Arts and Crafts Show This Weekend

 

Iroquois holds its Remembrance Day ceremony

It was cold, almost bitter, and the skies were grey in Iroquois on Sunday, November 4, as Iroquois held its Remembrance Day ceremony.

That did not stop people, all ages, from coming out to honour and remember the young men who laid down their lives for Canada in the great World Wars. Also remembered at the ceremony were the veterans of Korea, of many Canadian peace keeping missions and of Afghanistan.

The Iroquois Fire Department joined the Legion Colour Party and members of Branch #370 in the parade to the cenotaph, as did the scouts and many others.

During the services at the Legion and at the monument, the pipes and drums of the Kemptville Legion Branch #212 Pipe Band, directed by Pipe Major Mike Durant, played hymns and airs that would have been very familiar to the soldiers who served Canada’s colours. Everyone sang “O Canada” before the memorial.

Wreaths were presented on behalf of local organizations, businesses, churches, families and individuals. The young people of the community were also part of the service. MP Guy Lauzon laid a wreath on behalf of the federal government while MPP Jim McDonell placed one for the government of Ontario. Councillor Evonne Delegarde represented the Township of South Dundas. Two minutes of silence was observed.

Legion chaplain the Reverend Janet Evans led those present in prayer, finishing with the words, “We give You thanks for all who served their nation in time of trial, and for those who made the supreme sacrifice.” 

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This year’s Morrisburg Tubie Festival will take place on the weekend of August 4th and 5th.

The Township of South Dundas recently received a letter from the Morrisburg and District Lions Club with a list of requests for the 42nd annual Tubie weekend.

The requests included: 

• Use of the waterfront park and ball diamond area on August 4th for “parade staging, antique car show, hospitality tent, and an evening concert featuring Ambush.”

• Exception to the noise by-law to allow the Saturday night concert to proceed until midnight.

• Use of the Cruickshank Amphitheatre for children’s entertainment.

• Use of the dock and beach facilities for the Sunday Tubie Race.

Council, unanimously and without comment, agreed to all of the Lions Club requests at the June 26th council meeting. 

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The Playhouse is a hub of activity these days with the construction of a new production storage area and the official opening of the recently completed new box office.  

But the real action begins when Norm Foster’s hilarious hit comedy, The Foursome, takes to the stage on March 16 running until April 1. In fact the four funny guys who’ll keep audiences in stitches have already arrived. 

This promises to be a fun-filled early start to The Playhouse’s 2012 season. 

The Playhouse has built its reputation on laughs, and audiences will get a bellyful of those as veteran actors Jesse Collins, Richard Bauer, Sweeney MacArthur and Brian Young bring this popular comedy to life on the Playhouse stage which set designer Sean Free has transformed into a functional golf course. In fact two chunks of the stage have had to be removed to allow the actors to properly swing their golf clubs! 

One of this popular playwright’s funniest plays to date, the show features four friends who meet, after years apart, for a round of golf. 

In the course of this reunion, they catch up with each other’s lives and their stories, secrets, schemes and surprises have consistently left audiences howling with laughter in virtually every theatre in the country for years. 

Women in the audience have just as much fun as the men as the characters reveal their insecurities and engage in an hilarious and poignant game of one-upmanship as the play unfolds. 

‘The great thing about the show is the fact that you don’t have to know a thing about golf. It’s just a fun thing for them to be doing as the comedy unfolds,’ remarks Artistic Director Donnie Bowes. ‘It’s full of the kind of humour audiences have come to rely on Norm Foster to deliver: comedy that comes from real peoples’ lives and predicaments. And the cast is iron-clad.’  

The characters are an interesting mix of men from all walks of life. 

There’s Ted, played by Jesse Collins, who’s on his second marriage with a younger woman and just a tad insecure about the age difference. A drinker, he fills his golf bag with enough beer to ignite the foursome as the game progresses. Collins also directs the play, bringing his experience and love of both directing and golf to the play. 

Brian Young plays Cameron, a worrier and a hypochondriac by nature, who’s insecure about his job as a TV ad salesman. 

Richard Bauer plays Rick, an arrogant, womanizing and manipulative bachelor who sells boats for a living. 

Finally there’s Donnie, a regular family man with four kids who considers himself a loser and is a terrible golfer. 

All in all the cast has all the ingredients, talent and experience for a wild and crazy show! 

Collins, who has had an enviable career as a stage, TV and film actor and director, was last seen at The Playhouse in The Affections of May, which he also directed, along with Norm Foster’s Bedtime Stories. He has starred in theatres in Toronto and across the country, as well as in many television shows including the seasonal classic The Santa Claus as well as five seasons as the star of CTV’s Katts n’ Dog. 

Collins also received an Emmy nomination for directing the children’s television program Zooboomafoo. 

Richard Bauer is familiar with Playhouse audiences as an actor and director and was seen in Not Now, Darling, which he also directed, and the holiday play, Dear Santa. 

Brian Young was also seen last season in Not Now, Darling as well as in such past productions as On Golden Pond and The Odd Couple (female version). 

Sweeney MacArthur, who starred in Mervish Production’s Mama Mia, and has been seen in countless musicals and plays in the Toronto theatre scene, returns after several seasons. He was seen in such shows as Perfect Wedding and Looking.

Often described as a hole-in-one comedy and a laugh-fest that’s filled with superb one-liners, The Foursome promises to be just the tonic audiences need to chase away the winter blues.  

The Playhouse on-stage golf course is groomed and the four hilarious guys are ready to go. However, audiences will be the big winners when this comic season opener hits the stage. 

Contact UCP, at 613-543-3713, for ticket information.

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