Month: December 2012

 “Oh come, all ye faithful” and enjoy the beautiful carols and the familiar songs of Christmas at the Seaway Singers December concert on Sunday, December 16, 3 p.m., at Iroquois United Church. 

The Seaway Singers, made up of 41 voices, are celebrating 20 years of bringing outstanding concerts to the community in 2012-13. Their upcoming concert, entitled O Come, O Come, promises to continue in that tradition.

“We are performing a mixture of carols and Christmas themed music,” said Robin Lane, one of the Singers. “The music is beautiful, really, and everyone will enjoy it.”

Robert Jones will again conduct the concert, with Margaret Whisselle as the accompanist. 

“We are predominantly featuring Christmas carols, but there will also be some secular music in the program,” Jones said. “One of the pieces is Wassail, a traditional English carol, and there is a beautiful spiritual called Rise Up, Shepherd. The choir is also singing a minuet by Bach which has the First Noel incorporated into it.”

Margaret Whisselle will be singing the solo, Jesu Bambino, in the show. 

Joining the choir for this concert will be the adult Hand Bell Ringers from Winchester United Church, welcome guests at previous concerts.

“There is also some sing-along music that everyone can take part in,” Jones said, “and also one fun song I think people will really enjoy. It’s called the 12 Days After Christmas, and let’s just say it begins with “On the First Day After Christmas, my true love and I had a fight….” 

The annual December concert, O Come, O Come, is a show to which all members of the family can look forward.

Tickets are $10 in advance (Seaway Valley Pharmacy in Morrisburg) or $12 at the door on December 16. The Seaway Singers will be performing at Iroquois United Church at 3 p.m. All are invited to join the choir afterwards for “goodies.”

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Coming up on Friday evening, December 14, South Dundas residents are invited to join Mary and Joseph  as they travel the streets of Morrisburg in search of accommodation.

Taking a cue from a traditional Mexican Christmas celebration, Knox Presbyterian Church is hosting a “Posada” re-enactment of Mary and Joseph as they search for lodging in Bethlehem.

Participants in this local version of the 400 year old Mexican “Posada” tradition are invited to gather at Knox Presbyterian Church, (1st Street) Morrisburg, from 6:30-7 p.m. on Friday December 14. To light the “No Room at the Inn” procession, which will start at 7 p.m., everyone is asked to bring along candles, torches, flashlights or lanterns.

The procession will be led by Joseph (Cody Lewis) and Mary (Kristen Schaillee) and will include both, a mule and a horse.

Requests for lodging will be refused at two nearby homes on First Street (the Ruddock and Harwood homes), before Mary and Joseph make their final request at the Veinotte home on the corner of Ottawa and Legion Streets.

At each of the stops, Christmas carols will be sung.

“We are promoting it in the newspaper and at all the churches in the area,” says organizer Margaret Reynolds. “We are really hoping for a good turnout and of course some good weather. This is a great way to experience the true spirit of Christmas.”

Reynolds points out that the trek has been kept to a reasonable distance, and participants who are unable to do the walk can await the group’s arrival at any of the three stops or back at the church hall, where, following the walk, there will be refreshments, fellowship and carolling.

Organizers are asking all participants for a (non-perishable) food or cash offering for the South Dundas Christmas Exchange.

Posada is a Spanish word for lodging or accommodation. In Mexico, Posadas are held on each of the nine nights leading up to Christmas (December 16-24).

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 It might have been a little frosty on Saturday, December 1, when Santa and Mrs. Claus dropped in to marshall the big parade, but the warmth of their welcome made up for that.

Morrisburg gave a big welcome to all the bands, marchers and floats who took part in one of the best Santa Claus parades yet. 

“We had six bands in our parade this year,” said George Davies, who once again organized the 2012 event. 

“There were about 50 different floats and displays, and all kinds of people in costumes walking along the parade route. From what I hear, it was a great day in spite of the weather. Of course, that’s the one thing I can’t do anything about,” he laughed. 

“I will say that the cold was probably a little rough on the musicians with brass instruments. And by the end of the route, our bag pipe players couldn’t play. But all accounts say it was a good parade all the same.”

The colourful celebration took place at 11 a.m. Saturday morning, and wound its way throughout the town. George Davies could be seen on his ATV keeping things moving all along the route. 

“I had eight people helping out with the parade today,” he said, “as well as many volunteers who marched or worked on floats. There’s great spirit in this community.”

After the parade, Santa dropped in to the fire hall to personally meet some of his young fans, and to listen to their Christmas hopes. 

Parade participants took advantage of hot dogs and chocolate milk after the big event finished in the mall area. George laughs that there was a definite run on the hot chocolate all afternoon.

George Davies is already making plans for next year’s Santa Claus parade. He feels that it is never too early to start.

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Twenty community members joined in the conversation about tourism that took place at the McIntosh Country Inn, November 29.

Our Passport to the Future: A Tourism Stakeholder Discussion Forum provided the opportunity for interested community members to speak one on one with the community members who helped identify initiatives to strengthen South Dundas’ tourism sector.

As part of the session, those who attended were asked to rank five sectors on their potential to increase the number of visits, length of stay, repeat business and overall economic benefit in South Dundas. The sectors included; arts and culture, cycling, fishing and boating, history and motorcycling.

Although the question was very definitive, the answer provided by the participants was not.

“In terms of ranking, there is almost an even spread between the sectors,” said South Dundas Economic Development Officer Nicole Sullivan.

“Attendees generally agreed with the sectors and initiatives identified. Much of the feedback spoke to different ideas on applying the initiatives or ways to enhance them which can easily be applied to the implementation plan,” she said.

A common theme noted by the discussion facilitators was the desire to focus activity to the waterfront.

“The need for Lakeshore Drive to be paved was mentioned by several participants,” said Linda Wilson, who was facilitating discussions about cycling and motorcycling.

“The waterfront being a hub of activity is being talked about by a lot of people,” said Donnie Bowes who was facilitating discussions about arts and culture. “People see the waterfront as the place for farmers markets and markets where artisans can showcase their produce and crafts, the place for festivals, the place for people and artists to congregate.”

Susan Le Clair was facilitating discussions about history and noted that people, in the context of history, also believe the focus should be the waterfront. 

“What people are talking about is a critical mass of different activities along the waterfront. These are things that we can probably accomplish,” she said pointing to examples of historical plaques and walking tours. “Things we can accomplish are as important as anything, because anything you can accomplish fuels the community’s enthusiasm.” 

“The next step, and one of our most challenging given how many assets our community has to build on, is narrowing down to two or three areas of focus,” said Sullivan. 

Information from this meeting will contribute to the final tourism development strategy. It will be presented to council in the new year.

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