Youth seek community’s support

 Family reunions are always memorable. However, when the Lundeen family gets together for Thanksgiving dinner in The Playhouse’s upcoming  show, A Nice Family Gathering, by Phil Olson, the meal won’t be the main event. 

It’ll be the hilarious and heart-warming chaos that erupts when conflicting family members try to cope with each other’s differences and a ghost! The play is set just months after Dad has died, and the usual tensions among family members are higher than ever before the meal is even served. 

Brothers Michael and Carl have never seen eye to eye, the former a successful doctor, the latter an easy-going would-be writer working odd jobs. 

Then there’s Stacy, the younger daughter, who is always ignored and feels left out of the picture. Add to that Michael’s wife, Jill, who’s going through an emotional time because she can’t get pregnant. And Mom is struggling with the pressures of trying to hold the family together long enough to enjoy a civil dinner. 

There’s an elephant in the room, so to speak. 

The chances of this nice family gathering succeeding are blown out of the water when Dad’s ghost decides to make an appearance, not to haunt anyone, but to try to direct the proceedings and settle some old scores. 

To complicate matters, he only appears to one of the family members, son Carl, who’s charged with the task of helping him get his wish. Dad and Carl’s battle of wits, as they attempt to accomplish this, makes for an hilarious and touching experience for all, especially after the arrival of another guest that Mom has told no one about. 

“This show has everything: comedy, conflict, a great story and very strong characters,” says Artistic Director Donnie Bowes. “I think the comedy comes from the pressure that the characters are under to get along. There’s also the ghost of Dad who is, himself, a very funny character. And there are some touching family moments that the audience will relate to and enjoy.”

Ensuring that Dad’s ghost gets a star appearance is Doug Tangney, in a role that Bowes says the Playhouse favourite was born to play. 

Tangney was earlier seen in Hotbed Hotel and has been enjoyed by audiences in shows ranging from the hilarious grand-dad in Having Hope at Home to starring roles in The Sensuous Senator, Weekend Comedy and many more. His character of Dad’s ghost will square off with another popular Playhouse actor, Richard Bauer, who plays son Carl. 

Bauer recently directed Wife Begins at Forty and earlier in the season starred in The Foursome. 

Sparks will also fly between Bauer and Jamie Williams who plays brother Michael. Williams was recently seen in Here on the Flight Path and has starred in such hits as Run For Your Wife and There Goes The Bride.

The role of Mom is in the talented hands of veteran actress Linda Goranson seen in such Playhouse shows as Not Now, Darling and The Christmas Express. Goranson is currently commuting to rehearsal from Belleville where she is starring in Calendar Girls.

Sister Stacy is played by another familiar Playhouse face, Liz Gilroy, who joins the cast after a busy summer acting, directing and choreographing at various Ontario Summer Theatres. Last seen here in Dear Santa, Gilroy will star in Elf: The Musical at Halifax’s Neptune Theatre later this year. 

Rounding out the cast is Kate Gordon, who returns to UCP from last year’s Not Now, Darling, to play Jill, and Don Ciaschini, last seen in Maggie’s Getting Married, who will play special guest Jerry. 

John Thompson, who has designed several Playhouse productions including Wife Begins at Forty and On Golden Pond to name just a few, created the set. 

Donnie Bowes will be directing this production. 

A Nice Family Gathering runs September 6 to September 30. The shows are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.  For tickets and information call 613-543-3713, or 1-877-550-3650 or go to www.uppercanadaplayhouse.com

[…]

 

The Right Reverend John H. Chapman, Bishop of Ottawa, has announced that the reverend Jonathon Martin has been named the new incumbent for the Morrisburg-Iroquois-Riverside Heights parish of the Anglican Church.

The appointment is effective June 1, 2015.

Jonathon Martin was ordained in 2006 by Bishop Peter Coffin, and has served as assistant curate at Christ Church, Bells Corners, and as incumbent at the parish of North Dundas, now known as St. Clare’s Church. He has also served as Regional Dean of Stormont, a facilitator for Fresh Start, a member of the Parish Growth & Renewal Consultants Advisor Panel and was instrumental in the development and building of St. Clare’s Church in Winchester.

Martin, who holds a B.A., M.P.Th, is currently completing his D.Min.

“Jonathon is a skilled and competent pastor, and I believe he will quickly gain your trust and love,” said Bishop Chapman in his letter to the South Dundas parish. 

The reverend Martin knows the Morrisburg-Iroquois-Riverside Heights parish well, as he grew up here. His mother, the reverend Pat Martin, was one of the parish’s previous curates.

[…]

 

Last year’s best new event in Ontario, is even bigger and better this year.

October 10 area media and dignitaries  were led through the 2013 Pumpkinferno display at Upper Canada Village, to see the bigger and better display.

In its sophomore year, even before the display welcomed its first visitors for the 2013 season, officials already knew that what they had to offer was an improvement  over their first year event, which was hugely successful, attracting over 35,000 visitors.

“The display is 25 to 30 per cent bigger,” said St. Lawrence Parks Commission CEO Darren Dalgleish. He explained that not only are there more carvings on display, the display is spread out over a larger area of the village.

The layout of the display had been changed, alleviating many of the congestion issues seen last year.

“This is a unique one of a kind event in Canada. And, the success of last year’s event suggests that this is something that people haven’t seen before,” said Dalgleish.

He is exceptionally proud of Pumpkinferno, which has won many awards, and broken all St. Lawrence Parks Commission attendance records. He takes a great deal of pride in the estimated $4 million economic impact this event has had on the area.

“Re-establishing Eastern Ontario as a tourist destination involves more than just the St. Lawrence Parks,” said Dalgleish. “Being connected to our community is an important priority for us.”

Geoff Waycik, Upper Canada Village General Manager, after just the opening weekend was pleased with attendance, saying that this year’s opening weekend was already larger than last year’s opening weekend.

Waycik spoke about the impact of Pumpkinferno locally last year, with Tim Hortons running out of coffee cups and the local McDonalds this year getting special permission for additional staffing. 

“Pumpkinferno’s impact has definitely been felt locally, and we’re very proud of that fact,” said Waycik.

The walking paths are wider to allow people to take more time to enjoy the 7,000 carvings. 

They have worked to improve the entry process, but with the event’s growing popularity they are strongly recommending that visitors purchase their tickets online to speed the process. 

The House of Horoscopes display (pictured right) is a great unique addition to the display that provides a unique star-gazing opportunity.

The young artist’s pumpkin patch features carvings by area school children. This year 800 young artist participated, which doubles the number involved in the program last year. 

Pumpkinferno runs select nights October 4 to November 2. 

[…]