Olde Tyme Canadian Dinner

Julie Druker | Jun 18, 2015

Organizers of an Olde Tyme Canadian Dinner fundraiser that took place at Trinity United Church in Verona on June 12 covered all the bases in celebrating 150 years in Frontenac County, as well as the church’s own 129th anniversary and the upcoming Canada Day celebrations.

Over 100 diners turned out for a sumptuous dinner that included an extensive menu put together by Diane Buchanan and Jane Mackay with the help of members of the congregation. They used recipes taken from classic United Church cookbooks, two in particular titled “Let Us Break Bread Together” and “Lunches and Suppers on the Go”.

The lavish meal included a fish chowder from Nova Scotia; cheese buns from Newfoundland; a cranberry raspberry molded salad from British Colombia; beef bourguignon from Cornwall, Ont.; and a wild rice casserole from Cut Knife, Saskatchewan. Desserts were rhubarb delight from Peace River, Alberta, and French Canadian sugar and maple syrup pie.

To get diners into the mood, bagpiper Ian Mackay piped the diners into the community hall, and again following the meal as they made their way to the church’s sanctuary for an evening of olde-tyme entertainment with a definite Canadian flavour.

Hope Andrews and Megan Peters played a scene from Anne of Green Gables and various choral ensembles from the church’s choir and congregation performed a number of rousing and highly comedic pieces, which included the Trinity ladies singing a rousing version of “I'se the B'ye” and the men of Trinity in appropriate bug attire, wielding flyswatters and singing a very funny rendition of “Black Flies of Ontario”.

Linda Brown read from famed Canadian novelist W.O. Mitchell's “Jake and the Kid” and Denny Buchanan read from Robert Service's famed poem “The Shooting of Dan McGrew”. Connie Shibley also performed a gorgeous version of the French Canadian song “The Wandering Canadian”. The evening ended with a sing along to “Something to Sing About”.

Without a doubt the diners left with fuller bellies and hearts and a better appreciation for Canada's rich history in the arts. For those not in the know, the members of the Trinity United sure know how to party Canadian-style and the evening proved that this lively and talented congregation definitely know how to put a Canadian stamp on anniversary celebrations.