MARCH 2014

free

The Art of Jacquie Christiani p.3

p.2 2 & 23

Marchs Events

p.7
Giving Harvest

p.1 4

Mystery of Maple

p.19
Love, Deception and Golf

Whos Reading theHumm

119 Bridge Street, PO Box 1391 Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Phone: (613) 2565081

Editor:

Kris Riendeau [email protected]

Layout and Design:

Rob Riendeau [email protected]

From Sochi with Love

(above) Not only Canadian athletes got to go to Sochi last month. Almonte-based recording engineer Ken Friesen was also there to make sure that everyone sounded their best. Many thanks to Ken for bringing theHumm along! (below) Back in the fall of 2011, Art Solomonian sent in this travel shot. He writes: Lea-Anne and I recently visited Scotland and looked up The Call, located in Edinburghs Princes Gardens. The Call is the brother statue to The Volunteer (located at the Almonte Cenotaph), both of which were created by Almontes native son, R. Tait McKenzie.

Advertising/Promotions:
Kris Riendeau: (613) 2565081 [email protected]

Assistant Editor:
Rona Fraser [email protected]

Calendar Submissions:
[email protected] theHumm is a monthly arts, entertainment and ideas newspaper delivered free to businesses and visitor attractions in Almonte, Perth, Carleton Place, Westport, Pakenham, Carp, Arnprior, Smiths Falls, Burnstown, White Lake, Renfrew, Balderson, and Ottawa. Our mandate is to connect and promote people and events in the small towns and rural communities of the Ottawa Valley where the arts ourish and entertaining characters run amok!

This painting by Doris McCarthy, entitled Mill at Almonte, is being offered for sale by a gallery owner in Elora, Ontario

Readers Write

I am the owner of Hands To Work, a gallery selling antiques, art and books on the Grand River in Elora, home of another famous Ontario mill. At one time, I was also the owner of the largest collection of the work of Doris McCarthy (according to Doris herself ). One of the items that remains in my possession is Mill at Almonte, an oil on panel painted on December28, 1974. From time to time, I oer for sale items from my collection. Im contacting you to discover whether your institution would be interested in purchasing this McCarthy oil. If not, I would appreciate any suggestions from you as to other local individuals or organizations that might have an interest. I knew Doris from the late 1970s until her passing in 2010 at the age of 100. One of the articles in the splendid retrospective volume of her work published by the McMichael Canadian Collection is by me, as was her obituary in the Upper Canadian antiques publication. When I sell a McCarthy, I follow the pricing schedule of WynickTuck Gallery, her primary dealers. By arrangement with Doris and WT, I sold her work through my own gallery while she was living, so I feel its only right that I should follow the pricing they established between them. Therefore, Im asking $17,500 for Mill at Almonte. This oil on panel is the only painting of a scene in Almonte by Doris that I have ever seen (and Im more familiar with her oeuvre than anyone besides WT and Doris herself ). But Doris had more of a connection to Almonte than just painting there. I cant remember the name of the gallery, but she told me years ago that she had someone showing her work in Almonte in the 1970s and '80s (as I recall). I look forward to hearing from you, via e-mail or telephone (5198465353). Ive been in Almonte a few times myself, and remember it as exquisite, with its many magnicent and lovingly preserved stone buildings, dramatic river, and beautiful homes and gardens. No wonder Doris found it worth painting. Olga Domjan, Hands to Work Gallery, Elora

An Open Letter to Art Lovers in Mississippi Mills

Submissions

By email or on disk.

Content Deadline:

20th of the month prior to publication

Advertising Deadline: Subscriptions

22nd of the month prior to publication cost $35 (includes HST) for one year (12 issues). Send a cheque with your name and address to: theHumm PO Box 1391 Almonte ON K0A 1A0 Opinions and information published in theHumm in letters, press releases, or individual columns do not necessarily reect the opinion of this newspaper. All writing, artwork, and photographs published in theHumm are copyright to the author, or to theHumm in the case where no author is specied. Reprinting any content without permission violates copyright and is prohibited (and despicable!).

Hummble Thought It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. Harry S. Truman

Thanks this month to:

Anne Kinsman, for 36 years of deep and enduring friendship. She and her wonderful family (parents Lee and Bill, and brother Bruce) expanded my horizons and enhanced my life. I will miss her greatly.

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Art and Soul

Jacquie Christiani Circling in on Creativity

With watercolour and pencil, Jacquie Christiani creates circular paintings that are both meditative and celebratory. For the viewer, each scrutiny reveals another layer of meaning, another suggestion of images that can be interpreted in countless ways. Each observer wonders if others recognize

THE HUMM

by Sally Hansen
the same forms that he or she does, or whether they detect dierent images within the small, lovely, intricate representations of Christianis physical and metaphysical worlds. Nature is her primary inspiration. She tells me, Walking in nature awakens a memory or connection that I am inspired to share Colours and impressions of nature form in my head as I experience the outdoors. Her watercolour medium is her companion inspiration. As the pigments ow with the water onto the paper, other shapes and images emerge. Jacquie works with pencil over the dried applications of watercolour to highlight the subtleties revealed by the spontaneity of her uid process. For people who are uncomfortable with or even dislike abstract art, I encourage you to let Christianis gentle, soothing paintings help you expand your artistic horizons. With a marvelous colour aesthetic, she oers an alluring invitation to pause and contemplate the complexity, the uncertainty and the promise of the universe she creates within each circle.

What Goes Round

Like many of the artists theHumm has featured over the past fourteen years, Christiani experimented with dierent modes of creativity before discovering her artistic voice. She always loved to paint and draw, and began taking art classes in Edmonton. Her brother Robert is an artist and art

Food s

10th A s h t i m

EMPTY BOWLS
Saturday, April 5th 11am - 2pm
Purchase a locally handcrafted pottery bowl for $20, fill it with Red Lentil Curry and help support local sustainable food programs in our community.

therapist in Manitoba, helping people rediscover their own creative process, and very supportive of Jacquies talents. Interested in exploring the spiritual and philosophical issues that confront us as humans, she eventually became intrigued by the images of the mandalas she encountered in her readings. In Hindu and Buddhist art, a mandala is a circular design that symbolizes the universe, representing wholeness; a cosmic diagram that reminds us ARTIST TRADING CARD of our relation to the innite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds. (See mandalaproject.org.) Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Christiani currently is employed with Canadian Blood Services as Jung is credited with introducing mandalas into a business systems analyst working on Canadas national registry that modern Western thought as a symbol representing helps match people in need of a kidney with living donors. The Livthe eort to reunify the self. ing Donor Paired Exchange involves pairs of people for example, a husband and wife, or two friends in which one person needs a kidney and another wants to donate but isnt a compatible match. The computer program looks for opportunities to exchange donors with other incompatible pairs in the registry. Its a truly life-saving program whose real heroes are the individuals who donate a kidney without asking for one in return healthy adults can remain healthy living with one kidney. To learn more, go to <organsandtissues.ca>. In her spare time Jacquie takes care of a large tract of land near Pakenham with the help of her three dogs and two cats. A true animal lover, she became a certied Tellington TTouch Practitioner for Companion Animals in 2003, and has recently become a Camelidynamics Senior Consultant. The two practices are complementary methods for raising and training animals. They are based on respectful touch and movement exercises designed to establish a deeper rapport between humans and animals through increased understanding and more eective communication. Camelidynamics incorporates For Jacquie, the Jungian claim that creating man- the Tellington TTouch principles and techniques, developed by dalas helps stabilize, integrate, and re-order inner Linda Tellington Jones, and applies them to training and handling life isnt the only benet. It transformed her art. llamas and alpacas. For more information, visit <ttouch.com> and The simple act of freeing herself from the inhibiting <camelidynamics.com>. rigidity of a rectangular boundary inspired visual Jacquie oers private and small-group TTouch sessions. Based on images and led her on a meditative journey of per- my observation of her relationships with her dogs, you might consonal, as well as artistic, growth. sider contacting her if you want to teach your animal(s) more apStrictly speaking, Christianis paintings are not propriate behaviours. mandalas; they are paintings loosely conned During the 12th annual Pakenham Maple Run Studio Tour on within a circular shape. The other inuence that re- March29 and 30; you can drop in at her home studio (Studio 6 at shaped her paintings is her love of drumming, and 489 Barr Side Rd.) where she is hosting Joanne Desarmia of Jo Bling Creations and John Chamneys wood-turned creations. the wonderful drum designs she has seen. She is looking forward to participating in the Creativity Blitz Born in Chatham, Ontario, Jacquie grew up in a rural area of Kingston, and then attended the taking place at High Lonesome Nature Reserve on Saturday, May3 University of Guelph, where she earned a de- and4. Youre invited to discover your own creativity in the natural gree in Consumer Studies. After graduation she beauty of this 200-acre property protected by the Mississippi Madahopped on a train and went to Edmonton with waska Land Trust Conservancy <mmltc.ca>. Bring your own sup$100 in her pocket. She found a job as a custom- plies, musical instruments, poetry book, journal, paints and your er service representative with AGT (now Telus), imagination! Jacquies heart-felt advice to all is Let your imagination and took full advantage of their in-house training soar, come explore your own creative side! We have some great images of Jacquie Christianis beautiful circuto become a computer programmer. She eventually took a job in Ottawa with Stentor, where she lar paintings on theHumms renewed website <thehumm.com>, and worked in business analysis and system require- her contact details are on the back of her Artist Trading Card. Have fun exploring the convenient links on our site! ments for twelve years.

SER

ual nn

106 Wilson St. W. Perth, ON 613.267.5409

Mon-Thurs 8am-8pm Sat 8am-6pm Friday 8am-9pm Sun 9am-6pm

BO

W L S FU ND

AI

March 2014

EMP

TY

a different kind of food store

3

www.thehumm.com

WHO Jacquie Christiani WHAT Watercolour Artist

THE HUMM

WHERE Home studio at 489 Barr Side Rd., Pakenham, 6245530, <[email protected]> WHEN March29 & 30, 12th annual Pakenham Maple Run Studio Tour, Studio 6 at 489 Barr Side Rd. <mapleruntour.ca> WHY Walking in nature awakens a memory or connection that I am inspired to share.

Words From Westport

Breakfasting With the Arts in Westport

I am happy to announce that two relatively-new-to-us artists in Westport will be the presenters at the March Breakfast with the Arts. Chantal and Joel of Papillon Press will host the event on March29, at their studio on Spring Street. Here are some words from Chantal about their work:

ARTIST TRADING CARD

by Georgia Ferrell
Papillon Press is a fine letterpress stationery studio specializing in illustrated stationery, including greeting cards, wedding invitations, business stationery and more. We are a husband and wife team, Joel Kimmel and Chantal Bennett, who are both trained illustrators and recent transplants to Westport. Chantal runs Papillon Press from day to day, illustrating for the collection and doing all of the letterpress printing. Joel works as a freelance illustrator for publications such as ESPN, Playboy, Mens Health, etc. and contributes his illustrations to Papillon Press. Our letterpress work has been featured in Country Living, The National Post, Design*Sponge and more. Our last Breakfast featured a wonderful presentation by Aili Kurtis, an artist who paints with pastels. Aili has had an illustrious career, including developing illustrations for Corel Draw and other Corel products, winning a number of pastel competitions for her work, and showing her work in Perth as well as Westport and other galleries. Even though winter and particularly this cold and snowy one is a tough sell for our rural community, the arts are alive and well. We invite you to our Breakfast with the Arts, Westport Style, on the last Saturday of every month. We

Need em need em got em Clip and save the Artist Trading Card All the cool kids do it!

Illustrators Joel Kimmel (whose work is pictured above) and Chantal Bennett recently opened Papillon Press in Westport. They will be speaking at Breakfast With the Arts Westport Style, on Saturday, March29 have a potluck breakfast at 8 and the presentation starts at 9. We finish usually around 10 so that we all can return to and open our businesses on time. Thats it for March more to come next month!

The Carleton Place & District Horticultural Society recently commissioned The PickleDish, an eclectic quilting shop on Bridge Street in Carleton Place, to produce a new banner for their Society. It is a tradition to display the banner at meetings and events. The new banner has a cheerful yellow background with a purple iris the Societys emblem in the centre. I am sure the members will be delighted with it, commented Doreen Harris (Director) to Cheryl Waters of the PickleDish, who presented the banner to Ronette Vines, Citizen of the Year 2012, on a very cold day in January. The Societys meetings start up again on March5, with a visit from Lanark Master Gardeners who will answer your gardening questions. Come on out new members are always welcome! See the Community listings in theHumms calendar for meeting dates, or visit <cphorticulture.ca> for more information on the Society.

Follow the Iris to Carleton Place Horticulture Meeting

Has this long winter left you hungry for green?

WHO: You + Bloomfield Farm WHAT: Local, organically-grown greens WHERE: Weekly pick-up at Dandelion Foods in Almonte WHEN: 12 Thursdays, beginning March 27th WHY: Invest in your health and the health of our community!
bloomfieldfarmalmonte.com
For more details:

613.601.1465

Dine-In Specials
Wing Monday 50 wings all day

Make Cedar Cove Your Winter Destination!

Enjoy all that the season has to offer! Ice skating, cross country skiing, ice fishing, snowmobile to the front door. Warm up by the fireplace Enjoy a casual lunch or a succulent dinner at the
Hours of Operation Thurs. Noon8PM Fri. Noon8PM Sat. 9AM9PM Sun. 9AM8PM Mon. Noon8PM

Fish Fryday Fish and Chips only $10.00 Schnitzel Sunday One piece $13 Two pieces $15 For a full menu, visit our website: www.cedarcove.ca

Lakeside Bar & Grill

www.cedarcove.ca
www.thehumm.com

100 Cedarcove Rd White Lake, Ont 613-623-3133

March 2014

These Bowls Are Denitely Half-Full

10th Annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser
What could be better than delicious red together to make Empty Bowls an ongolentil curry served up in a beautiful, hand- ing success. Invitees include Food for made ceramic bowl? Nothing except Thought, The Table Community Food knowing the cost goes to supporting a Centre, YAK, Guatemala Stove Project, Joni Seligman, the MERA Potters, the Rivtruly worthwhile cause! Mark Saturday, April5, on your calen- erguild Potters, and Frontier College, all dar and bring your appetite to Foodsmiths of whom will be on hand to talk with the 10th annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser, held public about Empty Bowls. The success of Empty Bowls Perth has from 11 to 2 at the store at 106 Wilundoubtedly been due to the skill and dedison Street West in Perth. cation of project founder Jackie Seaton. He Foodsmiths has partnered with Empty laid a strong foundation for Empty Bowls Bowls since 2004, holding the fundraiser Perth, and had the foresight to construct a on-site, and coming up with recipes that template so others could continue his legahighlight healthy, nutritious food. With cy. Since his death in October2013, many the generous support of suppliers, and the supporters have asked if Empty Bowls will help of the sta, a delicious meal is created continue to be available for purchase in to ll locally-handcrafted and unique cePerth, and Foodsmiths is honoured to help ramic bowls, which are set up in the store throughout the month of March prior to carry on the tradition in a community that the event, and can be purchased for $20. strongly and invariably supports the issues All proceeds go to local sustainable food of hunger in the community. programs: The Table Community Food Centre, YAK Youth Centre, and Food for Thought Breakfast and Snack programs in Lanark County Schools. As well, Empty Bowls is the recipient of the April BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) a charity bag donation program developed by Foodsmiths to encourage the reuse of grocery bags and to provide a source of funds for charitable organizations in the community. For every bag a customer re-uses, ten cents goes to Empty Bowls during the month of April. This year will also highlight a new initiative: the Many Hands MERA potters Rosemary Kotze (front) and Jean Meet and Greet. This part of the Dunning shape clay into beautiful bowls that event is intended to give people will be used for the 10th annual Empty Bowls a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Fundraiser at Foodsmiths the enormous volunteer eort and the many hands that work

The Town & Chamber of Commerce of Mississippi Mills present

A tree talk and forest forum with tree-note speaker

Tuesday, March 18, 79PM Almonte Old Town Hall

Free admission, all welcome Q & A with a panel of tree experts Mini trade fair with garden and landscape professionals Opportunity to buy trees and rain barrels

Ed Lawrence

Visit www.mississippimills.com/trees for a catalog of beautiful, nursery-grown trees: flowering, shade, and fruit. Order online or by calling Kathryn at 256-7886 Pick up your trees (and rain barrels) on April 26 at the Mississippi Mills municipal office

Buy a big tree

Buy a little tree

The Beautification Committee is selling 3 & 4 year old seedlings: Fraser Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce, White Spruce, and Eastern White Cedar seedlings are $3. White Pine seedlings are $4. Call Bonnie at 2561077 x 21 by April 18 to order.

The Healthy Living Festival committee is on the lookout for the 2014 Healthy Living Ambassador, to be honoured at the opening ceremonies of the festival on Saturday, June21, in Smiths Falls. The Ambassador will be the individual who best promotes a healthy lifestyle within their community. Last years winner, Corey Turnbull, was an excellent example of someone who works diligently to promote healthy living concepts in the Lanark County region. Interested individuals can nominate themselves or someone else by submitting a maximum of 500 words to the Smiths Falls Downtown Business Association (DBA) outlining the ways in which the candidate promotes a healthy lifestyle within their community. The deadline is 4 on May 1, and nominations can be emailed to <[email protected]> or mailed/dropped o at the DBA oce at

Healthy Living Festival Seeks 2014 Ambassador

77 Beckwith Street North, Smiths Falls, ON, K7A 2B2. Please note on the envelope Attention: DBA Healthy Living Ambassador. Nominations over the 500-word limit will not be considered. This years event will once again feature a free, family-friendly, outdoor celebration of everything concerning healthy living, including exercise, healthy foods, vitamins, supplements and spirituality. Activities at the festival will be geared towards providing visitors with the opportunity to explore various types of healthy living activities in a stress-free, fun environment. Businesses interested in obtaining more information about becoming a vendor or obtaining a vendors application can visit the DBA website at <downtownsmithsfalls.ca>, the festival website at <healthysmithsfalls.ca>, or simply email <[email protected]>.

Buy a rain barrel

The Neighbourhood Tomato Community Gardens Project is selling 220 litre rain barrels for $55. Visit www.rainbarrel.ca/tomato or contact Deanna at 256-7535.

This years lovely art was generously donated by Sarah Moffat. www.sarahmoffat.com

www.mississippimills.com 5

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

PUB

The Lion Roars at GOLDEN AR RROW O

EAT ERY

Food & Music

Greek night Tuesday March 11th Authentic Greek food Saturday 59 Prime Rib Night $19.99 Sunday Pasta Night Monday Martini Night Tuesday & Friday Schnitzel Night $9.99 Wedneday 2-for-1 Fish & Chips Thursday Rib Night $11.99 Come for our St. Patrick's Weekend Party Mar.15-17 with Music and Prizes
71 FOSTER ST., PERTH 6132674500 [email protected] GOLDENARROWPUB.COM

Pick up theHumm in Almonte at

baker bobs

Youll never be able to build that set on our stage. But who have we got to play the lead? It will be almost impossible to costume that. These are just some of the countless problems that must be addressed when a theatre company decides on its playbill for the season. But Kathie Reid has had her heart set on directing The Lion in Winter since last year, and this year her wish has been granted. Beginning on April3, Studio Theatre will undertake the challenge of mounting this classic Broadway drama about Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I and his brother John. The story revolves around the English court at Christmas during the twelfth century, and demands multiple lavish set and costume changes, not to mention seven accomplished actors. The rst thing Kathie did was to round up not the cast, but an experienced crew who, for this blockbuster play, are just as crucial a crew that was not afraid to take on the challenges it presents. The rst challenge: the set. How does one t nine dierent scenes portraying a lavish English court onto the small stage at Studio Theatre? It was one thing to do it on Broadway, where sets could be changed in a twinkling and budgets allowed for opulent dcor. Community theatres do not have such resources. But by reusing or redesigning existing set components, and by keeping parts of the set mobile and lightweight, set designer Earl Sonnenburg has created a castle that can be restructured and redressed in a matter of minutes. Lightweight cardboard rolls become pillars, moveable sections become adjustable walls, and second-hand stores, junk shops, and attics supply period dcor. A crew of builders and painters, headed by Bruce Raby, then go to work creating another world on this small stage. But while the set is coming together, a backstage crew is also busy. Costumes are a monumental challenge. Multiple changes are required and each must be researched and designed. Patricia Parry, assisted by Marie Amyot, and Julia Egener, have taken on this assignment, and they hope to borrow many pieces from the other larger theatre companies in the area who have done period plays. This of course necessitates numerous trips to Ottawa or Kingston. Properties, or set dcor, also require careful design and organization, as each candle, each curtain, each picture must contribute to the overall setting while being appropriate to the time. And each room needs a dierent dcor that must change

Studio Theatre

with the scene. Marg Wilkinson, who is property manager as well as assisting with costumes, is already considering the problems. The Act II scene changes from the bedroom to the cellar will have to be particularly quick and on the mark! she notes. Then, each scene must have lighting to suit its mood and intent, and a small theatre company does not have the kind of complex lighting system that a professional theatre has. As Yogi Sepp, the lighting designer, points out, the lighting design must attempt to create a variety of dierent looks, using the limited resources of our small theatre only thirteen lights to play with. Once the set is built, the costumes and props are gathered, and the actors take their places on stage, a crew of people must change and redecorate it as well as assist with costume changes. Says stage manager Roberta Peets, the challenge for this show will be orchestrating the nine set changes so they will be smooth and quick and not distract from the show. We will want to make them part of the entertainment in themselves. Trac control backstage may be an issue with seven cast members and at least four stage crew in a relatively conned space. And now it is time for the actors. The Lion in Winter, more than most other plays, demands powerful actors, and Kathie has found them. Playing the part of the shrewd Henry II, who must deal with three ambitious sons, is well-known actor David Bird. As king, he favours younger son John (Lucas Tennant), but Janet Rice, who plays the stately Eleanor of Aquitaine, favours the older son Richard (Scott Duncan). Complicating the situation we have Georey, a middle brother (played by Mark Daley), Phillip II, the young king of France (Julian Rice-Laprisse), and Alais, his half-sister (Mary Ann Majoury). Alais is engaged to Richard, but he has little interest in women of any rank. A powerful cast to portray a powerful family. This is a must-see play, lled with colour, drama and humour. It opens April3 at 8 and runs April 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 8, and April 6 and 13 at 2. Tickets are $20 in advance at The Book Nook (2672350) and $22 at the door or through Tickets Please in Perth. Phone or credit card orders can be made through Tickets Please (4856434 or ticketsplease.ca). There is a student rate of $10 (with ID) at the door. For further information, call the Studio Theatre box oce at 2677469 or visit <studiotheatreperth.com>. Joan Sonnenburg

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Flavour of the Month

Its a glorious, balmy, 0 degree day today, and outside my window the trees are bending and swaying being animated and stretched by todays gusty wind. As I write from a cozy corner in my home, I remember that I owe much of my comfort to trees. From them, my house and barn have been constructed. I also owe to them the luxury of retreating from this winters biting cold

The Giving Harvest

by Susie Osler
into a warm home which is of course heated with their bodies. I am grateful for their many gifts. Another less sacricial gift that some trees have to oer will be highlighted this year by a new project starting up in Perth. Giving Harvest is a project spearheaded by Donna Silver, who moved to Perth from Ottawa only last year. It is inspired by a number of similar projects that have sprung up in North American cities and towns in the last decade all of which aim to start making use of the abundant and unharvested fruit trees in our communities. How many times have you come across a tree laden with fruit that is dropping to the ground and rotting, and thought if only Id brought a ladder along with me on my walk today (well maybe even just a

bag). In the era of easy access to cheap And so a mapping process begins, of the choose to act from a position of abunfood from far away, we seem to have col- trees oered to the community orchard. dance and generosity, rather than dearth lectively lost the skills, the will, or the inspi- The trees involved can be growing either and competition; sharing our gifts freely ration, to harvest the free food that literally in civic or private spaces. Additional trees with each other benets communities drops from the trees in our own area! can be added on an ongoing basis to the rather than individuals. Combining her Wild and domesticated fruit trees have map, as individuals present more trees to skills in project start-up and management, been harvested for centuries. It is only the project, and as new trees are planted with her creative vision (shes an artist as in recent decades that the value we give in vacant or other appropriate spaces (like well) and a passion for trees, Donna Silto such trees, in private and civic ver is providing an example of this landscapes, has seemed to focus philosophy in action. Over the winmore on blossom beauty than on ter, shes developed a plan for getting food value. In fact, today, fallen the project o the ground, and she is fruits are often considered simply a seeking various kinds of support from big nuisance, as we clean them up institutions such as RBC, the Table, from yards and sidewalk surfaces. Perth Community Foundation and Giving Harvest may help to the Town of Perth. This spring shell change some perspectives. Last fall, be seeking out people who are eager Donna Silver plugged the idea of to contribute skills, ideas, labour, and starting a community orchard at spirit to the project. the Lets Talk Resilience gathering Sound like a great idea? Thats be(organized by Transition Perth cause it is! And it sounds like a fun see note about Transition below). and compelling activity to participate The orchard she envisions, howin to boot. Want to know more or to ever, is not a neat grid of fruit trees The Giving Harvest initiative plans to harvest volunteer? Have a tree in your yard growing in tidy rows, but rather the untended fruit and nut trees on private and public you would like to add to the orchard? latent and largely unnoticed fruit property, and distribute it to organizations in the Want to contribute seed money trees already present in yards and area that are working towards food security for the project? Contact Donna at along the streets of Perth. <[email protected]> to know How it works: people will gather this schoolyards, or where ash trees once were). more and also to be added to the Giving spring to walk around town and talk to Come harvest time the fruit is picked by Harvest email list. residents about the project. If anyone has brigades of volunteers and divided a tree in their yard that they would like to approximately half to a community ne of the underlying add to the orchard, they will call Donna. food centre (perhaps the Table, in this assumptions of the case), a quarter to the volunteer pickers, and a quarter to the owners (if its a Transition movement is tree in a backyard, for instance). that we can choose to A great advantage for participating act from a position of tree owners is that their trees will also get a free pruning. Everyone truly wins. abundance and generosity Its easy to imagine a number of rather than dearth and positive outcomes and possibilities competition. stemming from this initial vision: schools and kids becoming involved, canning and preserving workshops at community kitchens, harvest parties, tree Transition Towns planting parties, and a heightened public For those unfamiliar with the Transition understanding of the merits of fruit trees Town movement Transition Towns and the bounty they oer beyond beauty. have sprung up around the globe in reWorkshops at the Perth Farmers Market cent years, bringing a positive, proactive and a tree sale in late summer are events approach to navigating the economic Donna hopes to organize for this year, in and environmental challenges facing us. addition to a map and harvest sessions. The aim of the Transition movement is For a taste of a similar, already estab- to build resilient communities and inlished project, check out Hidden Harvest dividuals through positive, locally-ap<hiddenharvest.ca> an Ottawa-based propriate, community-driven initiatives. project that has been an inspiration to Giving Harvest is one of many of these types of initiatives in Perth (check out Donna. One of the underlying assumptions of <transitionperth.ca> for information on the Transition movement is that we can more of them).

March Break Camp at the RMEO

From March 10 to 14, The Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls will host a March Break Camp for Junior Engineers (ages 46, from 9:3011) and Senior Station Masters (ages 711, from 13). New for this years March Break, they have expanded theirr program-

ming to include four and five-yearolds! Enjoy a week full of themed halfday programs that include activities perfectly suited to your childs age. The cost per child is $12 per program per day, or $55 for the week. For more information or to register, visit <rmeo.org> or call 2835696.

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

Humm Bits
International Womens Day
On Thursday, March 6, Lanark County Interval House (LCIH) invites you to join them in celebrating International Womens Day at the Rideau Canal Museum (34 Beckwith Street in Smiths Falls). They will be showing the lm Made In Dagenham a dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, when female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination. This is a funny, touching and inspirational story of how ordinary women advanced the cause of womens rights around the world. Refreshments and mingling begin at 5:45, with all proceeds from the coee and dessert bar going to support the services of LCIH. The lm starts at 6:15. For information, please contact Brianne at 2573469 x63.

Why Should We Care about Energy East?

This proposed TransCanada pipeline will pass through our area, under the Mississippi and Rideau Rivers. Come learn more about the environmental eects, the approvals process, and the pipelines place in Canadas future. Rideau Environmental Action League (REAL) is hosting an information session on Wednesday, March12, at the Smiths Falls Station Theatre. Three speakers will share their insights, and a question period will follow. Doors open at 6:30, there will be videos shown for half an hour, then speakers at 7. There is free admission, but donations are welcome. Contact Margot at 2694282 or see <REALaction.ca> for further information.

Pancakes at Union Hall

Each spring, a Pancake Breakfast is held at Union Hall, in the heart of maple syrup country. This year, homemade breakfasts consisting of pancakes, sausages or ham, beans or blueberries, and lashings of butter and Fortune Farms syrup, will be served from 8 until noon on Sunday, March30. Fruit juice, Equator coee and tea will also be on hand. The price for this feast remains $6 (for the regular size) or $8 (for the larger appetite). Gluten-free pancakes are available on request. Be sure to bring family and friends. And you know that visitors from the city or from outside the region never fail to enjoy rural hospitality. Union Hall, located at the corner of Wolf Grove and Tatlock Roads, 8km west of Almonte, was constructed in 1857 and has been used continuously since that time. The hall is owned by the community and maintained by volunteers, with support from the Town of Mississippi Mills. The hall can be rented for family or community events, at a very reasonable rate, and even for commercial purposes. To enquire about renting the hall, call 2562277.

Spring B.E.S.T: Bridge Euchre Scrabble Tourney

Spend a fun Sunday afternoon playing social Bridge, Euchre or Scrabble. Come on your own, with a partner, or buy a table for four so you can choose your competition! Your ticket includes a nice hot lunch of homemade soup or chili, desserts, refreshments, door prizes and game prizes. Before the game, do some shopping for Easter surprises for children, hostess gifts and Mothers Day presents. This fun event is a fundraiser for the Likulezi Community Care Project in Malawi, Africa. It takes place on Sunday, March30, at the Almonte United Church Social Hall (106 Elgin Street). Doors open noon for lunch, and tournaments start at 1:30. Advanced tickets are $15 (available at Almonte United Church, Baker Bobs, or by calling 2562738), and tickets at the door will be $17.

AGM at Textile Museum

The Annual General Meeting of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum will take place at the museum on Thursday, March 27, at 7. The MVTMs revised By-laws and Statement of Purpose will be presented for approval. Copies are available at the museum for those wishing to review them before the meeting. This years guest speaker will be textile artist Laura Fauqier, who has recently opened the Lola Dot Studio on Almontes Mill Street. In this new studio and boutique, Laura works at her loom and sells her woven wares, as well as products from other area artisans.

Do you remember the 1985 lm Back to the Future? Thats the one where Michael J. Fox played Marty McFly. I still remember the scene where Marty and the crazy professor, Doc Brown, have run out of fuel for their souped-up DeLorean sports-car-turned-time-machine. Theyre stopped in some suburban neighbourhood in the middle of the night and they simply help themselves to garbage from someones trashcan at the side of the road. Garbage into fuel! Sure, that was science ction; but the idea of turning garbage into fuel stuck with me and with a lot of other people too, I bet. Wouldnt that be great if we really could turn waste materials into fuel? Well, with the biochar process, we can! Biochar is charcoal yes, charcoal the carbon-rich material made from heating wood or other plant material (biomass) in an oxygendeprived atmosphere. But to be called biochar, the charcoal must be produced from waste biomass; and it must be made specically for mixing into soil. As a soil additive, biochar oers numerous potential benets: it can increase the capacity for the soil to hold water and nutrients, enhance crop yields, and capture/store carbon for the long term (decades to centuries). Biochar is also Back to the Past, in the sense that it is not really a new idea. Before the time of European contact, the Amazonian Indians had a highly developed agricultural system that, over time, created a rich, long-lasting, black soil that is still in evidence today near the sites of their ancient cities. This soil, called terra preta, greatly contrasted with the surrounding tropical soils of the Amazon basin, which have always been nutrientpoor, due to leaching by the near-constant rainfall. Modern methods of making biochar involve a heating process called pyrolysis. By controlling the temperature of this process, a portion of the energy in the biomass can be turned into either a fuel (as a liquid, a gas, or some of both). So, the biochar process can yield four benets: clean disposal of biomass waste from agriculture and forest industries; increased productivity and waterretention properties of soil; decreasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by capturing it for long periods of time; and providing energy as fuel. Producing biochar is something that can be done on a small scale and with only modest nancial resources, making it a realistic climate action that could be undertaken right here in Eastern Ontario by local townships, sawmills, or even by individual farms. Perhaps someday the outdoor woodburning furnaces that we see in the countryside will be re-designed to produce biochar as well as heat and with a lot less smoke than the current ones! The excitement of biochar is in the fact that it provides relatively simple opportunities for anyone and everyone to get involved in a positive environmental action in our own gardens and in our own

Biochar: Back to the Future

communities. It means we each have yet another way to contribute and make a genuine dierence to our environment, and we can do it right now without having to wait for governments to agree on what we should be doing to address climate change. A biochar program would not be much dierent from the earlier recycling (blue box) programs that have become so routine that we hardly give them a second thought. Only in this case, people could participate at both ends of the process: taking farm or yard waste to the nearest biochar processing plant, and using the biochar output on their farms or gardens. In short, we would get triple benets: waste material would be cleared away; a valuable additive would be produced for our local farms and gardens; and the atmosphere would benet from the carbon that has been locked away in the soil. As a bonus, the processing plant would create local employment and might even pay for itself with the synthetic fuel produced. Here in Eastern Ontario, we are predominately a forest and farming economy, and thus we have lots of waste biomass to deal with. Turning this stu into biochar and renewable energy is a lot more environmentally responsible than just burning it in the open air in elds or backyards. Indeed, open-air burning represents a total loss of a valuable natural resource a resource that can, at the least, be composted. Burning is unnecessary even today the smoke is disrespectful to neighbours, and the carbon dioxide released simply adds another nail to our climate-change con. Why would we do this to ourselves, when biochar processing could make it totally unnecessary? Am I talking science ction, like Back to the Future? Dont take it just from me. Several eminent researchers have written about biochar and have given the concept a strong endorsement, including Al Gore (Our Choice), James Lovelock (The Vanishing Face of Gaia) and Chris Goodall (Ten Technologies to Save the Planet); plus Australians Dr. Paul Taylor (The Biochar Revolution) and Dr. Tim Flannery (The Weather Makers). In fact, Flannery was so bold as to say: Biochar may represent the single most important initiative for humanitys environmental and agricultural future. Given the need to nd more responsible ways for all of us to live on this planet, and considering the above endorsements for the biochar process, the local Green Party Constituency Association (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox & Addington) is oering an opportunity for everyone to learn more about biochar. Please join us for our spaghetti dinner and information evening on Saturday, March 22 at Maberly Hall (172 Maberly Elphin Road). Doors open at 6. Our speaker will be Lloyd Helferty, President of Biochar Ontario and a member of the Advisory Committee of the International Biochar Initiative. Submitted by Peter J. Nelson

Human Library Project

The Human Library Project is coming to Lanark County in early May! Be sure to check the April Humm for details about this exciting event, where you check-out a person instead of a book at your local library. Presented by the Libraries of Lanark County in association with the United Way Lanark County, each library will host sessions where you will have the opportunity to Check out a book - Discover a Life! There is no cost for this event it is open to everyone!

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

theHumm Interview

Catching Up Slowing Down with Mike Nickerson

Mike Nickerson was last featured in theHumm in March of 2009, after the release of his book Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay. The Lifein the title refers to the biological processes by which living things maintain themselves over time; Money to the current economic ideology that states that as long as

Can we really work to achieve these ambitious-sounding goals? Mike turns the question around and asks: is it proper, now that our biggest problems result from our size, to have growth as a goal?

And Get Involved

by Kris Riendeau
the volume of money changing hands increases, all will be well.Illusionrefers to the fact that these two perspectives are directly opposed in terms of how they would solve current problems, and therefore one of them must be mistaken. Since then, Mike has spent a good deal of time touring, encouraging people to consider the choice between the life approach and the money approach. He nds that interest in the subject matter continues to grow. His plan for the next several years is to stay closer to his home in the highlands of Lanark County, and try to put his vision of how we might live a generation from now, into practice. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, he intends to be the change that he wishes to see in the world. In order to give that change a physical hub, one of Mikes rst goals is to build a minimum energy building that will be used as a gathering place where people can come and learn more about the principles and practices of what he refers to as an eco-village. This project is in its early days, and at this point Mike is interested in hearing from people who might want to be in on the planning from the ground up. As outlined on the Transition Perth website <transitionperth.ca>, the Lanark Eco-Village project ultimately aims to build a domestic ecosystem capable of providing its residents with a comfortable dwelling and a perpetual food supply, without an ongoing need for fossil fuels. The settlement will be dedicated to helping others to dothe same. The motivating force behind his book, the EcoVillage project, and pretty well everything else Mike engages in, is a desire to move our species towards long-term well-being. Fortunately, he is a prolic and clear writer, and if you are at all intrigued by this limited glimpse into his world, I highly recommend checking out his website at <sustainwellbeing.net>. There youll nd not only food for thought, but also great online resources, including a free eleven-part mini-course entitled Shifting Societys Goals.

greens in a solar dryer and adding them to sauces and soups through the winter. When I spoke with him in January, he was still eating fresh kale direct from the garden. Meeting all or at least more of our own nutritional needs this way may seem like an ambitious goal, but Mike is optimistic that hyper-local food production could actually become the norm again, as it was a few generations ago. He explains: in cold climates, it has long been the custom to build homes with a heating system. A home without such a system would be seen as incomplete. Im suspecting, as transport fuels become expensive in the years to come, that a home built without a food supply will be considered incomplete. Such domestic ecosystems can be built for individual homes, for villages, or perhaps even cities. All would benet from secure local food production.

The best way to tackle this shifting of societal goals is to get together with other enthusiastic folks. If youre interested in the planning stages of the Eco-Village project, please contact Mike via his website at <sustainwellbeing.net>. If youre more keen on jumping right in to the doing stages of working on food system issues, you are encouraged to connect with Donna Silver of The Giving Harvest a Perth-based initiative that will be harvesting untended fruit and nut trees on private and public property, and distributing that harvest to organizations in the area that are working towards food security, with a percentage distributed to the harvesters and the property owners. Plans also include selling young fruit trees later in the season in order to expand the edible fruits available locally. Volunteers are most welcome, and can contact Donna at <[email protected]>. Another way to jump into the local food fray is to explore foodcoreLGL a partnership of people and organizations from the food, farming and community sectors in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark. The group includes growers, producers and local governments, as well as those working in poverty reduction, health, and emergency food supply. foodcoreLGLis currently creating a Food Charter as a guide for action on behalf of individuals, communities, and those involved in food and farming. For more information about that organization, visit <foodcorelgl.ca>.

Shifting Our Goals

From the Ground Up

Mike is also optimistic that we could have a wellfed, comfortably-housed, educated and healthy population on ten percent of our current resource consumption and waste. In order to do so, however, he understands that we rst need to shift societys goals. As its been a while since I read his book, he was kind enough to walk me through a mini-course on how that could be achieved. First of all, we need to design and build stu to be durable rather than to become obsolete. Secondly, we must reclaim the value that past generations used to allocate to durable objects (and as Mike succinctly puts it, if the economy cant handle that, then we need to x the economy). Finally, we need to learn as a society to seek satisfaction in living, not in stu .

Mike encourages a relatively easy (and delicious) way to move towards both sustainability and wellbeing: engage in the local food movement. We need to take responsibility for the next generations in their lifetimes; food supplies might not be available as they are now, and we need to ensure that all the nutrients people need are available for our children and grandchildren, he explains. Fortunately, locally produced food delivers better nutrition and taste, because it does not have to be optimized for transportation and shelf life. Along with some friends, Mike has been tending a 9000sq.ft. garden for the past two summers. Last year, their planning started to reect the goal of how they might actually cover their food needs for the year. Among other approaches, that has meant broadening the palates palette of greens to include everything from springs nettles and lambsquarters right through to chard and kale in the late fall. He has also been experimenting with drying

Slow Down and Enjoy

Mikes tough message seems to be that things on planet Earth are getting pretty dire, so were really going to have to learn how to slow down and enjoy ourselves. We must take pleasure from experiences rather than acquisitions, and appreciate activities like making music, food and art on our own and together in our communities. To someone like me, who lives on a dirt road close to a small and vibrant community, that sounds fairly achievable (and heck, kinda fun!). But I do understand that I am not exactly representative of Canadian society, over 80% of which lives in an urban setting. And in fact Mike is adamant that integration with the natural world is key to this societal shift. A political shift is also required, given that currently the way to get elected is to promise the inheritance of your grandchildren to your constituents today.

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

Funny You Should Write

Backseat Bill and the Case of the Mysterious Ingredient

Disclaimer: Please consult your interior design, baking and automotive experts before heeding any of the following advice. Got a question? Email Miss Write at <[email protected]>.

Dear Miss Write,

Dear Miss Write,

I am a 60-year-old man who has recently begun to date again. My question is am I required to clean the inside of my car for

by Emily Arbour
a date? Its our third get-together. I see my options are a) rent a new model car (spic and span), b) have my car fully detailed (by a friend I hate cleaning cars), c) ask my date to please not look in the backseat (and only clean the front seat), or d) only date blind women. Please help (my date is tomorrow night). Backseat Bill

Valley Design Co. is an independent paint store in a big box neighbourhood. Although many prefer the department store shopping experience, our customers come to us for knowledge and advice. We provide two experienced sta on the oor at all times, hence our level of service is valuable. A customer was overheard at a local paint counter (big box retailer) saying to a lady who was having colour issues: You should do what I do. I went to Valley Design Company to get help choosing my colours, tiles, and counter. Then I came here. Any suggestions? This practice is becoming a problem. Paul Soreet

rent incentive programs are, but I can think of a few ideas o the top that might keep business in-house. Do you have a good referral program for example? Do you oer painting workshops, or provide clients with tips and tricks to doing the job right? I know that you keep a history of paint colours for every client so that twenty years from now when they need a touch-up of the same colour, youre able to call it up for them. Thats awesome. Do you tell people you do that? If I were you, Id sit down with my bad self and make a list of all those little things Im already doing that make me dierent/ better/more awesome than the big box shops. Im sure its quite a list. Lets blow it up and let people know about it. (Maybe even in next months Humm ad).

Dear Bill,

I fear you will not receive this in time for your date, but Ill hope that it went well in spite of your slobbish tendencies, and that youll put this advice into play for date number four. You have to clean your car. If this woman sees your vehicle is a sty, shes going to assume your home is probably the same (it is, isnt it?) and your chances of her ever selecting you as a cohabitant will be diminished. Unless youre really, really special. And even then. Aint nobody special enough to convince me to clean up after them until death do us part. Thats my advice. Clean your car. Failing that, a, b and d are your only options, friend. Every smart girl checks the backseat. Especially when asked not to.

Whats with all the weird recipes circulating right now? Does someone make money for calling cake mix or pudding an ingredient? I feel you, friend. If I overhear one more person Baed Baker utter the words I could make that in my shop I might blow a blood vessel in my left temple. Im Dear BB, reading a really great book right now called The I would say your hunch is right on the money. Social Media MarketBook of Business Awesome by Scott Stratten. One ing is a real profession these days. Duncan Hines, Jello and the like of the very rst points Stratten makes is about how are most denitely tracking your online searches and targeting you as much more important it is for businesses to focus a potential customer. If you Googled easy dessert recipes (or someon customer retention than on customer acquisi- thing along those lines) or liked a recipe on Facebook at any point tion. When we nurture the existing relationships in your online history, there is an excellent chance that your informawe have (a bird in the hand and all that), we gain tion got added to a database. Three years ago when I had my son, I client loyalty, we open ourselves up to word of found myself searching things like how to get my baby to sleep and mouth (best advertising ever!), and we attract new best diapers for boys and I am forever being creeped right out by clients (we make more money). how they seem to know exactly what I need for each age and stage. I think the answer here is education. You need Just this week I got an email coupon for Pull Ups. I nearly pooped to (constantly) remind your customers what my pants. makes shopping at VDC a valuable experience. Im going to go ahead and take a wild guess that, Emily Arbour is a freelance writer, mother, and shop owner who lives as a smaller business, customer service is one of and works in Almonte. By no means is she an expert in anything but your biggest added values. In fact, I know it is. having an opinion and making things up. You can go ahead and take So how do we communicate that your service is her advice, but youd probably do just as well asking Bill how to get valuable in a way that might justify a marginally coee out of the cup holder in his console. Only dierence is he doesnt higher price point? Im not sure what your curhave a column in this ne publication.

Dear Miss Write,

Dear Paul,

A Sure Sign of Spring

Campfire Fun, 10AM2PM: March 2, 9, 16 & 23 Maple Run Studio Tour: March 29 & 30 Bring your skis and snowshoes! www.fultons.ca [email protected] 6132563867 Seniors Music: April 1, 2 & 8

Every Weekend and all March Break (March 716), 10AM2PM: Horse drawn sleigh rides, face painting, and snow taffy

Maple Shoppe & Restaurant Now Open Daily 9AM4PM until April 21

10

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Mississippi Milling

Pine-ing for Tree Planting Time?

Near the end of a long cold winter like this past one, people (and puppets) sure do nd themselves beech-ing about the weather and pine-ing for spring. Well, the Town and Chamber of Commerce of Mississippi Mills are partnering up And if youre still looking for other ways to spruce up your property for spring, youre in luck! The Branching Out event will also feature a mini trade fair with information and displays from local landscapers, horticulturists and garden services. Best of all, the event is free of charge, so mark your calendar for March18! If you are unable to make that date, you can purchase large trees from the Chamber by visiting <mississippimills.com/trees> or calling Kathryn at 2567886 until April 24. Call Bonnie at 2561077 x21 by April 18 to order seedlings, and visit <rainbarrel.ca/tomato> or call Deanna at 2567535 to place your order for rain barrels. All trees and barrels will be available for pick-up from the Mississippi Mills municipal oce on Saturday, April26. For more information about Branching Out (or to reserve a spot at the trade show if you are a garden-related business in Mississippi Mills), please call Bonnie at 2561077 x21. Fultons Pancake House <fultons.ca> is also open daily, from 94 throughout the season, oering fun outdoor activities for all ages. New at Fultons this year are campre visits from Chad Cliord of Blueberry Mountain. Chad brings a wealth of wilderness knowledge (bushcrafting and survival skills, animal tracking and more!), and will be demonstrating sap boiling around the re in a cast pot, birchbark craft, primitive re starting, and the shaving horse (a combination of vice and workbench with a foot-operated clamp). Chad will be on-site on March 2, 9, 16 and 23 from 10-2.

Ed Lawrence is Tree-note Speaker at Tree Talk and Forest Forum on March18

Then on April46, you can help give your home a new lease on life by attending the Pakenham Home Show. With over 60 exhibitors, youre sure to nd that special something or someone for your home, cottage or garden needs. As always, music features prominently, so plan to add in an Ol Tyme Round and Square Dance on Friday, or catch the Douglas Connection on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 2561077. Last but not least, Saturday, May10, is the date of this years Young Awards Foundation Gala the fabulous annual event that raises funds for dynamic arts initiatives in the Tree art by Sarah Moffat schools of Mississippi Mills. Upcoming Events But you need to remember the Here are a few things coming up later in the spring that you wont date of April15 as well, because thats the want to miss. On March22, try out some deadline for buying your early bird tickets delicious soup made by local chefs at the ($75 each or $600 for a table of eight). Afannual Soup for Thought fundraiser for ter that, tickets are $85 each (and tables are the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. no longer available). Since 2010, the FounSittings are at 11:30 and 1:30 at the dation has awarded over $50,000 to local Museum, and the $20 admission lets you schools, and this is your chance to help keep your beautiful handmade bowl (gen- contribute to next years projects! Tickets erously donated by the Almonte Potters are available online at <youngawards.ca>, Guild). The event will also include a won- by emailing <[email protected]>, or derful silent auction. For information, visit from Foodies Fine Foods or Mill Street Books in Almonte. <mvtm.ca> or call 2563754.

by Miss Mills, Puppet Reporter

to organize Branching Out a Tree Talk and Forest Forum, featuring our very own Ed Lawrence as tree-note speaker! On Tuesday, March 18, come on out to the Almonte Old Town Hall at 7 to nd out all you need to know about planting new trees and tending to existing ones. Want to know what species will best suit your space, how to dig safely on your property, or how to prune and care for your foliage? Youll hear from Ed, and then have a chance to ask questions of a panel of arboreal experts. Ready to jump in and buy a tree? The Chamber will be there with access to their tree sale site, where youll nd a wide variety of large (6'-8') fruit, shade and ower trees. Want to plant a whole lot of smaller trees? The Towns Beautication Committee will have several species of seedlings for sale. Looking for an environmentally sound way to keep your trees and garden watered? The Neighbourhood Tomato Community Gardens Project will also be there, selling 220-litre rain barrels for only $55.

More About Maple

As March is the height of maple season in Lanark County, the month wouldnt be complete without a visit to one of our local sugar bushes. In Mississippi Mills, Fortune Farms <fortunefarms.ca> is open from 105 daily with walking trails, both modern and traditional syrup-making techniques, tay-on-the-snow, and appearances by The Kettle Boys and The Shanty Men.

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

11

Purposeful Life

Stratfords Shakespeare
FOR LEASE
Lovers of both Shakespeare and the Stratford Festival will welcome Professor Ian Camerons return to the Learning in Almonte program. This spring, he will focus on plays to be presented in Stratford in the 2014 season. In his six-lecture series, he will discuss King Lear, King John, A Midsummer Nights Dream and Antony and Cleopatra one play each week. In addition, he will analyse two further Stratford plays: Noel Cowards Hay Fever and Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children. This non-credit course will take place on Thursdays from 1:30 3:30, starting on March 27, and will be held in the Almonte Library classroom. The cost will be $75 per person for the entire course, which includes thoughtprovoking discussions but no ex-

Holistic Wellness Coach Metaphysical Teacher Bio-Feedback Pain Release ...and more! Rev. Judith Gilchrist, RN, M.Msc www.purposeful-life.com | 613.461.1004

is an amazing group of 7 retail stores under one roof in Downtown Almonte. Effective April 1st, 1200 square feet of store front space will be available for a successful retail business. For additional information please contact Gord Pike at 613-720-0456.

Heritage Court

ams. Registration is by email to <[email protected]>. Dr. Ian Cameron has been a Professor in the English Department at Carleton University since 1967. He has been primarily interested in Shakespeare and other playwrights of that time. He has given several Learning in Almonte courses involving other Shakespeare plays.

A Valley Death Caf

A what?! A Death Caf is not so much a place but rather an event. Participants gather over cake and beverages and have a conversation about death with an amazing quality of dialogue. The rst Death Caf was offered by Jon Underwood in 2011 in the UK. Since then, the concept has spread throughout Europe, the USA, Australia and Canada, with over 562 being held since its inception. Underwood based his model on the work of Bernard Crettaz, a Swiss sociologist who maintains that talking about death leads to authenticity. And how does the Death Caf unfold? Well, after being welcomed by the host, the group itself leads the discussion with participants bringing their own insights, ponderings and points of view. Some may come with an experience of death that has impacted their views; others may want to discuss how death has taught them to live. Participants are asked to treat each persons input with respect and condentiality. This is not a debate forum but a place of respectful sharing where people are welcome to discuss the topics they wish. For example, some discussions have considered living memorials, green funerals, planning your funeral, bucket lists, what

silentvalleyalpaca.ca [email protected]
613-479-0307

March 29, 2014 Check our website events for details

Alpaca 101

facebook!

Like theHumm on

Check out the Valleys first Death Caf on March23

happens after death, and more. Underwood says: When people sit down to talk about death, the pretense kind of falls away, and people talk very openly and authentically, and they say things in front of strangers which are really profound and beautiful A study by the charity Dying Matters found that more than seventy percent of us are uncomfortable talking about death, and that less than a third of us have spoken to family members about this. Underwood explains: We just want to create an environment where talking about death is natural and comfortable. It is important to note that a Death Caf is not a bereavement/ grief support resource. There is also nothing being sold and no particular philosophy or religion being promoted. This is non-denominational and non-prot. The Valley Death Caf will be held on Sunday, March23, from 24 at the Brunton Community Hall, Blacks Corners, at the corner of 9th Line and Hwy 15, just south of Carleton Place. Patti Koeslag, a Life-Cycle Celebrant, will be hosting the event. There is no cost (a small donation towards minimal expenses is appreciated). Visit <deathcafe.com> to register or call Patti at 2533099.

Oak + Lilac
organic mobile spa www.oak-lilac.com

12

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

The next concert in MERAs Sunday Schoolhouse Concert Series brings a refreshing new mix of Klezmer, jazz, folk and gypsy music performed on traditional New Orleans instruments to the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners. The Boxcar Boys bring their lively and entrancing mix of sounds and styles to MERA on Sunday, March30, at 2. The Boxcar Boys deliver a veritable gumbo of musical styles, performed with a good-time New Orleans spirit. The band is bigger than the sum of its parts, with the combined forces of clarinetist and tunesmith John David Williams (Jaron Freeman-Fox and the Opposite of Everything, The Roofhoppers), jazz master Karl Silveira on trombone (The Lemon Bucket Orkestra), violin whiz Laura C. Bates (Trent Severn, Del Bel), soulful accordionist Ronen Segall, and Juno nominee Rob Teehan on sousaphone (Heavyweights Brass Band, Saidah Baba Talibah). With their rst album Dont Be Blue they caught the ears of critics across the country, placing on the Ejazznews list of Best Canadian Jazz of 2011, receiving 3.5/4 stars in the Toronto Star, and praised in Wholenote and Canadian Folk Music magazines. Their new album Rye Whiskey further explores their unique instrumentation as they delve deeper into both the jazz and folk

Boxcar Boys Bring Eclecticism to MERA

Organists Gather in Perth for Concert

Regular concertgoers have probably had the opportunity to attend a recital by an organist at some point in their lives, but how many times have they had a chance to hear several organists in one program? That opportunity is coming up on Sunday, March30, at 3 at St. Pauls United Church in Perth, when members of the Kingston Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) gather for their annual Members Recital. The RCCO, founded in 1909, is a national association of organists and church musicians in Canada, whose aim is to promote a high standard of organ playing, choral directing, church music and composition. Brad Mills, Director of Music at St. Pauls, is a member of the Kingston Centre of the RCCO and is hosting the event. Im really looking forward to having my musi-

genres. These fteen live-o-the-oor studio tracks showcase the bands raw acoustic sound and lively performances. Their ability to eortlessly switch from gritty sprawling blues into a tight western swing number or an emotive tango is demonstrated in compositions by all band members. Rye Whiskey also features charming vocal renditions of folk classics Sam Hall, Rye Whiskey, and Freight Train, a joyous instrumental performance of You Are My Sunshine, and a sentimental lullaby written by composer Joe Ernewein. The band is joined by bluegrass mandolin virtuoso Adrian Gross (Slocan Ramblers) on several tracks. Rye Whiskey captures The Boxcar Boys at their nest, musicians with appreciation for old jazz and folk music, who have honed a sound that is undoubtedly their own. The Boxcar Boys have performed at The Beaches Jazz Festival, The TD Jazz Festival, the Scotiabank Marathon, Scotiabank Buskerfest, Blissfest Festival (Harbor Springs, Michigan), Rogers Tennis Cup 2012, Northern Lights Festival (Sudbury), Blue Skies Festival (Clarendon), and Savour Stratford (Stratford). Wherever they appear, the critical acclaim is unanimous. Paul Swoger-Ruston from Canadian Folk Music enthuses: While each member of the band is a virtuoso in his or her own right, it is the groove, dedication to the tunes, group synergy, and a keen sense of humour that sets them apart from many other bands. The Boxcar Boys appear at MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners on Sunday, March 30, at 2. Advance tickets are $22 (including service charges) and are available from Tickets Please at 39 Foster Street in Perth (Jos Clothes), by phone at 4856434 or online at <ticketsplease.ca>. Tickets can be reserved at Tickets Catch the Boxcar Boys in concert at MERA on Please and held for pick-up at Sunday, March30 the door.

cian friends and acquaintances play the St. Pauls organ its one of the nest instruments between Ottawa and Kingston. Its a 1939 Casavant that was enlarged and rebuilt in 1981, shortly after I arrived at the church, he explains. Dr. David Cameron Mills former teacher at Queens and a consultant on the 1981 rebuild of the organ will be one of the performers. He and Fran Harkness will be performing a movement from Camerons Sonata for Organ, Four Hands. Pianists in the area are encouraged to attend. The RCCO Kingston (and Ottawa) Centre administers a program of scholarships to oer beginner organists of all ages a series of lessons with a qualied professional. For information about the concert, please contact Brad Mills at 2675967 or <[email protected]>.

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

13

Photo by Howard Robinson

Whoos Coming on the Hike?

Hey kids are you looking for something fun to do on your March Break? Why not bring your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles out for an afternoon adventure? The Rideau Trail Association is organizing a family hike at the Perth Wildlife Reserve on Saturday, March15, at 1. Well explore the trails and end up with hot chocolate and cookies in the cabin. The pace will be slow and the 3km route will be appropriate for children of most age groups. Please leave your four-legged friends at home though, as dogs are not permitted in the Reserve. The walk will go ahead, rain, snow or sunshine, so please wear appropriate footwear and protective clothing. You may also want to bring some drinking water and a snack. The Perth Wildlife Reserve, part of the Tay Valley Marsh, is located at 100 Wildlife Road, just east of the juncture of Wildlife Road and Rideau Ferry Road. There is no cost for the walk, but there will be a parking fee of $6 per vehicle. Hope to see you out and exploring nature with some experienced hikers. For additional information, please contact Dorothy Hudson at 2830332.

It was a dark and stormy night. The clouds had been building in the west during the afternoon and nally the rain arrived at dusk, along with a light fog; altogether a very unpleasant evening. And the sap was running. Hard! After all my years of tapping trees and making syrup, I am still surprised by things that happen in the sugar bush. Evidently the low atmospheric pressure accompanying the storm had stimulated the sap to ow. There is considerable pressure inside the tree in the spring, which forces the sap to the tips of branches and, of course, to drip out of any break in the bark, such as a tap hole. Just why the rainy evening with a temperature just above zero Celsius triggered a sap ow is a bit of a mystery. If the rainy, foggy weather continues, the sap can run nonstop for twenty-four hours or more. Usually a cold night is needed to create a vacuum in the tree, to pull fresh sap from the roots. The sun the next day warms the tree, creating a pressure inside the tree that forces the sap to ow out of the tap hole. Whatever the situation, the syrup maker must be ready even if it means working all night to keep up with the sap, it must be done. There are advantages to stormy, cool weather: the sap stays fresh, the evaporator boils well due to the low pressure, and the syrup is usually of excellent quality. The disadvantage is that gathering the sap from the buckets can be a very wet experience. Also, when the humidity is so high, the steam builds up in the sugar shack and condenses on metal surfaces. Sometimes, if there is a metal roof, it starts to drip, making it very uncomfortable for the syrup maker. With modern tubing systems and steam hoods on evaporators, these are no longer problems. Provided that you are not exhausted from working all day ahead of time, making syrup late at night is an enjoyable experience. The usual hustle and bustle at the sugar house is stilled and its just you, the evaporator, and the golden syrup owing from the pan. We are often asked about the dierent colours and avours of syrup. The avour is due in part to the composition of the soil in the sugar bush. Rocky sandy soils, such as those found in Lanark County, seem to produce a particularly good maple avour. The colour in syrup is produced during the boiling process. Early in the season, the sugar in the sap

The Mystery of Maple

is nearly all sucrose. As the season progresses and the weather warms, the percentages of glucose and fructose increase. Sucrose and glucose are stable at the boiling point of syrup, but fructose is unstable at this temperature, and some will turn to caramel. This gives syrup its amber colour and adds to the avour. Late season sap has more fructose, so the syrup is darker, and has a stronger avour, which some people prefer. Fortunately, its not necessary to know all of this science to make maple syrup. The process is forgiving and self-regulating, so most syrup even that made in backyard systems is very good. Every year in the sugar bush is dierent. Last year was an excellent year for syrup-making, possibly due to the dry summer of 2012. This past summer we had ample moisture, which was good for the trees. Only time will tell about the quality and quantity of this springs syrup. If we removed all the mystery from making maple syrup, it would still be done, but would not be nearly so rewarding. Ray Fortune, Fortune Farms

Maple syrup is a luscious treat; Natures gift of nectar sweet. Its a lot of work to boil it down And make your syrup of golden brown. When serving it on bread or cakes, Youll not regret the time it takes!

presents

The Lion in Winter

A medieval tale with more plots and schemes than The Borgias!
April 3, 4, 5, 11, 12 at 8:00 pm and April 6 and 13 at 2:00 pm

See our article this edition or visit www.studiotheatreperth.com for details

14

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Sweet As Maple Syrup

It is almost spring, and in this part of the Call for Submissions world our thoughts turn to sweet things Folkus wants to hear from you! We do like maple syrup, canoodling, and music. try to bring you the next big thing, but Folkus will close out a sweet season on sometimes you know it before we do. March 22 with Winnipegs own Sweet We want to bring in the talent youre dyAlibi and Ottawas Dusty Drifters. Regular ing to share with the rest of us. If your patrons know that there are two things the brothers sister-in-laws cousin has the Almonte Old Town Hall loves strings best band ever, wed like to know about and vocal harmonies and this time well it. Well be passing out a paper survey at have a little of each, sweet as maple syrup. the next show, and will also provide a link There must something special in the at <folkusalmonte.com>. water in Winnipeg or maybe its those Folkus concerts are a rare chance to see long winters but the bands from this bands up close and hear them as theyre town are always really tight. Sweet Alibi, meant to be heard. All showsare on Satwho graced the Cedar Hill Schoolhouse urday evenings at the AlmonteOld Town this past August, are no exception. An Hall. Show time is 8; doors open at 7:30. all-female trio, they are Jess Rae Ayre, You can get your tickets onlineor at Mill Michelle Anderson and Amber Quesnel. Street Books in Almonte and Compact The ladies share songwriting and arrang- Music in the Glebe. Individual concert ing duties and their tastes are diverse, tickets are $30 per show ($15for students). ranging from old-school R&B to Appala- But our February show sold out the week chian crooners; they have added a soul- before there are no guarantees the day ful pop overlay with their most recent of the show so get your tickets early! album, entitled Weve Got to. Regard- Ticket updates are posted to our Facebook less of genre, throughout their work, the page <facebook.com/folkusalmonte> and fundamentals of great singing, harmony twitter feed <@folkusalmonte>. and songwriting remain key. The band Sandy Irvin has been getting plenty of airplay on CBC Radio, charting nationally with their single Ill Wait. We were lucky they caught the ear of our artistic director, Amanda Sears, on their way up, because were sure theyre on to bigger things. The Dusty Drifters are well known throughout the Ottawa Valley, and have anchored many an evening of bluegrass. A ve-piece band featuring Paul Roberto on guitar, Gilles Leclerc on mandolin, John Steele on banjo, Stuart Rutherford on dobro, and Michael Ball on ddle, they bring a full, warm sound to the stage. They are guys who like to play fast; they say their music is good for campouts, swimming holes, festivals, and late late nights. Their tight Sweet Alibi (above) share a double bill at the playing and sweet harmonies are Folkus concert on March22 sure to set you humming.

Sweet Alibi & Dusty Drifters at Folkus

presents

Gala
Young Awards Foundation
The 2014

FUNDRAISER

Saturday, May 10, 6PM NLAS Agricultural Hall Almonte

Tickets: $75 before April 15

($85 after that date) Available online or at: Mill Street Books Foodies Fine Foods
34 Mill St. , Almonte 6132566500

or email [email protected]

52 Mill St., Almonte 6132569090

Money raised funds dynamic arts initiatives in the schools of Mississippi Mills.

www.youngawards.ca

Mill Street Crepe Company

The Heritage House Museum in Smiths Falls is oering a week full of fun half-day workshops for kids over the March Break. On Monday, March 10, at Once in a Minion, kids aged 612 will craft their very own Minions to take home with them, and will be invited to laugh the afternoon away with a special screening of the movie Despicable Me! On Tuesday afternoon, participants can take part in an interactive Family Tree Workshop with local historian and author Jennifer DeBruin. All ages are welcome to participate, and parents or guardians are encouraged to work with their kids in this family-friendly event.Information on the Lanark County Genealogical Society will also be available! Members of the Smiths Falls Curling and Squash Club will make a special appearance on Wednesday morning for Its in the House! a Little Rocks curling workshop. Participants will get a special tour of the Museums new curling exhib-

March Into the Museum

it, learn the history of curling, and make their very own curling souvenirs to take home. They will even get swept o their sheets next door at the Smiths Falls Curling and Squash Club with the chance to try curling themselves! On Thursday, Set the Bar for Healthy Living with Jan Turner from Yoga For Balance. Jan will lead all ages in a healthy fun-lled afternoon with an introduction to yoga, homemade soap, lotion and bath-bomb making. Each participant will take home their own homemade items! Back by popular demand, the lovely ladies of Tammys Nails will be stopping by on Friday for Nail Art Salon an afternoon of fun and fabulous nail polishing techniques. Bring out your inner artistic diva with the many fun nail designs! For more information and prices or to register for any of these programs, please call 2836311. Heritage House Museum is located at 11 Old Slys Road in Smiths Falls.

It doesnt cost more, it just tastes better. Executive Chef Charlene and the Crepe Company staff pride themselves on using the freshest ingredients to create all their dishes. Naturally all crepes, soups and salads are prepared daily and made with love. And of course our desserts are no exception! Mussels are only $12 when you order them for dinner on Saturdays throughout March.

Homemade From Scratch

Saturday Dinner Special

LUNCH Weekdays at 11am Weekends at 10am DINNER Thurs, Fri & Sat 5pm to close

14

millstreetcrepecompany.com
find our menu online join us on facebook

mill street . almonte . 613-461-2737

15

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

Postcards from Perth

A Musical Month of March

With the winter Olympics played out, the February Blues a puddle in the rear-view, and a sunshiny spring tantalizingly on the horizon, welcome to the musical month of March. To quote The Cable Guys Chip Douglas: Its gonna be a good one! One thing Perthites do well is celebrate their own. They will do that in ne fashion on March 2, when old-soul, country crooner Henry Norwood plays the delicious pizza. This is an all-ages event too, so bring the whole family. For tickets (only $20) and more information, contact Sue Tennant at 2677902. Just down the street, two nights later, you can catch Sean and Miriam Keyes at OReillys Ale House. This Perth duo is a treat to hear. I am fearlessly predicting a packed house for these local favourites, so do yourself a favour and get there early, get a good seat, grab a cold pint and an order of IMO Perths tastiest potato skins. Carleton Places Brea Lawrenson, another tremendously talented country singer/songwriter, takes the stage at OReillys the following Tuesday (March 4). This show is not to be missed. Breas musical travels have taken her far and wide across Canada, to the UK, with frequent stops in Nashville to write and record. Shes worked with some of the best in the business too, including The Family Browns Barry Brown, Juno award-winner Keith Glass of Prairie Oyster, and worldclass producer Stu Epps (Elton John, Led Zeppelin). Brea is currently at work on her rst full-length album, which will be produced and recorded in Nashville. Two songs from that CD Honey and With You Whiskey are now in rotation on many country radio stations in Canada and overseas. Brea has also thoughtfully dedicated the video of her song If Im Not Here Tomorrow (you can see it on YouTube) to all military men and women. The video has aired over the Military Network

by John Pigeau
Perth Restaurant. Henry, who is now 15, was a quarter-nalist in last years CBC Searchlight Contest and a semi-nalist in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition out of Nashville for his song Another Bottle Another Day. This immensely talented young country singer-songwriter will be performing with CBC Search Contest winners Sherman Downey and the Ambiguous Case. They played the Stewart Park Festival a couple of years ago and were a big hit, Henry writes of his set-mates on his Facebook artists page. These guys are a great Newfoundland folk/pop/Celtic mix that is a lot of fun to listen to Come on out and get your Newf on. Doors open at 2:15 and the show starts at 3, but I am going to highly recommend you get there early and enjoy a slice of IMO, as the kids text Perths most

and on Majik 100s Top 20 Countdown TV broadcast. Brea was recently asked to perform the song on Parliament Hill at The Run for the Military Families. Another of Breas songs Black And Purple, co-written with long-time friend and singer/songwriter Braiden Turner was taken on by the Canadian Red Cross as the ocial anthem for their antibullying program, RespectED. Brea and Braiden received a National Citation for their advocacy work, and both became National Spokespersons for the RespectED program. Every year they tour Canada, performing in elementary schools, high schools and universities, educating kids, teens and adults about the importance of bully prevention. A wonderful musician with a huge heart, Breas newest radio single is Bottom of the Bottle. Hes not exactly a country singer, but Canadian-born Lorne Elliot is many other things, and one of them is monumentally talented. Elliot, a popular humourist, storyteller, musician and playwright, visits Perth on Friday, March 21, for a special Perth Performing Arts Committee (PPAC) show at the Mason Theatre in PDCI. Elliott is well known for his work on CBCs weekly radio series Madly O in All Directions, which ran for eleven years. His shows are uplifting, slightly mad, and charmingly entertaining. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are $30. Seating is reserved. Call Tickets Please at 4856434 or buy your tickets online at <ticketsplease.ca>. And get them early!

PPAC brings the hilarious Lorne Elliot to Perth on March21 Another PPAC production doesnt take place until April, but the unique musical act deserves the early mention. When Quartango comes to town on April 11, they will be touring their eighth studio album, Encuentro. This eclectic band is comprised of four highly accomplished musicians, whose music evokes deep emotions and sheds new light on the music of the tango, with elegance, sensuality, virtuosity, musicality, and humour. The band aspires to make a close connection with their audience, their vast repertoire characterized by rened musical arrangements. Their music explores Astor Piazzollas tango neuvo, while hinting of jazz, the classics and Celtic music as well. Showtime is 7:30 at the Mason Theatre on Friday, April 11. Tickets are $30, again through Tickets Please. Seating is reserved.

Learn from outstanding and talented artists who have come together to of fer March 29 these special workshops.

in partnership with

Puppet Workshops for adults and kids

April 26 Make a Puppet Show in a Day with Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre For kids 6 11 June 7 Performing Puppets for TV or Youtube with Trish Leeper For adults class limited to 10 July 12 Sculpey Rod Puppets with Jeff Banks For kids 6 -12 class limited to 12 July 19 Funny Foam Puppets for Kids with Jeff Banks & Noreen Young For kids over 8 limited to 15 in class

presents

Paper Puppet Animation with Amanda Homeniuk For parent and child team (children ages 7 12)

May 3 & 4 Simple Marionettes - part 1 May 10 & 11 Simple Marionettes - part 2 with Noreen Young For adults class limited to 10 June 22 Big Creatures for Parades with Adam Zimmerman (aka Zip-E) For parent and child team class limited to 7 teams of 2 July 19 & 20 Making Patterned Foam Puppets with Vicki Veenstra (at Vicki's studio near Pakenham) For adults class limited to 8

in the JB Arts studio at 64 Mills St. in Almonte to register call 613-220-3005 or visit bookwhen.com/jbarts

16

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Hanging Around the Valley

Artistic Signs of Spring

The Maple Run Studio Tour Celebrates Spring
Maps, with detailed tour stop descriptions, can be picked up at Fultons Sugar Bush, any tour stop along the way (look for the green maple leaf sign), and the Pakenham General Store. You can also nd the tour map at <mapleruntour.ca>, along with destination and artist descriptions, or phone 6242062 for information. To be really up-to-date, follow them on Facebook!

The rst signs of spring are beginning to appear, as the birds return, sap begins to rub in Lanark maple trees, and the Maple Run Studio Tour gears up for its 12th season. Shake o the winter doldrums and take a scenic drive on Saturday, March29, or Sunday the 30th (10 to 5), to indulge in sweet maple products and meet Spring Into Art Conference local craftspeople and ne artists on this The annual Spring into Art conference is bepopular self-guided studio tour. The tour ing hosted by the West Carleton Arts Society on Saturday, April12, from 8:45 to 4:15, at the by Miss Cellaneous Carp Memorial Hall. This event is popular with both artists and art lovers. Five speakers will eduwill take you in and around picturesque Pakenham, cate and inspire on topics ranging from personal the village that is home to North Americans only award-winning artistic journeys, to the formation surviving 5-span stone bridge. of not-for-prot art organizations, to eective use Tour stops include Fultons Pancake House and of social media for art promotion and branding. Sugar Bush, as well as studios featuring glass blow- A catered lunch is included in your $70 fee. Reging, paintings (in oil, acrylic and watercolour), ne istration is open and information is available at woodworking, photography, jewellery, pottery, min- <westcarletonartssociety.ca/art-conference.html>. iature quilting, woven garments, and many more arts and crafts for you to discover. You will nd art- Call to Artists work and crafts for yourself, your home, the garden, On July12 and 13, at Haramis Park (OBrien Blvd. or for gifts. Enjoy seeing artists working in their stu- in Renfrew), the Renfrew Art Guild will hold their dios and also visit the cluster groups in various loca- third annual Art in the Park, a celebration of ne tions in and around the historic village of Pakenham. arts and ne crafts in the heart of the Ottawa ValNo need to pack a lunch there are several stops ley. They are looking for new artists to join them. along the way that serve light meals and tasty treats. Deadline for entry is April1, and there is a juried Dont forget to pick up a passport at your rst stop process for new applicants. Applications are availand then have it stamped at tour stops, so that youre able at <renfrewartguild.com>. eligible to win one of three artists baskets. If you For more information, see online or contact get your passport stamped at all nine studios, your Frank Harper at 4333208. name is entered twice, for an extra chance to win!

Follow theHumm on Twitter!

Call for Artists and Artisans

@Infohumm

Glass artist Chris Van Zanten will be participating in this years Maple Run Studio Tour

The Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour invites artists and those practising ne crafts to join its 18th anniversary tour. The tour will take place on Thanksgiving weekend, October11 to 13, in Mississippi Mills.Organizerswant to expand the tours range of oerings, and are particularly interested in fresh and innovative three-dimensional work. Does this sound like your practice? If yes, they want to see your creations! Applicants are asked to submit at least ve examples of recent work, and to include a brief biography and artist statement. Work is judged on originality of expression and concept, and quality of execution; new types of work will receive particular consideration. Deadline for submissions is May 15. Send application, including electronic images of work, to<[email protected]>. For information call2563647.

Puzzled about where to find a good book or cd or game or puzzle? Come to Mill Street Books for friendly assistance.

20% OFF Puzzles until March 15

MILL STREET BOOKS
/millstreetbooks

www.millstreetbooks.com

52 Mill St., Almonte 6132569090

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

17

2013 2014

SEASON
Adult Student

Menopausal Woman of the Corn

Bagging the Bacon

Most Canadian children go through a traditional rite of spring as soon as they can say the word maple. Each year in the month of March they are either led by their parents or endure some godforsaken eld trip, to a sugar shack in the middle of the woods. There, one of the culinary miracles of Canada takes place, and they are introduced to maple syrup and something called sugar on snow. My father used to delight in making the sugary concoction for us every year, using the very snow that the cats had peed on. Years

In concert

Tickets

$30

$15

War Imprisonment War Empowerment

Saturday, April 12, 2014 8:00 p.m.
The effects of war are catastrophic but even during the darkest moments in history, the power of music is able to transcend human suffering. Now in its 20th year, the internationally-renowned Gryphon Trio is joined by virtuoso clarinetist James Campbell to perform two masterworks of the chamber music repertoire Maurice Ravels Piano Trio and Olivier Messiaens Quatuor pour la n du temps composed because of war but for very different reasons.
Tickets available by mail or online at almonteinconcert.com. Inquiries: 613-256-4554 or [email protected] Tickets also available at Mill Street Books 52 Mill St., Almonte 613-256-9090 Reads Book Shop 135 Bridge St., Carleton Place 613-257-7323

Gryphon Trio James Campbell clarinet

by Linda Seccaspina
have passed, and spring now also usually means that the Tim Hortons Maple Double Dip Doughnut will be in full-bloom and Canadians rejoice! Last year it was with great delight that I noted the American restaurant chain Dennys offering up their new heart attack on a plate menu of bountiful bacon meals with a hint of maple called Baconalia. Their sacred festival of bacon oered something called The Maple Bacon Ice Cream Sundae and I was gung ho to try it.

As I looked at the Dennys menu, I noticed that they were proud sponsors of AARP. For us folks north of the border, AARP is an American organization leading positive social change and delivering value to people age 50 and over. I found that quite strange, due to the vein-clogging menu Dennys serves. We hear that the medical system is overloaded, and as I looked at their new Hamburger Plate with endless pancakes, I had to wonder about the whole darn thing. Did they create this new Baconalia menu to get rid of the overowing senior population like myself? Not really caring, I took my life in my hands and ordered the Pepper Bacon and Egg Slam and topped it o with the Maple Bacon Ice Cream Sundae. I secretly thought that my body might not make it to dessert and they might have to Medivac me out of there. But I succeeded, and the sundae was presented with a large spoon and loads of napkins. The savory/sweet mix was wonderful and as I waddled to the car, I thought of how much each hit of maple reminded me of my childhood. Knowing that I would have to write about my food journey at length, I was glad I remembered the words of Winston Churchill, and that eating words would not give me indigestion but I could not vouch for what was now moving down into my colon.

Have you been to the White Lilly? If not, you have until March 15 to find out what the buzz was all about these last 3 years. The White Lilly is the ONLY store in North America to sell Goddess on the Go eco-friendly, easy-to-wear, easy-to-care-for ladies fashions so far! Now its time to bring Goddess on the Go on the go, as we take these fabulous fashions across North America to other retailers. Dont worry though we wont be Go-ing too far! Make an appointment with me in my design studio or place an order through lillywhite.ca or [email protected].

Soup for Thought

First Sitting: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm Second Sitting: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Saturday March 22nd, 2014 Two Special Seating Times

at the

All proceeds to the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

A Luncheon Fundraiser

Until March 15, come in for our BLOW OUT, SHOUT OUT, CARRY OUT sale.
THANK YOU to all who have supported the White Lilly. We have valued your loyalty and, most of all, your friendship. A special thank you to Gord Pike, Rona Fraser, theHumm, Kathie Donovan, Leanne Cusack and more friends at CTV. And to the beautiful souls Ive had the pleasure of working with on a daily basis: Diana, Valerie, Suzanne and Maureen. Time for me to embark on new adventures there are books to publish, shops to travel to, workshops to facilitate, and grandchildren to spoil. With deep gratitude,

Customers will get to take home a bowl generously donated by the Almonte Potters Guild who, this year, will be joined by local potter Chandler Swain of General: fine craft, art, and design. Tasty soups will be donated by:

Mississippi Valley Textile Museum 3, Rosamond St. E.

Mike Curry J.R.s Family Restaurant

Richard Kletnieks Heirloom Caf Bistro

Sally Parsons Palms Coffee Shop

Trisha Donaldson The Chefs Table

Charlene Santry Mill Street Crpe Company

Lilly

Julie & Jason Moffatt Foodies Fine Foods

14 Mill St., Heritage Court, Almonte 6132567799

www.lillywhite.ca

Admission: Adults $20, Children Under 12 are free

Natalie Houston Robins Nest Tea Room

Dustin Pettes Ballygiblins

Steve Falsetto Caf Postino

18

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Love and mounting misunderstandings between sexy middle-aged woman with a unique secret two young people. Unrequited love. Lies and de- birthmark, who was previously married to one ception. The angst of golf, the thrill of competi- of the characters and is secretly is in love with tion, the triumph of virtue over deception. Sex oops! Pamela doesnt mind a strong drink and and the promise of sex. And fast-paced dialogue is not afraid of strong language. Finally, there is and action. All of these are hallmarks of the classic Muriel, a middle-aged, bitter dowager with all the charm of an old battle-axe. She loves her antique English farce of the 1930s and '40s. The Fox on the Fairway is a fast-moving script shop and has a vested interest in a mysterious from Ken Ludwig, one of the best playwrights in Chinese vase, which features prominently in one modern theatre. This adult play features light- of the scenes. The Fox on the Fairway is a great tribute to clasning-quick dialogue, twisty plot lines, mistaken sic theatrical farce. Director Brian McManus had identities, deceptions, physical action, and zany a lead role in another classic Ludwig farce, Lend characters. It explores all of these elements in Me a Tenor , twice in the 1990s, and he is eager to a fun, fresh way and holds the audience captive celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tenor with this throughout each scene. recent hit. Fox follows on the heels of the awardIn Fox, a golf tournament between rival clubs winning parody of farce, Noises O, which was provides the backdrop against which frictions, lies, deceptions, and intersecting love aairs play out. Although the game of golf lies at the heart of the story, rest assured that you need not have an interest in or even the slightest knowledge of the technical aspects of the sport to enjoy the plot as it unfolds in the country club and on the fairway. Fox presents six rich archetypal characters. The string of misunderstandings between them gives rise to mounting tensions, all of which are played out in a hilarious storyline dotted with twists, turns and surprises, Those madcap Mudds are gearing up to present not to mention a good many enThe Fox on the Fairway, opening on March28 trances and exits on the part of the characters. There is Louise, the ingnue young, vola- presented two years ago in the Carleton Place tile and emotional who is madly in love with Town Hall. Like Noises O, Fox has found a stage Justin, a nervous protg and mamas boy who is in Carleton Place and is sure to keep the audience also young, volatile and emotional. He is also an enthralled and laughing until the very end. The Mississippi Mudds will present The Fox awesome golfer. Bingham, the protagonist and on the Fairway at the Carleton Place Town Hall, Justins mentor, is middle-aged, tense and grumpy. 175 Bridge Street, on March28 and 29 and April4 He is not madly in love with his wife, and in fact and 5 at 8, and on March 30 at 2. Tickis secretly in love with but lets not divulge any ets, $20, will be available at the Carleton Place more details for fear of giving away too much of Chamber of Commerce (132 Coleman Street, the plot. 2571976). For more information, please visit The character of Dickie is a scheming, conniv<mississippimudds.ca>. ing villain who has very bad taste in sweaters. To complicate matters, we have Pamela, a strong, By Lise Corbett

Unrequited Love, Deception and Golf!

Pick up theHumm in Perth at

jos clothes

Kathy Duncan
Sales Representative

Explorer Realty Inc.

Brokerage Independently Owned and Operated

sells homes... LOTS OF THEM!

Ask Kathy,
whats my house worth? whats the market doing? whats sold in my neighborhood? whats the cost? what should I do now?

Call Kathy NOW for a FREE

Cell: 613-883-8008 Office: 613-256-2310
Email: [email protected] kathyduncanhomes.com

market evaluation of your home

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

19

Photo courtesy of DeSa Photography

Lets Spend the Night Together

Benet Dance for Brooke Valley School
Imagine a school with a heart a really BIG heart where students are taught the value of respect for themselves, their teachers and each other. Imagine a school where kids are able to be just kids together, where the outdoors and the arts are given as much merit as the three Rs. All this exists in a one-room schoolhouse, in an idyllic country setting just west of Perth at Brooke Valley School. BVS is an alternative, rural, private school. Its doors have been open for over thirty years, serving grades one through eight. Without public funding, the school needs to charge tuition and fundraise for its operational budget. This can be challenging with a school population of 12 to 14 students a year. Last year, The Dead Flowers A Tribute to The Rolling Stones (Terry Tufts, Kathryn Briggs, Ken Workman, Sean Burke and Don Kenny) held a benet show at Maberly Hall. The room was full of energy, happy faces and dancers spanning the ages of 5 to 75. The event was a great success one that everyone thought bore repeating! On Saturday, March29, at Maberly Hall (172 Elphin Maberly Road, just north of Hwy. 7), Brooke Valley School and The Dead Flowers will come together again for a not-to-be-missed night of fun and community spirit. Doors open at 6:30 with opening acts of young local talents, and the show/dancing will start at 7:30. There will be door prizes, a silent auction and specialty non-alcoholic drinks, and all can celebrate the spring sap run with many maple treats (sweet and savoury). Tickets are $20 for adults (sliding scale available at $10), $5 for students, and kids under 14 are free. Tickets may be purchased at the Riverguild (51 Gore Street East in Perth) or at the door. Questions? Call Erin at 8123425. For further information about Brooke Valley School or to make a donation, please visit <brookevalleyschool.ca>.

Pick up theHumm in Carleton Place at

valley design co.

Stop & Smell the Chocolate

Now and Then Why Not Always?

I write this on the last day of the Olympics the day the Canadian mens hockey team won gold. I enjoyed watching the game, warm in the knowledge that folks all over Canada were doing the exact same thing. I love that cozy feeling of camaraderie knowing that people of varied ages and circumstances are sharing the same experience. Like when we all got teary as BJ Hun-

by Rona Fraser
nicutts chopper lifted o from M*A*S*H to reveal the Goodbye Hawkeye had written with rocks (sni ), or when we tuned in to nd out who shot JR, or when we all smiled as Ross opened the door to see Rachel had gotten o the plane. Its not just TV. I had the same feeling at a Depeche Mode concert, when I saw that the entire audience, teens to forty-somethings, was mirroring the lead singers air punches during Personal Jesus (reach out and touch [punch] faith [punch]). Its not simply that we were doing the same thing at the same time we were feeling similar emotions. Our dierences are forgotten when we sing along with pure rhythmic enjoyment at a concert, or watch an early hockey game with a combination of hope, anxiety and excitement (and fatigue). Ok, yes, not everyone feels the same way. Theres always the odd person thinking Olympics are a waste of money or Thats not fair to the amateur athletes or Sport sporty McSporterson who cares?!, but even some of those folks probably get caught up in the patriotic excitement. If we can come together to cheer on our athletes, and join our voices (and st pumps) in song can we do more? I mean, if we share one of these experiences/feelings perhaps there are more. If we drew a giant Venn diagram (those overlapping

circles with common elements in the overlap) of the entire population of the earth, we would see we have much in common. I, for instance, could be in circles such as: Oce Workers, Chocolate Lovers, Depeche Mode Fans, People Who Think Thai Peanut Sauce Goes Well With Everything, Vegetarians Who Returned to Meat Because of Bacon And perhaps now YOU are in the circle of People Wondering What Ronas Point Is. Stay with me Well get there. If you think about it, you would probably nd that you are in at least one circle with every single person on the planet. Kinda freaky, eh? And hey, add the circles Bacon Lovers, Sunny Day Lovers and Water Lovers, and you could include most of the animal kingdom as well! We have so many things in common, even with people weve never met, who live lives we dont understand. Maybe if we kept this in mind, we could all get along better. Maybe if we brought kids up to realize that they have a lot in common with others, instead of focusing on dierences, we wouldnt have the amount of loneliness and bullies. Even simply teaching kids that everyone feels, at some point, like they dont know what they are doing (ok, its often, for some of us), would help them worry less about looking stupid. I mean, even if you conne a geek, a jock, a stoner, a popular kid and a freak to one room for a day, theyll nd they have things in common just ask John Hughes! So when you look at other people, and see their dierent skin colour or religion or gender or income level or age or clothes remember the things you have in common too. They are just like you, in at least one way, so cut them some slack and give them a smile. It will make you both feel like you belong, which will do your hearts good. I leave you with a quote from Depeche Mode, who said it best: People are people so why should it be you and I should get along so awfully?

20

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Stevie Rave On

The Man Hug

When I rst met the lovely and talented, she was a hugger. It was one of the rst things that drew me to her (pardon the pun) and one of the many reasons we married. She still loves to hug. I think its her Montreal upbringing (not her fault). She would rather hug a person than simply say hello or goodbye, especially goodbye. A goodbye indicates that a greeting has taken place, presumably followed by a conversation during which, she assumes, she would have gotten to know you well enough to adjourn the meeting with

by Steve Scanlon
a hug. This hug-concluded conversation could take all of thirty-seven seconds Its what I lovingly refer to as Shauna logic (which is unique to my wife who, coincidentally, is named Shauna). If you meet again sometime in the future, it is again assumed that one could dispense with the formal hey, how ya doin? greeting, and jump right into hugging. I dont believe Ive ever seen her shake somebodys hand; she doesnt have it in her. Now these are not amateur hugs, they are full on, come-to-mama, you-mean-somethingto-me hugs. They are chock-full of love, respect and friendship. She may hug a lot, but she doesnt hug lightly she means every one of them. On the other side of the coin, I was brought up in an era when men were taught to show as little emotion as possible. Hugging was something you did with old Aunt Gertrude after mentally preparing yourself all day, and then holding your breath against the smell of her perfume (which would last on your clothes all day anyway, so the attempt to steel yourself was futile). This was an era, in my house, when a hug for Mom was followed by a handshake for Dad. Now, however, I think hugs are contagious. Have you ever been walking down the street and you see somebody yawn and all of a sudden you feel the urge to yawn as well? I want to yawn right now just thinking about somebody

walking down the street yawning are you yawning? Please dont yawn; youll start an epidemic. Hugs are kinda like that you see one person hugging and you want in on the action (with the exception of old Aunt Gertrude). There are so many varieties of hugs. The timid well just touch cheeks not body hug. The full on I am going to share my perfume with you, Auntie-style hug. The hug and kiss on both cheeks French hug. The hug and reach for the ass cheeks (typically reserved for people in relationships and/ or the perverted). The I dont really want to hug, turn your head away type hug that my kids are crazy good at. And of course the Man Hug. Now the man hug is relatively new to me and it takes some coordination to get it just right (and getting in wrong is not an option). A man hug as dened by the Urban Dictionary (and if you cant trust the Urban Dictionary, who can you trust) is as follows: A handshake that transitions into a hug-like, semi-embrace that lasts no more than one second and may be accompanied by a rm slap on the back. An acceptable way for one guy to show appreciation for another male friend. Now this I can appreciate a hug with rules and instructions. Being a man, I usually ignore instructions until I have completely screwed up the thing I was instructed to build. I especially ignore IKEA instructions and I especially love disassembling IKEA furniture and reassembling it using said instructions complete with little stick dude and ten thousand loose screws and an Allen key that I manage to lose after every screw. Am I the only one who always has leftover screws? Do you think they do that on purpose? But I digress With a man hug I am leaving nothing to chance. I found the following instruction online and added a few of my own rules: 1. Begin with a traditional rm handshake (easy peasy, done it a zillion times). 2. Keeping your hand clasped with your buddy in the form of a rm handshake, wrap your left arm around

the shoulder of your friend. Remember to maintain the handshake at all times. 3. Slap your friends back two times. The slap is essential, the number of slaps is negotiable, but somehow two times seems to work (and the hitting somehow excuses the contact of a hug ironic). 4. Quick-release, step back to a comfortable position, and immediately make eye contact. The eye contact says Yes, I am comfortable with my manhood despite that fact that we just hugged. For the faint of heart, there are instruction videos online seriously instruction videos for hugging. I live in a very strange

new world. The unwritten rule: Do not instigate a man hug unless you intend to follow through. There is nothing worse than a man hug gone bad. Awkward. Heres the thing about hugging in general: it makes people feel important. If I get a hug from somebody I know for a fact that they care. If I give somebody a hug, they know I care about them. The lovely and talented has it right (dont tell her I said so, itll go right to her head) hugging is a good thing, it establishes a bond. There should be an international day of the Hug. Sometime not too close to St. Patricks Day though that would just get messy.

by Maxine & s p u e pa mak

March 20th I will be closing my Almonte location and offering mobile services for Pedi, Foot care and Make-overs; as well as opening a new location this Spring! Watch my web site for details on my new location. Gift certificates can be used now or this Spring at my new location.

Exciting Changes Coming!

All Jewelry, Handbags, Make-up are 40% Off Until March 20th Pedicures are Now $20, Until March 20th!
Thank you all for your support. I have met some incredible people through my Almonte location. I look forward to seeing you! Call for appointment

www.makeupbymaxine.com

6136123366

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

21

The Lion in Winter, Perth, Apr 36, 1113 Pakenham Home Show, Apr 46 Fox on the Fairway, CP, Apr 45 Empty Bowls, Perth, Apr 5 Intl TableTop Day, Almonte, Apr 5 Quartango (PPAC), Perth, Apr 11 MonkeyJunk, Arnprior, Apr 11 Gryphon Trio (AiC), Apr 12 Hogtown Allstars (BOTR), Westport, Apr 18 Handmade Harvest, Almonte, May 3 Hike for Hospice, Miss Mills, May 4 David Rotundo Band (BOTR), May 910 Art in the Attic, Almonte, May 911 Young Awards, Almonte, May 10 Deliciously Disorderly Dinner Show, Perth, May 10 Little Women The Musical, Perth, May 2225, May 30Jun 1 Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month, June Busfusion, Almonte, Jun 58 Cantores Celestes Choir, Perth, Jun 7 Doors Open Smiths Falls, Jun 8 Celtfest, Almonte, Jul 46 Art in the Park, Renfrew, Jul 1213 Stewart Park Festival, Perth, Jul 1820 Herbfest, Almonte, Jul 27 Puppets Up!, Almonte, Aug 910 Highland Games, Almonte, Aug 23 Harvest Food & Drink Show, Almonte, Sep 13 Fibrefest, Almonte, Sep 1314

Claiming Column

WHATS ON IN
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Brush Strokes presents art students words <brushstrokesart.ca> Fairview Manor Foyer presents Stephanie Huckabones mixed media MERA Schoolhouse presents Beth Girdlers art and photography Kanata Civic Art Gallery presents Cityscapes <kanatagallery.ca> General Fine Craft, Art & Design presents Uta Riccius Plastik<generalfinecraft.com> (from Mar 4) Heritage House Museum presents Curling History in the Ottawa Valley <smithsfalls.ca/heritagehouse> Ottawa West Arts Assoc Gallery (Goulbourn Rec Complex) presents The Awakening <owaa.ca> The Mississippi Mills Chambers Gallery presents Irene Emigs collage/acrylic/origami MVTM presents Fabric of a Small Town,Transformations:Taking Felt in New Directions <mvtm.ca> (to Mar 15) Palms Coffee Shop presents Nona Argues linocut prints, photographer Shawn DeSalvo <palmsonline.ca> The Almonte Library Corridor Gallery presents Jan Gilberts acrylic-representational art

All Month
Arlene Quinn, CP Terrace Brea Lawrenson, OReillys Pub Green Drinks, Perth Open Mic Night, The Downstairs Pub

Carp Celtic Jam, Carp Masonic Lodge Inside Llewyn Davis, Arnprior

CP Horticultural Society, CP Open Celtic Jam, Naismith Pub Shawn McCullough, The Cove The Attack, Perth

Intl Womens Day Film, Smiths Falls Jazz at Ballys, Ballygiblins Musicians Circle, Bolingbroke Open Mic, Golden Arrow The Attack, Smiths Falls

Almonte & Area Artists Assoc Mtg, Almonte Carp Celtic Jam, Carp Masonic Lodge

10 11 12 13
Charles and Heidi, CP Terrace Open Mic Night, The Downstairs Pub West Carleton Garden Club, Carp Adult Bereavement Group, Perth Effects of Proposed Pipeline, Smiths Falls Open Celtic Jam, Naismith Pub Shawn McCullough, The Cove Branching Out Tree Talk, Almonte Mystery Entertainer, CP Terrace Open Mic Night, The Downstairs Pub Open Celtic Jam, Naismith Pub Shawn McCullough, The Cove

Musicians Circle, Bolingbroke Open Mic w/Matt Dickson, Golden Arrow

Vernissage, Mar 7, 7-9PM. Brush Strokes Almonte Quilters Guild, Almonte students. Brush Strokes, CP. 253-8088, Carp Celtic Jam, Carp Masonic Lodge brushstrokesart.ca Kelly Sloan, Ashton Pub Meet the Artist, Mar 8, 3-5PM. Uta Riccius St. Paddys Day w/Crooked Wood, Plastik. General Fine Craft, Almonte. The Cove generalfinecraft.com St. Patricks Day Party, CP Open House, Mar 8-9, 10AM-4PM. Sarah MofSt. Patricks Day Party, Golden Arrow fats colourful art. Olde Almonte Flour Mill, Almonte. sarahmoffat.com Almonte & Area Artists Assoc Mtg, Mar 10, 7:30PM. Almonte Library. 256-5863, Almonte & District 4a-artists.ca Horticultural Soc., Almonte Quilters Guild, Mar 17, 7PM. Almonte Guest: Beth Cameron. Almonte Civitan Carp Celtic Jam, Carp Hall. 257-8444, [email protected] Masonic Lodge Flippin Art Night, Mar 20, 5-7PM. Jo-ann Zorzi & Mario Cerroni.Arts CP. Ballygiblins, CP. 253-7400. Free Lanark County Quilters Guild, Mar 25, 7PM. Guests from Limestone Quilters, Carp Celtic Jam, Kingston. Perth Lions Hall, 264-9232 Carp Masonic Lodge MVTM AGM, Mar 27, 7PM. Guest: weaver Laura Fauqier of Lola Dot Studio. Textile Museum,Almonte. 256-3754 Breakfast with the Arts, Westport Style, Mar 29, 8AM breakfast, speaker 9AM. The Station Theatre presents Gravity, Feb, 28 & Mar 1, 7:30PM; Nebraska, Mar 21 & Papillon Press,Westport. 273-8775 22, 7:30PM. Smiths Falls. smithsfallstheatre. Maple Run Studio Tour, Mar 29-30, com, 283-0300. $10; $5 students w/ID 10AM-5PM. Self-guided tour in and around Tristan and Iseult, Feb. 28, 7:30PM. w/ StephPakenham. 624-2062, mapleruntour.ca anie Bnteau. $18 adv at ticketsplease.ca. Arnprior Library, 256-0353, 2wp.ca. $20 Raise the Woof Comedy Show, Mar 1, Mudds Youth Troupe present Willy Wonka 8PM. Fundraiser for Valley Animal Rescue. Jr., Feb. 28, 7PM; Mar 1, 2PM. Tickets at CP Tickets at PetValu Renfrew. BestWestern Chamber Visitor Ctr. Carleton Place Town Renfrew, woofraise.com. $20 Hall. 257-1976, mississippimudds.ca. $10 Inside Llewyn Davis, Mar 2 at 1PM, Mar PAMT presents The Best of Broadway, Mar 3 at 7:30PM. OBrien Theatre, Arnprior. 14, 7PM.Young stars sing & dance. Full Circle 622-7682, obrientheatre.com. $10 Theatre, Perth. ticketsplease.ca. $10 FiNI presents The Attack, Mar 5, 2&7PM OSFK: Drumhand, Mar 30, 2PM. reverb(Full Circle Theatre, Perth); Mar 6, 7PM nation.com/drumhandmusic.Almonte High (Station Theatre, SF); All is Lost, Mar 26, School. onstageforkids.com. $10 2&7PM (Full CircleTheatre, Perth); Mar 27, 7PM (StationTheatre, SF). filmnightperth@ gmail.com, $10

Visual Arts

17 18 19 20
31
John & Barb, CP Terrace Lanark Cty Quilters Guild, Perth Open Mic Night, The Downstairs Pub The Backsliders & Heather Gray, Gaia Java

Flippin Art Night, Carleton Place Musicians Circle, Bolingbroke Poetry Night, Perth Spring Fling Party, CP

24

25 26 27
Adult Bereavement Group, Perth All is Lost, Perth Neat Soundcheck, Neat Caf Open Celtic Jam, Naismith Pub Shawn McCullough, The Cove

All is Lost, Smiths Falls Lunch at Allens, Neat Caf Musicians Circle, Bolingbroke MVTM AGM, Almonte Open Mic w/Matt Dickson, Golden Arrow

Theatre

Youth

Intl Womens Day Film, Mar 6, 5:45PM. Poetry Night, Mar 20, 9PM. Golden Arrow, Perth. 267-4500, goldenarrowpub.com Made In Dagenham, coffee, dessert. Rideau Canal Museum, SF. 257-3469x63. Mississippi Mudds present The Fox on the Fairway, Mar 28-29, Apr 4-5 8PM; Mar 30 2PM. CP Town Hall. 257-1976, missis- Gallipeau Centre presents Abba-mania & Night Fever (Mar 1, 7PM); When sippimudds.ca. $20 Irish Eyes are Smiling (Mar 16, Live At The Met: Rusalka, Mar 29, 7PM); Only The Lonely (Mar 22, 7PM). 1PM. OBrien Theatre,Arnprior. 623-4007, Smiths Falls. 205-1493, gallipeautheatre. obrientheatre.com. $22 com. $29.50 Spiritual Cinema Circle, Mar 30, 2PM. Fiddlin Fiesta, Mar 2 , 2-4:30PM. Will & McMartin House, Perth. 267-4819, fp@ Emma Mar,ch Terri-Lynn Mahusky & more. superaje.com. $2 donation St. John Chrysostom Hall,Arnprior. $10 Henry Norwood & Friends, Mar 2, 3PM. 15-yr-old country crooner & friends. Perth Restaurant, Perth. 267-7902. $20 LiPS Poetry Slam/Open Mic, Mar 7, 7PM. Doors open/signup 6:30PM. Thirsty Musicians Circle, Thursdays, 7PM. Musicians only - all ages.ABC Hall, Bolingbroke. Moose, CP. [email protected]. $5 273-9005. $5 for hall Vine Rhymes, Mar 15, 7-9PM. Songwriters, poets & storytellers perform. Coffee Bolingbroke Caf: Lost for Words, Mar 7, 8-10PM. Folk & gospel. ABC Hall, Culture, Smiths Falls. Free Bolingbroke. 273-8718, $10

Music

Literature

AiC: The Great War, Mar 8, 8PM. Piano. $30, $15 students; at 256-4554, almonteinconcert.com, or door. Almonte Old Town Hall White Lake Acoustic Jam,Mar 8,7-10PM. White Lake Fire Hall, Burnstown Rd. wlol. ca/home/hot-licks-acoustic-jam. Free BOTR: JW Jones, Mar 14, 7PM.The Cove, Westport. 1-888-COVE-INN, choosetheblues.ca. $60+tx dinner & show (reserve) St. Patricks Dinner Dance, Mar 15, 7PM. Family Irish dinner, ceilidh.Tickets at Computer Plus. Perth Civitan Hall. $25 Music for Elephants, Mar 16, 2PM.Tracy & Lucas, w/Brock McNamee. Fundraiser for trip toThai animal rescue., StudioTheatre, Perth. 485-6434, ticketsplease.ca. $20/$10 Warm Up To St. Patrick, Mar 16, 1PM. W The Valley Rovers. Irish Stew, desserts. Almonte Civitan Hall, 256-3677, $15 Fiddlers Dinner/Dance, Mar 21, 6PM. Home-style dinner/dessert. Almonte Civitan Hall. $15; free if you fiddle

22

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

MARCH 2014
Friday
Country Jam, Lakepark 1887 Lodge Gravity, Smiths Falls Neil Young Tribute Show, John St. Pub The Respectables, Golden Arrow Tristan and Iseult, Arnprior Willy Wonka Jr., Carleton Place

Saturday
Abba-mania & Night Fever, Smiths Falls Ambush Dinner Party, Lakepark 1887 Lodge Cupping 101, Almonte Gravity, Smiths Falls Head over Heels, The Cove Jazz Night w/Peter Brown, Golden Arrow Lanark Co. Genealogical Soc., Perth March Meltdown, Beckwith Raise the Woof Comedy Show, Renfrew Tristan and Iseult, Perth Willy Wonka Jr., Carleton Place

Sunday
APEX Jazz Band, The Royal Oak Bob Burtch Bluegrass Band, The Cove Campfire Tales & Marshmallow Roast, Pakenham Fiddlin Fiesta, Arnprior Henry Norwood & Friends, Perth Inside Llewyn Davis, Arnprior Open Mic w/Kelly Sloan, Ashton Pub Seedy Sunday, Pembroke Seedy Sunday, Perth Valley Singles Lunch, Almonte

Carleton Place Terrace Snr Living (CP, 253-7360): Live music, 7PM Mar 4 Arlene Quinn Mar 11 Charles and Heidi Mar 18 Mystery Entertainer Mar 25 John and Barb

Lanark Co. Genealogical Soc., Mar 1, 1:30PM. Genealogical trivia.Archives Lanark, Perth. 866-2029. Free March Meltdown, Mar 1 , 8:30AM-2PM. Pancakes at Brunton Hall, sleigh rides, etc. Beckwith Park. 257-1539 Cupping 101, Mar 1, 10AM-Noon. Discover freshness, proper brewing, cupping. Equator Caf,Almonte. 256-5960, equator.ca Campfire Tales & Marshmallow Roast, Mar 2, 9, 16, 23. Naturalist Cliff Bennett & outdoorsman Chad Clifford., Fultons, Pakenham. fultons.ca Bolingbroke Caf: Lost for Words, Bolingbroke Seedy Sunday, Mar 2 , 10AM-3PM. Gardening Caitlin Morton & Kurtis Armstrong, Gaia Java Almonte in Concert: The Great War, Almonte Campfire Tales & Marshmallow Roast, Pakenham talks, local lunch, seed swap. Fellowes High Intl Womens Day Potluck, Lanark Head over Heels, The Cove Magnolia Rhythm Kings, The Royal Oak LiPS Poetry Slam/Open Mic, Carleton Place Meet the Artist, Almonte School, Pembroke. 628-1836. Free Open House, Almonte Steve Barrette Trio, The Swan at Carp Open House, Almonte Seedy Sunday, Mar 2, 10AM-3PM. Seeds, Open Mic w/Kelly Sloan, Ashton Pub The Grand Slambovians, Neat Caf The Matts, Golden Arrow workshops, vendors. Perth Legion, 284The Working Class, Calabogie Peaks Resort The Matts, Golden Arrow White Lake Acoustic Jam, White Lake 0578, [email protected]. Free Vernissage, Carleton Place Valley Singles Lunch, Mar 2 , 1PM. JRs Restaurant,Almonte. 623-6698 Green Drinks, Mar 4, 5:30PM. Around the Corner, Perth. GreenDrinks.org. Free CP Horticultural Society, Mar 5, 7PM. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, CP. cphorticulture.ca.Visitors $3 Breakfast at the Legion, Almonte APEX Jazz Band, The Royal Oak Intl Womens Day Potluck, Mar 7, Family Hike, Perth Beckwith Heritage Speakers Series, Beckwith BOTR: JW Jones, Westport Noon-2PM. Lunch, discussion. Community Rockin Horse, Golden Arrow Campfire Tales & Marshmallow Roast, Pakenham Dan Tarofs Guitar Class Recital, Gaia Java Health Centre, Lanark. 1-866-762-0496. Shawn McCullough Band, The Cove Music for Elephants, Perth Jamie Cameron, Golden Arrow West Carleton Garden Club, Mar 11, St. Patricks Dinner Dance, Perth Open Mic w/Kelly Sloan, Ashton Pub The Best of Broadway, Perth 7:30-9PM. w/ Phil Tuba. Carp Memorial Hall, Straight Up w/Steve VanVeit, Valley BBQ Warm Up To St. Patrick, Almonte Vine Rhymes, Smiths Falls When Irish Eyes are Smiling, Smiths Falls [email protected]. $5 Adult Bereavement Group, Mar 12 (1-3PM, Lanark Lodge, Perth); Mar 26 (1:30-3:30PM, Waterside, CP). 267-6400, [email protected]. Free. 267-6400 Effects of Proposed Pipeline, Mar 12, Almonte Lectures, Almonte 6:30PM. Info session by REAL. The Station Don Ross, Neat Caf Fiddlers Dinner/Dance, Almonte Campfire Tales & Marshmallow Roast, Pakenham Theatre, SF. 269-4282, REALaction.ca. Free Folkus: Dusty Drifters/Sweet Alibi, Almonte Jazz Night w/Spencer Evans Trio, The Cove Death Caf, Beckwith Green Party Dinner/Biochar Talk, Maberly Breakfast at the Legion , Mar 15, Jon Brooks, Neat Caf Magnolia Rhythm Kings, The Royal Oak Luncheon, Bake Sale & Bazaar, Ashton 8-10:30AM. $5 donation.Almonte Legion Nebraska, Smiths Falls NightCrawlers Acoustic Blues, Carleton Place MVTM Soup for Thought Fundraiser, Almonte Family Hike, Mar 15, 1PM. 3km slow walk. PPAC: Lorne Elliott , Perth Open Mic w/Kelly Sloan, Ashton Pub Nebraska, Smiths Falls Rain or shine. Perth Wildlife Reserve, 100 Steve Barrette Trio, The Swan at Carp Traditional Song Session, Almonte Only The Lonely, Smiths Falls Wildlife Rd. 283-0332. Free walk; $6/car Terry Tufts Trio, Golden Arrow Tritones, Golden Arrow Beckwith Heritage Speakers Series, The Crumble Quartet, Gaia Java Mar 16, 2PM. Heritage of Beckwith Fire Dept. Beckwith Fire Dept., 1654 9th Line, 257-1539 St. Patricks Day Party (Mar 17, 2PM); APEX Jazz Band, The Royal Oak Spring Fling Party (Mar 20, 2PM). All Bridge Euchre Scrabble Tourney, Almonte welcome (especially seniors). CP Terrace, Fox on the Fairway, Carleton Place Breakfast with the Arts, Westport 253-7360. Free Maple Run Studio Tour, Pakenham Alpaca 101, Ompah Alex Cuba, Neat Caf Branching Out with Ed Lawrence, Mar On Stage For Kids: Drumhand, Almonte Fox on the Fairway, Carleton Place Basement Ramblers, Golden Arrow 18, 7 PM. Tree talk, Q&A, mini trade show. Open Mic w/Kelly Sloan, Ashton Pub Live At The Met: Rusalka, Arnprior Fox on the Fairway, Carleton Place Almonte Old Town Hall. 256-1077. Free Pancake Breakfast, Almonte Lucky Bs, Golden Arrow Goulbourn Male Chorus, Gaia Java Almonte Lectures, Mar 21, 7:30PM. Hugh Royal Cdn. College of Organists Recital, Perth Maple Run Studio Tour, Pakenham Head over Heels, The Cove Hope: Cold Tolerance of Plants & Seeds. Spiritual Cinema Circle, Perth The Dead Flowers, Maberly SRO Big Band Tea Dance, Almonte Almonte United Church. Free - donations The Boxcar Boys, McDonalds Corners Green Party Dinner/Biochar Talk, Mar 22, 6PM. w/Pres of Biochar ON. Maberly Community Hall, $25 PPAC: Lorne Elliott, Mar 21, 7:30PM. The Boxcar Boys, Mar 30, 2PM. MERA Ballygiblins (CP, 253-7400), jazz, no cover Mar 7 Caitlin Morton & Kurtis Armstrong Luncheon, Bake Sale & Bazaar, Mar ticketsplease.ca, 485-6434. PDCI audiSchoolhouse, McDonalds Corners. 485Mar 6 Peter Brown, Dave Arthur, Glenn Mar 14 Dan Tarofs guitar class recital 22, 11AM-1PM. Salad plate, rolls, desserts, Robb & guests 6-9PM Mar 21 The Crumble Quartet torium, Perth 6434, ticketsplease.ca. $22 tea/coffee. Ashton United Church. $9/$4 Folkus: Dusty Drifters/Sweet Alibi, The Swan at Carp (Carp, 839-7926): Neat Coffee (Burnstown, 4333205): 8PM Mar 25 The Backsliders & Heather Gray Soup for Thought, Mar 22, 11:30AM-3PM. Mar 22, 8PM.Almonte Old Town Hall. 256Mar 7, 21 Steve BarretteTrio, jazz, 7-10pm, Mar 7 The Grand Slambovians, $30 Mar 28 The Goulbourn Male Chorus Soup & bowl, $20.Tickets at Baker Bobs or 9090, folkusalmonte.com. $30 no cover Mar 21 Jon Brooks, $20 Golden Arrow Pub (Perth, 267-4500): MVTM.Textile Museum,Almonte. mvtm.ca 9PM NightCrawlers Acoustic Blues, Mar The Downstairs Pub (Almonte, 256Mar 22 Don Ross, $25 Death Caf, Mar 23, 2-4PM. Have a conversa23, 6-9PM. Generations Inn, CP. 253-5253, Mar 26 Soundcheck, free Mar 1 Jazz Night w/Peter Brown & guest 2031): Tues Open Mic w/Jumpin Jimmy, tion about death. Brunton Community Hall, generationsinnhouse.ca. No cover 7:30PM Mar 27 Lunch at Allens, $65 Mar 6 Open Mic 253-3099, deathcafe.com. Free Traditional Song Session, Mar 23, The Royal Oak (Kanata, 591-3895): jazz Mar 28 Alex Cuba, $40 Mar 7, 8 The Matts Alpaca 101, Mar 29. Hands-on course. 2-4PM. Join in trad songs w/choruses.The on Sun, no cover Carp Masonic Lodge: Carp Celtic Jam, Mar 13, 27 Open Mic w/Matt Dickson Silentvalleyalpaca.ca. 1120 Donaldson Rd. Barley Mow, Almonte. 355-5552, Mar 2, 16, 30 APEX Jazz Band, 2-5PM $3/$25 for 3 mos, all levels, Mon (7-9PM) Mar 14 Jamie Cameron Ompah. 479-0307 The Dead Flowers, Mar 29, 6:30PM. RollMar 9, 23 Magnolia Rhythm Kings, 3-6PM Valley BBQ (CP, 257-1700): Mar 15 Rockin Horse Almonte Hort Soc., Mar 24, 7:30PM. ing Stone tribute, Brooke Valley School The Cove (Westport, 273-3636): Wed Mar 15 Straight Up w/Steve Van Veit Mar 17 St. Patricks Day Party Cornerstone Com. Church, Almonte. fundraiser. Maberly Community Hall. Shawn McCullough, 6-9PM, no cover Ashton Pub (Ashton): Sundays Open Mic Mar 21 Terry Tufts Trio gardenontario.org/site.php/almonte 812-3425. $20; $5 students; under 14 free Mar 1, 8, 28 Head over Heels, 6-9PM w/Kelly Sloan, 2-5PM Mar 22 Tritones Bridge Euchre Scrabble Tourney, Mar Royal Cdn. College of Organists ReMar 2 Bob Burtch Bluegrass, 1-4PM, $10 Mar 17 St. Pats Day w/Kelly Sloan, 12-5PM Mar 28 Basement Ramblers 30, Noon. Hot lunch, games, shopping.Tickcital, Mar 30, 3PM. St Pauls United Church, Mar 15 Shawn McCullough Band, 8-11PM OReillys Pub (Perth, 267-7994): Mar 29 Lucky Bs ets at Baker Bobs, church.Almonte United Perth. 267-5967, [email protected] Mar 17 Crooked Wood, 6-9PM, $10 Mar 4 Sean and Miriam Keyes Lakepark 1887 Lodge (Carleton Place, Church, 256-2738,. $17; $15 adv SRO Big Band Tea Dance, Mar 30, 1-4PM. Mar 21 Jazz Night, 8-11PM Mar 11 Brea Lawrenson 591-9990): Country Jam Fridays 8PM Pancake Breakfast, Mar 30, 8AM-Noon. GF 15-pc Big Band. Almonte Old Town Hall. The Naismith Pub (Almonte, 256-6336): Gaia Java (Stittsville, 836-5469): Live music Mar 1 Ambush Dinner Party, $45, 6PM avail. Union Hall, Almonte. 256-5995. $6/$8 563-7044, sroteadances.org. $14/ $25 Celtic Jam Wed, no charge (7:30-10PM) Fridays, 7-9PM, no cover

28 7

Community

14

15 29

16

21

22

23

28

30

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

23

Music Matters

Inspirational plaques, magnets, journals and luggage tags, all proudly made in Canada

As musicians, we often take for granted that the connections between body, mind, heart and soul which are required to make music, will all just function properly, because we have spent many hours practicing, attempting to get as close to perfection as we are able.

The Improbability of Music

by Tony Stuart
But what happens when one of those connections isnt working the way it should? Our brains are miraculous things. Even when presented with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, our brains can nd ways to make the impossible seem normal. I have always been fascinated by Beethoven. When I think of Beethoven, an image of him with his st raised against the forces of darkness, eternally locked in struggle, always comes to mind. He was a man who was considered to be the greatest composer of his generation, and yet he gradually lost all of his hearing. In fact, timeless works such as his Ninth Symphony were composed when he was completely deaf. This deafness aected him to the point where thoughts of suicide entered his mind. In 1802, in the town of Heiligenstadt (now part of Vienna), Beethoven wrote a poignant letter addressed to his brothers, in which he despaired over the onset of deafness. He kept this letter with his private papers, and it was discovered upon his death in 1827. The document is known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, and the text is incredibly moving. Despite the fears and concerns expressed in the letter, Beethoven went on to become one of the immortals of western music. Somehow, he was able to overcome this debilitating setback. In our own times, there are some fascinating examples of overcoming adversity. I recently ran across a story about a South Korean concert pianist named Hee Ah Lee. Ms Lee was born in 1985 with severe birth defects. Each of her hands only has two ngers, and on her left hand, one of the ngers is without bones. When she was a small child she had to have both legs amputated below the knee.

42 Mill Street, Almonte www.soulscents.ca

18663470651

Pick up theHumm in Smiths Falls at

Coffee Culture

Lorne Elliott

Perth Performing Arts Committee

Music & Comedy

Friday, March 21, 2014 7:30PM

Lorne Elliott

Ms Lee stands about three feet tall, and her knees have become like feet. That Ms Lee can walk at all is a small miracle. When she was seven years old, her mother started teaching her to play the piano, in an eort to strengthen her hands. At that time, she was unable to even hold a pencil. This turned out to be a watershed moment for her. In her own words, as time went by, the piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend. She spent countless hours at the piano, and is now able to play works that many able-bodied pianists nd dicult. For example, in interviews she has revealed that there is a passage in Chopins notoriously difcult Fantaisie-Impromptu that she had to work on for ve years. In order for Lee to be able to play the piano, a special set of pedals needed to be constructed that would reach up to her knees. With only two ngers on each hand, the sustain pedal needs to be used on every note when she plays. When I read about the story, I went online to watch performances, and made sure that I researched using reliable sources, because I wanted to make sure that this wasnt a hoax of some sort. Rest assured, this is no hoax. Ms Lees brain has managed to help her overcome her physical deformities, and has allowed her to become a very talented and successful musician. Watching her at the piano is a revelation, and gives further credence to the idea of mind over matter. Scientists are discovering that the human brain seems to be hard-wired to make music, and the above are just two examples of this. In past columns, Ive discussed how Alzheimers patients who dont recognize their own families have been able to recall the words to a song that they heard decades ago. Beethoven said it best: Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. Tony Stuart is the Music Director at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Carleton Place, and a freelance professional musician.

Mason Theatre Perth & District Collegiate Institute

TICKETS PLEASE

at

I have eaten in restaurants all over the world, and that was the best lamb I have ever had!.. ~ Thank you for your patronage ~
Open 5 days a week closed Sundays & Mondays
Reservations Recommended Menu available online at www.cafe-postino.com

at Jos Clothes 39 Foster St., Perth 613-485-6434 www.ticketsplease.ca

Feb. 14 & Feb. 28 Almonte

Sponsors: Lake 88.1 Media Partner, CIBC Wood Gundy Moe Johnson, Coutts & Company, Foodsmiths, North Lanark Veterinary Services, Maximilian Dining Lounge, Kellys Flowers and Fine Things, Lionel Pauze Piano Tuning, Camp Otterdale, Jos Clothes, Heide Gibbs

73 Mill Street

6132566098

24

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

Renowned Canadian Fiddler Scott Woods Lane) on Friday, April11, at 7. Proceeds and his band will soon be in this area to will help to support the good works of St. deliver an authentic live tribute to Don Georges Anglican Church in Clayton. Messers Jubilee one of the most wellTickets are $25 for adults, $10 for kids loved TV shows in Canadian history. The (ages 6 to 12), and kids 5 and under get people of St. Georges Anglican Church in free. Tickets can be purchased at the and the Village of Clayton are excited to Clayton General Store, Nicholsons Sunbring the popular concert to their village dries (Pakenham), SRC Music (Carleton for the rst time. Place), Baker Bobs (Almonte), Peebles Scott Woods Old Time Jubilee reu- Lotto (Arnprior), Mill Music (Renfrew), nites Cape Breton tenor Tommy Lead- or by calling Kathy and Ray at 2569010. beater (as Charlie Chamberlain) with ddle champion Scott Woods (as Don Messer) and features the velvet vocals of Lynda Lewis (as Marg Osborne) in a two-hour masterful performance honouring the days when Don Messer and his islanders ruled the airwaves. The fast-paced, uplifting show delights audiences of all ages with old-time ddle music, sensational step-dancing, trick ddling, family humour and more. Scott Woods is a multiple Canadian Open and Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion. He is known aectionately throughout Canada as The Flippin Fiddler a nickname earned as a result of a running somersault he does while playing his ddle without missing a beat. The Scott Woods Band travels across Canada each year, performing up to 150 concerts, almost all of which help to support churches, charities and other community groups. Scott Woods Old Time JubiCatch fiddler Scott Woods in concert at the lee will take place at the Clayton Clayton Community Centre on April11 Community Hall (147 Linn Bower

Scott Woods Comes to Clayton

All are invited to a benet concert in support of the Lanark County Food Bank at 3 on Sunday, April 6, at the St. Marys Catholic Church in Carleton Place (28Hawthorne Avenue). A freewill oering will be collected, and non-perishable donations gratefully accepted. All attendees will have the chance to win door prizes throughout the concert. Entertainment will be provided by the West Ottawa Ladies Chorus, whose participants hail from all over our area from Fitzroy Harbour to North Gower, from Kanata to Carleton Place. The

Voices Raised in Song to Help Make a Difference

thirty-voice ladies chorus performs traditional ladies choral arrangements, from a wide variety of genres, under the direction of Robert Dueck, with Bonnie MacDiarmid as accompanist. The concert will also include audience sing-a-long numbers, such as The Happy Wanderer, In the Good Old Summertime, Land of the Silver Birch, and others. We welcome your attendance, which will also make a dierence to food bank recipients during this upcoming Easter season. Email <[email protected]> for more information.

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

25

The Reever Report

My Olympic Moments
After a cornucopia of sports that make us all couch potatoes by comparison, we are returning to our normal lives. It wont be long before well have forgotten: the names of the winners, who fell in the short track skating, the colour of the Russian hockey team, the closing ceremonies. We will move past the vacuous interviews, the scandals, the expense. In actual fact, we know very little about our athletes, and we cannot hope to chimney and we all end up walking in a grey fuzz for a few hours. Technique is everything for this sport, and my inspiration is that when the smoke alarm goes o, the dogs go nuts! Keeping dogs from barking wins valuable points in this event. A roaring re signies a win, again the opportunity to high ve no one but myself, and I am triumphant! Judged events always are the most stressful events. Knitting is one of those where I can only control my own performance, and cant control my competitors or the judging. I do my personal best, but I have to tell you it can all come unravelled at the most inopportune times. Right in the middle of the performance, just when I have half the sweater knit, I discover I didnt cast on enough stitches, and there it is, folks: the medal has eluded me once again. Im a snivelling mess in the kiss and cry area, when the judges give me a technical diculty score that disappoints my coach and myself, and a failure to execute the prime elements score that leaves me having to apologize to all and sundry, and declare that once again, Ill have to start over to improve my performance. If Im lucky, the yarn will stand one more attempt, or perhaps it too will become an afghan instead of a sweater. Not one to take defeat lightly, I truly will double my eorts for the next round in this challenging event. Ah, the money Ive spent, the time Ive put in, all to see it unravel so unfairly. My nal event for these two weeks has been the most dicult. I have had to train diligently, consult my coach, make numerous false starts, and nally I have had success: Ive learned to programme our PVR! This is a timed sport where multi-tasking is essential. First it involves being able to toggle the buttons to type in the search for a title. Then there is selection of the episode of the programme, channel, time, number of episodes to record many elements taking strategy and nesse to complete. That is only half the event, and already Im exhausted. The nale comes when I get a spare half-hour in which to watch one of those episodes, and only then, when I press PVR and nd the aforementioned chosen episode and programme and see it in its entirety can I say I have actually won! And YES, Ive done it! Ive won the gold medal in PVR recording!! Sing along: I am the champion, I am the champion! My Olympic weeks are complete, and Im ever so thankful to the Canadian public for all the support they have given me: my coaches, my family, my dog groomer, my hairdresser, and anyone else who has helped me along the way to achieving my Olympic dreams. It has been more than I ever imagined it would be. I hope I have made you all proud.

by Glenda Jones
comprehend the eort they expend simply getting to the starting gate. Having been up close and personal with some of these exceptional young people, I can tell you that their sacrice is phenomenal! These two weeks have put me in Olympic mode of my own. Personal triumphs in many events are giving me a st-pumping moment every couple of days. For instance, I competed in the team canine cross-country ski event every day for the whole two weeks. This involved two forty-minute sessions daily, with three dogs one who stayed solidly between my skis the whole time, one who ran ahead, and one who dawdled. Fast sprints were alternated with quick stops to investigate leaves or to pick up a stick. Quick downhills had to be negotiated around furry bodies; uphills involved Herculean eorts not to fall on one or the other of them. So every time I came home, not having fallen once, not having run into a dog or worse yet, doggy doodoo on the trail I would shout YES!, throw my arms in the air, and collapse at the nish line. Jian Ghomeshi hasnt come by to do an interview yet, but I know its because hes recuperating from Sochi. Hell want to know my inspiration (to lose the four pounds I found at Christmas), my mentors (the dogs who insist on two walks daily), and my training regime (just do it!). I only managed a second place nish in the individual snow shovel competition. Alan has been pretty powerful in that event lately, and I defer to his superiority and will try to learn technique from him for the next time. In the team shovelling we did fairly well though, winning gold only a split second ahead of the road plow so that he got to do the heavy stu at the end of the driveway while we, exhausted athletes that we were, leaned on our shovels and panted. We cant do one of those high 85s you see on the pizza commercial. Wouldnt that be complete foolishness at our age? The indoor event at which Im excelling this year is re building in the woodstove. Not once have I had a smoke out when the smoke refuses to go up the

Pick up theHumm in Carp at the

cheshire cat

26

www.thehumm.com

March 2014

The North Lanark Historical SoPerhaps you or someone you ciety (NLHS) wants to know if know: you were there on December27, lost a loved one in the ensuing 1942, when a speeding troop crash, one of the worst train train, travelling from Renfrew to disasters in Canadian history; Ottawa, sliced through the last survived that accident which three cars of a local train that was took the lives of 36 soldiers loading passengers at the station and civilians; in Almonte.

Were You There?

Help Meghan Volunteer In Thailand!

Meghan Noonan is a twentyyear-old student from Perth who is currently in her second year of Wildlife Biology and Conservation at the University of Guelph. Her goal is to become a wildlife veterinarian, and to that end she is planning to travel to Thailand with Animal Experience International for four weeks in May, to volunteer at both an Elephant Rescue Centre and a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Meghan has been diligently raising money to cover the $4800 cost of her trip by making and selling jewellery and holding bake sales, and she is now planning a benet concert called Music for Elephants to help reach her goal. Music for Elephants will take place on Sunday, March 16, at 2 at Studio Theatre in Perth, and will feature the musical duo Tracy and Lucas, with special guest Brock McNamee. Tracy and Lucas are a new musical group in the Ottawa Valley. Formally the lead singer of the all-female group etc., Tracy Noonan decided it was time to branch out on her own in late 2013. Lucas Tennant, a veteran of the theatre and a quietly talented guitar player, agreed to join her on this adventure. Playing covers from a wide variety of indie artists, their sound is folksy, fun and relaxed. This fundraiser oers a fun afternoon of music from both Tracy and Lucas, and Perth musician extraordinaire Brock McNamee. Its a great show for all ages, and there will be games and prizes for youngsters. Parents will even have a chance to see their

gave aid or shelter to the more than 118 injured whose lives were changed forever by the crash; witnessed the accident or its aftermath; narrowly escaped being on that train; reported the story for radio or newspaper; or recall a story told to you by someone who experienced any of the above. The NLHS, based in Appleton, is gathering information to create the most comprehensive book to date on this event, which is remembered locally as The Almonte Train Wreck. They need your story! Please contact Curator Sarah Chisholm at 2578503, or Ed and Doreen Wilson at 2562866.

the cove
accommodations dining entertainment
Westport-on-the-Rideau, Ontario

four seasons resort & spa www.coveinn.com 613-273-3636

country inn

Sat. Mar. 1, 8, & Fri. Mar. 28 Head Over Heels (vocal guitar duo), 69 Sun. Mar. 2 Sunday Roots Matine with Bob Burtch Bluegrass Band, 14, $10 Wed. Mar. 5, 12, 19, 26 Wings & Tunes with Shawn McCullough, 69 Fri. Mar. 7 Keiths Galaxy Hop Ale Tasting 5:307:30 Fri. Mar. 14 Blues on the Rideau presents JW Jones Band. $60 Dinner and Show, 711. Reservations only. Sat. Mar. 15, Shawn McCullough (Classic Rock & Country), 811 Mon. Mar. 17 St. Paddys Day with Crooked Wood. Irish music, food & drinks. Prizes. 69, $10 show Fri. Mar. 21, Jazz night with Spencer Evans Trio, 811, reservations only

Pick up theHumm in Pakenham at

the centennial

Help Meghan Noonan volunteer with animals in Thailand by attending a concert on March16 child become an unocial band member and join in the spotlight! Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students (kids ten and under get in free), and are available from Tickets Please at 4856434 or <ticketsplease.ca>.

Why Should You Add Linedancing to Your Fitness Routine?

Check Out These Great Reasons!
It is: fun-to-do and good-for-you an aerobic and weight-bearing activity a proven stimulation for brain-power great at any age and senior-friendly conveniently available during daytime hours suitable for both genders and all dance levels currently offered at Valley recreation centres in Almonte, Arnprior, Carleton Place, and Pakenham

Theres So Much h! in Store for Marc

Demos Events Specials Much More! March specials include: Protein powders 10-25% off All SISU products: 20% off Navitas superfoods: 20% off Plus more weekly specials

Eat Well, Live Well. Choose Local.

Dandelion Foods is a full service organic grocer and supplements store.

You may even request/suggest an area closer to you!

www.dandelionfoods.ca facebook.com/dandelionfoods 6132564545 451 Ottawa St., Almonte

Contact Hyacinth (Bilingual Ontario Educator) Today! 613-623-0976 or [email protected]

March 2014

www.thehumm.com

27

m a h n Pake 2014
The

HOME SHOW

APRIL 4-6 with over 60 EXHIBITS & LIVE MUSIC

FRIDAY
OL TYME ROUND & SQUARE DANCE
(sponsored by the Pakenham Square Dance Club)

DOUGLAS CONNECTION
CLASSIC COUNTRY MUSIC WITH AN OTTAWA VALLEY TWIST
featuring special guests

SATURDAY / SUNDAY

Kirk Warren, Darrel Mooney, and Mathew Brydge

For more information please call 613.256.1077 or email [email protected]

THE HOME SHOW // FRIDAY 6PM - 9PM / SATURDAY 9AM - 6PM / SUNDAY 10AM - 4PM ENTERTAINMENT // FRIDAY 8PM - 12AM / SATURDAY 1PM - 5PM / SUNDAY 2PM - 5PM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS ADMISSION: $3 (12 AND UP)

Stewart Community Centre

28

www.thehumm.com

March 2014