors as the windows into Scrooge's numerous ghostly visions.

As for the production's length, it ran for just over an hour thanks to the two narrators, Connie Shibley and Tom Falkner, who read a good portion of the play expertly and with great feeling from the script. This gave the actors the chance to take on the more dramatic events in the play and they did so to great effect. These memorable scenes included many at the home of Bob Cratchit (Dick Miller) with his wife, played by Connie Shibley and their loving family, including the crippled young Tiny Tim (Tye Stover) who had the last and most memorable line in the play.

By far though, it was Fred Colwell's masterful Scrooge that took the play to its most inspired heights, with Colwell first portraying him as a scowling, crusty old hunched-up, complaining curmudgeon who, as the ghostly visions unfold, is transformed into a caring, kind and generous gentleman. Kudos also to the stagehands who transformed the stage into countless simple but warm and inviting scenes. Despite a few missed cues, which made for some rather comic moments in what was otherwise a smooth-running production, the cast and crew brought to the audience a very memorable production of this timeless tale about how even the lowest of the low can see things anew, and given some insight can change evil ways and begin life anew, thanks to a few concerned spirits. What a perfect message for this time of year.

 

Photo: Members of the Frontenac Women’s Chorus at the Bellrock Community hall

Good live music can send chills up the spine and more so when it comes from multiple voices singing together in perfect harmony. That was the case at the Bellrock community hall on Nov. 26 when the Frontenac Women’s Chorus, led by Betty Wagner, performed their holiday “Christmas Bells” concert.

Accompanied on piano by the accomplished Ian Bevell, who currently is the Director of Praise at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Kingston, the all-women’s choir sang a program that included 16 seasonal tunes in a wide range of different musical styles, but with a special focus on Canadian composers and arrangers.

The chorus opened with contemporary composer Eleanor Daley of Kingston’s “What Sweeter Music” and the ladies definitely hit a sweet spot both in the opening and closing verses with their spot-on unison and also in the middle passages with their masterful delivery of the tune’s joyful penumbra of uplifting harmonies. In a similar vein they performed “Christ Child’s Lullaby”, arranged by Anne Eggleston, and performed the gorgeous Hallelujah chorus masterfully, with the first sopranos bringing forth the melody as shiny and bright as the North Star.

The choir covered a wide stylistic range and their version of “I Saw Three Ships” was performed with a toe-tapping, Canadian east coast feel. Similarly their jazzed-up version of the old time favorite “Silver Bells” recalled holidays of yore and the old silver screen classics, and romantic scenes that likely took place in this very hall many decades ago.

One of the highlights of the concert by far was the “Carol of the Bells”; a special treat at any time of the year. The Chorus mastered the acapella tune, gaining force and momentum with every successive phrase and building to a dramatic crescendo that finished with very believable “bell peals” at the end.

The free benefit concert was put on to support the maintenance and restoration of the Bellrock hall, an ongoing project by members of the Bellrock community. What better way to encourage that support than by filling the newly refurbished space with the sounds of a highly accomplished vocal ensemble to start off the holiday season for the community. For more information about the Frontenac Women’s Chorus visit www.herestosong.com.

 

Photo: Bellrockers as they might have been 150 years ago

On September 17 the village of Bellrock was transformed and appeared closer to what it resembled 150 years ago as residents dressed in petticoated frocks, pocket watch-bearing vests and top hats mingled amongst horse drawn carriages and wagons to celebrate and share the village’s rich 150-year history.

Local dignitaries gathered for the opening ceremony, which began with Central Frontenac town crier Paddy O'Connor followed by addresses by various representatives from the township of South Frontenac including Deputy Mayor Mark Tinlin and Councillors Alan McPhail and John McDougall, as well as Central Frontenac mayor Janet Gutowski.

Event coordinator and longtime Bellrock resident Virginia Lavin organized the plethora of events, which included local artisans and vendors, and tractor wagon tours highlighting many of Bellrock’s historic sights.

Tour-goers learned about the old Bellrock Mill, built in the mid 1800s (the present building dates back to the 1920s), which is one of the few mills in Eastern Ontario that included a saw, plane, veneer, flour and grist mill, all under a single roof. Among the more famous items produced at the mill were Red River cereal and round veneer cheeses boxes; the latter were made until 1965 when cheese factories declined. Bellrock’s cheese factory burned down in 1943. The planing and saw mill were in operation until the 1970s. Visitors were also shown the old Gonu house, where an old Victorian woman’s leather boot and an oval charcoal portrait of an unknown young female were recently unearthed from within a wall.

Dolphine Dowker’s barn was pointed out as a rare example of the old log structures originally built in the village long ago. Tourists were also offered a 1 km drive down the road to one of Canada's first ever organic farms, Blue Roof Farm, where owner, award-winning artist Kim Ondaatje and Verona resident Louise Day held a photography show.

On an outdoor stage the Fred Brown Band played old time favorites, and later on excerpts of well-known literary works by one time Bellrock resident authors Michael Ondaatje, Karen Holmes, Stan Dragland and John Moss were read by local area wordsmiths.

Winners of the Bellrock story prize, chosen from over 50 entries by students at St. Charles Public School in Verona were also announced. First place was John McIlroy; 2nd Cailey Cotnam; and 3rd Destiny Ritchie; Honorable mentions were Jack Revell and an unknown author.

Not surprisingly local history buffs bee-lined to the Bellrock community hall where a rich display of village history was laid out, much of it by well known collector and private museum owner Lois Grant, who has been collecting village artifacts and lore since she moved to the area 41 years ago. Also on display was a written history of Bellrock edited by Lois and written by May Meeks who at 90 is one of, if not the oldest living historian in Bellrock. May spoke about her early years as a student at the old school and she recalled some of her fondest memories, which included swimming and skating the mill pond, and one particular snowless winter freeze that allowed her and friends to skate all the way from Moscow to Enterprise.

I later found out that event organizer Virginia Lavin was a long-time friend of famed author Matt Cohen and quite possibly the woman who inspired the main character of his famed 1999 Governor General award-winning novel “Elizabeth and After”.

For Lavin, Saturday was indeed a day to celebrate: “The opportunity comes around not very often and you can trust that we won’t be around to celebrate the next 150 years, so yes, today is a very special day and a great opportunity to celebrate the beauty and history of this very special place."

The event was part of an ongoing effort to raise funds to renovate the community hall. Residents and non-residents who are interested in assisting with fundraising events, making a donation and/or helping reach the final goal of establishing the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre can contact Virginia Lavin at 613-374-2344.

The next meeting at the hall will take place Tuesday October 4 at 7:30 PM and everyone is welcome to attend. Thanks to all of the students who entered their stories in the competition and below is a list of the winners:

 

One hundred and fifty years later the question remains.

The hamlet of Bellrock is currently home to 63 people, according to Virginia Lavin, one of the key organizers of the 150th Bellrock anniversary celebrations, which are slated for Saturday, September 17.

Bellrock, located just west of Verona, was once a thriving mill town and trading centre in its own right, and its location on the Napanee River was instrumental both in its commercial past and the fact that it remains one of the prettiest spots in Frontenac and L&A Counties.

“It used to be a very active place for French, English and First Nations traders,” said Virginia Lavin, “and at one time the river’s name was bilingual. It was known as Deep Eau, which later was anglicized to Depot River before being named the Napanee River.” The name Depot has survived as the name of a number of feeder lakes in the region, including 2nd and 5th Depot Lakes.

“But what we do not know is the origin of the name Bellrock. It too could be anglicized from the French ‘belle’, but we don’t know,” said Lavin.

While there are three local historians who will be conducting tours as part of next Saturday’s festivities, the origin of Bellrock may be revealed by some younger community members. Students at Prince Charles School are taking part in a story writing contest this week about how Bellrock got its name, so there will be an answer to the 150-year-old question, though it might not be a historically accurate answer.

But perhaps taking literary license in explaining the name of the place is fitting in Bellrock’s case, since the hamlet has been employed by some of Canada’s literary heavyweights, and this literary history will be the subject of evening readings that will be one of the highlights of the anniversary celebrations.

Fred Colwell will be reading from “The Skin of the Lion” the book that made Michael Ondaatje famous and was the prequel to his subsequent novel “the English Patient”. The latter won the world’s most prestigious annual prize for fiction in English, the Booker, in 1992.

Patrick Lewis, the protagonist in “In the Skin of the Lion” comes from “Depot Creek” a logging and milling town where youngsters would skate on frozen ponds lit by burning cattails.

As well, some of the works by the late author Matt Cohen, will be read by Wayne Grady, a well known Kingston-based author in his own right. Both Cohen and Ondaatje lived in the vicinity of Bellrock and used the historical village in their fiction. Helen Humphreys will be reading from Stan Dragland’s “The Drowned Lands”, and Merilyn Simonds and Jennifer Bennett will also be contributing readings.

The anniversary celebration will start with opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. at the Bellrock Hall, located in the converted Bellrock schoolhouse. Any funds raised at the event will go towards ongoing renovations to the schoolhouse/hall, which has received a boost with a $67,000 Trillium grant to cover some of the needed upgrades.

After the ceremonies, Ron Moyer, Doris Ritchie and Lynn Hutchison will present historical tours of the village.

Artisan booths, including weavers and spinners, a soapmaker, blacksmith, rug hookers, fiber arts, herbalist, books, and preserves of jams, jellies will all be featured in the park area outside the hall. There will also be historical displays, including butter churning, sauerkaut making, and more.

There will be games for children, including the kinds that would have been common 150 years ago: three-legged races, sack races, egg toss, etc., in addition to hay rides.

All events throughout the day are free, and there will be a canteen on site as well.

At 4pm the winner of the “How Bellrock got its Name” contest will be announced, and at 5pm a pulled pork supper will be served, at a cost of $10 for adults and $5 for children, followed by the free readings by local authors that were referred to above.

In order to raise money, aside from accepting donations, a raffle is being held, with prizes that include a $100 food basket from Local Family Farms, an outdoor fireplace from the Verona Hardware store, and donated locally-made pottery. Raffle tickets and dinner tickets are available at Local Family Farms. For further information, call Virginia Lavin at 613-374-2344