Grand Day for Duck Hunting

 

Who does not have a vision of the stern and unsmiling Victorian staring out of a black and white photograph?  

Coping with the rigours of 19th century life sure seemed to have taken a toll on people’s sense of fun.  Or did it?  

Visitors to Upper Canada Village on July 28 and 29 will find out that our ancestors enjoyed many diversions and pastimes, from puzzles, baseball and parlour games to cricket, croquinole and croquet.

It’s a chock-a-block weekend, with lots of opportunities to pitch a hand-sewn baseball, compete in the three-legged race, solve a riddle, make a whirligig and play a game of fox and geese. 

“The 1860’s were a much simpler time with less technology, so people played games for recreation,” says Dave Dobbie, manager of Upper Canada Village. “We hope that our visitors will rediscover how much fun you can have without technology.”

Visitors will be encouraged to roll up their sleeves and join in the fun.

Highlights include:

• Chess tournament – Saturday 1-3:30 p.m.  Please pre-register through website www.audiapason.ca.

• Crockinole party, dominos and skittles tournament – Saturday and Sunday all day at the Family Activity Centre.

•Massachusetts baseball – Saturday and Sunday 2-3 p.m.  Discover the distinction between this and modern baseball, especially in regards to scoring and layout of the field.

•Cricket – Saturday  and Sunday 11- noon and 4-5 p.m. with Tom Melville.  Tom is from Wisconsin and is an expert in all things cricket.  He will instruct novices and umpire matches between teams of visitors.

•Lacrosse – Sunday 1- 2 p.m.  Watch the Cornwall Celtics demonstrate this fast-paced traditional game.

•Croquet – Saturday and Sunday 2-3p.m.  Very popular in the 1860’s, croquet involves hitting wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded in a grass playing court.  It was made famous when Alice in Wonderland played a very special version involving live flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls.

•Children’s games – Egg races, sack races, wheel barrow races and the always exciting tug-of-war are on the program on Saturday and Sunday 3:30 p.m.-4 p.m.

•Riddles, conundrums, singing games – Join the Upper Canada Village musicians and learn a few songs that accompany games.

•Card games – All day Sunday.  Whist, a classic trick-taking card game which had its heyday in the 19th century and Euchre which is responsible for introducing the joker into modern card packs will be played.  Everyone is welcome to join in!

• Parlour games – Sunday 3- 4 p.m.  “Hide the Thimble”, “I love my love with an A”, “Ring String” and “In my Lady’s Toilette” will show that sometimes mild-sounding games can be deceivingly rowdy.

•Garden syringe – Saturday.  Cool off with the “super soakers” of the past.

The weekend of July 28-29 has also been marked to celebrate the  anniversary of the Young Interpreters’ Program.

Since 1982, the Young Interpreters Program has given youth, between the ages of 10 and 15, an opportunity to experience 19th century life first-hand.  

Young Interpreters learn traditional skills from professional historical interpreters and take part in a host of typical 19th century activities.  

Hundreds of children have spent many of their formative years at Upper Canada Village and the program is still going strong!  

On July 28 and 29, it’s time to celebrate. 

“Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Young Interpreter’s Program is a perfect fit with this event (Games People Played) as many of the games featured will be familiar to anyone who was a Young Interpreter.” 

Former Young Interpreters are invited to re-explore their favourite Village hang-outs, chat with costumed villagers, and attend school or Sunday school.  Interpreters are invited to bring a brown-paper lunch and join other former Young Interpreters for a picnic with cake and lemonade at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 29.  

Former Young Interpreter who have not received an official invitation are invited to contact Gabriele.thomas@parks.on.ca. 

For more information on the above events please call 1-800-437-2233 (543-4328 locally) or buy your tickets online at www.uppercanadavillage.com. 

[…]

 

Brockville Presbyterial W.M.S. met on Thursday, January 26, 2012, at Knox Presbyterial Church, Morrisburg, for the annual meeting. President Catherine Blatch opened with prayer focusing on the theme, “Reach out in love.”

The Winchester group led worship with Claire McPhee and Donna Wilson seeking guidance from Luke 17, 11-19, for the proper approach to the rejected and dejected people in society. People needing to be encouraged and befriended today are the Ottawa Inner City homeless and First Nations people who need to be heard and action taken.

Reports were encouraging and accepted. In 2012 money has been donated to Gracefield Retreat Centre and Canada Youth who will meet at Brock University. The amount was $200 each.

Catherine divided everyone into five groups to discuss how to give love and receive love based on the Bible and on real life experiences.

After lunch, Janell Moore and Leslie Claxton of Morrisburg, chose beautiful duets to follow the theme, then led all participants in a sing along of joyful songs. 

Reverend Ken MacLaren, as executive director of the Inner City Ministry, was introduced by the president. 

He explained that homeless people are drawn to Ottawa from the Ottawa Valley mainly. Services are easier to access here without public transit than in other cities. He, along with volunteers, befriends residents and encourages them to use their God-given talents to help others and show respect for one another.

The Passion for Youth Art Program for street kids helps to develop self esteem, talent and relationships by role playing and has had success returning some of the young people  to productive lives after finishing high school and work programs. People interested in becoming involved can phone 613-237-6031 or contact www.ottawainnercityministries.ca.

Gifts of winter street survival kits gathered by the five groups at the session were presented to Rev. MacLaren along with a monetary donation for the Inner City Ministry.

A fitting memoriam was given for former members by Mary Moorhead and Donna McIlveen from the Ventnor group. 

It was announced the Spring Rally would be held in St. Paul’s, Winchester, at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. At that time, Catherine will give an account of her exposure tour of the Immigration Centre in Montreal and about our project to offer improvements through Action Réfugiés Montréal.  We welcome everyone to join us in this cause.

The annual Synodical of Quebec and Eastern Ontario will meet at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Carleton Place, on Friday and Saturday, April 13-14.

Donna McIlveen installed the 2012 executive at the conclusion of the meeting.

[…]

 

 It’s probably a good thing that the Oakfield Golf and Country Club is a fictitious place. Otherwise, given the comic confusion that thoroughly engulfs its weekend guests, in a bright new production at Upper Canada Playhouse,  it might require a new name: the Oakfield Asylum.

Fortunately, audiences coming to see Michael Parker’s mad cap comedy, Whose Wives Are They, Anyway? will be glad they ‘checked in’ to the Oakfield Club where lots of laughter is delivered along with the room service.

“It’s almost a tradition at the Playhouse to start off our summer season with a classic farce,” said artistic director Donnie Bowes, who is also directing the production. “Michael Parker, the playwright, uses the sharp dialogue and the tightly written plot twists” that are the basis of traditional British farce. 

“Actually,” Bowes remarked, to the nods of the cast, “we laugh all the time rehearsing this show. It’s just that funny.”

An eight person cast and a script that moves at Mach 2, demand a versatile set design and a first rate stage crew. 

Fortunately, according to Bowes, designer Sean Free has been able to create two adjoining ‘bedrooms’ that take into account challenging sight lines and  complex stage actions. “Kat (Sokyrko) Jocelyn (MacDowell) and Liam (Collins) are fully occupied back stage and going at a frantic rate.” 

The actors are also going at a frantic rate in intensive final rehearsals. 

“It’s actually serious business to be funny,” Bowes laughed. 

The audience can expect a production that is polished, exhilarating and hilarious. 

David and John are just two normal, average guys, out to enjoy a golf weekend (without their spouses) before they take on new jobs under a new boss.  They sign into the Oakfield Golf and Country Club, unaware that said boss (played by Mary Ellis as “one who runs a very tight ship”) has also arrived for the weekend. 

In typical farce, this plot very quickly involves the sudden appearance of one or two seemingly ‘simple’ problems.  

“Then these ‘little’ problems create choices for John and David, the characters make them, and, in no time at all, everything goes totally mad,” Bowes said. “There is comic chaos.” 

Bruce Tubbe plays Wilson, the handy-man, who, according to Tubbe, “always has something wrong with me.” Kate Gordon as receptionist Tina, is cool and professional… “until she tastes champagne.” 

Erin MacKinnon and Vivana Zarillo, as the ‘wives’ Laura and Karly, unexpectedly arrive at Oakfield to surprise their spouses, and “walk into utter confusion. They are determined to get to the bottom of what is going on.”

Brenda Quesnel, as the manager Mrs. Carlson, believes she is in “the moral majority, but things get very complicated. Wilson is my nemesis.”

Garfield Andrews and Perry Mucci head up the cast as the hapless John and David. “Frankly, we go a bit mad when our boss arrives, trying to find solutions to the fact that our wives are not on holiday with us,” Andrews said. “Yes,” Mucci echoed, deadpan, “there are one or two problems for us with this golfing weekend.”

The puns, the double (even triple) entendres, the twists and turns will all be there in a production that promises to explode with comedic energy. 

“And, knock wood, nothing on the set will fall over,” laughed director Bowes.

Whose Wives Are They, Anyway? runs at Upper Canada Playhouse from June 6 to June 30. For tickets and information phone 613-543-3713 or 1-877-550-3650 or go on line at www.uppercanadaplayhouse.com. 

[…]