Greetings!

I have an important and fun bit of information that I’m going to share and that, if you live in the Haliburton Highlands area or plan to be in the area on June 19, 2010 you’ll be intrigued to hear about. First click on the announcement below:

Minden Kinsmen Truck Pull and Show and Shine June 19, 2010

This year marks the 23rd year that the Minden Kinsmen Club has sponsored the Truck Pull and Show and Shine
in a continuing effort to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the community as a whole.
The Truck Pull and Show and Shine will take place on June 19^th 2010 at the Minden Fairgrounds. This is a fun family event which children under age 12 enjoy for FREE (ages 12-16 are $6 -adults, $12).

What will you see?  I’m happy to report that there is something for everyone. New this year is the ATV Mud Bog with prizes presented at the event. Less messy but just as entertaining is the Vintage Vehicle Show for vehicles of an 80 year-and-older vintage. The fun continues with a Truck Pull which starts at 12 noon. There are more details on the flyer above so be sure to click on it to enlarge it for better viewing.

In addition to the activities mentioned, The Truck Pull and Show and Shine will feature Food, Refreshments, Camping and Beer Tents on Site!

Want to know more? Contact the Haliburton Visitor Info Centre at 1-800-461-7677.

This is a non-paid post in support of the Haliburton Highlands continued vitality.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Victoria Day and official first weekend for cottaging!

If you had a chance to see a weather forecast or read my post  about  the Haliburton Highlands Holiday Weekend & Long Range Weather Forecast for 5.21 – 5.28 you already do know that the weather this entire week is going to be near-perfect for year-rounders, cottagers and visitors alike.

Today (Saturday) will be nicer than yesterday and tomorrow nicer than today and it keeps going in that pattern for about 5 days straight!

I so wish I could be there!

Regardless, I’ve copied many goings-on in the Haliburton Highlands this weekend and beyond into the album below. There are some fantastically fun things going on all the time. Plus, there is community information from when and where to sign up for swimming lessons to the homeowners association. There are some charitable and community causes that need support. All you need to do is grab the family, show up and be thoroughly entertained. There is plenty more, including talent up from Toronto as well as well-known area entertainment. I encourage you to thumb through and simply click to full size if a page looks interesting. Enjoy!

Whether you are a ‘foodie’ or simply someone that enjoys good company and the enjoyment of food from around the world check out the Epicurious Club get-together this month.

Enjoy gardening but you’d love to extend the gardening season a bit and learn about cost effective and environment-friendly ‘low-tech greenhouses’? Read below about the Extending Garden Season workshop.

Finally, world renown pianist Lucille Chung is the featured performer on May 1st in the Haliburton Concert Series. Get more details below about the Concert Series and check out the music video of Ms. Chung in performance live at the Santander Festival, in Spain!

These are just a few of the exciting, entertaining, fun happenings in the Haliburtons Highlands so be sure to click through to the What’s Happening This Week website to find out what else is happening and what is up next!

The Epicurious Club
April 29 2010

Here are the details:

April celebrates Cajun cuisine of the Acadians – Join us at the home of Epicurious Club Member Joan Barton for Cajun favorites that are sure to inspire. For the Epicurious, come and enjoy food from around the world each month without leaving Highlands East! We meet the last Thursday of each month for a Pot Luck dinner. You bring a food or beverage item of the country or cuisine selected! It’s that easy, it’s free and we dine at members homes. This club is open to all ages, all genders and all foodies! Cheers to good food!

Extending Garden Season workshop
May 1 2010

View and learn about hoop-houses, tunnels, and cold frames…cost effective and environment-friendly ‘low-tech greenhouses’. 10:00 to 3:00 $5 Registration includes lunch. Sponsored by Environment Haliburton! Haliburton Highlands Local Food Coalition, and other local food advocates. To register call:

Melanie at HKPR Health Unit (705 457 1391 x245)
Home of David Bathe near Gelert Francis Road Minden
Contact: David Bathe Tel: 705-286-2950

1220 South Wilberforce Road
Contact: Joan Barton
Tel: (705) 448-3074
Email: highlandscultural@gmail.com

Haliburton Concert Series
May 1 2010

Lucille Chung

May 1st is the first concert for the year, and features pianist Lucille Chung. Lucille was born in Montreal and is now based in New York. She has performed all over the world with more than 50 orchestras. The concert is at 7:30p.m. The three-concert classical music series is sold only as a subscription. The total cost for three concerts is $50 for adults and $25 for students. The other concerts feature Quartetto Gelato on September 11th, and Made in Canada Ensemble (string and piano) on November 13th. To order your subscription, contact Brenda Robinson at 457-2695.

Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion
County Road 21 and Gelert Road
Contact: Brenda Robinson
Tel: 457-2695
Email: brobinson@interhop.net

bibianorucolina — June 18, 2008 — Lucille Chung, piano, plays 3 Scriabin Preludes. Live at the Santander Festival, Spain

Thanks to What’s Happening This Week! April 26 to May 2, 2010 for the great information!

This is an unsponsored post in support of the many activities and services in the Haliburton County (Ontario) area.

Credit: flickr photostream

How we celebrate St. Paddy’s Day near just south of where  I live:

Chicago River, Chicago, Illinois - St. Patrick's Day - Dyed Green. This is nothing, really. About 80 or so years ago, engineers were hired to make the river run backward. Permanently. For sanitation reasons, I believe.

Above: Not the Haliburton Highlands–though very St. Patricks’ Day in terms of hue.

St. Paddy’s Day – Black Feather Band at Mckecks Restaurant, Haliburton, Ont.

Photo: Canada, eh?

Black Feather Band

March 17 2010 – St. Patricks’ Day

Featuring the incredible local “Black Feather Band”…6-9 pm, free admission, Come early to get a seat and a green pint…..:)

Mckecks Restaurant Photo credit: Canada, eh?

Mckecks Restaurant Recent News

McKecks opens stage to students (recent McKeck’s news – 1.27.10)
Everyone has a little rock star in them and it’s hard to get out of the garage or basement band mode when you live in a small town.

On Jan. 27, at ac: The Blue Line, from 4 to 6 p.m., students from the local schools are invited to the After-School Open Stage Program.

For two hours, kids can come and play their instruments, sing their hearts out and just rock out.

The idea was originally brought to Carl Dixon when he was informed that the local high school had stopped doing their coffee houses that allowed students to show off their talents. There was only one open stage but only a couple students showed up, so Dixon and McKecks decided to hold it off, and try to start the program back up later after renovations and the holidays were finished.

With those two issues out of the way students are allowed to come and show their stuff. Already a few students have contacted McKecks asking if they could come and do an act and no one has been turned down. There will be a $2 fee for each person’s act they would like to do with all the proceeds going towards The Blue Line – a charity run by the restaurant.

If you’re worried about limited space, and would like to reserve a spot for yourself or for your band, you can email Sean Carthew at bookwithsean@gmail.com. If you don’t play an instrument and would just like to sing, you can bring some karaoke music to accompany you and get everyone in the swing of things.

So come on out and show this town what you’ve got. Even if you’re a bit nervous come and see what the action is all about, you might just get motivated enough to jump up on stage.”

Mckecks Restaurant

207 Highland Street
Contact: Sean Carthew or Karen Frybort

Tel: 705-457-3443

Terri and Rick Performa on March 18, 2010 in the Highlands

March 18, 2010

Terri and Rick will be performing two concerts in Haliburton County on March 18th. The first is at the Minden Hills Branch of the Haliburton County Public Library at 10:30am and the second is at the Dysart Branch at 1:30pm. These concerts are free and everyone is welcome.

Contact: Sue Robinson

Tel: 705-457-2241
Email: srobinson@haliburtonlibrary.ca
www.haliburtonlibrary.ca

Food and Fellowship with a St. Patrick’s Day Irish Stew and Biscuit Dinner at the
Minden United Church

March 17, 2010

Come and join us for an evening of food and fellowship! Adults $12, Children, 6-12 yrs. $5, Pre-schoolers free. $30 for Family of 4 or more. Tickets available at Minden PHARMASAVE in advance, or at the door, or by calling 286-2136 or 457-1424.

Minden United Church

21 Newcastle Street Minden

St. Patrick's Day Irish Stew and Biscuit Dinner at the Minden United Church

Contact: Janet Heffer

Tel: 705-286-2136

Email: janet.heffer@gmail.com

Miss Canada International 2010 - Canadian Ambassador to the Teddy Bears of Hope Campaign

(February 12, 2010, Haliburton, ON) The County of Haliburton is excited to announce that Bridget Nickerson, Miss Canada International 2010 will be in the Haliburton Highlands this Family Day Weekend!

A native of Nova Scotia, Miss Nickerson is currently touring across Canada. Miss Canada is strong supporter of giving back to her community and as such, she is the Canadian Ambassador to the Teddy Bears of Hope Campaign.

The Teddy Bears of Hope bring smiles and hope to children all over the globe who are lonely, underprivileged and caught in a web of poverty and despair.

Miss Canada International will attend the Haliburton Highlands Dog Sled Derby at the Pinestone Resort & Conference Centre on Sunday, February 14 where she will be available for media interviews and photos between 10 am and noon. She will also attend the Blue Line Charity Auction at McKeck’s on Sunday from 4 to 6pm. On Monday, she will enjoy some of the great winter activities the Haliburton Highlands has to offer before continuing her journey across Canada.

Thanks to the County of Haliburton, Department of Economic Development, Tourism & Marketing!

This is a  non-paid post in support of the County of Haliburton and the Haliburton Highlands.

Robbie Burns - national poet of Scotland

Whether you’re Scottish or not, it’s always fun to celebrate Robbie Burns Day on January 25th. The day is to celebrate the life and death of Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland who wrote such ditties as Auld Lang Syne and Comin’ Thro’ the Rye, the poem which is said to have inspired J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. He is also known for drinking a lot and womanizing even more, and by the time he died at the ripe old age of 37 in 1796, he had fathered nine children.

While there are no formal rules that dictate how you should celebrate Robbie Burns day, the three staples include whisky, poetry, and everyone’s favourite dish — haggis. Haggis is made by combining a sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs with onions, oatmeal, and mutton fat, stuffing it into a sheep’s stomach, and boiling it in stock. The presentation of the dish at the Burns suppers is a dramatic one at that, and often includes a Highland piper leading a parade of chefs with the haggis, and the recital of Burns’ poem Address to the Haggis. The haggis is then slashed open with a sword and a splash of whisky is poured over top. Yum!

Burns suppers can take place any time around the poet’s birthday on January 25th. If you want to bring out your inner Scot be sure to attend Robbie Burns Night!

Haggis

Robbie Burns Night

Sat. Jan 23 2010
7pm start $12.00 entry — buffet and show

Come out and enjoy a wonderful evening of Highland Dancing preformed by the Mansfield School of Dance and the magnificent sounds of the Haliburton Highlanders Pipes and Drums.

Burns Suppers have been part of Scottish culture for about 200 years as a means of commemorating our best loved bard. And when Burns immortalized haggis in verse he created a central link that is maintained to this day. The ritual was started by close friends of Burns a few years after his death in 1796 as a tribute to his memory. The basic format for the evening has remained unchanged since that time and begins when the chairman invites the company to receive the haggis.

Haliburton Legion
Contact: Visitor Info Centre: 705-286-1777 or 1-800-461-7677
Email: tourism@county.haliburton.on.ca

This post is non-paid, in support of the Haliburton Highlands community.

Haliburton Highlands – A Natural Work of Art

Tourism Information Centre
www.haliburtonholidays.ca
tourism@county.haliburton.on.ca
Tel:705-286-1777 or 1-800-461-7677

Upcoming Events

Free Skating – Wilberforce
Free Skating – Minden Hills
Public Skating – Haliburton
Solstice Samba
Northwood Inn
Yours Outdoors
Pinestone
Pinestone

Free Skating – Wilberforce Arena:
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 from 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 27th, 2009 from 12:30 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 from 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 from 12:30 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Should you have any questions or concerns contact 613-339-2442.

Free Skating -
S.G.Nesbitt Memorial Arena, Minden

Tues., Dec 22nd 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Subway Development-Kenfield Enterprises Ltd.

Wed., Dec 23rd 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Tim Hortons

Thurs., Dec 24th – closed at noon
Fri., Dec 25th – closed
Sat., Dec 26th – closed

Sun., Dec 27th 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Minden Pharmasave

Mon., Dec 28th 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Tim Hortons

Tues, Dec 29th 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Floyd Hall Limited

Wed., Dec 30th 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Minden Pharmasave

Thur., Dec 31st 11:00am-1:00pm sponsored by Tim Hortons

Fri., Jan 1st – closed
For more information please contact the Minden Arena at 705-286-1936

Public Skating – Dysart Arena

Monday, December 21st 11:00-12:30
Tuesday, December 22nd 11:00-12:30
Wednesday, December 23rd 11:00-12:30

Thursday, December 24th No Public Skating
Friday, December 25th No Public Skating
Saturday, December 26th No Public Skating

Sunday, December 27th 12:00- 1:30
Monday, December 28th 11:00-12:30
Tuesday, December 29th 11:00-12:30
Wednesday, December 30th 11:00-12:30
Thursday, December 31st 11:00-12:30

Friday, January 1st No Public Skating
Saturday, January 2nd No Public Skating

Sunday, January 3rd 12:00- 1:30

Price is $2.00 per person.
For further information please contact
the Dysart Arena at 457-2083

Solstice Samba

Winter Solstice (Credit: Photobucket)

December 20, 2009
Celebrate the darkest night of the year by drinking deeply of winter’s magical gifts with winter rumi’nations. Bring a couplet or quatrain of wisdom to guide us out of the dark days into the light. The words may be from Rumi, Hafez, or your own, or from your favourite mystic or poet. Also bring drums or something to beat, stomping feet, and prayers that are sweet. Gaia Centre, Sunday, Dec. 20. 7:00 pm Fire circle RSVP Carol or Paul, info@gaiacentre.org
Visit Website www.gaiacentre.org
Gaia Centre West Guilford
Contact: Carol Tel: 705-754-2427
Email: info@gaiacentre.org
Pre Game Show Live at the Northwood Inn
December 26 2009

LIVE BAND!!! Pre Game Show returns by popular request. Show starts at 10pm.
Visit Website www.northwoodinn.ca

Northwood Inn, Haliburton, Ontario

13588 Hwy 118 Haliburton
Contact: Bonnie Tel: (705) 457-1710
Email: info@northwoodinn.ca

Make Peace with Winter – One Day Sampler Adventure
December 30 2009

Try a little winter. Embrace the winter wonders of the Haliburton Highlands with a full day sampler of unique, fun, and active adventures. You will start the day with dog sledding followed by your choice of snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in the afternoon. Along the way we will indulge in a tasty bush lunch. This fully guided one day package is available with or without accommodation. Please book at least one week in advance.

Visit Website www.yoursoutdoors.ca
Haliburton County Haliburton
Contact: Barrie Martin Tel: 705-754-3436
Email: info@yoursoutdoors.ca
New Year’s Eve Magical Family Gala
December 31 2009

A fun-filled evening for the entire family featuring not one, but two delectible buttets, one decked out and dazzling for Mom & Dad, and one just for the kids. There will be an interactive magician during dinner and live magic show after dinner. Complete with marshmallows and hot chocolate for all. Dinner, show and campfire: adults $59.95, kid’s $28.95, children 5 and under $9.95. To book you reservations call the Pinestone Resort & Conference Centre at 705-457-1800 or 1-800-461-0357. Visit their website at www.pinestone-resort.com
First Night Celebration Dinner
December 31 2009

Join us in Heatherwood Restaurant for an intimate dinner with friends, or just for two. Enjoy a menu planned especially for this evening. Finish the evening off by ringing in the New Year enjoying Highlanders Lounge. (There is no cover charge for the Heather Restaurant dinner guests.)
To reserve contact the Pineston Resort & Conference Centre at 705-457-1800 or 1-800461-0357 or visit their website at www.pinestone-resort.com

Credit:
“From all of us at the Visitor Information Centre for the County of Haliburton we would like to extend warm wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.
See you in 2010.

Sincerely,
Amy Brohm, Ann Lavery, James Stewart and John Stark”

Thanks from me to the above-named staff of What’s Happening this Week in the Haliburton Highlands–the Haliburton Visitor’s Information Centre.

I believe in 2009 they have outdone themselves with the depth and breathe of their highly-informational Highlands Newsletter.

There is quite literally something for everyone with a (pleasantly) surprisingly diverse range of activities that will take you right through winter 2010 in the Haliburton Highlands–all of which you can find out about through reading the newsletter in your email–FREE. I never miss them!

Happy Christmas!

Cyn