Furry, four footed, four wheeled, and 4H are just some of the family-friendly words that brought plenty of smiles and loads of laughter to the participants and guests at one of the oldest old-fashioned fairs in these parts.

With this year's theme of sheep and goats, there was no shortage of four-footed animals to behold with numerous riders, and junior and senior 4H Club members competing in a number of animal classes that included the horse show, as well as calf, sheep, swine, poultry, fowl and rabbits classes.

Not to be missed were the horse and pony pulls and new this year was a special rabbit agility demonstration put on by members of the 4H rabbit club of Lanark under the direction of Bev Sevard, coordinator and rabbit and sheep leader for the 4H Club of Lanark. The demonstration involved the rabbits being led on leashes by their owners through an assortment of ramps, hoops, and teeter-totters. The rabbit owners spent six weeks practicing for the demonstration, which was one of their achievements. 4H beef leader Julie Dawson said the fair gives the young 4H beef members who participated a chance to learn and show their animals and is a reward for the hours and hours of time they put in leading up to the event.

As always the zucchini races were a major attraction for youngsters and oldsters alike. Wayne Wesley, who founded the race, which has been steadily growing in popularity year after year, manned the starting line and said he was thrilled to see the 40 entries this year, the most ever.

A stellar line up of live musical entertainment took place on the outdoor stage, including Hermann Amberger, Tony Leduc, Jessica Wedden, Fiddlers & Friends, and Tony Davy and Cathy Battison. The out buildings on the grounds were overflowing with a colorful bounty of produce, baked goods, comestibles, a huge assortment of arts and crafts comprising hundreds of exhibits. A vendors' alley also showcased many interesting exhibits that included alpacas from Silent Valley Alpaca near Ompah, a petting zoo courtesy of West Wind Petting Farm of Westport, and psychic readings by Marilyn of Kingston. Guests of all ages took part in numerous games. and prizes were awarded to the oldest and youngest guests, the farthest traveled, the longest married couple and more. The owners of the Fall River Restaurant in Maberly prepared the delicious dinner hour meal. Congratulations to the Maberly Agricultural Society and to all the coordinators , volunteers and donors who work so hard to continue to make the Maberly Fair such a treasured and worthwhile event.

One of the reasons that the annual Silver Lake Pow Wow continues to attract participants and visitors from near and far year after year is the fact that guests are invited to take part in many of the events. The traditional non-competitive Pow Wow took place this year on August 29 & 30 and when I visited on Saturday, guests were participating in a feather pick up dance where anyone is invited to flex and stretch themselves to the limit as they try to pick up a turkey feather, with only their feet touching the ground and using only their mouth.

Located on the picturesque shores of Silver Lake near Maberly, the traditional Pow Wow event receives no funding from the government and was started over two decades ago by Marie Knapp with the help of Paul Timmerman Sr. The event continues to be funded and organized by members of the local native community and its goal is to share traditional teachings and cultures in the hopes of passing them on to native children and grandchildren as well as to the whole community at large.

The event includes numerous ceremonies and dances that take place around the central arbour area. An on site canteen was run by the Pow Wow committee, who offered up all day meals and snacks and evening feasts on both days. Also on site was a vendors' market area offering up a wide variety of native crafts, jewelry, clothing and regalia.

This year's arena director was Paul Carl, and the MC was Danka Brewer, with fire keeper Alex Brewer, head veteran Sharp Dopler, while Trudy Knapp managed the Pow Wow committee booth. In the arbour this year were three different men's drums that included Soaring Eagle, Big Wind and the Shimmering Water Singers as well as a group of women hand drummers. A wide variety of ceremonies took place around the arbour that included a walking out ceremony for children and young dancers new to the Pow Wow, a dancing out of the new regalia, plus many others.

Exhibition dances and inter-tribal dances also took place; the latter invites all guests, whether donning regalia or not, to take part. The traditional dancers as usual also took the time to show guests their various dance styles.

This year the Pow Wow attracted guests from as far away as British Columbia, the United States, Germany and Japan and I'm sure I heard a family speaking Italian. New this year was a native food vendor offering scone dogs and tacos, a cancer awareness booth, plus a number of workshops that included how to make dream catchers, medicine pouches and moccasins. Danka Brewer said that by incorporating workshops into the event the hope is to “introduce traditional teachings that can be learned by those who do not have exposure to them as well as to expand the teachings of our traditional culture.”

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins paid tribute to members of the previous North Frontenac Council at the unveiling of a long-awaited cenotaph for the Township of North Frontenac at the Clarendon-Miller Hall Park on Saturday morning (August 22).

The unveiling of the cenotaph was followed immediately by the dedication of a plaque and a red maple tree in honour of former mayor, Bud Clayton. Before Clayton died suddenly almost exactly a year ago, he had presided over the council that funded and planned the construction of the cenotaph.

The project was spearheaded by Councilor Gerry Martin, who brought the idea forward early in the term of the last council. With the help of a committee made up of Eileen Fleiler, Cor Bakelaar, Bob Kenny, Wayne Good and Gerry Martin, and the grant writing efforts of township staffer Cory Klatt, the project was approved last fall and was constructed this spring and summer.

In a telephone interview on Monday (August 24) Gerry Martin reflected on how the project developed.

“Wayne [Councilor Wayne Good] and I talked about how North Frontenac needed a Cenotaph, and when we approached Bud Clayton about it he said he would do whatever he could. So we went to Council and started working on it.”

A committee was formed, and Council committed $30,000 towards the project, over two years, which turned out not to be enough money for the project. The township applied and received notice of approval for a federal grant that would have covered the cost.

“Then we got a letter from them saying that the program had been cancelled, which was pretty disappointing, to say the least. Fortunately, Cory Klatt determined that we could use Federal Gas Tax money for this kind of infrastructure, and Frontenac County was able to help us out,” he said.

The cenotaph, which was constructed with the help of Derek Maschke, was designed by Martin. It includes elements going as far back as the Boer War, with a focus on the two World Wars and the Korean War as well.

“Not many people know this but there was even a training ground in North Frontenac during World War 1. A local regiment trained in Plevna all one winter and went overseas after that,” Martin said.

The dedication ceremony was conducted by the president of the Northbrook Legion, Branch 328, Mike Powley Jr., aided by Padre Harry Adringa.

“Let us pause to think reverently of those of our comrades who by sea, by land and in the air, laid down their lives for their sovereign and country. Their sacrifice will ever inspire us to labour on, to the end that those who survive and need our aid may be assured of assistance, and that the country in which we live, and for which they died may ever be worthy of the sacrifice they made. During the silence, we will remember our fallen comrades and those who have passed on since we last gathered together,” Powley said at the start of the ceremony.

After the dedication of the cenotaph, attention turned to a spot close to the cenotaph where a young red maple has been planted.

Ron Higgins and his wife Wendy introduced Jackie Clayton, Bud Clayton's widow, and dedicated a plaque at the base of the tree, which reads “In Loving Memory of Our Dedicated and Community Oriented Former Mayor Bud Clayton – who touched so many hearts and brought laughter to those who knew him.

North Frontenac Mayor 2010 – 2014 – 'We shall forever cherish his memory'”

Clayton was the sitting warden of Frontenac County in 2014, and was attending a conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in London on August 17, 2014 when he collapsed suddenly. He died two weeks later, on September 1.

In his final year on Frontenac County Council, he made use of the political skills he honed over the years in North Frontenac and his personal relationships with other councilors to bring stability to the county. When he first entered municipal politics in 2004 he was known for speaking his mind and proposing ideas as they came to him. While he never lost that spontaneity, it became tempered by the realities of serving as mayor and warden, and he employed his new-found diplomatic skills to great effect during his tenure as county deputy warden in 2013, and warden in 2014.

For Jackie and his friends and family, Bud is remembered as a man who was as quick with a helping hand as he was with a joke.

Earlier this year, Kingston Frontenac Public Health also honoured him for his service on their board with a bench outside their offices on Portsmouth Avenue.

There was a third ceremony at the Clar-Mill Park on Saturday, a ribbon cutting at the new play structure, which was built using monies raised locally, along with a $10,000 grant from Hydro One, as well as some money from the township. Before cutting the ribbon, Cory Klatt invited all the kids in the audience to use the structure while the ribbon was being cut, and after a bit of prodding a few kids came forward, followed soon by all the rest. Even some adults thought they would step forward, but stopped themselves.

“There's still a swing available” said Cory Klatt. The adults laughed, but stayed put.

Jocelyn Lemke was among the ribbon cutters. She was the parent who brought a petition to Council a couple of years ago complaining about the lack of recreational facilities for children and asking for a play structure.

“She did not just show up with a petition,” said Gerry Martin, “she had already talked to the businesses in Plevna and had them on board to support it financially. She had done her homework.”

Reflecting on all of the projects that came together at the Clar-Mil Hall on Saturday, Martin said he was pleased with the turnout, and also pleased that all of the effort over a number of years has resulted in a park that will be a community asset for years.

There is a 250 metre walking path that defines the new Clar-Mill Park, which encompasses the play structure, the cenotaph and the memorial to Bud Clayton. The land it is located on had been scrub/marshland, but with some drainage and reclamation work it has been reclaimed for recreational and ceremonial use.

The Friday night horse pull is a signature event at the Parham Fair, and this year was no exception. Long before the demolition derby or even the midway were part of the fair, the horse pull filled the stands.

It is a mesmerizing sight: the horses champing at the bit as their owners pull them back before they simultaneously drop the clasp in place, loosen the reins and jump out of the way as the horses bolt forward and begin pulling on thousands of pounds of concrete slabs stacked on a sleigh that is almost embedded in the soft, brown earth.

And of the people behind the horses, who feed and train and live with the horses year round, the king of them all in the Godfrey/Parham area has to be Bill Lee. Bill has won the horse pull countless times, and when he is not working on his own team he helps less experienced horsemen handle their horses.

He not only participates in the Parham Fair each year, but at other fairs too, as well as in the annual Christmas parades. Also, when any charity or organization needs a team of horses for wagon rides, Bill has always been the one they call.

About a month ago, Bill Lee suffered a serious accident while training his horses. He lost an eye and his face and body are battered. It was hard to imagine the Parham Fair Horse Pull without him, but thankfully that did not happen. Although he wasn't in the pull, he nevertheless made it to the fair, having almost forced his way out of Kingston General Hospital earlier in the week. He sat in a lawn chair next to his car by the announcer’s booth at the main ring, and visited with dozens of friends while shouting encouragement to the teams throughout the light and heavy horse pulls.

There were a dozen teams in the heavy horse pull this year, more than have participated in many years. Over $2,500 was raised on Friday night to help Bill out. Some of that money came from the fair board, which donated $1 from each Friday night admission fee. The Teamsters (Ottawa Valley Horse Pull Association) donated $900 and the rest of the money came from passing the bucket at the fair.

Other highlights on Friday night included the cowboy/cowgirl contest, and a performance by the Old Habits, followed by HD Supply.

Saturday was Family Day at this year's fair, and through a combination of new features - no charge for all of the events aside from midway rides, all-day fixed price passes to the midway, and brilliant weather - the fair was packed with kids this year.

One of the highlights was the Critter Corral, which was put together by Sasha Baillargeon of 4th Lake Road.

“It was really something,” said Fair Board President Wendy Parliament. “The old chicken barn was set up as a farm playground that was packed with animals. The kids went in there and didn't want to come out.”

Aside from the corral, there was a sheep shearing demonstration, a robotic cow from the Ontario Dairy Association that people could milk, and country games all afternoon.

“We are focusing on hands-on events for kids and families, and keeping the price down, and it seems to be working,” said Parliament.

This year, Sunday saw the return of the Demolition Derby to the Parham Fair.

When the derby did not take place last year because there weren't enough volunteers around with skills and strength to prepare for and put on a derby, some of the perennial participants missed it. So, they came forward and were instrumental in bringing it back.

“Dustin and Alan Kehoe and Spencer Robinson stepped in and put machinery and manpower to work and we had 19 cars, all local, in the derby this year, which was a great success,” said Parliament.

The fair has taken a turn towards local entertainers as well; Shawn McCullough and One Busted Ego were the headline bands on Saturday night.

Wendy Parliament said that over 60 volunteers, working anywhere from one hour to four full days, made the fair a success this year. The fair has also broken even this year and in a month or so, organising for the 2016 (124th) edition will start up.

Anyone who is interested in getting involved in some aspect of the fair is encouraged to go to parhamfair.ca and click on the contact link.

Fred Johnson has lived on Sharbot Lake since the early 1990s, on a property he purchased with his late wife many years earlier.

He retired from a career with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and turned a cottage into a waterfront home, as a number of people have done over the years. One of the things that Fred has done over his retirement years has been to put even more of his energy into a pursuit that has always been more than a hobby for him, Rudimental Drumming.

Rudimental Drumming was founded in 1933, when a group of military drummers decided to focus on 13 essential rudiments of drumming. This focus on precision and technique formed the basis for the rudimental drumming tradition, which continues to this day.

Fred Johnson's career as a drummer started in 1946, when he joined the 180th air cadets in Toronto. In the 1950s he branched out as he began to do some writing and drumming instruction while a member of the 2nd Signals Regiment.

Since then he has instructed and composed drumming arrangements and individual solos for 17 drum and bugle corps all over southern and western Ontario.

One of the drum sections he led was the Canada's Marching Ambassador drum section. That section produced two Canadian Individual Champions and five international judges.

He has an extensive resume as a judge in Canada and the United States.

In 1976, he founded the Canadian Association of Drumming Rudimental Excellence (CADRE). The CADRE competition group has been performing in events and competitions ever since. The competition group placed first in The World Drum Corps Associates ensemble championship for five consecutive years, from 2006 to 2010.

Fred was inducted to the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 1998, the first Canadian to receive that honour.

The CADRE competition group continues to be active and is preparing for this year's championship in Rochester, New York in about a week. But before they travel to Rochester they are gathering in Sharbot Lake to prepare, and while they are in the area they will be taking over the Sharbot Lake Country Inn. Not only are a number of them staying at the inn, they will be presenting a free concert there as well on Saturday, August 29, from 3 to 5pm. Weather permitting they will be playing outside near the patio; otherwise in the Crossings Pub.

For Fred Johnson it is an opportunity to share his passion with his friends and neighbours.

“The sound of these drums, when played with precision, is something else. It has a power that is hard to describe. You have to hear it,” he said.

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

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

The Bon Echo art program will feature two outstanding artists as the final exhibitors in its 2015 season. The works of Lisa Johnson and Melissa Randle will be on display and offered for sale at the Colin Edwards Memorial Art Gallery in the park from August 27 to October 13. The featured artists are just one of many events organized each summer by the Friends of Bon Echo.

Lisa Johnson - Lisa graduated with honours from the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she won the prestigious Mrs. W.O. Forsythe Award for 4th year women painters in 1996. While Johnson was born in Toronto, her family’s roots are in the Mazinaw Lake area; her grandfather, Wallace Johnston managed the Sawyer Stoll Lumber mills from the 30s to the 50s and her family has had a cottage on the lake ever since.

Most of the work that Johnson plans to show at the Colin Edwards Gallery will be “en plein air” paintings - typically small oils on wood panels or canvas, done on location, either floating in her boat by Bon Echo, or hiking to different locations around the lake. Website: www.lisajohnsonart.ca.

Melissa Randle - Originally from Kingston, Melissa spent a lot of her childhood at Bon Echo. She has been living in this area for nine years. Her love of nature and the outdoors provides the inspiration for her work. She strives to share this love, not only through her photography, but also by using other artistic mediums (including glass, pastels and paint). Her cameras are her constant companions as there is always a butterfly to follow, a loon rising from the lake, or the sun casting a glow through the trees or on the water. For samples of her stunning, varied work, please visit her website: http://www.freewebs.com/randleartstudio/.

Signs are up for the 2015 Inroads Studio Tour, a familiar event for over 20 years here in Central Frontenac Township. This year, there are nine open studios and a dozen fine artisans displaying their work; hours are from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Sept. 5-7 of Labour Day Weekend. Now is the time of year when friends and visitors to my shop are likely to say something like: “You must be really busy getting ready for the Inroads Tour.” These comments got me thinking about what it is we do to prepare for Inroads – and realizing how long the process really takes.

Tour preparation began in January or February when former participants decided whether they wanted to do the tour again this year. With snow still on the ground, the interested parties got together, in person or via e-mail, and volunteered for various roles (chair, treasurer, secretary, sign manager, etc.) Previous tour members and possible new participants were contacted, commitments were made and cheques mailed to the treasurer so that the brochure co-ordinator could assemble the information and brochures could be printed to be given out during the summer.

For all tour members, preparation throughout the summer involves distributing brochures and generally promoting the tour whenever the opportunity arises. Closer to the event, we put up small signs and dust off the larger signs that we have stored, making sure we have enough and that they are in good repair. I think we all look around our studios and do whatever re-arranging and cleaning seems necessary.

For those of us on the tour who have a shop that is open throughout the summer, much of the pre-tour activity is what we would be doing anyway – filling current orders, replacing stock that has sold through the summer, and trying to keep ahead of the general mess generated in an active artist’s studio. Joanne Pickett (Arden Pottery) says that her usual long days just get longer. At this time of year, Joanne can often be found in her studio at 2 am, throwing pots or waiting for firings to be finished – fortunately, she finds these night vigils peaceful and rather pleasant.

Judith Versavel, who runs Gallery on the Bay in Arden, summarized her preparations for Labour Day thus: “Sprucing up the garden, mowing the lawn, washing gallery windows - again, rearranging items for maximum show, helping my guest artist and trying to figure out what to wear! Oh yeah … and trying to get new paintings and jewellery finished at the last minute!!!”

Here at the Arden Batik shop, I have completed some new pictures, and plan to get them matted and/or framed before the tour. However, I am also going to start some batiks that I know I will not finish, so there will be a selection of interesting pieces in process for tour visitors to see – and for me to demonstrate with during the weekend.

Nancy, at Hilderbrook Studio, tells me that she has some new necklaces, and is “madly busy” making more. Jo Crivellaro has been working on a new product -- collaged mirrors with hunting and fishing themes. She has yet to do the weed cutting and tidying up around her owner-built house in the woods, but will certainly be busy until the tour date. Laurel Minutillo, (Laurel Leaf Studio) has also been busy creating new work; she will be showing painted ceramic jewellery as well as new roller printed metal earrings and forged pendants for necklaces. The worst part about getting ready for the show, she says, is that you never think you are ready enough. Alas, how true!

Nick Hally, our sign man, puts up the large highway signs, and makes sure that all studios are supplied with the signage they need. He and Annette, at Maple Hollow Studio, write that they “ensure that we have enough of our various stock on hand for the full weekend, make sure our signage is all up and visible the night before the first day, cut the grass, weed the garden and make sure our whole place wherever customers will be going is neat, tidy and welcoming, and provide adequate seating and iced bottled water for tired feet and legs.”

Doreen Morey doesn’t show at her home studio, but at her cottage location, so her preparation includes setting up a tent for display and arranging a temporary work space on the cottage deck. She sews in preparation for the tour, and continues sewing throughout the weekend.

For those who are guests at another artisan’s studio, the process involves less house cleaning and more carrying of boxes. Jill Ferguson, guest at Gallery on the Bay, writes: “Worst part is packing and carting all the stuff and the best part is looking forward to meeting new people and seeing regular visitors. I have my must do cards and coasters ready to go and all made with prints of original artwork. I still hope to prepare some mini-prints so I guess that's on my wish list. I have several new landscapes of Ontario country scenes ... roads, fields, waterfalls, trees.”

Janet and Steve MacIntyre are guests at Ken Waller’s studio, and enjoy both the tour and a good visit with the Wallers. This year, Steve and Janet have been trying an unusual jewelry making technique called broom casting. Yes, it involves brooms – they hope you will come and see their new work and find out how it is made.

In fact, all of us look forward to our tour visitors, and hope that the preparations we have made will mean a pleasant tour for all who come and share, for a day, our work, our studios, and a bit of our lives.  

For members of the Portland District and Area Heritage Society, August 15, 2015 is a day that will go down in history and one that marks a new era for history buffs interested in the history of the Township of South Frontenac.

The day marked the official grand opening of the brand new South Frontenac Museum in Hartington, an idea that was birthed by the Portland District & Area Heritage Society and which has been in the works for over a decade now. Members of the society, dressed in historical garb, along with numerous dignitaries and history buffs, gathered on the lawn beside the new museum for its official ribbon cutting ceremony. The museum is located in Hartington's former one-room limestone school house, which for years had been the home of the clothing depot Community Caring – Hartington. The building is newly restored and is now home to a diverse collection of historical artifacts and archives from the four former districts of the township. The wide collection is meticulously organized and displayed and will be enjoyed by visitors into perpetuity.

South Frontenac mayor, Ron Vandewal, opened up the celebrations by congratulating South Frontenac staff, past and present members of council who supported the idea, the County of Frontenac whose accessibility grant allowed for the building to be made wheelchair accessible, and members of all of the local historical societies in the township whose efforts have “preserved the township's history”.

Barb Stewart, president of the Portland District and Area Heritage Society, also spoke, thanking former mayors of the township, Phil Leonard, Bill Lake, and Gary Davison as well as the current mayor and members of council, most of whom were in attendance, and the many members of the local heritage groups who also contributed to setting up the displays and preparing the building for its opening day.

Public works manager for the township, Mark Segsworth, also spoke recognizing the work of architect David Jefferies of Norr Architects, lead contractor Wemp and Smith and the two sub-contractors NCDD Wood Working of Inverary and Christmas Steel, the latter of whom did the steel railings, David White of D. J. White Restoration of Hartington, who built the new large vintage windows for the building, and the township's public works staff who worked on the project.

Following the ribbon cutting, Barb Stewart recognized the original charter members of the society, Bill Asselstine, Inie Platenius, Enid Bailey and Jim Reynolds, who first met at a cottage in the area in 2001 to discuss a possible museum and who formed the Portland District and Area Heritage Society later in 2002.

In June 2008 the society became a committee of the council of the township and in September 2012 was contracted to manage the soon to be restored museum. Since forming, the society has fundraised for the project and also approached the township for financial support. Stewart said members of the group feel “just great about all that we have accomplished.” The displays included a chesterfield and chair from the former McMullen house in Verona, a typewriter and books by Verona writer, Mrs. Dorothy Sliter, including a first edition of her book about Verona titled “The Friendly Village”.

Other displays included one titled “Frontenac County at War”, a detailed display from the collection of Doug Lovegrove, which was also arranged by him. Other displays included a historic school display, a historic post office display, historic furniture, various name quilts, adult and children's clothing, a wide variety of kitchen utensils, old clocks and radios, an old clothes wringer, as well as old books, signs and photographs, toys, a gorgeous wooden spinning wheel and much more.

The event was attended by long-time members of the community, many of whom came from as far away as Sarnia, including three sisters of the Genge family who made the trip to Hartington especially to attend the event.

The museum will officially open again on August 28 as part of the County's 150 anniversary celebrations, which will take place on August 28, 29 and 30.

As the 150th anniversary of Frontenac County was approaching, a committee was formed to organize events to mark the occasion. They realized that the best way to mark a year-long event such as as this was to have an event of some kind to provide a focus.

So the planning began for a three-day celebration from Friday to Sunday, August 28 to 30. The location at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith was an obvious choice. Not only is it located on Road 38, the artery that links three of the four Frontenac townships, it is also the largest community park in the county, easily hosting over 1,500 people on Canada Day each year.

However, the decision to locate the celebration at Centennial Park brought more into play than just a location; it also brought the Harrowsmith, Sydenham and Verona-based service clubs, the Portland District Recreation Committee and the public works department of South Frontenac township into the mix.

Pam Morey and Dan Bell came forward to co-ordinate the event, and the first people they met with were the public works department of South Frontenac.

“The park needed some work done to be able to handle the crowds, and to host all the events,” said Dan Bell, who, in addition to his role with the anniversary celebration is the chair of the Portland District Recreation Committee. “We had plans for upgrades to the park through our local Rec Committee and we were also fortunate enough to receive extra help for other improvements to Centennial Park from South Frontenac Township. The public works department, led by Jamie Brash and Mark Segsworth, did a wonderful job, and Harrowsmith will enjoy the benefits of the upgrades to the park for years to come. It will be one of the legacies of the anniversary.”

This is only fitting because the park itself was a Centennial project from 1967, and thanks to the 150th anniversary of Fronenac County, it will be in fine fettle to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Canada in two years' time.

The upgrades to the park include a brand new parking lot, a brand new playground, better integration with the K&P trail, and improved facilities throughout. In order to put together a varied program of events, Bell and Morey looked to the community, and found that everything they needed was just around the corner. They wanted to have a vendors' market, so they went to the Verona Community Association and the Verona Lions Club, who collaborate on events all the time, and have expertise with vendors from the Verona Garlic Festival and other events.

“They know what to do and to make it work and when they agreed to take it on it was a real load off our shoulders,” said Pam Morey, who is also the president of the Harrowsmith Social and Athletic Club

Similarly the Sydenham Lions are handling parking; the Harrowsmith S&A (Social and Athletic) Club the canteen and beer tent; the Oddfellows the Heritage Ball, and the list goes on.

“It is really an old-time community gathering, sort of like a fair or a picnic. Really a chance for us all to look at what we have built and enjoy each other's company,” said Dan Bell.

“One of the rewards of working on this event has been the co-operation with Frontenac County staff members Anne Marie Young and Alison Vandervelde,” said Morey. “Between them, South Frontenac and the local community, we are sure this event will be a huge success.”

The local flavour of the event extends to the performers who will take the stage throughout the three days. A few of the bands come from Kingston, but most of them are Frontenac County acts.

And, there is no charge to enter the festival grounds all weekend. Apart from the Heritage Ball on Saturday Night at the Golden Links Hall, a nominal fee for the VCA train, which will run though the site, and food vendor purchases, the celebration events are free to the public.

Among the highlights of the three-day celebration will be a large-scale historical re-enactment on the Sunday afternoon, featuring the Brockville Infantry. The group, which has been active for 25 years, takes its inspiration from the original Brockville Infantry, which was founded in 1862, when the pre-confederation communities sought to protect themselves from potential incursions by the Fenians from south of the border. The Fenians conducted raids on British-held lands in Canada in order to pressure the British government to withdraw from Ireland. The re-enactors dress in identical British bright red tunics, carry and fire fully functional replicas of the original Enfield rifles with bayonets, and perform the same precision drill manoeuvres that their counterparts did over 150 years ago. In order to present this polished image of precision, the re-enactors practice these drills on a regular basis throughout the year.

They will not only be presenting a full re-enactment from 1:00 until 2:30 on Sunday (August 30), they will be camping in the park all weekend and will also present a “short skirmish” in Dan Bell's words, on Sat. Aug. 29 from 1 - 1:30pm at the south soccer field.