Bells ring out for United Church 90th anniversary

MORRISBURG – Tourism is being brought back in to the economic development fold. Council discussed that opportunity at the January 10th committee of the whole meeting. “I haven’t worked on any tourism files during my […]

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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Dating is tough.Being set up by friends is tough. But the toughest test of finding true love has got to be the dreaded blind date.

At least that’s the premise of Check, Please! by Jonathan Rand, an hilarious look at the perils and pitfalls of modern dating being presented on Friday, May 11, 6 p.m., at Seaway District High School in Iroquois. 

Under the direction of teachers Emma Mayer and Kim Lalonde, 21 senior drama students will perform the timely and funny production as part of the 7th annual dinner theatre night at the high school. 

“The actors have been working extremely hard,” said Lalonde. “It’s going to be a great show. There were a lot of funny moments just in rehearsals, especially as the kids began to identify their characters with the costumes and make-up. And,” Lalonde added, laughing, “the day we put the boys into make up for the first time, is now known as David Bowie Day. It was hilarious. However, they’re getting used to the whole stage thing now.”

I had the opportunity to speak to four members of the cast about the play, and about their roles. 

Rebecca Helmer, who plays “the Girl” describes her character as a bit desperate, trying to find “the one.” “She can be sarcastic (she’s faced some bad situations), but she’s also a lot of fun to play. Does she find love? Well there is a twist at the end of the play that will let the audience know that.”

Jared Gibson, “the Guy,” is coming from a world of bad dates including one with a rabid Chicago Bears fan, another with a woman who talks only in internet abbreviations. “Everybody has had them, the bad dates, the embarrassment of bad dates. My character is getting a little desperate. He would just like to find a nice, normal, average girl next door.”

Judging from the characters played by Haley VanAllen and Nicole Hallam,  that girl next door is going to be pretty hard to find.

“My Cleo is a pyschic,” Haley explained. “The problem is she reads feet. Yup, she’s pretty insane, definitely ditzy. Her version of seeing the future is to say ‘I saw I was going to fail the math exam, and guess what? I did!’”

Does she find love?

“I think we might have to wait for the Cleo spin off,” Jared said straight-faced.

Nicole Hallam’s Mary is the kind of girl who shows up on a blind date carrying a Brides magazine under her arm.

“She has her entire wedding planned, from church and reception to the honeymoon. The only catch: no groom,” Nicole explained. “What she’s really looking for is a guy who will fit into the tuxedo. Thirty seconds into the date, she’s asking the guy if he’d like to help her pick out the wedding dress. She’s hilarious.”

“The script for Check, Please! is very funny, and very well written,” Haley said.  “Everyone can relate to these characters, and not feel so bad about their own dating experiences.”

“Everything that can go wrong, does, in this play,” added Nicole.

“Think of worst case scenarios and then think how funny they can be,” Jared said.

“It’s really a laugh out loud play,” Rebecca said. “We all still laugh even in our rehearsals.” 

The dinner theatre is being sponsored by the SDHS parents council. The funds raised, including those coming from the silent auction, will go towards new technology for the school. Tickets are $10 per person for the delicious lasagna dinner and the show, and are available in advance by calling 613-652-4878.

Come out on Friday, May 11, to share the laughter and memories of first dates.

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