Next time you pass through the heart of Dunvegan, take a few minutes to venture north past the church and have a peek at our community park’s facelift. A joint venture between the Dunvegan Recreation Association and the Township of North Glengarry, the new play structures are pretty spiffy looking, now the final infill of safety sand is complete. At the west end of the park, you’ll also note the base of what will soon be a sign that, in the spring, will be flanked by shrubs on either side.
As I stared at the sign’s empty stanchions, I wondered about the content of the display space they will frame. Guaranteed the new, nearly illegible Township of North Glengarry logo will take top billing. The question in my mind, though, was what the name of the park would be. Of course, an obvious candidate is Dunvegan Park. But, with big “Dunvegan” signs at each of the four approaches to the hamlet, this might be a tad redundant.
So, I would like to offer three suggestions: the Leslie J. Clark Park or the Weldon MacIntosh Park or, perhaps even better, the Clark-MacIntosh Park. The reasoning behind my recommendations is simple. These two local farmers were instrumental in the formation of the Dunvegan Recreation Association in the early 1970s. Leslie was the original President and Weldon was Vice-president.
The inaugural meeting to discuss forming a group to take advantage of the Township of Kenyon’s offer to fund recreation activities was held in Dunvegan’s old brick schoolhouse (now home to Sean and Erica Burgess).Apple Hill, Maxville, Greenfield and Laggan already had fledgling recreation groups. And Albert Faubert, then Reeve of Kenyon, had invited Leslie to gauge Dunvegan’s interest in the project. As the late Leslie Clark recalled when I spoke to him about a few years ago, ”The crowd was wonderful… and they all wanted it.” Given the effort these two Dunvegan residents put into getting the Dunvegan Recreation Associationoff the ground, I think it would be fitting to honour their memory by naming our newly renovated park after them.
Tickets STILL available
My apologies. I may have given readers the impression that tickets to the 2018 Best of Music & Mayhemrevenue are all gone. They’re not. However, certain outlets may be temporarily out of stock for certain performances. Because of demand, satisfying your ticket needs may take a bit of work. And for that we apologize. In hindsight, we perhaps should have considered on-line sales. But this too has its challenges, including set-up costs. And some M&M fans are reluctant to join the Amazon generation.
As reader Barbara Lehtiniemi from Glen Robertson wrote me, “I was seeking 14 tickets… (and) had to make several phone calls and drive to two ticket outlets to assemble that number for the desired date.” So, as Barb suggests, if one ticket outlet doesn’t have what you want, please check with the other locations. We don’t want you to miss out on the show.
Barbara Lehtiniemi and her friends have been going to Music & Mayhemfor several years, and the size of her group increases annually. In fact, last year, twelve of them came en masse. So my imputation that scalpers might be snapping up Music & Mayhem tickets for fun and profit appears to be without basis. As Barbara put it so succinctly, “While the notion of re-selling tickets at potentially great profit has its merits, there are none in my group of 14 who would be willing to part with their ticket—at any price.”
Heralds of the holidays
We all have our own favourite trigger to tell us that the Yuletide season will soon be upon us. For some, it’s the sudden appearance of the Fireplace Channel on Bell Expressvu. For others, it’s Black Friday sales that last forever and a day. For me, though, it’s spotting Gord and Nancy White’s cars outside the Dunvegan Recreation hall in November. ‘Cause I know the couple is there transforming the charming old venue into a Christmas wonderland. Well, that may be stretching things a bit too far. Nevertheless, I know that a string of December events at the little hall — from the Historical Crafters’ fair and December euchre luncheon to the visit with Santa and the Music & Mayhemconcerts — rely on the decorating talents of Nancy White and her almost endless supply of Christmas splendor. Where she stores it all in the off-season is anyone’s guess.
So, I was pleased as punch to spot said vehicles parked outside our hall as I motored past (at the prescribed speed limit) on my way to our nation’s capital. Thank you Nancy and Gord for making Dunvegan Christmas events all that more memorable.
It’s OUR craft fair
The very first of these holiday-themed functions is the popular Historical Crafter’s Fair and Christmas Marketplace. It will take place at the Dunvegan hall on Saturday, December 1stfrom 10 AM to 5 PM am and Sunday, December 2ndfrom 10 AM to 3 PM.
Vankleek Hill’s Chocolate Box will be back with their sinfully good line of chocolates and other confections… as will the talented Two Hammers team with their hand-forged ironwork and repurposed silver jewelry. For the history buff in your life, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum will be offering some thoughtful items from their gift shop, as well as annual and lifetime memberships.
The hall will be redolent with the soothing fragrance of fresh evergreen boughs, thanks to the wreaths and porch decorations for sale at Linda Rutgers’ booth. The proceeds from everything Linda sells go to Harry’s Memorial Fund.
The Crafter’s Fair and Christmas Marketplace will also feature pioneer inspired beeswax candles, ornaments and honey products from Matthews Honey Farm. One Facebook fan had this to say, “The candles are so nice you’ll feel reluctant to burn them and the magnificent magnesium balm is so soothing… We loved everything we have tried.”
As well, European wooden ornaments, bird feeders and primitive woodwork by Ruedi will be available… along with custom, period-authentic “portraits” by silhouette artist Jill Metcalfe. Please note that Jill will only be at the fair on Saturday.
While this is one more Christmas marketplace, it’s OUR Christmas marketplace… with all donations and door prize ticket proceeds going to support the Dunvegan Recreation Association. So please attend if you are able.
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