Iroquois dam gates to be lowered

Spring has finally arrived and Upper Canada Village has opened its gates to welcome visitors to an exciting, new season.  

May will be a busy month and the Village will be alive with tradition over the Victoria Day weekend.  Visitors can join in the Queen Victoria Birthday celebrations on Sunday, May 17 with patriotic speeches, grand military manoeuvres, a hand-pumped fire engine demonstration and enjoy a piece of birthday cake. 

Without a doubt, one of the joys of Spring is watching the fields and gardens come back to life after a long winter.  The Spring Planting weekend (May 30, 31) at Upper Canada Village is a great time to visit and see nature’s renewal.  

The 2015 season will mark the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Canadian Horse in Canada.  

All season long visitors will be able to see the Canadian horses at work.  

They are an integral part of daily life at Upper Canada Village performing tasks such as drawing the Tow Scow along the canal, pulling Carry-alls through the Village for tours and other farm related chores.  

This season, Horse Lovers’ weekend will be a not-to-be-missed event on Labour Day weekend September 5-7.

Upper Canada Village offers a number of summer youth camps.  Some spaces are still available.

“We have a great season of events, programs and summer camps at Upper Canada Village.  Our summer youth camps are a great opportunity for young people to make new friends and have a completely unique experience.  This season we have a full line-up of events planned with many returning favourites such as Medieval Festival, Food Lovers’ Field Days and the War of 1812 Military Re-enactment weekend.  In July and August we will be bringing back the Haunted Walks and Murder Mystery Dinners that were very popular last year,” said Geoff Waycik, Manager of Historic Sites, St. Lawrence Parks Commission.

New this year is the ‘Breaking Down the Barriers to History’ weekend on June 20 and 21.  While Upper Canada Village offers an excellent multisensory experience every day, this event will be further enhanced for those with sight loss, hearing loss and mobility challenges.

Other events coming up in June include Sheep Shearing Days – June 2-5 and Medieval Festival June 6-7.  

Special education days include Monday, May 25, War of 1812  and Monday, June 8 for Medieval Festival.  Students can also visit the Aultsville Train Station for the British Home Child Exhibit and Educational Program offered June 2 and 3.

Upper Canada Village will be open daily from May 6 to Labour Day and then Wednesdays to Sundays from September 9 to 20, 2015.

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Students at St. Mary’s – St. Cecilia’s Catholic School in Morrisburg were given a rare opportunity on Monday, December 5th when students and teachers came together in the gymnasium to celebrate their successful Movember fundraising venture.

Organized by Chris Veltkamp, physical education teacher, the school took on the challenge of raising money for prostate cancer.

The four male teachers grew mustaches for the month of November, in tribute to the Movember cause. In addition to Veltkamp, there were: Marcel Booyink, Core French teacher; James McIntyre, grade 1-2 teacher; and, Jeff Vynckier, the grade 3-4 teacher.

Veltkamp, in an attempt to make things interesting, gave the students incentives to raise the money.

If they reached $300, they would earn 20 minutes of free time. If they reached $600, all the female teachers would wear mustaches of some kind. And, if they reached $1,000, they were given the opportunity to shave the mustaches from the four male teachers in addition to throwing “pies” (paper plates filled with whipped cream and chocolate sauce) at the teachers. 

As of December 5th, Veltkamp estimated that the students had raised about $850, which meant they were just shy of their ultimate goal.

Being good sports, the teachers called it “close enough” and took the hits. Student council members were given the privilege of shaving off the mustaches.

Eight students were chosen to throw “pies” at the teachers. Each teacher was “hit” twice by two different students.

The cherry on top? That would be kindergartner, Mickaela Macdonald, being given the chance to throw a pie in the face of principal Joy Martel.

All in all, it was messy, but oh so much fun.

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 What began last summer as a good-natured Liars Derby among a group of long time fishing buddies, this year became a tribute to the memory of one of those old friends.

The 2nd annual Liars Fishing Derby was held at the Galop Canal Marina in Iroquois on Saturday, May 5, in honour of the late Garry Banford, a keen amateur fisherman. Organized by Bruce Mullin and other friends of Garry’s, the Derby drew 155 entrants with prizes of $500 going for the largest pike and the largest pickerel catches of the day. The event was capped in late afternoon by a barbecue which featured some very fresh fish on the menu.

“This event was a kind of dream for us,” Bruce Mullin said. “When we first came up with the idea of holding this derby, we really didn’t know if people would come out to support it. But the response was just unreal. We had 155 people purchase tickets, people of all ages from 10 to 70. Garry was a very close friend and we wanted to do something special for him.”

Mullin joked that the name the Liars Derby came about last year. 

“A group of us buddies just casually started calling the event the 1st Liars Derby, and the name stuck.”

Mullin had a lot of praise for the friends who helped him plan and organize and run the Derby. 

“Ron Monroe, Gary Locke, Doug Byers, Ron Baker, Gary Jarvis, Lynn Dillabough and Danny McLaughlin all got involved. Then Aaron and Ann (Banford) came in to help as well with ticket sales.”

The Derby raised $4,000 for the organizers.

The proceeds will allow two scholarships, in Garry Banford’s name, each for $500, to be given to Seaway District High School in time for the fall graduation. Organizers were also thrilled to be able to present the Iroquois Marina with a donation of $1,700.

The entire Banford family took part in the Derby.

“I thought this was a fantastic idea when Bruce came to me with it,” said Ann Banford. “Garry was one of the fishing buddies and he would have loved this event. Bruce and his group are really to be commended. They put so much work and effort into getting the Derby together.”

Many people, who were not actually planning to fish, also approached the organizers with donations. 

Prizes of $500 were awarded to Ernie Beckstead for the largest pike, weighing in at 10.12 lbs and to Kevin Sabourin with the largest pickerel at 8.3 pounds. Ernie donated $100 of his winnings back to the Derby.

Gary Locke took second prize in the pike category while Jeff Adams took third. Ron Gillard received second prize for his pickerel and Rob Barkely went home with third.  Bert Fawcett came closest to the Hidden Weight while Kevin Keyes was ‘honoured’ with the Skunked Trophy.

The weather co-operated for the day.

“It was a bit cold and windy when we started out at 7 a.m.,” Mullin said, “but sunny and getting warmer by the time the deadline arrived. I guess it was a challenge for the guys out there, but we brought in 160 pounds of fish. And that doesn’t count the ones that were released. The fish were all caught in the immediate area. Some bass and some bowfin were also hooked.”

Are any good fishing stories coming out of the 1012 Liars  Fishing Derby?

Well, it seems the winning pike is still gaining weight as the Leader goes to press…

Organizers are already looking ahead to next year’s Derby. 

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