Lanark County

Michael Neelin is no stranger to McDonalds Corners. Neelin's family has owned a cottage in the area for almost 50 years and his love of both heritage architecture and natural landscape was one of the reasons why in April 2014 he moved from Pontiac,...

Ball and Chain is the cheeky band name for the irrepressible singer/songwriter/guitarist Jody Benjamin and her fiddle player and singer husband, Michael Ball. Ball and Chain mix two great musical loves in their music, country dance music and...

Submitted by MERA Every month a new local artist's work is featured in the main hall at MERA - a community arts organization in McDonalds's Corners in Lanark Highlands. You can catch the end of the October art exhibition at MERA before it comes down...

By Susan Sentesy, MMLT Beavers have always had a special relationship with humans in Canada. Almost extirpated at one time, today they are widely recognized as a symbol of our country. But how much do we really understand them and their role in our...

If the first of the three classical music concerts in the MERA Schoolhouse's Blue Jean Classical Sunday Afternoon concert series is any indication of what is to come, I'd have to say, get your tickets now. On October 19 I caught the stellar second...

A visit to the home-based shop/studio of local chocolatier, Ludwig Ratzinger, feels a bit like winning one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. An experienced chocolatier, Ludwig recently set up his studio in the new straw bale home he designed and...

by Marilyn Barnett In this day and age of plastic and metal baskets most children have no idea that a basket can be made by hand using natural materials. Baskets are a very good craft to teach children as the only tools they need are their hands....

The MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners will once again be filled with audience-pleasing classical music as the third annual series of Blue Jeans Classical Sunday afternoons begins again. All performances start at 2 p.m. This series of classical...

Changing careers mid-life is very rare but crossing an ocean to do so is even more rare. Tess Steenberghe and Jeroen Kerrebijn, who took over the helm at the Fall River Restaurant in Maberly in July, moved from the Netherlands to the area after...

Every year the Sundance walking tour offers up great scenery thanks to the Fall River, great grub courtesy of the Fall River Restaurant and great eye candy for those who like to keep their finger on the pulse of the local art and crafts scene. This...

by Marily Seitz If you love to sing and make beautiful music with others, then the Tay Valley Community Choir may be for you. An eclectic repertoire, lovely four part harmonies, and cozy country concerts distinguish the Tay Valley Choir. No audition...

Although organizers of the traditional Silver Lake Pow Wow did not mark this year’s event with any special 20-year anniversary tributes, they were pleased with the turnout. Organizer Trudy Knapp said the ongoing aim of the Pow Wow is to honour the...

If you're a lover of all types of Celtic music, a concert on Sunday August 24, 2pm at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners is the place to be. Performing will be the Celtic Rathskallions, an Ottawa-based duo who have entertained and impressed...

A reunion of the Elphin Public School will be held on Saturday July 26, 11:30am at the Elphin Presbyterian Church hall. Everyone is welcome and there will be a potluck lunch. The cost is $5 and music will be provided by former students. This circa...

The farmers’ market that takes place every Saturday during the summer in McDonalds Corners is well worth the trip. The market started up in 2007 and takes place on the grounds surrounding the MERA Schoolhouse, which offers visitors a peaceful and...

For those who love art and the great outdoors Fieldwork, the outdoor art gallery located at 2501 Old Brooke Road near Maberly, is the place to be. On May 24 over 75 art lovers gathered for the project’s biggest opening since it got underway in...

This year’s Silver Lake Pow Wow, a traditional, non-competitive pow wow that will take place on Sat. & Sun. August 23 & 24 at Silver Lake Provincial Park, will mark the 20-year anniversary of the event. Trudi Knapp, one of the organizers, said...

At the MERA Sunday Schoolhouse Concert in McDonalds Corners on March 30, ticket holders said to heck with the snow and filled the schoolhouse for a sold out show. Local fiddler/singer Jaffe Sullivan took to the stage first and played three ballads,...

Lanark County, the Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario, has even more sweetness to celebrate: a maple-related Guinness World Record holder can be found here! One of the largest maple farms in the county, Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Sugar Camp, has...

Photo: painter Greta McDonald of Perth Holiday shoppers got an early start at the MERA school house in McDonalds Corners for MERA's annual Christmas Fair on November 24. Local artisans filled the main hall and had on display and for sale a number...

  Photo: regulars at the ABC Hall Open Mic and Potluck l-r, Mel McDougall, Frank Coleman and Glenn Russell The old adage "If you build it they will come" is proving to be the case at the old ABC Hall in Bolingbroke. In an ongoing effort to...

Maberly farmer and Lanark Cattlemen’s Association member Gordon Patterson is not shy about approaching governments for support. When it comes to supporting local farmers in covering cost of transporting hay from western Canada to cover the...

Photo: Emilyn Stam, Anne Lederman and James Stephens form the trio Eh?!, who will perform at MERA in McDonalds Corners. Two master Canadian fiddlers/multi-instrumentalists with eclectic tastes team up with a brilliant young musician...

Photo: John Schweighardt of Livingstones with a few of his stone sculptures and a view of the old grist mill ruins at the Sundance Studio Tour in Maberly Artists and organizers alike welcomed the change in venue location for this year's 5th Annual...

For five years, Sundance Studio Tour has welcomed thousands of patrons throughout the Labour Day weekend. To facilitate growth, allowing more artists to participate, a move to The Fall River Restaurant’s “river view” location was a natural...

Photo: artist Alicia Marvan “wears” one of her works at her opening show at the fieldwork site located near Maberly Art has a tendency to come alive when viewers are invited to become an integral part of it. That was the case for visitors to...

Photo: Korean monk Daeung Sunim in Sharbot Lake with his bicycle, which he will ride for 2 years on his 30,000km trip across the two American continents. Daeung Sunim, a 42-year-old Korean monk who is on a bicycle trip circumnavigating North...

O! for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene. All rabble and monarchs are herewith invited to behold a torchlight presentation of...

Photo: Amateur astronomers in Maberly, Fred Barrett, Bob Hillier and Tom Ray offer passers-by an up close look at the 2012 Transit of Venus. Given that two local amateur astronomers have set up their own personal observatories in Maberly, it was...

Photo: Mary Cook at the Maberly hall Many readers are familiar with “Memories” columnist, author and speaker Mary Cook. For many years Mary has been writing and speaking about her life as a youngster growing up on a farm in Northcote in days...

Each year the Canadian Federation of University Women sponsors an information evening in Perth. Last year the difficult topic of prescription drug abuse was explored. This year, the information evening was called “The Power of Local Food”, and...

The Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra will be joined by a number of musical groups and other friends as they host the first ever community fiddle-a-thon at the Maberly Hall on Sunday afternoon. The entire community is invited to join what...

Photo: a sand tiger by The Sandman, Ken Rose On March 31, Ken Rose, a.k.a. “The Sandman”, entertained a group of interested listeners at the Wordsmith in Westport as part of an artists' talk series, "Breakfast with the Arts", presented by...

Photo:  Unicylcist Philip Schleihauf on Road 38 just north of Verona on Good Friday The highways and byways were busy this past weekend with many folks traveling long distances to be with family and friends. Few, though, were pedaling atop the...

Back to HomeFeature Article - March 29, 2012 Authentic Polish cuisine served up at MERA by Julie Druker Photo: Michael and Marilyn Barnett and Tomek and Alexandra Karpinski served up authentic Polish cuisine at MERA's final Around the World on a...

Photo: Michael and Marilyn Barnett and Tomek and Alexandra Karpinski served up authentic Polish cuisine at MERA's final Around the World on a Dinner Plate Dinner Plate series in McDonald's Corners The final installation of MERA's "Around the World...

Photo: Seed swappers at MERA Sulyn Cedar, Lori Beckstead and Karen Rodgers A steady stream of local gardeners and growers, their green thumbs twitching with the approaching spring, shared some of their wealth and know-how at the MERA schoolhouse in...

Photo: Contra Dance Caller Emily Addison of Ottawa with Sheesham and Lotus at the Maberly Hall on Feb. 11 Emily Addison of Ottawa tested out her calling for calling at the first Quarterly Contra dance of 2012, which was held at the Maberly hall on...

“People in Lanark County have a way of doing things behind your back,” said Gordon Patterson about the fact that no one had told him he was nominated for the 2011 Lanark County Award of Excellence. He found out about a week and a half ago that...

Photo: Niki Mulder (right) assists Margaret Bruce of Richmond at MERA Despite the murderous name of the workshop, no violence was done on November 19, except to sheets of paper, when artist, teacher and soon to be second-time mom, Niki Mulder of...

Photo left: Beryl Stott in Maberly. Below: Beryl on the road in 1983. Unknown to many is the incredible story of long- time Elphin resident Beryl Stott, who in 1983 at the age of 37 made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when she completed...

Ever since Beryl Stott moved to the Elphin/McDonalds Corners area in the mid-1990s she has been involved in local historical and other activities, and from time to time she has participated in public events. Most recently she made presentations to...

Photo: Artist Karina Bergmans' new installation at feildwork An assortment of local and new immigrant artists to Canada originating from four of the five continents gathered in the fall fields just east of Maberly at the site of fieldwork, the...

Photo: folk artist Penny Gorman with one of her dioramas at the Sundance Studio Tour The Sundance Studio Tour has been taking place at the home of Cam and Carmen Allen near Maberly and has been attracting accomplished artists from near and far in a...

Photo: The Nelson family dancers (with Riley Brooks), l-r, Nakita, Tammy, Riley Brooks, Bernard (head male dancer), Shemia, and Keesha, (head female dancer). On August 27 and 28, close to 1000 people gathered at the shores of Silver Lake for the...

The “Everything Maple” theme sparked a number of well-executed woodsy floats in the parade at the start of the 129th Maberly Fair, and the Patterson family float took top honours this year. The opening ceremonies, on a brilliantly sunny warm...

Everything is Maple in Maberly this year The 129th version of the Maberly Fair, which takes place on Saturday, August 27, is devoted to something that was as common in the local region back when the first Maberly Fair took place in 1882: maple syrup...

Located on the outskirts of Maberly, just west of Perth are the enchanted gardens of Sundance Studio. Carmen Allen’s gardens have charmed thousands of guests for the past four years and we welcome you to stroll through the cedar trial, rest at one...

Photos: Algonquin Sharing Day in Maberly A group of 30 gathered at the Maberly hall on June 25 for a day of Algonquin sharing organized by Dr. Lynn Gehl. The first event of its kind to be held in Maberly, the day included a number of panel...

The Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy works with landowners wishing to protect their treasured bit of wilderness. Kevin Callan celebrates Ontario wilderness as a prolific author, an entertaining and informative speaker and an outdoor...