Summer In The Hills 2023

2023 FARM FRESH GUIDE INSIDE

CRICKET MAKES ITS PLAY IN SHELBURNE

UP AND AWAY : PERSONAL AIRFIELDS

SEASONS OF LIFE : BETHELL HOSPICE GARDENS FROM POOL TO POND

www.allproroofinginc.ca

www.tumber.ca

www.bramptoncs.org

www.bluediamondpools.ca

FEATURES

30 IN RETROSPECT

On our 30th anniversary, we dig into our archives to reflect on the recurring themes of aggregates and agriculture

32 A CRICKET CLUB GROWS IN SHELBURNE

After soccer, cricket is the world’s most popular sport – and now it’s rapidly taking hold in Dufferin County

BY EMILY DICKSON

42 TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

Inspired by the natural rhythms of life, a host of volunteer gardeners has created a refuge of calm and beauty for the dying and the grieving at Bethell Hospice

BY DON SCALLEN

52 WANDERING DOWNTOWN BROADWAY

BY FISHER MONAHAN

55 MASTER OF THE WORLDS Elite triathlete, car enthusiast and cancer survivor, 75-yearold Bob Knuckey aims to conquer the world – again

BY GAIL GRANT

75 FROM POOL TO POND

How a Mono nature lover transformed her unloved swimming pool into a pond teeming with wildlife

BY EMILY DICKSON

78 SMALL PLANES, BIG SKY

Meet some local pilots who pursue their passion for flying from airfields in their own backyards

BY ANTHONY JENKINS

SPECIAL SECTION

59 HEADWATERS FARM FRESH

This year’s annual guide and map features farms across our region where you’ll find the best locally grown produce and meat, and craft beverages to take home

94 HEADWATERS

A

BY BETHANY LEE

96 OVER

Battling

BY GAIL GRANT

98 AT

BY

TRALEE PEARCE

115 WHAT’S

126 FIND

130 BACK

BY

DYANNE RIVERS

VOLUME 30 NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2023

PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Signe Ball

DEPUTY EDITOR

Tralee Pearce

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Dyanne Rivers

ART DIRECTOR

Kim van Oosterom

Wallflower Design

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Erin Fitzgibbon

Rosemary Hasner

Elaine Li

Susanne McRoberts

Pete Paterson

ILLUSTRATORS

Shelagh Armstrong

Fisher Monahan

Ruth Ann Pearce

Jim Stewart

WRITERS

Johanna Bernhardt

Emily Dickson

Gail Grant

Anthony Jenkins

Bethany Lee

Alison McGill

Dan Needles

Janice Quirt

Tony Reynolds

Nicola Ross

Don Scallen

ON OUR COVER Shelburne cricketers by Rosemary Hasner

REGIONAL

SALES MANAGERS

Roberta Fracassi

Erin Woodley

OPERATIONS

MANAGER

Cindy Caines

ADVERTISING

PRODUCTION

Marion Hodgson

Type & Images

EVENTS & COPY EDITOR

Janet Kerr Dimond

DIGITAL EDITORS

Emily Dickson

Janice Quirt

In The Hills is published quarterly by MonoLog Communications Inc. It is distributed through controlled circulation to households in the towns of Caledon, Erin, Orangeville, Shelburne, Creemore, and Dufferin County.

Annual subscriptions outside the distribution area are $29.95 for 1 year and $53.95 for 2 years (including HST).

© 2023 MonoLog Communications Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction by any means or in any form may be made without prior written consent by the publisher.

For information regarding editorial content or letters to the editor: 519-942-8401 or sball@inthehills.ca.

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(Orangeville, Shelburne, Creemore and areas N of Hwy 9)

Erin Woodley

519-216-3795, erin@inthehills.ca

(Caledon, Bolton, Erin and areas S of Hwy 9)

The ad booking deadline for the autumn (September) issue is Friday, August 4, 2023.

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IS CALEDON THE HAPPIEST CITY IN CANADA?

LIKE MOST EDITORS , I receive a lot of media releases. Most contain worthwhile information about local happenings, but a certain number are random mass mailings from PR companies. Those tend to go straight to trash, but a few weeks ago one of them definitely got my attention. It declared that Caledon is the “happiest city [sic] in Canada.”

The email was a generated by a company that markets real estate data and is a subsidiary of an international real estate software developer. Using various statistical data, it determined that although Caledon did not place first, or even among the top 10, in any of the so-called “happiness” indicators (median income, hours worked, commute times and the like), when all the factors were averaged out, the town was first overall.

The item came sandwiched among the daily diet of Caledon anxieties that flood my inbox, from opposition to the new blasting quarry application in Cataract and the proposed Highway 413 across Caledon’s best farmland to anger over the provincial MZO allowing a 500-acre industrial development on the outskirts of Bolton and the Ford government’s undermining of the Greenbelt and other environmental planning protections that have helped keep some of the development pressures on the town at bay. More recently, the list includes the pending dissolution of Peel, which for better or worse, will force Caledon to fend for itself.

All this to say that several ironic witticisms sprang to mind as I read through the media release, but none could match the headline concocted by the authors themselves: “Caledon Paves the Way.” I don’t know if someone alerted them that the headline was a tad tone-deaf, but the next time I logged on, it had changed, though not really for the better: “Caledon Paves the Yellow Brick Road for More Ontario Cities.”

To be fair, the survey writers did lump together community and environment as one of the categories of happiness. And although it seems they measured that category largely by volume of charitable donations and air quality, they were on to something.

If true happiness is a sense of place, belonging and choice, then it is possible to argue that the very swell of opposition to the existential threats now faced by Caledon’s farms, villages and countryside is in itself a measure of happiness. The citizens of Caledon were once proud to be anointed by another survey as “the greenest town in Ontario.” However perversely, the fact that they are now proud to come together to protect the environment and community they cherish may indeed prove them among the happiest people in Canada.

MEET THREE OF OUR DEDICATED IN THE HILLS TEAM MEMBERS

Dan Needles

Dan Needles’ humour column “Fence Posts” has chronicled country life in these pages since 2012. His works are largely set in the town of Larkspur and Persephone Township, fictional stand-ins for Shelburne and Mono Township where he spent his youth. Dan now lives a few miles north of these hills on a small farm in Nottawa.

A member of the Order of Canada, Dan is a playwright and author whose work – most notably his Walt Wingfield series of stage plays – has been seen on virtually every English-speaking stage in Canada. He received the Leacock Medal for Humour for his novel, With Axe and Flask. His latest book, Finding Larkspur: A Return to Village Life, will be published this fall. It is a humorous reflection on country life past and present, and offers a guide to newcomers to this beautiful part of the world.

Roberta Fracassi

Roberta Fracassi has fond memories of growing up in the hills of Headwaters. And after 19 years caring for patients as a dental assistant – which she describes as her “first love” – Roberta found her calling as a marketing manager at In The Hills. Over the course of 15 years, Roberta has brought her trademark warmth and care to the task of helping hundreds of our advertisers succeed. “I’ve so enjoyed being a part of the small business growth in our area,” she says of her clients in Orangeville, Shelburne, Rosemont and other locations north of Highway 9.

Off the clock, Roberta makes the most out of life with her husband, their two children and her friends – especially when there’s a beach sunset involved. Roberta is also a committed community leader who has given her time to groups including Dufferin Women in Business and 100 Women Who Care Dufferin.

Erin Woodley

In her decade with In The Hills, marketing manager Erin Woodley has applied the energy and focus she needed to win a 1996 Olympic silver medal in synchronized swimming to her work with her loyal advertising clients – in Caledon, Bolton, Erin and other areas south of Highway 9. This was especially true during the turbulence and uncertainty of Covid-19. “I’m proud to have played a role in helping my clients to weather the storm, and to survive and thrive through the pandemic,” says Erin, who has a background in advertising, sales and fundraising.

Erin moved to Orangeville with her husband and two daughters in 2012, and finds it hard to believe they’ll be empty nesters later this year. Not one to stay out of the pool, Erin spends much of her spare time October through March as the volunteer head coach of the Dufferin Dolphins Special Olympics Swim Team.

www.paveco.ltd

Superior paving and property enhancement

Tree reverence

I found the 2011 article “Meetings with Remarkable Trees” [In Retrospect spring ’23] online. It includes a segment on a black walnut tree on Main Street in Alton. I am the current owner of the property and the tree. We had the tree pruned last spring and it’s still in good health – for 190 years old! I have attached a photo from roughly the same angle as was in the article.

Mike Reidy, Alton

I agree that trees are an essential resource [Country Living 101: “Tree Talk” spring ’23], and to back my opinion I’ve planted about 25,000 tree seedlings on a farm I bought for the purpose. They comprise over two dozen kinds, arranged in a managed forest of about 48 acres. Last fall I planted 100 American chestnut seedlings, and last spring 60 seedlings of four varieties. This spring I’ll plant another 60 seedlings, filling in spaces.

Credit Valley Conservation has been very helpful, planting about 1,600 seedlings for me at very low cost. I also bought seedlings from the Grand River Conservation Authority in Cambridge, Somerville Nursery in Everett and from my township, for genetic diversity. Forests Ontario were initially helpful with advice, until they advocated tree-cutting bylaws that are bad for both farmers and foresters.

Spring and fall are not just the best seasons in which to plant, they are the only seasons, as they offer damp, well-watered soil. As for care and maintenance, farmer services such as watering, mulching, watering, grass suppression, fertilizing and watering are essential labours for a large tree planting.

Charles Hooker, East Garafraxa

Post office memories

I have just been fortunate to be handed a copy of your fall ’22 issue. Mention is made of the Amaranth Post Office [Historic Hills: “The Rise and Fall of the Rural Post Office”] in a lovely old brick farm house. My mother, then Lulu Cavell (m. Cain in 1927), taught at Amaranth College for several years up to 1927. Many years later she was still closely acquainted with Florence and May Torrance and their brother, Walter, who wrote A Land Called Amaranth. I lived in Bolton 20 years and now, at 94, live in Penetang. I have a news clipping of my mom standing on the steps of the college.

Ruth Sneath, Penetanguishene

A remarkable, 190-year-old black walnut in Alton.

Teacher Lulu Cavell at Amaranth College in the 1920s.

Writerly kudos

Beautifully written article about my lifelong pal Glenn Carley [“Life is in the Details” spring ’23]. Writer Ellie Eberlee knows her craft! Glenn mentioned your magazine interview just now in an email, which has resulted in me subscribing to your newsletter. It has also ruined my morning plans as I cannot stop leafing through past articles – what a treasure of a magazine. Joel Baker, Sherwood Park, AB

Happy 30th

I received the 30th anniversary issue earlier this week, and it is indeed a beautiful publication. The photography, particularly the front cover, is luminous. For those of us living in the Big Smoke, reading this chapter of In The Hills is a breath of fresh air, so compelling in this post-lockdown time. Congratulations to you and your staff for 30 years of good work.

Harry Lay, Toronto

I’ve been a reader of your magazine since your very first edition (I’ve lived in Orangeville for 34 years), and just wanted to congratulate you, your staff and your magazine. Always enjoy your editorials, and the spring edition’s entry [“A New Decade”] is spot on from my vantage point.

Peter Noce, Orangeville

The magazine always contains valuable content on important issues of interest to the Dufferin-Caledon community. The content is presented in a thoughtful, objective manner based on facts, with some backup of responsible opinions. This was the objective over 30 years ago and obviously remains so.

Joe Grogan, Bolton

A simple beauty from cover to cover. What can l say about the great stories and information about our community. Well done again. Thanks to you all. Dori

Ebel, Orangeville

Editor’s note: Thanks to these and all our readers who offered their congratulations. It’s your support that keeps us going.

Correction

Re: “Artistic Legacy” [spring ’23]. The image I sent was cropped, so it looks as though the glass house (inset) depicted in the article is my work, which it isn’t. It was made by and belongs to Islam Salamah (of Rasmi’s Falafel fame). It would be great if Islam could be credited for that work. My work was the community project and installation, bringing the individual parts together. Debbie

Ebanks, Mulmur

We welcome your comments! For more reader commentary, or to add your own thoughts on any of the stories appearing in this issue, please visit www.inthehills.ca. You can also send your letters by email to sball@inthehills.ca. Include your name, address and contact information. In The Hills reserves the right to edit letters for publication.

BRAD M AC IVER

Painter Brad MacIver’s wistful landscapes and crisp still lifes reveal a knack for the kind of formal composition that settles the eye and encourages a viewer to luxuriate in the subject matter. This instinct comes naturally to the Mulmur artist after a career working as an art director for magazines including Fashion and Gardening Life and, most recently, as the creative director of the LCBO. Brad’s work has an Alex Colville-esque hazy, yet precise, take on everything from beloved pets to a patch of summer sunflowers at their peak. He works from photographs he captures with a future painting in mind. “I’ve dealt with pictures all my life. I see everything in a frame,” says the self-taught painter. “It’s habitual – I can’t stop it.” IG bradmaciverpaintings

Clockwise from top left • Orchard • Jungle • September Garden • September (detail) • Winter Light • all oil on canvas 24" x 30"

HOW TO GET OUT AND MAKE THE MOST OF SUMMER

BY JOHANNA BERNHARDT

Fields of Dreams

The International Plowing Match is a massive five-day celebration of rural living and agriculture held at Bowling Green in Amaranth Township from September 19 to 23. Purportedly the largest outdoor event of its kind in North America, the event is in its 104th year with over 75,000 expected visitors. Competitors plow based on age and experience in different classes, such as horse and mule, jointer and sulky plows, as well as tractors and antique tractors. Get up close with historical displays as well as quilting and antiques exhibits that have a deep connection to Dufferin County. Attendees can also stroll through hundreds of vendor booths including food, artisans, decor, apparel, agricultural equipment and vehicle dealers/manufacturers. Live music rings out from multiple stages. Children can explore hands-on activities, visit engaging exhibits, and learn about environmental science and conservation.

SUMMER FUN AT MANSFIELD OUTDOOR CENTRE

Mansfield Outdoor Centre, a beloved local winter crosscountry ski destination, has quietly become a player in the mountain biking and hiking world. The centre’s wellmaintained private trails are accessible to pass holders all summer long. Get an ampedup taste of the fun June 24, 8 a.m. until dark, at the

POLLINATOR PICKS

Spend the afternoon at Avalon Lavender Farm in Mono for the Mono Pollinator Garden Festival on June 24. Guest speaker and gardening genius Paul Zammit from CBC radio will present “Rethinking Beauty: Inspiring Gardens in a Changing World.” And In the Hills’ resident naturalist Don Scallen says he’ll share the ways in which insects and caterpillars support not only our gardens, but local songbirds as well. Learn how to apply sustainable, pollinator-friendly practices in your own backyard, then stroll through local vendor booths and breathtaking lavender fields. Watch for local food truck Rasmi’s Falafel, too.

On August 12 visit Albion Hills Community Farm off Humber Station Road in Caledon for their Monarch and Pollinator Event, and a day of fun at the farm.

Mud Hero Toronto event. Racers push themselves to finish a 6- or 12-kilometre race through sloppy mud and over 20 obstacles on foot. There’s a kids’ race too. (And outdoor showers, which are a must because finishing in headto-toe mud is kind of the point.)

Ticket holders and racers alike can get into the festival vibe with a beer tent and food trucks.

FORE! PRACTISE THAT SWING

Caledon Country Club on Olde Baseline Road near Inglewood has a fun way to enjoy the sport year-round in any kind of weather with their new golf simulator. Practise your swing on a rainy day while you play some of the most beautiful world-class courses on a curved 11-foot-tall by 17-foot-wide screen. Options include target ranges, chipping and putting greens, competitions, and games like miniputt and window smash. Open to the public.

www.synergyexteriors.ca

THEATRE IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Don’t miss Theatre Orangeville’s Summer Arts Festival, back this year at Mount Alverno Luxury Resort on Heart Lake Road in Caledon, August 11 to 13. There’s a packed lineup of art, music and fun, including Dungee Dragon & the Just Okay Juggler, North (519) Best of Toronto Fringe, Storytime with Fay & Fluffy, and a trademark brunch at The Vista, the resort’s spacious restaurant.

MULTICULTURAL MEETUP

TAKE NOTE A Writer’s Craft

On July 22 writerly types can create your very own handmade journal at a hands-on workshop at Museum of Dufferin. Design your own book with a variety of decorative papers, then put it all together with a proper bookbinding stitch. Beginner-friendly!

SHOP ONLINE FOR A GOOD CAUSE

The Evolve Caledon thrift store funnels 100 per cent of its profits to support several Caledon Community Services programs. While their huge, airy retail space is a destination, they’ve now launched an online shop stocked with clothing, home decor, antiques and sporting goods. (To donate, visit their separate drive-through facility located just down the road from the retail space on Industrial Road, Bolton.)

GARDEN TOUR: PLANT PARADISE COUNTRY GARDENS

Prepare to swoon by touring gardening expert and author Lorraine Roberts’ 24-acre Caledon property. After you meander through her awardwinning botanical gardens and nature trail, don’t miss shopping at her version of a souvenir shop – an organic perennial nursery and garden centre.

Celebrate our area’s growing diversity during a weekend of festivities offered at the Dufferin County Multicultural Event at Museum of Dufferin. On June 23, enjoy light refreshments at the opening of the Unity in Diversity art exhibit. The next day, visitors can take part in steel pan and African drumming demonstrations or join a game of cricket thanks to the Shelburne Cricket Club. Guests can also catch a youth performance of Bhangra dancing, as well as a Sikh cultural performance, and browse local artisan food booths. Althea Alli, who founded the event in 2018 and now runs the Dufferin County Multicultural Foundation, says the event is a way for the community to come together and share, celebrate and educate each other about who we are and our traditions. “It helps to create that foundation for our youth, and allows for our older generations to celebrate and impart knowledge,” she says. “As I have always said, music, art and food are international languages and connections that create powerful bonds.”

concert news

Feel the healing benefits of music and community amid a celebration of peace at the Coming Home Festival in Amaranth August 11 to 13. This festival along the Mud River includes drumming circles, folk, rock and soul music, artisan vendors, food and even campsites. Weekend and day passes are available online.

Level up your health and wellness knowledge at the Elysian Festival in Orangeville August 12 to 13. Expect a blend of yoga, meditation and alternative practices such as divine channelling, tarot and ecstatic dance. This is a ticketed event, but it’s free to walk through the vendor section.

Dungee Dragon & the Just Okay Juggler and Storytime with Fay & Fluffy.

The Brampton and Caledon Community Foundation is the choice of individual donors, philanthropists and family estates

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The Brampton and Caledon Community Foundation provides individual endowment funds in the name of the Donor

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An endowment fund at the Brampton and Caledon Community Foundation will support the charity of your choice in perpetuity

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The Brampton and Caledon Community Foundation currently holds over 100 endowment funds valued at approximately $ 11 million... and has allocated over $7 million to worthy charities since inception

• Support charities in our community Today...Tomorrow...Forever by creating your legacy and your permanent endowment fund at the Brampton and Caledon Community Foundation.

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FINDING OUR WAY AROUND THIS NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD

BY DAN NEEDLES • ILLUSTRATED BY SHELAGH ARMSTRONG

I USED TO HAVE TO DRIVE TWO HOURS TO Toronto to feel like I wasn’t making enough money. Now I just have to drive into town. Something has happened over the last three years to transform this place.

In 2021, the growth rate in small-town Canada outpaced that of major cities for the first time on record. This was partly due to stalled immigration during the pandemic, but it was also driven by people who discovered that working from home was something they could do anywhere. My own neighbourhood’s population has increased by 25 per cent, driving real estate values up, and giving us our first taste of rush hour and occasional cases of road rage. Real estate booms and busts have come and gone here several times over the last 50 years, but they were fever dreams fuelled by waves of recreational buyers, weekenders and retired people, and always came to a crashing halt with any hiccup in the economy. This current wave is proving far more durable and the first to bring us young couples with children.

What to make of this sudden influx of city people? The clash of cultures is dramatic. The main street has been completely boutiqued and bistroed. In the old family diner the linoleum, Arborite and Pyrex has been replaced with chrome, steel and glass, and a giant Italian espresso machine has displaced the grill. Wait times for hospital surgeries rival those for road construction projects. An army of officials enforces dog licences, burn permits, cycling and recycling habits, and septic tank repairs. We have a dog park and an arboretum.

Older residents mutter darkly that the world they knew is turning into the cookie-cutter world of the

city. But there are strong forces at work preventing that from happening. The small town is still very much a glass house. Eyes are everywhere. People who grew up enjoying the anonymity of the city find they must learn to account for their behaviour when they see the same people every day in the grocery aisle. Like many famous characters in Thomas Hardy’s novels of rural Victorian England, they begin to feel an uncomfortable pressure to lead a blameless life. Or at least to hesitate before honking

more than what unites us. We are townies or we are rural, we are professional or we are blue collar, we are seasonal or we are permanent. Some of us are reasonable and the rest are idiots. We tend to resist supervision, we suffer from low risk perception and we’re oddly superstitious. The only thing we agree about is Toronto.

Anthropologists tell us the human species has spent more than a hundred thousand years living in the village. It’s where the oldest part of our brain, the limbic system, grew and adapted to become a sophisticated instrument for reading the faces of other humans and figuring out how we might co-operate to find food, shelter and protection. By comparison, the frontal cortex, which helps us do our taxes, drive a car and download cat videos, is a very recent aftermarket addition, like a sunroof.

the horn. Or maybe just to wave on occasion and not to be surprised that the expensive espresso machine hasn’t worked since it was installed.

Novelists have been clobbering small towns for about two hundred years. Legions of writers from Hardy to William Faulkner decided villages made great settings for bleak novels, and every generation since has viewed the village as a place most young people want to escape.

Rural people are historically practical, tolerant, resourceful – and some find us dryly amusing –but we are also a fractious and disputatious tribe, slow to bless and quick to judge. We are divided by

Many of us have decided our limbic systems need more attention than they have been getting recently and that may be one of the reasons we have found our way back here. It’s a healthy step and our tolerance may prove to be our most useful quality as we navigate this new place and time. To make any village work properly, it must offer us the opportunity to hear and be heard, to receive and grant forgiveness of human nature and circumstance. In the end, this is the only relief we ever get.

Instead of grousing, we should consider ourselves lucky when providence hands us yet another chance to get it right.

Playwright and humorist Dan Needles lives in Nottawa. His latest book, Finding Larkspur: A Return to Village Life, will be released by Douglas & McIntyre in September.

People who grew up enjoying the anonymity of the city find they must learn to account for their behaviour when they see the same people every day in the grocery aisle.

In retrospect

This year In The Hills celebrates its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, in each issue of 2023, we’re digging into archives to take a look back at some of the themes that have populated our pages over the past three decades – stories that reflect how the pleasures and concerns of our special countryside community have evolved over a generation. The full articles featured on these pages can be read online at inthehills.ca

agricultureThirty years ago, a casual observer might not have been faulted for thinking farming was a dying industry in the hills. But much has changed since then. Not only has a host of new young farmers started farm-to-table operations, but industrial farming has likewise been reinvigorated by new technology, the push for food sovereignty and an emphasis on land sustainability.

One might describe the Ontario farm crisis thus: A customer puts $1.35 on a grocery counter for a loaf of bread. Powerful food retailers, processors, and grain companies take $1.30, leaving the farmer a nickel. Powerful energy, fertilizer, chemical, and machinery companies take six cents out of the farmer’s pocket. Taxpayers return the penny.

“Healthy soil is so much more resistant to extreme weather events such as drought and heavy rain,” [Jamie Richards] says, explaining that a thriving and diverse biomass is like a giant sponge, able to absorb excessive rain and hold moisture during dry spells.

Bert Tupling: Educate the consumer about what she’s buying. She’s not buying by the penny. She’s buying by quality. I’d like to say to the consumer, “Would you please verify where that product comes from? If you have to have it, go ahead and buy it, but here’s a local product that we feel is superior – and pay me accordingly.”

Dairy farmer Art Bracken stops the tractor at the end of his long farm lane to greet the mail carrier. He sifts through the mail she hands him. “All junk mail,” he says with disgust. But one envelope catches his eye. He opens it and scans the contents: “Oh, lordy, another Jersey sale. Another farmer’s selling out.” Art shakes his head, not so much over the unstable economics of farming, but because the letter brings another sign that a way of life is slowly slipping away.

aggregate mining

As another aggregate battle brews in Caledon, opponents of the Votorantim blasting quarry might well take heart from previous epic showdowns fought and won in Headwaters. The battles over the Rockfort quarry in Caledon and the mega quarry in Melancthon were prolonged and costly, but in the end it was the never-say-die citizens’ coalitions who prevailed.

2011

It’s as if by dropping the spectre of a quarry on this place, this magical high point of southern Ontario from which rivers flow south and north to the Great Lakes, and deeming it to have a sparse rural population and no features worthy of protection, [The] Highland [Companies] started a wave of land-love and moral outrage that swept all the way to Queen’s Park and shows no sign of slowing down.

Dreading the behemoth bearing down on his community, [resident David Sylvester] says, ‘When there is a hard application with all the devastating details before us, it will feel like a tsunami, especially for those who weren’t prepared for the gravity and immensity of this project.’

It doesn’t take a PhD to recognize that as long as the province continues to push for local supply while encouraging population growth, pressure to approve applications such as Rockfort, despite its environmental and social impacts, will continue to mount.

Cropland, aggregate, rail, water, wind. It’s hard to imagine a list more defining of the preoccupations of our times. But what happens when all those elements converge in one community, courtesy of one developer? Is it a bright vision of a sustainable future, or crass “rural blockbusting” set to devastate farmland and decimate a community? In Melancthon, the battle lines are drawn.

Local residents, understandably suspicious of yet another investment company buying up land in the area, waited for the other shoe to drop. After all, Highland [Companies] had made its first purchases in 2006 and had taken nearly three years to fully reveal its quarry plans. Bonnefield Financial’s intentions, however, seem pure. The company’s stated goal – “to preserve farmland for farming” – seems to signal a happy ending to the famous fight to stop the mega quarry.

A CRICKET CLUB GROWS IN SHELBURNE

BY EMILY DICKSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSEMARY HASNER

It was an idyllic summer day a few years ago when Shelburne’s Ahsen Siddiqui, a lifelong cricket enthusiast, was watching two of his three boys playing the game in the street with the neighbour’s kids, using just a cricket bat and a tennis ball. The scene brought up nostalgic feelings of growing up with his Pakistani family in Saudi Arabia and doing the same for hours – a common sight in cricket-loving nations.

Ahsen remembered the excitement and pride of playing competitively after joining the ranks of the Jeddah Cricket League (now the Jeddah Cricket Association) and the National Cricket League. And as he watched his boys mimic his own fast-bowling style and run back and forth between two folding chairs that functioned as makeshift wickets, he knew they needed a safe place to play away from the traffic. But where?

He had heard that other nearby cities, such as Mississauga, Brampton and Barrie, were investing heavily in the game, and began to wonder if he could find a sports field in his town that would be suitable. His imagination and enthusiasm took flight; if enough people were interested in playing and there was a good turnout, they could perhaps gather a team or two with uniforms, equipment, matches and even community events – in other words, form a real cricket club.

“Cricket is a special game that’s played all over the world, second only to soccer,” Ahsen explains, bubbling with excitement. “It’s a game with a rich history that spans so many countries. And we are a growing community here in Shelburne with people from England, India, Pakistan, South Africa and so on. We could see something was missing, and that we had a unique opportunity to bring the game here.”

So Ahsen and a handful of supporters got to work, and it turned out there were indeed enough people interested. One of those people was Creg Parker, who grew up attending school opposite Sabina Park, Jamaica’s National Cricket Stadium, but whose sport was soccer. He didn’t try cricket until a few years ago when one of his Shelburne neighbours invited him to a friendly match and he was introduced to Ahsen.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

We live in the land of hockey and lacrosse, but cricket is the world’s second most popular sport after soccer – and it’s taking hold in Dufferin County.

ON OUR COVER A member of the Shelburne Cricket Club Gladiators team protects his wicket in summer 2022.

RIGHT The Knights, in maroon, and Warriors, in purple, face off in a Shelburne Cricket Club match in summer 2022 in KTH Park. Knights runner Tabish Taufiq faces his teammate, Knights striker Abdul Rashid, and Warriors wicketkeeper Leeroy Foster across the pitch.

cricket terminology

Here are some of the most common terms:

innings one team’s turn to bat or bowl; innings is spelled with an ‘s’ whether singular or plural

overs games are divided into a certain number of overs where the bowler bowls six times to the batter

striker the batter facing the bowler

fast bowling when bowlers sprint and throw the ball at high speed

spin bowling when bowlers throw the ball in a spinning angle

howzat! (how is that) cricket appeal the act of a player or players on the fielding team appealing to an umpire for a decision regarding whether a batter is out or not. An umpire may not rule a batter out unless the fielding side asks for a decision.

century a score of 100 or more runs by a single batter in a game wicketkeeper the player who stands behind the wicket to catch the ball

death rattle the dreaded sound of the ball breaking the wicket when a batter is bowled out

test match played by the highest level teams in which competition can last five days

TOP Shelburne Cricket Club president Ahsen Siddiqui keeps his eye on the ball as he plays the striker position for the Gladiators last summer.

ABOVE The club’s 2023 equipment includes regulation pink leather balls used in T25 competition. The colour of the ball changes depending on the style of play. In T20 games, players use a white ball. The women’s teams play with a yellow ball.

RIGHT Knights player Dhruv Ramavat preps for a game.

At the time, Steve Anderson was running to be the town’s deputy mayor and the cricket crew got to chatting with him about the possibility of a proper cricket pitch in town. When elected in 2018, Steve proposed the idea to town council, and it granted Ahsen and Creg a temporary home –one of the baseball diamonds in KTH Park on the south end of town.

Securing the diamond was a great start, but it takes some preparation to get the field ready. Cricket is played on a large oval field with a 22-yard-long flat strip of ground in the centre known as the pitch. The pitch has to be hard, so before each game the ground needs to be wetted, stamped and rolled.

“It takes us about an hour just to get the pitch ready,” laughs Creg. “But we aren’t complaining.”

Whatever they are lacking in a facility, Ahsen says, they are determined to make up for with good old-fashioned hard work and discipline.

Each game day, a different team comes out to help set up.

After the ground is readied, they set up the wickets at each end of the pitch: three vertical “stumps” (sticks) with two wooden “bails” (small sticks) lying horizontally on top.

In the style of the game played in Shelburne, there are two innings and a game can run anywhere from two to five hours. Each “innings” (the word is spelled with an ‘s’ whether singular or plural) sees one team at bat and one “bowling” (pitching), with the goal being to get as many runs as possible. That sounds simple, but to the uninitiated the game can often appear as though it’s being played from multiple angles. (See sidebar, page 39.)

The club held its first few local matches in the summer of 2019, even though they didn’t quite have enough players on either side. But as word got out their numbers grew to 17 within a year, giving them more than enough for a full team of 11, which they dubbed the Shelburne Gladiators. In

addition to local games, the Gladiators started playing exhibition matches against the Mississauga Ramblers in 2020, sometimes at KTH Park and sometimes at the Ramblers’ home field. “When we went to play in Mississauga, we walked out into this pristine field and were just in awe,” muses Creg. “That’s what we aim to have in Shelburne one day.”

Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, they still managed to organize socially distanced games, giving people a much-needed outlet for socializing and physical exercise. “Then, when things got more back to normal in 2021, it just exploded and we knew it was time to make it official,” explains Ahsen.

They registered the Shelburne Cricket Club as a nonprofit organization with Ahsen as president and Creg as vice-president. (All fees and donations received go back to the club for equipment and uniforms or for community outreach events.) They also now had enough players to add a second team, the Shelburne Knights. The SCC was officially up and running.

Unbeknownst to Ahsen and Creg, however, this wasn’t the first Shelburne Cricket Club. Not long after they started the club, they were contacted by the Elsdon family. Peter and Rosemarie Elsdon were a British couple who arrived in the area in 1965. Peter brought with him a love of England’s national sport and was one of the founders of the Orangeville Cricket Club in 1974 with Rosemarie chipping in as scorekeeper.

Peter had seen in the news that a “new” cricket club had been formed in Shelburne. However, he had a book by Shelburne historian John Rose that showed the original Shelburne Cricket Club was inaugurated way back in 1893, but had sadly faded away. Peter passed away in May 2021, and before Rosemarie died in October that same year she offered Peter’s collection of

“Cricket is a special game that’s played all over the world, second only to soccer. It’s a game with a rich history that spans so many countries.”

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cricket memorabilia – including old posters, game scorecards, mascots and medals – to Ahsen and Creg, who say they were humbled to receive them. They in turn donated many of the artifacts to the Museum of Dufferin.

Now, 130 years after its first iteration, Creg and Ahsen are confident the club will survive and thrive. In 2022 the men’s league expanded from two to four teams with the addition of the Samurai and Warriors – and the Warriors won the league championship in 2022. (This year Ahsen plays for the Warriors and Creg plays for the Gladiators.) The club also started two women’s teams, the Angels and the Valkyrie in 2022 – and the club has launched a soccer league to boot. For its 2023 season the roster is 160 men and women.

“Being there from day one and seeing that growth has been very satisfying,” says Creg. “I want to see the club continue to grow. We’ve met a lot of people along the way, and built up a community where we can have fun and enjoy playing because cricket is a game that’s for everybody.”

The season kicks off every year with an opening ceremony in May, followed by weekly practices held on Wednesdays and matches every weekend until the season closes in October.

This year the club’s social-mediafriendly theme is all about taking cricket to the “#NextLevel” with three main areas of focus: mental health, women’s inclusion, and multiculturalism and diversity. Anyone attending a game will see the teams do indeed represent a United Nations of players, many of whom hail from cricket-loving nations such as Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, Pakistan and the West Indies, all of which were first introduced to “the gentleman’s game” while under British colonial rule and went on to dominate cricket on the world stage.

“In our club we have at least 10 different nationalities playing under the flag of Canada,” says Ahsen. “Everyone is welcome here. We sometimes get people coming out who

are from countries where cricket isn’t popular, but that is not a problem. Even if you have never played before, we will support you, coach you, and make sure you learn how to play and have a great time.”

And having a great time is part of the mental health push. Creg touched on how one of the members of their management team, Zaid Baig, told them he had been going through some tough times and being part of the club gave him a feeling of being accepted and valued (his poignant story was related on a CBC segment, available online). There are also several senior citizens who wanted to play, but were no longer able to. They were invited to participate as umpires, commentators, scorers and mentors.

And the SCC is working hard to ensure it is welcoming to women too. “Cricket is not just an old boy’s club; we know that lots of women are interested in playing instead of just watching from the sidelines,” says Ahsen, whose wife, Maira Quraishi, plays. In 2022 the club held its first women’s exhibition game, sponsored by the Dufferin Muslim Centre and Trillium Ford. “It got competitive real fast!” Creg quips, adding that his wife, Simone McCalla-Parker, participates too.

Alethia O’Hara-Stephenson, founder of the Dufferin County Canadian Black Association (also the cricket club’s very first sponsor), joined in 2022 and now, as the captain of the Valkyrie, she says she’s thrilled to see her peers challenge themselves by learning a new sport usually dominated by men.

“There aren’t many women’s cricket teams, so this is a valuable opportunity to develop leadership skills and self-confidence. We even have some new junior players, like Olivia and Abby, both of whom are in elementary school and will be playing with us for the first time. I’m proud to be part of the game’s growth in Shelburne.” To help attract younger players, one of the SCC’s rules is every men’s team must have two juniors under the age of 16, a requirement they hope to extend to the women’s league as well. The club’s fundraising activities include Biryani & BBQ days, and their most popular event, a classic British-style afternoon tea, mimics the intermission festivities at high-

level “test” matches. “At every test match there is a 20-minute tea break for players between innings. It has a nice touch of class and we wanted to bring that tradition here to attract families to come, watch a game and enjoy,” says Ahsen. Everyone gathers under white tents – dressed up, including fascinator hats and fedoras – for afternoon tea with biscuits, cookies and sandwiches. (Watch for 2023 dates at shelburne cricketclub.com)

As the house league season winds down, an SCC selection committee chooses 25 of their best players for a town team, the Shelburne Stars, who compete against other nearby towns and cities, including Orillia, Mississauga, Alliston, Hamilton and Brampton. The next step in the development of the SCC is this year’s inaugural Dufferin County Cup Premium T20 Cricket Tournament. Teams will be invited to play against the Shelburne Stars in September and October. “But this has opened up a

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“Everyone is welcome here

… Even if you have never played before, we will support you, coach you, and make sure you learn how to play and have a great time.”

Striker Samir Patel, in his Shelburne Stars uniform, connects with the ball at the opening of this year’s season in KTH Park in May.

cricket for newbies

Feeling stumped about the rules of cricket? Here’s a quick intro to the basics of play.

A cricket match involves two teams of 11 players each competing on an oval field with a rectangular pitch in the middle. A match has two innings where one team bats while the other bowls and fields. After the first innings they switch roles.

The goal of every game is to get as many runs as possible.

The SCC men’s league is playing T25 (as opposed to previous years’ T20 style), which means each innings has 25 overs in which a bowler throws the ball six times, for 150 balls bowled per innings. When one over is complete, another bowler comes in. The women’s league plays T15 (90 balls per innings).

Two batters stand at either end of the pitch, one in front of each wicket. The bowler faces one batter (the striker) at one wicket in front of the wicketkeeper. A second batter (a nonstriker) is at the other end.

The bowler throws the ball to try and knock down the opposing team’s wicket. If the ball hits the wicket, the batter is out – and a replacement batter comes out. (There are many other ways the batter can be called out while at bat, too.)

If the batter hits the ball, the two batters run back and forth between the wickets to get in as many runs as they can while the fielders try to catch the ball. One run is counted when the two teammates successfully make it to their opposite wicket.

If a fielder catches the ball before it hits the ground, the batter is out. Otherwise the fielder can throw to the wicketkeeper in the hope of beating the batters to inside the relevant crease markings at the wicket (much like baseball). Or they can throw to another fielder who is close to the other wicket to do the same (a bit risky as fielders aren’t equipped with the same catching glove the wicketkeeper has). An even riskier move? Throwing the ball directly at the wicket to topple it and put the batter out.

Whichever batter (original striker, replacement or original nonstriker) ends up at the batting wicket becomes the striker.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

whole Pandora’s box,” laughs Ahsen, “because in order to host more of these matches, ultimately we will need a proper cricket field.” The SCC is now working with the Town of Shelburne to create an official cricket field, which the club hopes will be ready for the 2024 season.

Ahsen notes that across Ontario similar initiatives have been built or are in the works. Nearby King City is home to the Maple Leaf Cricket Club, which has one of only two cricket grounds in Canada approved to host One Day International matches, the official game format used for the Cricket World Cup. Last year the city of London opened its first full-size regulation cricket grounds, and Hamilton is building a second cricket field. And recently Brampton announced it is exploring proposals to build a multimillion-dollar state-ofthe-art cricket stadium.

“We are a small town, but if we can host cricket matches in Shelburne and bring players and spectators, it gives the town and Dufferin County the opportunity to boost its tourism, attract visitors, and bring

much-needed revenue into the local economy,” says Ahsen.

The future certainly looks bright for the SCC, with a permanent field, more teams, competitions, fun events, and even a fall black-tie award ceremony at Hockley Valley Resort – all while Ahsen, Creg, and other members of the management team juggle family lives and busy day jobs. Ahsen is a senior manager in global IT at PepsiCo, and Creg has worked at UPS’ automotive parts department for 17 years.

“I only get about three hours of sleep at night,” Ahsen admits.

“But once everything is flying by itself, I’ll have time to rest. Now is the time to work hard. We are very proud to carry on the legacy that was started back in 1893. But this time, the Shelburne Cricket Club will not fade away. We are here to stay.”

Emily Dickson is a writer and editor living in Orangeville.

“We are very proud to carry on the legacy that was started back in 1893. But this time, the Shelburne Cricket Club will not fade away. We are here to stay.”

Shelburne Cricket Club president Ahsen Siddiqui, left, and vice-president Creg Parker in front of a club scoreboard before a game begins.

INSPIRED BY THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF LIFE, A HOST OF GARDENERS HAS CREATED A REFUGE OF CALM AND BEAUTY FOR THE DYING AND THE GRIEVING – AND THOSE WHO CARE FOR THEM – AT BETHELL HOSPICE

BY DON SCALLEN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSANNE McROBERTS

Allister Taylor knows loss. Over a brief span he dealt with the deaths of a younger brother, older sister, a cousin and his beloved wife, Rita. Coping with a deep well of grief, he turned to the bereavement services at Bethell Hospice in Inglewood for support. There he discovered the gardens that became his destination of tranquil refuge.

Allister visits the Bethell Hospice gardens throughout the year where he relaxes on a bench amid floral beauty and birdsong. He finds the gardens loveliest in the spring when the daffodils bloom and quotes Wordsworth: “A host of golden daffodils / Beside the lake, beneath the trees / Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

Allister has great affection for the hospice gardens and, in fact, with the whole palliative care concept the Bethell Hospice so aptly embodies. He donates to the hospice and has purchased two trees for the gardens, one in memory of his late wife, the other simply to support the gardens’ environmental vision.

The hospice gardens first glinted in the imaginations of a committee of staff members and volunteers back in 2010. Today a team of dedicated volunteers continues to work the soil at the gardens. Two of the principal volunteers are firmly planted in the horticultural world. Sheilagh Crandall, along with her sisters and daughter, Sarah, operates Mount Wolfe Farm in Caledon, while Susanne McRoberts nurtures magic in her Belfountain garden, featured in the spring 2022 issue of this magazine.

That original committee balked at an initial plan to landscape the space in a formal style populated by the exotic perennials that typify most Ontario gardens. Instead, they favoured a more naturalistic style leaning to native plant species that would support birds, bees and butterflies. To this end the first iteration of the gardens was established.

Gardening, however, is a capricious pursuit. Longtime CBC gardening guru Ed Lawrence, now retired, captured the yin and yang of gardening perfectly with the title of his bestselling book, Gardening: Grief and Glory

open out to expansive gardens that surround three sides of the building. In this garden at the back, the blue spikes of Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ and ‘May Night’ mingle with the ball-shaped blooms of various alliums.

BOTTOM The cheerful egg-shaped blooms of Allium sphaercephalon; a bee gathers pollen from Silphium perfoiatum, know commonly as cup plant; hundreds of daffodils brighten the garden in early spring.

TOP Residents’ rooms at Bethell Hospice

TOP The pretty blue heads of Allium caeruleum bob near the gazebo.

LEFT In July, nodding onions (Allium cernuum) arch gracefully in front of the tall white spikes of Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum).

BOTTOM In late summer, the courtyard pergola in the centre of the back border is surrounded by bright yellow blooms, including the reaching tangle of Prairie Dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum).

By 2018, Sheilagh, Susanne and the landscaping team were experiencing a considerable dose of gardening grief. Pernicious invasives were taking over – thistle, black medic, bird’s foot trefoil – pushing out the desired plants. So they asked Peter Fuller, a native plant expert and, at the time, owner of Fuller Native and Rare Plants in Belleville, to weigh in. His advice was jaw-dropping: Start over!

It took a while for Susanne and the others to digest this stark directive, but they reluctantly agreed it had merit. To realize the initial vision of sustainable, naturalistic gardens, they would need to start from scratch. Well almost. Desirable perennials would be set aside and replanted. Everything else went to the compost pile.

A daunting task

But now faced with an intimidating expanse of bare, compacted soil laced with an amalgam of stones and construction debris, the daunting task of a garden rebuild loomed. And if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a landscape committee, a dedicated cadre of volunteers, a supportive administration and generous donations to make spectacular four-season gardens. Importantly, all levels of the Bethell Hospice community, including then board chair Lynn Dobson, vice-chair John Palmer, and previous interim executive director Debbie Davis, contributed time and effort to the project. Elizabeth Birnie, daughter of Lorna Bethell, the founding visionary of the hospice, also played a key role. Lots of compost and good earth were called for. Enter Paul de Wet whose mother passed away at Bethell Hospice in 2016. Paul and Above and Beyond Landscaping, where he is director, donated soil, plants and, critically, labour. Paul’s generous support for the hospice gardens is a very visible example of volunteers giving back to the hospice where loved ones have spent their final days.

Anita Schenk is another volunteer linked by grief and gratitude to Bethell Hospice. Her husband passed away at Bethell in his 50s, and Anita has since become a vital hospice fundraiser

and champion of the gardens. She understands plants, having grown up in a family that operated a nursery in Belfountain. As one of her fundraising initiatives, she recently organized a curling bonspiel, with half the proceeds going to the hospice.

Anita tells a poignant story that captures one of the reasons she’s such a passionate garden booster. “While I was weeding one summer, I noticed a very upset little girl pacing the garden with a gentleman who was likely her dad. The pair would stop occasionally, and the father would point out a flower in the garden. Eventually their pacing became slower and more mindful. I was reminded of the peace and tranquility I experienced during beautiful mornings in my husband Dave’s room, looking out the expansive picture windows.”

Anita is joined by many other people who value the gardens and keep them thriving. There is Gerry Crake, the hospice’s maintenance co-ordinator –a no-nonsense jack-of-all-trades with an uncanny resemblance to Woody Harrelson. “He plants trees, shrubs, cuts back the perennial stems in early spring and manages irrigation during drought,” says Susanne. “He built our distinctive pergola where visitors and volunteers find shade. He’s the guy that makes everything work. He really cares.”

And then there is the indefatigable Neil Morris, a weekly volunteer at Bethell Hospice since its inception. To Susanne and Sheilagh, Neil is indispensable. Neil does a lot of the grunt work. “I’m stubborn enough to shovel through the hardpack,” he says. Neil is also the gardens’ tree expert. Nicola Ross, an In The Hills writer and author of the bestselling Loops and Lattes series of hiking books, regularly taps into Neil’s expertise whenever she comes across a puzzling woody specimen in the field.

Mix of natives

By 2019 the vision for the gardens, as reimagined by Sheilagh, Susanne and Luyse Groulx, another long-term member of the Bethell landscape committee, had been largely achieved – a mix of natives and well-behaved complementary non-natives that offered a continuum of bloom and, as important, are extremely attractive

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to insects and pollinators. Neil cites this complementary relationship by lauding both the rare native mountain mint (Pycnanthemum incanum) and non-natives like woodland sage (Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’) as “insect magnets.”

Everything was humming along swimmingly in 2019 and into 2020. And then came Covid. Many of the older volunteers found themselves on the outside looking in, classed as vulnerable and told, for their own good, to stay away. A whirlwind volunteer recruitment effort was called for and hospice volunteer co-ordinator Kat Powell issued a plea for help.

“Women Who Weed”

Twenty-nine younger volunteers stepped into the breach and a schedule was prepared to ensure social distancing in the gardens. The new volunteers included several members of the Credit Forks Garden Club, under the banner “Women Who Weed,” along with a team of stalwart gardeners from Inglewood led by Marty Harrison. Training provided by Susanne, Sheilagh, and Anita had to happen remotely, and though often inconvenient, it worked. The new, improved naturalistic gardens were in capable hands. So many people doing so much good.

That goodness is embedded in the story of John Doughty who was a resident of Bethell Hospice. John was one of the founders of the Humber Valley Heritage Trail Association and a man who lived to canoe. In fact, he is part of Bethell lore as the only resident to be collected by a family member during his hospice stay for a canoeing outing. His son Angus and daughterin-law Sian spirited him out one day.

According to his wife Susan, the gardens gave John the opportunity to escape his room. They didn’t substitute for the rock, forest and lakes of his beloved Algonquin, but they offered access to a microcosm of the wild just outside his door. Susan would wheel him about the gardens, and they’d settle on a garden bench and bask in the sun. Susan knew that while John yearned to be over the hills and

far away, the gardens cushioned the impossibility of that hope.

After being sent home following his first stint in Bethell Hospice because he refused to die, John was readmitted months later and passed away in August 2019. He was escorted out the front door, draped, as is Bethell tradition, in a quilt from his room. By his side rested a canoe paddle.

Susan was the gardener in their 58 years of marriage and admits that the trees and flowers of the Bethell gardens were likely a greater comfort to her than to John. That admission affirms the value of the gardens to a broad constituency – not only to the residents

but also to family members, volunteers and staff. The benefits to staff were articulated by Peggy Chi, a landscape architect with a PhD from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She came to the hospice in 2019 to speak about the positive effects nearby nature confers on healthcare providers: reduced stress, lower blood pressure, improved alertness and increased job satisfaction.

Peggy Chi’s presentation was the impetus for establishing “The Secret Garden” at Bethell Hospice, a beautiful sitting area embraced by native trees and shrubs where staff can decompress

Broker

TOP Come fall, the view from the library window reveals waves of golden grasses rippling around the gazebo.

CENTRE Brilliant red nannyberries (Viburnum lentago) are tempting treats for birds. Year-round, the Secret Garden provides a quiet respite for staff and volunteers.

BOTTOM In winter, the seed heads of allium and faded blooms of asters sparkle with a frosting of snow.

The gardens are allowed to progress naturally through the passage of the seasons, displaying the particular beauty of each phase… from spring freshness to summer exuberance, to autumn glow, to winter quiet. Promise of renewal and legacy is held in the seeds that persist even in the resting winter garden.”

Taking solace

I love her phrase “displaying the particular beauty of each phase.” There is beauty in the spring, summer, autumn and winters of our own lives. Though beset with challenges, these stages also offer joy and fulfillment, especially if nurtured by friendship, loving families and supportive communities.

In the winter of our lives, we reflect on our successes and failures, and take solace in the continuity of existence, knowing that when we’re gone, our legacy will continue through the relationships we’ve built with the living. Even if we don’t leave behind children and grandchildren, we can take heart that through our actions and deeds we’ve effected positive change in the world.

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in a sanctuary of their own.

A sign at the hospice, with text written by Susanne, shares the philosophy of the gardens project: “The Gardens at Bethell Hospice are intentionally designed in a naturalistic style … inspired by the patterns of nature.” Susanne then cites the gardens’ ecological benefits which include “wildlife and biodiversity value; requiring low resource inputs such as water, fertilizer and time.” And then, apropos the hospice setting, she touches on the value of the gardens as a metaphor for the trajectory of life. “This [naturalistic] style embraces the full cycle of life.

The creation of the Bethell Hospice gardens is part of that positive change in our corner of the world – testimony to what can be accomplished when a community of caring individuals acts in accordance with their better angels. Though all of us will die, spring’s eternal promise will once again summon a host of daffodils to flutter and dance in the breeze, “continuous as the stars that shine / And twinkle on the milky way.”

Don Scallen will present a talk called “Insects in the Garden: Ecological Stars” at the Mono Pollinator Garden Festival at Avalon Lavender Farm in Mono on the afternoon of June 24. See details on page 25. Read more of Don’s observations on local flora and fauna in his “Notes from the Wild” at inthehills.ca

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THE BEST BITES OF SUMMER

BY JANICE QUIRT

Spotlight: The Wood Smoke Shack

The Wood Smoke Shack is tucked away in the quiet north Mulmur village of Honeywood, but their secret is out. Head barbecue master Scot Robinson and his wife, Meghan Harrington, who creates delectable sides that stand up to the meat, soft launched their weekendsonly food truck last fall to positive reviews. They opened again in May. Enjoy a gourmet picnic of slowsmoked brisket with a side of bacon corn or dive into Scot’s personal favourite, pork belly burnt ends, which are essentially smoked cubes of bacon. Don’t eat red meat? The low-and-slow smoked chicken is for you. “Just about everything we cook has been made by trial and error –we aren’t afraid to try new things,” says Scot, adding that the idea evolved from barbecue competitions among their friends. While the food truck is stationary, the Wood Smoke Shack does cater locally. Scot says they opened in Honeywood because of a lack of nearby food options. Towns farther away have wholeheartedly embraced them, too. “The whole community comes by. We see folks from Dundalk to Alliston, Collingwood to Orangeville – not to mention those passing through the area,” says Scot. “The local communities of Mulmur and Melancthon have been so wonderful in helping me get this started and continuing their support.”

WOOD SMOKE SHACK: ELAINE LI, CRAVE AND CAPTURE / BBQ SAUCE: LANDMAN GARDENS AND BAKERY

Scot Robinson tends to brisket, pork belly and chicken in an enormous smoker at the Wood Smoke Shack in Honeywood.

FOOD FOR FATHER

If grilling at home is on the agenda for Father’s Day, consider the mouthwatering Father’s Day gift package from Grand Valley’s Landman Gardens and Bakery. Tucked into an insulated grocery bag is apple bourbon BBQ sauce (500 ml), Heritage Lane Herbs’ smoked applewoodseasoned salt, two Landman boneless chicken breasts, two Landman pork centre-cut chops and four Harris Farms beef burgers. Maybe he’ll share?

PRODUCE WATCH:

TOMATOES

Get ready for tomato season and its easy caprese salads, simple pastas, and juicy BLTs. Shelburne Fresh Variety owners Brent and Colette Gray will offer a steady stream of ripe tomatoes this season, leaning on the greenhouse output of nearby Besley Country Market and Maple Grove Farm Market for a range of in-season and heritage varieties.

Country dinners en plein air

Lennox Farm in Melancthon opens to guests on June 24, August 19 and September 9 for evenings of local food, entertainment and good company. These summer Field to Fork events (there’s also a dinner on October 1) include a guided farm tour and hands-on harvesting experience. A hearty four-course meal will be created by a different guest chef or chefs each night – Paul Bray of Fanhams Hall in England in June, Nick Fingarson of Tholos Restaurant in The Blue Mountains Village and Guelphbased personal chef Pi Reyes in August, and John Forcier of the Hamilton-based Equal Parts Hospitality group in September. Rachel Chartrand, the owner of two Toronto spots, Hamptons and Montauk Bar, helms on October 1. Local singer-songwriter Sohayla Smith performs each night. Proceeds go to NDACT (North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce).

rSMALL BITE

RustiK Local Bistro chef Adam Lusk is excited about the flood of local fresh ingredients that marks the summer season at the Orangeville spot. “It’s always a pleasure to see what the farmers and our local producers are eager to bring to the table –I love seeing what they are passionate about sharing,” he says. A prime producepacked example is the veggie baguette with roasted red peppers, grilled eggplant and zucchini, house hummus, spinach and soft goat cheese served with a salad of mixed greens, shaved vegetables, toasted almonds and mustard vinaigrette.

DOORS OPEN

The Globe Restaurant reopened in February after a hiatus to establish a new kitchen team – newcomers Andrew Robertson and Kevin Barber with longtime Rosemont General Store kitchen pro Alyson Acheson –and to renovate and refresh the interior. The Mono

stalwart now offers dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and brunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with of-the-minute offerings such as trendy “butter boards” and pickle-brined fried chicken. In the private family dining room, restaurant goers can pre-order family-style chicken dinner, Beef Wellington and rotisserie pork.

“It’s amazing to be back; I moved to Rosemont to run the business for my family in January of 2020, so I never really got to be part of The Globe before we shut down,” says owner Sarah O’Born. “Welcoming people back and embracing the next generation of Globe customers is so amazing.”

The new Melanie’s Diner, just north of Orangeville on Highway 10 (formerly Barb’s Country Kitchen) serves burgers and fries – and all-day breakfast. Flame’N Bricks Pizzeria, the beloved Lake Huron area mini-chain, moves east to Erin with brick oven pizza, pasta and subs.

And one for the pooches: Anna Pigden, owner of new Creemore biz Paws Off Pet Cookie Co. crafts dog treats made with simple, humangrade ingredients such as wholewheat flour, fresh fruit and eggs – and ground flaxseed in every batch.

Pet treats from Paws Off Pet Cookie Co.

Lennox Farm hosts the Field to Fork dinner series outside on their property in Melancthon.

A colourful side salad at RustiK Local Bistro.

Local dynamos Terry Doel and Vanessa Kreuzer of Le Finis and Lavender Blue

Catering in Orangeville have relaunched their lively on-site soup-making events – now called Stir the Pot. On the last Monday evening of every month, participants chop, prep and stir litres upon litres of soup to be distributed to local food banks and shelters. Guests also get to tuck in and enjoy a glass of wine in the process. It makes for a perfect feel-good evening out with, as Vanessa puts it, a group of friends “ladling out the love.”

Caledon Ribfest returns July 7 to 9 at the Canadian Tire parking lot in Bolton. The 20,000 expected guests will enjoy food, drinks, games, market vendors and entertainment for the whole family. The new Grand Valley Farmers’ Market takes place June 21, July 26 and August 23. And haven’t you always wanted to sup in a lavender field? Here’s your chance: East Garafraxa’s Hereward Farms hosts Nibbles + Sips in the Lavender Field July 15 and August 26. Purple Hill Lavender Farm offers the enchanting Evening Picnic Series, with 10 dates to choose from, at their idyllic Creemore property.

MASTER OF THE WORLDS

Elite triathlete, car enthusiast and cancer survivor, 75-year-old Bob Knuckey aims to conquer the world – again.

BY GAIL GRANT

In triathlon, the Ironman World Championship is the Big Daddy –the Masters, the Wimbledon. And Caledon’s Bob Knuckey conquered that world on October 13, 2018. He was 70 years old. With clothes dripping, bent almost double, stumbling, recovering, his agonizing struggle inspired overwhelming emotions and unbridled pride. Not only did he finish, but in a competition that has been called the “ultimate test of body and spirit,” he set a new world record in the 70 to 74 age class:

11 hours, 55 minutes and 3 seconds. For the uninitiated, the Ironman is the most demanding of triathlon competitions, covering the longest distance in the sport. It ties together a 2.4 mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112 mile (1.81 km) bike ride, plus a 26.2 mile (42.2 km) run – a total of 140.6 miles, all in one go.

Bob has been a serious runner for 55 of his 75 years, with a 1976 Toronto marathon win to his credit and a respectable finish in the 1981 Boston marathon. Early in his 50s

he retired from his teaching career to pursue the sport full-time. “I gave up trying to meld my day job with running,” he says. “Too often I found myself nodding off mid-story in the classroom, the result of an 8-mile, 5 a.m. morning run.”

Serendipitously, it was about this time he ran into Barrie Shepley, the Olympic coach, sports commentator and founder of C3: Canadian Cross Training Club based at the James Dick quarry south of Caledon Village. They hit it off instantly. Now, more than 20

From pool to desert: Bob Knuckey (top) swimming laps and (bottom) running in the heat of high noon during a training camp in Tucson, Arizona where he was in final preparation for the 2018 Ironman World Championship.

years later, Barrie is still Bob’s devoted coach and Bob still not only trains daily at the quarry in season, but is the first to arrive at 6 a.m., opening up and welcoming other early birds before taking to the water for his own swim practice.

It was a couple of years after they met that, at Barrie’s urging, Bob took a closer look at triathlon – and decided to make the leap from running marathons to triathlon.

Bob’s Ironman debut was to have been in Wisconsin in 2007 when he had just turned 60. But life got in the way. That year he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Given the option of various treatments, Bob chose the direct route, surgery, which the doctors said would allow him to ease

back into his triath lon training in perhaps six months.

A couple of months after his surgery, Barrie asked Bob if he would help him out by driving another competitor down to the Wisconsin competition. Bob was happy to oblige. And hoping to get in an occasional light workout while he was there, he took along his gear.

In his recently published autobiography, Chasing Greatness: Stories of Passion and Perseverance in Sport and Life, Barrie describes what happened next: “The day before the race, Bob caught sight of the giant cow-shaped medals being awarded to finishers, and he had to have one. Taking into account his recent surgery plus missed training time, it couldn’t have been clearer that Bob wasn’t ready for this race.”

But when the gun went off, Bob Knuckey was on the starting line, toe to toe with 2,800 other competitors.

As Barrie describes it: “At this point he had never swum an Ironman distance before, but following his 80-minute swim he trotted past me saying he thought he’d give the first hour of the bike a try. An hour passed, and he pedalled by me, grinning ear to ear, and went on to complete the remainder of the 112-mile ride.

“And once again, he says he was just going to take a crack at running to see how it felt. Sure enough, he made it to the final lap and thought he ‘might as well finish it up.’”

Following so closely on the heels of major surgery, with no prerace training, Bob’s finish that day has been called “a near miracle.”

Although Wisconsin was his first Ironman competition, Bob’s most memorable was the 2013 Half-Ironman (70.3 miles) in Las Vegas. There he won his first World Championship, coming first in the 65 to 69 age group.

Close behind in Bob’s memory bank is another Half-Ironman win in Mont-Tremblant in 2014, when he finally beat Switzerland’s Hermann Hefti. “Until the Mont-Tremblant event, Hermann had always passed me on the run. But in Tremblant I finally managed to keep him behind me.”

Bob has been called “the ageless wonder.” Barrie describes him as

RUNNING AND CYCLING: MARKETA SCHUSTEROVA / BOB AND SUSAN KNUCKEY: PETE PATERSON

Bob running in Tucson and cycling in Caledon in 2018. Bob and his wife, Susan, at home this year in Cataract a few months before the 2023 Ironman World Championship in September.

“among one of the half-dozen most unique master athletes in the world.” As I got to know him better during an interview, I learned he was also kind, humble and funny. But even for someone as focused as Bob, his resolve occasionally falters. When this happens, Barrie will invoke Hefti’s name, with something like, “I’ll bet Hermann is on the track today.”

Bob and his wife, Susan, who is also his number one fan, have lived through a kaleidoscope of events in their charming board-and-batten home in Cataract for the past 44 years. Underpinned by determination, laughter and hard work, they raised four kids here, their own two and, through tragic circumstances, Bob’s sister’s two children.

Susan worked full-time for the Peel District School Board during those early child-rearing years, and gets full credit for holding the family together. “An elite athlete trains, eats and sleeps,” she says. “I don’t know how I could have managed without the support of my amazing circle of women friends.”

Bob’s other passion is evident in a 300-square-foot basement room in his home. “Sue and I have set up the rest of the house together, but she has allowed me complete domain over this area,” he says as he ushers me into his private domain.

Expecting a room filled with trophies, photos and memorabilia relating to his decades-long participation in running marathons and triathlon competitions, I am startled by what I see.

Lined up in the centre of the room are a stationary bike, rowing machine, inversion table and a hamstring curl bench. A selection of free weights and exercise balls are scattered about, but the big surprise is that each wall is lined, floor to ceiling, with 12-inch shelves. On display are hundreds of plastic car kits.

With not a chair, TV or trophy in sight (Bob keeps his many medals in a Tupperware container), this is Bob’s happy place. “I think there are about 500 car kits in this room. I’ve built perhaps a third of them and the other two-thirds are waiting for my kids to inherit. My favourites are the Ford GT40s. I must have close to 50 models of that car,” he says.

And Bob is not short of the real thing, either. He owns four summer cars: a red and white 1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria Transparent Top, a viper blue 1965 Mustang Fastback, a 1987 black Mustang 5.0 hatchback, and a red 1990 Thunderbird Super Coupe.

But back to Bob the athlete. He has once again qualified for the Ironman World Championship which takes place on September 10 this year. Bob’s goal: to break the 13-hour mark in the 75 to 79 age group.

Traditionally held in Kona, Hawaii, the region’s variable crosswinds, searing heat and the race’s fluctuating elevation, make it the most challenging of world competitions. However, this year, while the women’s championship will still be in Kona, the men’s championship will be held in Nice, France. Bob has already studied the course topography and doesn’t expect it to be any less challenging. “There are a lot of very steep hills,” he says.

Bob normally trains for 15 to 20 hours per week during the winter, but upped his game during a trip with Barrie to a training camp in Tucson, Arizona from February through April. And he’ll continue to ramp up his regimen in advance of the championship competition.

An aside here. Bob has again been diagnosed with the big C, this time slow-growing lymphoma. So far, it means a visit to his doctor every six months to monitor his blood.

Bob notes that Ironman competitors can burn about 8,000 calories during a race. As a result, he calibrates his diet to balance storing fuel with minimizing excess weight he’d have to carry up those Nice hills. Still, for him, that practice doesn’t look like it might for the rest of us.

So if you happen to be reading this about 7 p.m., spare a cheer and a smile for Bob Knuckey who, right about this time, is tucking into a huge bowl of ice cream, four scoops, perhaps pralines and cream, his all-time favourite. “I can’t end my day without it,” he says.

Watch a documentary of Bob Knuckey’s 2018 World Championship race on YouTube. Search “Iron Bob-Doc-First Cut.”

CONTINUED www.jdccustomhomes.ca www.drpragnell.com www.riverdalefitnessmill.com

catch your breath

VISIT OUR BREATHTAKING FIELDS OF GOLD

This year Campbell’s Cross Farm is making exciting additions to celebrate our 5th anniversary, including more beautiful photo opportunities with our new Black Beauty 1940 International Harvester Truck and one of a kind sun ower oral wall in The Sun ower Shoppe!

Also new – our Summer Sun Sun ower Picnics! Grab your closest friends or celebrate a

special occasion with family while indulging in locally curated grazing boxes. Surrounded by 700,000 sun owers, this fresh air experience will be the highlight of your summer.

Our famous, fresh Watermelon Sandwiches are back, along with signature lemonade and specialty ice creams available during our sun ower festival. Want something for home? Our

small market store is the perfect place to pick up a jar of our raw sun ower honey and other local goodies both sweet and savoury. Visit our website to discover ongoing workshops for everyone: sip & paint classes for kids and adults, cut-your-own sun owers, pick & create oral classes, sunset yoga, morning meditation walks, and many more. See you at the farm!

Regenerating Our Relationship with the Land

BY DEBBE CRANDALL

A new season begins. Robins nesting in the old birdfeeder. Hens gobbling up insects and tender grass shoots. CSA members coming back to farms, including our own Mount Wolfe Farm, for their rst basket of the season. And publication of the new issue of the Headwaters Farm Fresh Guide!

ere’s a perceptible shi in how agriculture is valued in our countryside. Will our rural towns and townships ever go back to the early 20th century when family farms were the dominant economic and cultural drivers? Or to a pre-European world where the land provided for all the First Peoples’ needs? Likely not. Yet there’s an abundance of opportunity to move toward a paradigm, which Joe Brewer, author of e Design Pathway for Regenerating Earth, describes as “treating the entire landscape as a functional whole and cultivat[ing] the capacities for collaboration that match systemic health requirements.”

What does this look like? It looks like addressing whole system issues such as biodiversity loss, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling, climate change, freshwater use and land-use change. And it means moving toward co-operative local governance, regenerative economies and a plan (design pathway) to lead us away from the precipice of planetary collapse.

For many of us listed in the Farm Fresh Guide, it is this challenge that energizes us and gives us momentum to go on for generations. Some of us are new to the eld; in our case, the 100 acres our parents bought in 1966 have become a thriving Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation entering its eighth season. CSAs are inherently small-scale and local, with members who share some of the risk by paying up front for their food, understanding the season’s chips will fall where they may.

e scale at which we farm allows us to be thinking, designing and experimenting with regenerative agriculture, generational legacies, and social and ecological stewardship. Scale of farming is an under-represented consideration in our governing land-use system comprising municipal zoning, o cial plans and provincial policies, and it is these built-in barriers we must break down in our design pathway to regenerating the precious land and watersheds that sustain us.

Lots to chew on. In the meantime, here’s to a glorious season of fresh, local food!

WELCOME TO FRESH LOCAL FOOD

We hope this year’s Headwaters Farm Fresh guide will inspire you to get to know your local farmers, put fabulously fresh food on your table and, as a bonus, explore the beautiful countryside in our own backyard.

The easy-to-use maps and listings are designed to help you find the very best vegetables, fruit, meats and craft beverages that farms in Caledon, Dufferin and Erin have to offer — whether it’s direct from their farms, through a CSA, or at a weekly farmers’ market or independent retailer.

Support local farmers. Enjoy local food.

Headwaters Farm Fresh is a joint project of Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance and In The Hills. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following:

Debbe Crandall is co-owner of Mount Wolfe Farm in Caledon, an 11-month CSA that grows summer and winter vegetables and sources locally produced foodstuffs for their members and markets.

Above: Harvest at Mount Wolfe Farm.

On our cover: Kate and Mitch McReavy at Rock View Farm in Mono, home to naturally raised and pastured beef and chicken. Photo by Rosemary Hasner.

GLOSSARY

MEET YOUR LOCAL FARMERS

Farms are listed alphabetically. Numbers correspond to location on map.

• for Dufferin • for Caledon & Erin • for farmers’ markets

NA Not shown on map. Online orders, off-farm retail or appointment only.

FARM GATE

CSA

Community Supported Agriculture. Buy an annual farm share for fresh weekly pickup.

Farm-grown products at farm stall or farmhouse.

65

Albion Hills Community Farm

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, COMMUNITY

KITCHEN, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Caledon

16555 Humber Station Rd

Karen Hutchinson, manager albionhillscommunityfarm.org

Farm-fresh vegetables, garlic, honey at farm stand; allotment plots; all-ages education programs on bees, pollinators, native planting for ecoliteracy education

Jun–Oct : Thu 12–7 or by appointment; online and phone ordering, delivery and farm-gate pickup available

61

Albion Orchards

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Caledon

14800 Innis Lake Rd

Scott Lunau 905-584-0354

albionorchards.com

Apples, pears, baked goods, Christmas trees, cider, honey, maple syrup, vegetables, sweet corn, pumpkins

Aug–Oct : 10–6 daily; Nov–Dec : Mon–Fri 10–6, Sat–Sun 10–5

24

Amaranth Springs Farm

FARM GATE

Amaranth

554090 Mono-Amaranth Townline

Deb Walks, Chris Kowalchuk

519-942-4716

amaranthsprings.ca

ON-FARM RESTAURANT

Enjoy a meal or snack.

ON-FARM STORE

Full retail outlet: farm-grown and other products.

ONLINE ORDER Produce can be ordered online.

YOU PICK Pick your own fruit or vegetables in season.

Ecologically grown vegetables and herbs; plant medicine workshops; herbal products; on-farm yoga

By appointment only

9

Austerfield Apiary Honey & Botanicals

CSA, OFF-FARM RETAIL, ONLINE ORDER

Melancthon

581099 County Rd 17

Rita and Matt Chantree 519-925-5010

austerfieldapiary.com

Also at Shelburne Fresh Variety, Shelburne Foodland, Lennox Farms, Harmony Whole Foods Market

Unpasteurized honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, honeycomb, beeswax bags, soap, lotion bars

By appointment only, but hours are flexible; phone ordering available; check website

33

Barnarrow Farm

FARM GATE, OFF-FARM RETAIL East Garafraxa

62233 County Rd 3

Dave and Lisa de Kleer 519-831-5845

barnarrow.ca

Anam Cara Rising

Also at Georgetown Farmers’ Market

Beef, chicken, lamb

By appointment only; pickup and delivery available

FARMERS’ MARKETS

A Creemore Farmers’ and Artisan Market

B Alliston RURBAN Market

C Grand Valley Farmers’ Market

D Orangeville Farmers’ Market

E Erin Farmers’ Market

Site of 2023 International Plowing Match & Rural Expo

23

Bennington Hills Farm

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Amaranth

253504 9th Line

Jeff and Samantha Roney

519-215-9288

benningtonhillsfarm.ca

Also at Orangeville Farmers’ Market (pre-order only)

Regenerative farm offering grassfed, pasture-raised, non-GMO beef, chicken, eggs; unpasteurized honey, non-GMO small grains, legumes

Order online, call or email to arrange farm-gate pickup

32

Berrys4U

FARM GATE, YOU PICK

East Garafraxa

064383 County Rd 3

Eric Henneberg

519-993-4437

berrys4u.wordpress.com

Also at Orangeville Farmers’ Market (seasonally)

Strawberries, raspberries; seasonal pick-your-own and picked

Check website for hours

10 Besley Country Market

FARM GATE

Shelburne

716 Victoria St

Evan Besley

besleycountrymarket.ca

Tomatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins, squash and other seasonal fruits and veggies; baked goods and preserves

Late May–Nov : Thu–Sun 9–5

19

Breedon’s Maple Syrup

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Adjala

3662 Concession Rd 3

Dawn and Kent Breedon

705-435-5269

breedonsmaplesyrup.com

Also at Hockley General Store

Maple syrup, maple butter, maple sugar

Thur–Sun 10–4; in-store shopping or order online and arrange pickup

51

Broken Gate Farm

ONLINE ORDER

Caledon Village

18178 Horseshoe Hill Rd

Pam, David, Jane Jackson 905-806-3369

brokengatecaledon.com

Grass-fed and -finished black Angus beef

By appointment only; call ahead; phone order, pickup and delivery available

34

Calehill Farms

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Orton

9319 Erin–East Garafraxa Townline Brittney Livingston, Andrew Mazurka 519-820-1337

calehillfarms.ca

Also at Erin Farmers’ Market

Whole chicken and chicken cuts, including breast, thigh, drumsticks, wings and sausage; ground chicken burgers; beef halves and quarters, packs, individual cuts

Tue and Thu 1–7; otherwise by appointment only; online ordering available

43

Chickadee Hill Farm

FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE

Caledon

18249 Shaws Creek Rd

Jean-François Morin 519-350-6411

chickadeehill.ca

Also at Erin, Caledon farmers’ markets

Year-round free-range eggs, seasonal vegetables, grassfed beef, chicken, pork, canned goods, honey

Sat–Sun 9–5; Mon–Fri by appointment only or home delivery

12

Connie’s Kitchen and Fresh Produce

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Mono 487207 30 Siderd

Connie Arteaga 705-715-6396

shop.connieskitchen.ca

Also at Alliston RURBAN Market

KOONER FARM

55

Campbell’s Cross Farm

YOU PICK

Caledon

3634 King St

Josie and Michael Gallo

416-294-7642

campbellscrossfarm.com

Sunflowers, raw honey, watermelon sandwiches, ice cream and gelato; wellness and paint classes

Aug : 30+ acres of sunflowers, seasonal products and markets, photography, yoga and paint classes, picnics, fresh-cut sunflowers and cut-yourown; Sep–Oct : corn maze

53

Davis Feed & Farm Supply

ON-FARM STORE

Caledon

15770 Mountainview Rd

John Davis, Sean Davis 905-584-2880

davisfeed.ca

Eggs, pumpkins, squash, honey, sunflower seed, flowers

Check website for store hours; phone orders, delivery and farm-gate pickup available for all products

68

De Boers Market

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon

15570 Mount Hope Rd

Kori de Boer, Casie Kuypers 416-795-7120

deboersmarket.ca

Beef, chicken, pork, honey, maple syrup, seasonal vegetables

Check website for store hours; phone and online ordering, delivery and farm-gate pickup available

58

Dixie Orchards

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Caledon

14309 Dixie Rd

Paul and Lynnette Gray

905-838-5888

dixieorchards.com

Seasonal vegetables, tomatoes by the bushel, preserves, freerange eggs, Italian baking, maple syrup, honey

Call ahead or order through website for curbside pickup and delivery

Curly Creek Farm

agri-entertainment, onfarm store, you pick

37

Curly Creek Farm

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Erin 8750 27 Siderd

Mark and Heather Gerchikov 289-242-9342

curlycreekfarm.com

Honey, lavender, duck eggs, haskap berries, beeswax candles; guided farm tours 9–8 daily; tours by appointment

Apples, sunflowers, pumpkins, hazelnuts; small market and bakery; wagon rides, corn maze, farm animals, straw jump

Mid-Aug–Oct : 10–5 daily

56

Downey’s Farm Market

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Caledon

13682 Heart Lake Rd

Nathan and Darlene Downey 905-838-2990

downeysfarm.com

Baked goods, fruit wines, hard cider, strawberries, raspberries, sweet corn, pumpkins, farm animals, play area and corn maze

May 20–Oct 31 : 9–5 daily; Nov 25–Dec 24 : 10–5 daily

DOWNEY’S FARM

57

Downey’s Strawberry and Apple Farm

FARM GATE, YOU PICK

Caledon

13707 Heart Lake Rd

Greg and Melissa Downey

905-838-4777

downeysupickfarm.ca

Sweet corn, pumpkins, gourds, squash, quince, honey, apple cider; pick-your-own strawberries, raspberries and apples

Check website for seasonal hours

8

Fiddle Foot Farm

CSA, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

796530 3rd Line EHS

Graham Corbett, Amy Ouchterlony 519-925-3225

fiddlefootfarm.com

Organically and biodynamically grown vegetables, weekly CSA shares and online custom orders (Sep–Mar)

By appointment only; check website for custom online orders

60

Flying Dutchman’s Apiary

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon

14681 Torbram Rd

Robert van den Hoef, Shelley Baker 519-938-2457

rob.vdh@me.com

Bee educational tours, honey, comb honey, garden plants, maple syrup, eggs; bee rescue in southwestern Ontario

14

Fresh and Tasty Mushrooms

FARM GATE

Amaranth

475226 County Rd 11

Sean Declerc, Shannon Coleclough 519-925-3215

freshandtastymushrooms.com

Specialty and wild mushrooms; all-natural produce

Farm pickup by appointment only; check website for market locations

22

Grand Maple Farm

ON-FARM STORE

Amaranth 294392 8th Line

Mark and Cynthia Tijssen

519-939-1889

grandmaplefarm.ca

Maple syrup, honey, Amaranthgrown preserves

Call ahead

41

Heartwood Farm & Cidery

38

Everdale Non-Profit Teaching Farm

CSA

Hillsburgh

5812 6th Line

Karen Campbell-Dandy, co-founder

519-855-4859

everdale.org

Certified Organic

Harvest shares year-round, growing food for food banks, volunteering, farm stays, team building, farm school, farmer training, small weddings, Airbnb

Mon–Fri 9–5

40

Farmstead Fresh Organic Microgreens

OFF-FARM RETAIL

Erin 5th Line

Marcel Piper, Josh Scheerer

855-252-3877

farmsteadfresh.ca

Also at Harmony Whole Foods

Market, Heatherlea Farm Shoppe, Hillsburgh Foodland, Everdale

Non-Profit Teaching Farm

Sunflower microgreens, pea shoots, broccoli microgreens, radish microgreens

By appointment only; call ahead or contact via website

Email or call ahead 9–6 Mon–Sat to set up convenient pickup time

46

Forks of the Credit Honey

FARM GATE

Caledon

1354 Forks of the Credit Rd

Bob Darrell 519-927-3334

bobsbees77@gmail.com

Unheated and unfiltered summer and autumn liquid honey, cut honeycomb honey, beeswax Aug–Nov : morning–evening (weather permitting)

39

4th Line Cattle Co.

FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Hillsburgh

5682 4th Line

Matt and Tamaran Mousseau

519-766-6079

4thlinecattleco.ca

Also at Erin Farmers’ Market

Grass-fed and -finished beef; Texas longhorn and Hereford steaks, roasts, extra lean ground beef, stewing beef, burgers, sausages, pasture-raised heritage pork, free-range eggs

By appointment only; order online and schedule pickup via website

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Erin

5438 2nd Line

Brent Klassen, Val Steinmann 416-527-4352

heartwoodfarm.ca

Small-batch craft cider, grassfed beef, maple syrup, honey and other seasonal products; regenerative farming experiences, workplace off-site retreats, farm “glamping” overnight stays

Order online for pickup or delivery; check website for bookings for patio, tasting room and seasonally varying on-farm experiences

44

Heatherlea Farm Shoppe

CAFÉ, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon 17049 Winston Churchill Blvd

Pat and Gord McArthur 519-927-5902

heatherlea.ca

Artisan dry-aged Angus beef, fresh meats, coffee, pies, cookies, tarts, cheese, produce, heatand-serve meals, local foods

Year-round Tue–Sun; licensed patio; check website for hours; online ordering available for delivery or in-store pickup

NA

The Heritage Bee Co.

OFF-FARM RETAIL, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

Debbie Gray

705-466-2337

heritagebee.com

Also at Bank Café, Museum of Dufferin, Concession Road Mercantile, Suzanne Gardner Flowers and selected stockists across Ontario

Certified B Corp; member, 1% for the Planet

Handcrafted Ontario honeys; flavours include triple lemon, ginger, lavender, rosemary, cardamom, vanilla, elderberry; also classic liquid and creamed wildflower honey

Pickup available for online orders; free shipping throughout Ontario for orders $60+; visit website for details NA

Hidden Meadows Farm

OFF-FARM RETAIL

Caledon Village

Hurontario St

Deborah Robillard, Andrew Sharko 519-927-9941

facebook.com/

hiddenmeadowsfarmcaledon

Also at Orangeville (summer and winter) Farmers’ Market

Garlic, granola, jam, perogies (regular, gluten-free, vegan), pickles, preserves; fresh produce (tomatoes, peas, beans, radishes, wild leeks, herbs) in season

No farm-gate sales; phone and email ordering; delivery to Orangeville with minimum $20 order; call to inquire about custom pickling and jam orders

5

Hillside Farmz

FARM GATE

Mulmur

938666 Airport Rd

Sondra Davoodian

705-984-3276

hillsidefarmz.ca

Seasonal vegetables; freshbaked bread, pastries; jams, preserves, honey, syrup; freerange eggs, chicken, turkey

May long weekend–Thanksgiving weekend : Thu 2–6, Fri–Sun 10–6

45

HoneyComb Cottage Bee Company – Belfountain

FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon

17162 Old Main St

J.L. Marshall

facebook.com/honeycomb

cottagebeecompanybelfountain

Raw local honey, pure honeycomb, raw beeswax, creams and lip balms, candles, baskets, honeybee nucs and queens

Self-serve honey shed open daily 11–6 or order online through Facebook

54

Horseshoe Hill Farm

FARM GATE

Caledon

15691 Horseshoe Hill Rd

Linda Gillstrom

905-586-1536

Sweet corn, squash, zucchini, garlic, cherry tomatoes, pie pumpkins, small–jumbo pumpkins, gourds, jalapeño peppers, honey Aug–Oct : Sat–Sun 12–5

69

Humbervalley Honey

FARM GATE

Bolton

255 Glasgow Rd

Larry Zembal

416-708-0276

lzembal@rogers.com

Raw honey

Mon–Sat 9–6; call first to order and confirm pickup time

25

Islandview Farm Market

FARM GATE

Mono

633520 Hwy 10

Charles and Susan Hughson 519-941-9098

islandviewfarmmarket@ gmail.com

Certified Organic

Garlic, vegetables, pies, tarts, preserves, honey, crafts

Jun–mid-Oct : weekends 9–6, watch for trailer

15

Jenala Farms

ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Amaranth 475080 County Rd 11

Ken and Faye Brett 519-938-0801

jenalafarms.com

Pick-your-own and readypicked strawberries; honey

Hours vary depending on availability; check website or Facebook page

1

Kidd Farms

FARM GATE

Melancthon

438162 4th Line

John, Nancy, Bruce Kidd 519-925-6453

kiddfarms@gmail.com

Also at Harmony Whole Foods Market

Maple syrup

Mon–Sat approx. 8–8; call ahead

31

Knollbrook Farms

FARM GATE

East Garafraxa 142157 County Rd 5

James and Laura Masters, Wendy Masters 519-928-3354, 519-362-0306

knollbrookfarms.ca

Beef, chicken, lamb, seasonally

Mon–Sat, by chance or appointment

64

Kooner Farm Market

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER, YOU PICK

Bolton

15075 Humber Station Rd

Indy Kooner

416-858-4639

facebook.com/koonerfarms

Raw unpasteurized honey, free-range organic eggs, fresh organic vegetables

June–Dec

21

Landman Gardens and Bakery

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Grand Valley

322345 Concession Rd 6–7

Rebecca Landman

519-938-6163

landmangardens.ca

Also at More Than Just

Baskets, Fraberts Fresh Food, Sheldon Creek Dairy

Pork, chicken, eggs, turkey, beef, pickles, salsas, honey, granola, meat pies, fruit pies, baked goods, sandwiches and other local products; patio; workshops

Check website for hours and to order online for in-store pickup and local delivery

2

Lennox Farm

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Melancthon

518024 County Rd 124

French family

lennoxfarm.ca

Homegrown fruit and vegetables, baking, preserves; agricultural education classes, farm tours, field dinners

Mar–Dec : self-serve market (closed Tue); farm-gate pickup and online ordering

7

10–6 at 587993 10 Siderd; email to sign up for weekly flyer

NA

Living Against the Current

CSA, FARM GATE, OFF-FARM RETAIL

Mono Jennifer Cosby 226-799-3997

livingagainstthecurrent.com

Also at the Birch Shoppe, Solar Village Farm

Seasonal raw, unpasteurized honey (liquid, creamed and cut comb); registered queen and nuc producer Farm gate 8–8; phone or email for farm-gate pickup location

67

Mount Wolfe Farm

CSA, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon

10054 Old Church Rd

Crandall, Haney, Showell sisters 647-335-8897

mountwolfefarm.ca

Summer and winter vegetables, maple syrup, honey, garlic, eggs, bread, seasonal fruit, preserves, microgreens, home-care products

Weekly pickup in summer; biweekly in winter; online ordering with onfarm pickup or delivery service

29

Murphy Meadow Farms

FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Mono

793236 3rd Line EHS

Fred, Ian, Elaine Murphy 519-288-5324

murphymeadowfarms.com

Regenerative farm offering grassfed and -finished beef, pastureraised chicken, raw honey

Thu 3–6, Fri 12–5, Sat 9–2; online order through website; text, email or call to arrange pickup

36

Majestic Water Buffalo

FARM GATE, OFF-FARM RETAIL, ONLINE ORDER

Erin 6003 1st Line Karen Mansfield, Andy Fraser majesticwaterbuffalo.ca

Water buffalo meat, milk, cheese, lamb free-range eggs

Fri–Sun 10–5 or by appointment; online order for farm pickup; delivery available

13

Maple Grove Farm and Market

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Mulmur

4

Not So Hollow Farm

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

838369 4th Line E

Viki Reynolds, Ian Payne 705-627-8004

notsohollowfarm.ca

Native trees, shrubs and perennials; food forest, permaculture and pollinator plants; honey products Check website for hours; online sales with farm-gate pickup

6

Ontario Honey Creations

OFF-FARM RETAIL, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

Lions Share Farm

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

837023 4th Line E

Hilchey family

519-925-2222

lionssharefarm@gmail.com

Organically grown seasonal vegetables

Two farm-gate locations : pickup daily at 837023 4th Line E; Sat

936215 Airport Rd

Chris and Robyn Wallace 705-435-5386

maplegrovefarm.ca

Made-in-house baked goods, prepared meals; seasonal local produce; preserves, local meats and dairy; seasonal pick-your-own and events

Open daily year-round; check website for details and events

938343 Airport Rd

Sarah Allinson-Chorabik 647-400-8507

ontariohoneycreations.com

Also at Orangeville Farmers’ Market, Heatherlea Farm Shoppe, Spirit Tree Estate Cidery, Landman Gardens and Bakery Honey, honeycomb, honey vinegars, mead (honey wine), spicy hot honey, creamed honey:

plain, cinnamon, cocoa, lemon, ginger, lavender, orange

Thu–Sun 10–6 (summer); online ordering available for farmgate pickup or delivery

NA

Owl Dream Farm

OFF-FARM RETAIL, ONLINE ORDER

Orangeville 46 Victoria St

519-215-1044

owldreamfarm.ca

Microgreens : radish, broccoli, sunflower, pea shoots, mustard, alfalfa, cilantro

Mon–Sun 9–5; pickup and delivery available

17

Peaceful Valley Farm

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Mono

934409 Airport Rd

Brenda Bot and Tom Peters

519-942-1804

peacefulvalleyfarm.ca

Honey, maple syrup, farm-fresh eggs, preserves, baked goods

Thu–Sun 11–5; online order, phone order and delivery available

3

Peace Valley Ranch

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

638135 Prince of Wales Rd

Cosack family

519-925-6628

pvrbeef.ca

Premium grass-finished black

Angus freezer beef available May, Aug and Oct; sides and mixed quarters custom cut, wrapped and delivered to your door; ranch tours by appointment only

26

Providence Meadows

FARM GATE

Mono 347122 Mono Centre Rd

Curry family

519-942-9505

providencemeadowsfarm@ gmail.com

Year-round free-range eggs, seasonal heritage vegetables, pumpkins, maple syrup, chicken, turkey, lamb

Self-serve or call ahead

RUTKA

50

Pure Caledon Hills Honey

FARM GATE

Caledon

17895 Heart Lake Rd

Paul Reader

519-927-3376

purecaledonhillshoney.com

Honey, bee pollen, beeswax, honeycomb

Mon–Sat 8–6

63

Queensmere Farms

FARM GATE, ON-FARM STORE

Caledon

15505 Centreville Creek Rd

Val and Nicholas Brooksbank

289-231-2180

queensmerefarms.ca

Products fresh from our farm, including brown eggs, wildflower honey, broiler chickens and Galloway vac-packed beef cuts

Mon–Sat 9–6, Sun 10–6; calling ahead is advised

30

Reid’s Potatoes & Farm Market

ON-FARM STORE

Mono

833153 4th Line

Brooke Reid

519-940-4096

reidspotatoes.com

Potatoes, vegetables, eggs, chicken, pork, beef, jam, honey, flowers, maple syrup, pies, quilts and more

Open daily year-round

49

Riverdale Farm & Forest

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, FARM GATE

Inglewood

15707 McLaughlin Rd

Owen Goltz

905-588-0085

riverdalefarmandforest.ca

Seasonal vegetables, biochar,

wood vinegar, compost, tea extracts, eco tours and workshops

Jun–Oct

52

Rock Garden Farms

ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Caledon East

16930 Airport Rd

Iuglio and Galati families

905-584-9461

rockgardenfarms.ca

Fresh fruit, vegetables, freerange eggs, maple syrup, homemade preserves, sauces, home-baked pies, garden centre

Apr 1–Nov 1 : 8–6 daily

NA

Rock View Farms

OFF-FARM RETAIL, ONLINE ORDER

Mono

Mitch and Kate McReavy 519-217-8623

rvfmonocentre.com

Also at Am Braigh Farm

Naturally raised, pastured meats : beef and chicken

By appointment only; pickup

59

Sandhill Farms

FARM GATE

Caledon

5381 King St

Carmen and Marvee Cesario 416-574-0427

sandhillfarms.ca

Certified Organic

Seasonal vegetables

18

Sheldon Creek Dairy

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Adjala

4316 Concession Rd 5 den Haan family 705-434-0404

sheldoncreekdairy.ca

Also at many local retailers – check map on website for locations

Milk, cream, yogurt, kefir, sour cream, cheese, ice cream, flavoured milks, meat, preserves; seasonal dairy bar

10–6 daily; online ordering available (check website) for pickup and home delivery

Local raspberries, strawberries, wild blueberries, peaches, fresh picked peas, lettuce, tomatoes, cor n and much, much more

Far m fresh eggs, baked goods, fresh baked pies, fresh baked bread daily, preserves, jams, maple syrup

JENNIFER COSBY

TM and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its a liates. O er is valid in Canada only, from November 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023. The terms and conditions may vary and these o ers are subject to termination or change at any time without notice. BRP recommends that all ATV/SSV drivers take a training course. See your dealer or call the Canadian Safety Council at 1-613-739-1535 (Canada). ATVs and SSVs can be hazardous to operate. Never carry passengers on any ATV/SSV not specically designed by the manufacturer for such use. All adult-model Can-Am ATVs are category G ATVs (general-use models) intended for recreational and/or utility use by an operator age 16 or older. Carefully read the vehicle’s operator’s guide. Follow all instructional and safety material and observe applicable laws and regulations. ATVs and SSVs are for O -road use only; never ride on paved surfaces or public roads. For your safety, the operator and passenger(s) must wear a helmet, eye protection and applicable protective clothing. Always remember that riding, alcohol and drugs don’t

NA

Sola Gratia Farm

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Melancthon

237064 4th Line NE

Griffith family

519-288-5678

solagratiafarm.ca

Also at Erin, Orangeville and Georgetown farmers’ markets

Organically grown vegetables; pastured chicken, beef, turkey; chicken and duck eggs; handmade soap and ice cream; gluten-free baking

Visit website for online orders; call ahead for farm-gate pickup; fall and winter : delivery to Shelburne, Orangeville

NA

Toad Hole Farm

FARM GATE, ONLINE ORDER

Mulmur

10 Siderd

Niels Pearson 519-925-5983

toadholefarm.ca

100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef

Call landline (no texts, please) to arrange pickup or free home delivery

62

Van Dyken Farm

YOU PICK

Caledon 14510 Gore Rd

Van Dyken brothers 905-857-3561

Beans, eggplant, onions, peas, peppers, rapini, tomatoes, zucchini

Call for hours and availability

CRAFT BEVERAGES 27

Adamo Estate Winery

ON-FARM RESTAURANT, ON-FARM STORE

Mono

793366 3rd Line EHS

Adamo family

519-942-3969

adamoestate.com

Also at select restaurants

Small-batch boutique winery with retail shop, tasting bar, lunch and dinner, patio, event and meeting spaces, scenic views year-round; award-winning wines

Check website, as hours change through the summer, and to book event spaces

48 Badlands Brewing Company

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon 13926 Chinguacousy Rd

Troy Baxter, Michael Nuttall, Grace Wilkinson badlandsbrewing.ca

Fresh craft beer

Summer hours from June : Fri 12–5 on-site consumption, pickup; Sat 12–6 on-site consumption, food, pickup, live music 2–4; Sun 12–6 on-site consumption, food, pickup

66

Caledon Hills Brewing Company

OFF-FARM RETAIL, ON-FARM RESTAURANT, ONLINE ORDER

Palgrave 17219 Hwy 50

Riedelsheimer family

416-988-2003

caledonhillsbrewing.com

Also at local pubs and restaurants, the Beer Store, liquor stores (check website)

Vienna Lager, Bohemian Pilsner, Kölsch, Summer Solstice, Mango Wheat, Mexican Cervesa, Cream Ale and more; food available in brew pub dining room and on patio

Check website for hours; contact-free delivery available (check website)

©2022 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). All rights reserved.®,

56

Downey’s Farm Market

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, YOU PICK

Caledon

13682 Heart Lake Rd

Nathan and Darlene Downey

905-838-2990

downeysfarm.com

Baked goods, fruit wines, hard cider, strawberries, raspberries, sweet corn, pumpkins, farm animals, play area and corn maze

May 20–Oct 31 : 9–5 daily; Nov 25–Dec 24 : 10–5 daily

11

Escarpment Gardens

OFF-FARM RETAIL, ONLINE ORDER

Mono

487151 30 Siderd

Joey Lemieux

escarpmentgardens.ca

Also at Natural Choice, Harmony Whole Foods Market, Tottenham Health Foods and Orangeville Farmers’ Market

Certified Naturally Grown

herbal teas

By appointment only; order through website for farm-gate pickup

42

GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co.

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, FARM GATE, ON-FARM RESTAURANT, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Alton

18825 Shaws Creek Rd

Gail and Phil Winters

519-927-5881

goodlot.beer

On tap at select local restaurants, bars; also available at select LCBOs across Ontario

Hop farm and brewery with tasting room, beer gardens, disc golf and food truck; no reservations necessary

Beer gardens : Wed 12–7, Thu–Sat 12–9, Sun and holiday Mon 12–7; delivery available

519-939-1473

monocentrebrewing.ca

Craft beer

Check website for hours

NA

Pommies Cider Co.

OFF-FARM RETAIL

Caledon

Lindsay and Nick Sutcliffe 416-201-2101

pommies.com

At LCBO, bars, restaurants, Loblaws, Sobeys, other grocery stores

Pommies Original Cider, Pommies Farmhouse Cider, Pommies Mimosa Cider Mon–Fri 9–5

35

Sonnen Hill Brewing

ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Caledon 20727 Heart Lake Rd

Calum Hill

519-940-0200

sonnenhill.com

Easy-drinking beer, lagers, ales and fruit beer; on-site bottle shop, tasting room, beer garden and walking trail, summer food pop-ups

Taproom, bottle shop, beer garden : Wed–Thu 12–8, Fri–Sat 12–10, Sun 12–6; pickup and delivery available

47

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER, YOU PICK Caledon

1137 Boston Mills Rd 905-838-2530

spirittreecider.com

Feast Ontario certified

Also at many local stores

Sweet and hard cider, artisan breads, pastries, pies, specialty foods, pizza, takeout; tours; summer : live music on weekends

Thu 10–5, Fri–Sat 10–9, Sun 10–5; accessible; curbside pickup available

20

Windrush Estate Winery

AGRI-ENTERTAINMENT, ON-FARM STORE, ONLINE ORDER

Adjala 3100 Concession Rd 3

J.C. Pennie, Marilyn Field 905-729-0060

windrushestatewinery.com

Also at Beyond the Gate, Black Birch, Chez Michel, Duntroon Highlands Golf, Gourmandissimo, Mono Cliffs Inn, Mount Alverno, Mrs. Mitchell’s, Terra Cotta Inn

International award-winning VQA wines : pinot noir, cabernet franc, dry riesling, pinot grigio, chardonnay

Fri–Sun 12–4 : tours by appointment; online and phone ordering, delivery, farm-gate pickup available

FARMERS’ MARKETS

Sat

Erin Farmers’ Market

Thu

Erin Erin Fairgrounds 184 Main St erinfarmersmarket.ca

Grand Valley Farmers’ Market

Wed 3–8 : Jun 21, Jul 26, Aug 23

Grand Valley Elizabeth Taylor Pavilion 32 Water St landmangardens.ca

D Orangeville Summer Farmers’ Market

Sat 8–1 : May 6–Oct 21

Orangeville Second St and Broadway orangevillefarmersmarket.ca D Orangeville Winter Farmers’ Market

Sat 9–1 : Nov 4–Apr 20

Orangeville Orangeville Town Hall Second St and Broadway orangevillefarmersmarket.ca

Frompool to pond

HOW A MONO NATURE LOVER TRANSFORMED HER SWIMMING POOL INTO A POND TEEMING WITH WILDLIFE

BY EMILY DICKSON

After living at her country home in Mono for a few years, Carol Terentiak remained enchanted by the country views and pleased with the horse barn that first drew her to the six-acre property in 2011. But she had never overcome her initial misgivings about its concrete swimming pool.

Carol’s children had grown, and while they occasionally brought the grandkids to swim, for the most part the 35-foot-long pool was an underused feature that required too much work.

“I rarely swam in it myself but did spend a lot of time cleaning it and dumping the required salt and chemicals into it,” says Carol. “The worst was in the fall when all the leaves from the trees made the pool their home.”

Fed up, Carol started researching how to transform the kidney-shaped curse into something more beautiful and biological – that could eventually be a habitat for wildlife. Though she found inspiration from similar projects in other countries, she struggled to find a company willing to embrace her “biopond” project. “I actually had one landscaper tell me I had a pretty enough place and to just fill it in,” she says.

But her perseverance paid off. In 2020, Fergus-based company July Ponds & Landscaping – known for creating water features and swimming ponds from scratch – got on board. Owner Chris July had never undertaken a pond project on a pool site before, but he was game.

“Converting an unwanted pool to a pond full of life is a great way to repurpose an existing space,” says Chris. “We were inspired and up for the challenge of creating an organic garden space where the waters are pure and promote life and positive spirits. Our goal was to create an organic

balance within the pond so that it can sustain itself with little intervention.”

The first task was to prepare the pond’s base. The old pool liner was removed, and a layer of sand was added to cushion a new synthetic rubber liner. (Holes had been drilled into the pool base to drain any water that might seep between the liner and the concrete.) The pool depth ranged from about three feet to six feet. At the shallow end, wide steps were built to provide access for wildlife, as well as Carol’s dogs who love to swim.

On either side of the steps, large landscaping rocks and gravel were added to create a bed for aquatic plants, some of which grow directly in the gravel and some in planting pockets made with geotextile. Carol’s pond plants include water lilies, irises, pond grass, cattails, hornwort, arrowhead, horsetails and soft stem rush, plus two floating plants – water lettuce and water hyacinth – to shade and cool the water below.

Next, more rocks and garden

plants were placed around the pool to naturalize its edges. The final touch was the creation of a charming bubbling brook which flows down a stone path to a waterfall at the pond’s deep end. It is part of a filtration system that circulates and aerates the water. According to Carol, “The goal was for the pond to eventually clean itself without any chemicals.”

With the plants in and the landscaping complete, Carol introduced the pond’s first residents – six goldfish – which quickly became dozens of goldfish. And with no other natural ponds nearby, it wasn’t long before the local wildlife began making themselves at home, exactly as Carol had hoped.

“In addition to my goldfish, now I’ve also got frogs and a painted turtle. I have no idea how the turtle got there – it just showed up, as did the frogs,” Carol says. Her domestic ducks use the pond, joined by the occasional wild duck. “So many birds come to the little river flowing from the waterfall to

The first step in Carol Terentiak’s pool-to-pond conversion was to install a rubber liner in the kidney-shaped pool. Then steps were built at the shallow end and rocks and gravel added to create a bed for water plants.

drink in the summer – robins, wrens, crows and more. It’s a treat each time I’m out there to wait and see what birds will stop by for a drink.”

One summer the pond also attracted a huge blue heron who couldn’t resist a feast of tadpoles and goldfish, but overall there aren’t a lot of predators, so the goldfish and frogs reproduce fast enough to maintain their populations. The goldfish also have their own little cave to hide in when they need to.

“I’m happy different animals can thrive here,” Carol says, describing how she hated finding dead frogs that had become stuck and drowned in the leaf skimmer of the old pool.

The first year, however, was definitely a learning curve for Carol as the pond was hit with an algae bloom which had to be treated. “I had to learn to balance the ecosystem of the pond by adding a lot more plants, as well as natural bacteria,” she explains. Since then, Carol is pleased to report she hasn’t needed to add any other supplements to the water. That also

makes it safe for her dogs who like to jump in to cool down.

The only time Carol gets into the water is when she must anchor or move the location of a floating fence that protects some of the plants. “If I don’t adjust the fence, the ducks will eat them – especially in the spring when they are new and tender.”

Now that the project is complete and the pond is thriving, Carol is thrilled with the results and takes great joy from her aquatic oasis. “I just love the sound of the waterfall, both in summer and winter. I love to see the migratory birds that visit in the summer. Each morning I look for frogs, tadpoles and baby fish to see where they may be hiding or swimming. The pond is a great place to sit, have a cold drink and read while listening to the waterfall. This is a place where I find peace.”

—with files from Alison McGill

Emily Dickson is a writer and editor living in Orangeville.

Running into the deep end, a brook and waterfall are part of the natural filtration system. Now Carol’s happy domestic ducks are occasionally joined by their wild cousins.

WHEN THESE HEADWATERS PILOTS FEEL THE URGE TO FLY, THEY STEP OUT THEIR BACK DOOR

BY ANTHONY JENKINS

• PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETE PATERSON

In the late 1950s, a boy stood in a Brampton backyard, looking up. Puzzled. That boy was a young Stan Vander Ploeg.

“I kept seeing little airplanes flying overhead. From time to time, the engine would quit right above my head and I’d think, ‘Oh-oh, that guy’s in trouble!’ And he’d glide off out of sight. Then another son-of-a-gun had his engine quit, same spot, right above me! I had to chase these airplanes!”

Stan is much older now and living in Grand Valley. But he’s still looking up and is grateful for what he saw back then – and where it led him. “The romance of flight. It hasn’t changed. I have the same ache to go flying. To leave the earth for a while. It is a lifelong love.”

Young Stan tracked those “stricken” aircraft to the nearby Brampton Flying Club, walked boldly in and said hello. (Turns out the “faltering” planes, engines throttled back on purpose, were part of pilots’ training to land.)

He started dropping by the club two or three times a week after school. At first he gawked. Later he cleaned windshields and washed planes. At 13, he was pumping aviation fuel. “You won’t see that today!” The first time the eager kid was taken aloft and saw the ground fall away beneath him, he was hooked. “Jeez, I’ve got to do this!” he thought. “I’ve just got to do this!”

And so he has, for 57 years, a licensed pilot since the age of 17. He flies a yellow Piper J-3 Cub with registration CF-WFT painted on the

sides of the fuselage and in big letters on the underside of one wing and the top of the other, in accordance with the vintage of the plane.

Stan, now retired from a career as an Air Canada aircraft maintenance engineer, and his wife, Sheila – the two met at an airport – operate Grand Valley Aircraft Restoration on their rural property. There they have painstakingly restored every part of vintage aircraft from propeller to tail. The turf airstrip they created, Grand Valley North Aerodrome, designated CGV3 by Transport Canada, has been the couple’s backyard for two decades.

The flight paths of private rural airfields like the Vander Ploegs’ may not, by regulation, overfly the dwelling of an existing neighbour. But if an airstrip exists and a new neighbour arrives to complain or plan construction, the airfield usually takes precedence – even if the neighbour is a company with plans to build big, fancy wind turbines that generate power to feed into Ontario’s electrical grid.

“There were going to be wind turbines just north of where our runway was going to be,” Stan remembers. “None of them was built yet, of course, just a thought put out, a possibility. They would have known about us. We’d already cut trees. They got upset. ‘Wait a minute, this is not an airport!’ they said. I said, ‘Well yes, it is. I’ve already started. My runway is underway. We were first.’” He notes that Transport Canada’s approval of the construction plan bolstered his case.

“There was a bit of a skirmish, nothing serious, but they cancelled four wind turbines,” he adds. “More people were happy about that than unhappy.”

“I haven’t heard of any private airfield up here having problems with neighbours in 30 years,” says Paul Lamont. He lives on Cedar Strip Farm

LEFT John Black brings his 1964 Cessna 150D in for a landing on the turf runway on his farm in East Garafraxa.

INSET Stan Vander Ploeg takes in the view above his airfield in Grand Valley.

in Amaranth and flies his Maule M5210C, from Laurel/Whittington Aerodrome (CLW3). “There’s not any great traffic into these strips. I might have a dozen people in a year. Motorcyclists on the road make more noise.”

Stan, Paul and their fellow aviators are a sociable group. The dozen or so local airfields – unless posted PNR (prior notification required) in aviators’ handbooks – are open and free for any pilot to drop into (literally) for a visit, though that hospitality isn’t overtaxed. Maybe a couple of planes a month fly in “to borrow some tools or have a cup of coffee” with Stan and Sheila. “As a group we’re anxious to see people, see their planes,” says Stan. “There is no association but 90 per cent of us know one another. We’ve never been turned away elsewhere.”

In search of the $100 hamburger

The “$100 hamburger” is a standing joke among private pilots. They will, on a whim, a hankering for a burger and a beckoning balmy day, fly out to a near-ish airfield to hobnob with peers around a barbecue. Factoring in the cost of aviation fuel – approaching

$2.80 a litre as of spring 2023 – as well as wear and tear on their aircraft, an hour’s return flight in a Piper Cub like Stan’s to, say, Collingwood, will set them back about $100.

If the sound of a $100 hamburger –and the attendant joys of flying your own aircraft to enjoy it – appeals, just what will it take to get you off the ground?

Training. To earn a private pilot licence, or PPL, through a Transport Canada-approved training facility such as the Brampton Flight Centre in Caledon, the learning curve is steep, as is the price.

Basic flight training for a singleengine aircraft runs about $12,000. But a budget of $15,000 to $18,000 is more realistic, according to Scott Chayko, chief flight instructor at BFC, located south of Inglewood. Training and costs can be spread “self-paced” over months or even years.

Transport Canada mandates 40 hours of classroom study or “ground school,” which covers topics such as weather, air law, aircraft construction and engine systems, as well as a minimum of 45 hours in the air. The 45 hours of air time is theoretical, says Scott. “Count on more,” he advises. “The average is around 70 hours.” It takes about a year to achieve the level

of competence necessary to become a licensed private pilot.

Scott suggests the experience is worth it. “Flying is an exciting thing. It is a calling, a passion. Every time I go up, I feel it.”

An airfield. Creating a glorified long lawn – the Vander Ploegs’ airstrip measures 2,000 x 75 feet – on suitable property, entails planning and work. You’ll need flat land. A brushy field is preferable (land suitable for crops or pasturing cattle is expensive). A bulldozed, rolled and specially seeded bare-bones airstrip might set you back about ten grand.

An aircraft. The starter plane is a Cessna 150. If you’re seeking a showroom-shiny one, you won’t find it. Cessna stopped making them in 1977. For well-maintained used examples (found on the internet or in the back pages of aviation magazines), set aside about 50 grand.

Insurance. Liability coverage will cost between $500 and $700 annually. This doesn’t include “hull insurance,” the equivalent of collision insurance for a car, which covers damage to the hull or engine, and runs about $3,000 a year.

Repairing light damage from a heavy runway landing might cost between $8,000 and $10,000. Damage

from a propeller “strike” (overapplying the throttle, causing a taxiing plane to tip on its nose, for example) will entail not only an expensive propeller replacement, but also – by Transport Canada rules – removal and X-ray of the crankshaft, replacement of damaged parts, and reassembly of the entire engine. Think $25,000-plus.

Operating costs. With fuel, oil and maintenance you do yourself, plan on a cost of at least $100 an hour for time both on the ground and in the air.

Flying for delight

John Black is a flyer and a farmer who tends 200 acres of wheat, corn and soy in East Garafraxa. He built Black Field (CGV5) airstrip on his property south of Grand Valley in 1979.

At a plowing match in Breslau, near Kitchener, when John was 15 or so, his father coaxed him into taking a flight. “That was the last time I had to be coaxed into an airplane,” says John, who earned his pilot’s licence in 1971.

He flies his 1964 Cessna 150D, registration CF-WEB, “maybe once

ABOVE Stan and Sheila Vander Ploeg with their Piper J-3 Cub outside the hangar at Grand Valley North Aerodomes on their rural property.

FACING John Black takes his Cessna out “maybe once a week” to inspect his crops and check out the neighbourhood.

a week” to inspect his crops and see what other farmers are doing. “But I’m not always going somewhere,” he says. He flies – they all fly – because they can. They fly for the delight of looking at everything all at the same time, for the freedom, for no traffic, no roads, to be above it all.

The view from above How does Dufferin County appear from the sky?

From 2,000 feet, Mono, northeast of the low sprawl of Orangeville, presents a diversity of topographies: the dark slash of Hockley Valley, the green upholstered jut of Mono Cliffs Provincial Park and the large splash of Island Lake, visible for miles (though you can’t land a float plane there, except in an emergency).

North of Mono, the land in Mulmur bunches into deep folds, marked by fields and forests. “Horsey country,” Stan calls it. To the west, windswept Melancthon and Amaranth below it are remarkable for their towering wind turbines, each more than 260 feet tall and lazily casting shadows twice their height. But even at that size, the towers “are not a big factor for planes,” says John.

Further west, Grand Valley, cut by the meandering Grand River,

is a mosaic of farms. It’s home to a relative preponderance of airstrips, and its westerly roads end raggedly, interrupted by the moody dark green waters and wetlands of massive Luther Marsh. South again, East Garafraxa is likewise a multi-toned patchwork of farmland, with its road grid plainly tilted on a diagonal.

Relics of a different era?

Private airstrips and those who maintain and use them are fading into aviation’s past. Ever-rising costs of land, fuel and maintenance are factors, even for the fairly well-to-do.

In Paul’s opinion, the younger generation going into aviation isn’t much interested in light aircraft. “They know they can go into a program in a college, put out the money – around $100,000 –and at the end of two years they arrive at the doorstep of the big airlines with a multi-engine instrument rating. They’re mostly interested in driving 737s, 727s, all the big iron. Sad, but that’s just the way it is. In my day, in the ’60s and ’70s, a lot of us went into planes like going into motorcycles or boats or snowmobiles.”

Among others, Madill Field (CGV4), southeast of Grand Valley, was closed and allowed to go back to farmland. “I don’t like to see it,” laments John.

“It cuts down the places I can go. We have friends with airplanes and we like to drop in to see them. Those fields are getting scarcer.”

Now well into his 80s, John says, “I’ll never lose interest. As long as you pass the medical every two years (his plane must be inspected and certified annually), you can be flying at 100.” The medical involves stress tests and not-under-stress tests, he adds. “It’s fairly stiff.”

As for Stan and Sheila, they have spent a lifetime and a marriage in the air in small planes. Their most memorable flight, both romantic and frightening, was early on. It was late fall or early winter, and Stan had flown to Sudbury to pick up Sheila, his new girlfriend at the time. The weather forecast over the route back to Brampton wasn’t 100 per cent, he

says, but it was favourable for visual sight rules.

“By the time we got to Parry Sound, bad weather had set in. Snow and sleet were sticking to the wings and lift struts. To see, we had to descend until we were about 100 feet above the treetops. There was no airport in Parry Sound. I knew if I flew east I’d pass a

You don’t just wing it

Your car sits in the driveway. You walk outside, slide behind the wheel, activate the ignition and drive away. But when it’s your light aircraft tethered outside, it’s not so simple. Just ask Stan Vander Ploeg. For starters, he doesn’t assess the weather just by looking out the window.

He checks with AWS – Aviation Weather Services – for current and forecast conditions along his planned route and over his destination, noting temperature, clouds, atmospherics (fog, etc.), and wind speed and direction, both on the surface and aloft.

Preflight is a verb. A crucial one. He doesn’t want an unforeseen problem at 3,000 feet above sea level.

Starting at the nose and circling the aircraft clockwise, he visually and physically checks every component for airworthiness, wary of letting familiarity lead to complacency.

He checks the propeller for damage. Lifting the engine cowling, he “sumps,” meaning he examines small samples of fuel and fluids for colour and contamination.

With practised concentration, he examines engine components. He tap-tap-taps along the fuselage, assessing structural integrity. He grasps, pokes, rotates and presses, assessing struts, lines, cables, hinges, vents and baffles; finger checks nuts and bolts, fittings and fasteners; manually waggles ailerons, flaps and elevators.

Satisfied, he releases tie-down ropes from loops anchored in sunken concrete, looks up into a bright, cloudless sky, and smiles.

Walkaround has taken 10 minutes.

In the four-seat cabin of the 1948 Stinson 108-3, Stan takes the left front seat, fastening lap and shoulder belts, making sure I do the same as I settle

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heavy double black line – Highway 11. I followed it and landed at Muskoka Airport. Sheila remembers kissing the ground. She probably kissed me.”

Today, the Vander Ploegs’ airfield lies long and slim and green behind their beautifully kept and restored Victorian brick farmhouse. Its backdrop is conifer and walnut woods,

some of which they planted to replace trees taken down for the airstrip.

But the couple will soon move on from what Stan calls “the love of our lives.” They plan to sell their home, workshop, hangar and the business, and move to the Collingwood area.

Still, they’re not leaving everything behind. The Piper Cub is going with them. Stan will relocate it to a hangar at the Collingwood Airport (CNY3), where he will also mentor an eager young man, passing on the knowledge of what he calls a “dying art” – the restoration of classic biplanes, such as the storied Tiger Moth.

And Stan and Sheila will continue flying. “We live,” says Sheila, pointing to the sky, “up there.”

into the right front seat beside him. Canadian air regulations oblige him to indicate all emergency exits to passengers, the same as in an airliner.

A telescoping metal control column topped by a D-shape (the steering wheel) is before him. A matching one juts out at me in the seat beside him. Rudder pedals below his feet are similarly duplicated.

Holding a laminated Before Flight checklist he could probably recite by heart, Stan starts engine run-up and system checks, physically touching each of the many gauges and toggles clustered on the metal arc of the instrument panel while saying each check aloud, even when alone.

“Master switch on … primer in and locked … auxiliary pump on … altimeter set [to 1,665 feet, the height of Grand Valley above sea level] … okay.”

The view over the high nose and through the blur of spinning propeller as he taxis out isn’t great and is further obscured by a central strut dividing the windscreen and two diagonal supporting rods crossing it.

At the end of the airstrip, he turns the plane tightly around to head into the wind. Ahead is a long, seemingly narrow, lawn of mowed turf.

He makes final system checks to a rising racket as he warms the engine. He looks ahead intently, adjusts his headset and sunglasses. And smiles.

Full power! The engine screams and the plane thrusts forward, bouncing from side to side. He appears very calm while seeming – to the uninitiated, at least – to wrestle with the control column and fiddle with an extended twist-push-pull rod mid-dash, which is the throttle.

Amid all the exertions and concentration, we gently lift off the earth. The little plane climbs quickly.

At 2,600 feet (or 1,000 feet AGL – above ground level), he powers back, levelling off and soaring above the astounding patchwork of greens, browns, yellows and aquas carpeting Headwaters.

It’s very beautiful.

Anthony Jenkins is an earthbound artist and writer.

Stan and Sheila have restored every part of vintage aircraft from propeller to tail.

NATURE EXPOSED

BY JOHANNA BERNHARDT

SITTING IN A COZY WOODEN LOFT overlooking a pond on her Mono property, photo artist Jo Thomson is surrounded by striking examples of her latest work – cameraless photographs of botanicals. Adorning the walls are her framed prints of Queen Anne’s lace, ferns and feathers against black or blue backgrounds.

Jo uses cyanotype printing to create the blue-based images and traditional darkroom printing for the black-based photograms. Both art forms have endured for more than a hundred years despite the advent of digital technologies, and both rely on direct contact between items foraged from nature – feathers, leaves, fresh and dried flowers – and lightsensitive paper.

Growing up near the rugged coast of Devon, England, Jo loved exploring the area’s sandy beaches, plunging cliffs and hidden coves. After completing high school, she studied art and developed a love of recording the world around her. She went on to earn a BA in photography, spending many hours in the darkroom. “I never really forgot the magic of that time,” she says.

In 2015 Jo and her husband, Blair, along with their children, Zach and Dexter, now 16 and 12, moved to Mono from bustling Exeter, England. Jo marvels at the differences between her former city life and her country existence. The family resides on 10 acres that include forest trails, a pond and plenty of enchanting places for her boys to roam.

Jo works alongside Blair in their graphic

TOP To make a cyanotype print, Jo Thomson applies photosensitive solution to watercolour paper that causes it to react to sunlight.

ABOVE A cyanotype featuring gingko leaves in white against a bright blue background.

LEAVES CYANOTYPE: FLORIGIN

Mono artist Jo Thomson harnesses the power of sunlight – and the power of her darkroom – to create bright cyanotypes and photograms of local flora.

Wealth Management Plan,

design and branding business, Believe In, which was founded in England more than two decades ago and maintains a studio in Exeter. But during the pandemic, she itched to get back to her roots and created a darkroom in their basement.

Then she investigated the history of cameraless photography and started experimenting. “Everything is now reproducible. I like the fact that each print is entirely unique. Even if I use the exact same plant, it’s always going to be a little bit different.”

To create a cyanotype, Jo paints watercolour paper with two photographic solutions that, when mixed, are light-sensitive. When the paper is dry, Jo takes her subject – a botanical or a feather – and places it on the paper. Sometimes the compositions are simple, allowing a single leaf to be the hero, or she may experiment with double exposures or overlaying materials. She gingerly clamps a piece of glass onto the paper, careful not to move the subject. Then it’s time for the sun to do its job.

The exposure takes place in full sun, often on the bridge that leads to the island in the family’s pond. The process is usually finished in a few minutes, when the paper turns brown. Then Jo removes the glass and the plant, and rinses the print in a tub of water. This transforms the dull brown background to a vibrant Prussian blue.

The shape of the botanical is revealed in soft, contrasting white, often with hints of blue, conveying what can feel like the life force of the plant itself. Jo says the reveal is like magic. She never knows exactly what will happen.

Just as dear to her heart is the photogram, a specialized process that happens in a traditional darkroom. Jo places her subject between lightsensitive paper and a light source – an enlarger in this case – then develops the print using the same process as in traditional photography. Left behind is a detailed white image on a black background.

“I love that part of my work is created in darkness and part in sunlight. It provides a nice contrast and means I can structure my creative time around the weather,” says Jo, who will be teaching cyanotype workshops at the Museum of Dufferin and Stonewell Farm this summer.

Standing at the pond’s edge, Jo says, “My work is tied to nature. I’m very inspired just being here and appreciating all the little details.” The words are barely out of her mouth when she spots a plant that has the ideal texture for a cyanotype and goes to inspect. For Jo Thomson, the muse is always near.

PETE PATERSON

Writer and dancer Johanna Bernhardt lives in Orangeville.

Jo places feathers and botanicals between glass and treated paper, then clips them together before she places them in the sunlight.

SMART SOAPS, SWEET TOTES AND TABLE LINENS

BY JANICE QUIRT

SOAPS FROM SCRATCH

Beer. Soap. Each excellent on their own. But Megan Brozic and her Creemore company MB Soap Co. combine the two to yield a sudsy, exfoliating shower superhero thanks to the malted barley and natural amino acids in the hops – Creemore Springs Premium Lager in particular. The new blend joins Megan’s bestselling Lavender Eucalyptus soap, made with essential oils and coloured with natural clays and botanicals, just like her entire lineup. (Soap, $10, MB Soap Co.)

TABLE STAKES

Patty Lant crafts a range of linens for home and patio under her Creemore label Jardin Bleu. She renders her trademark napkins and reversible table runners in soft, muted colours and classic prints. Patty also takes custom orders for duvet covers, curtains and cushion covers. And her fabrics of choice are sustainably sourced Belgian flax linen and vintage cottons and cotton-linen blends. The pieces are easy to care for; simply machine wash and hang to dry or tumble dry on low. Ironing is optional, depending on who’s coming for tea.

(Cocktail napkins 6-pack, $36. Dinner napkins $10–$13 each, Jardin Bleu)

Rachel Mein’s whimsical embroidery business

How Lovely How Twisted started with clever pin and badge designs. Now, bigger canvases beckon. Her floral-embossed cotton totes are the perfect hold-alls to carry on summer adventures.

The Ballinafad-based artist also sources vintage clothing from thrift stores and secondhand boutiques to liven up with modern stitching – think campy fruit designs to 1980s-inspired squiggles.

(Tote bags, from $45, How Lovely How Twisted)

SOURCES

How Lovely How Twisted, Ballinafad & Toronto.

IG How Lovely How Twisted

Jardin Bleu, Creemore. IG Jardin Bleu_Linens

MB Soap Co., Creemore. IG MB Soap Co

COMPOST CONFIDENTIAL

The art and science of breaking down kitchen and yard waste to create your own blend of nutrient-rich natural fertilizer.

BY ALISON MCGILL • ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH ANN PEARCE

EVERY SEASONED GARDENER KNOWS THAT one of the secrets of robust growth is rich, dark compost. If you have a rural property, consider making your own. It may be easier than you think.

“Composting can sound complicated as there is some science involved in creating it,” says Jamie Richards, owner of Am Braigh Farm in Mono. “The main thing to keep in mind is everything that goes into your compost is organic, and everything organic breaks down.”

It all begins with collecting green and brown materials (greens are abundant in nitrogen while browns are full of carbon and carbohydrate-rich). Greens include plant material and cuttings, oil-free vegetable and fruit kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings and sheep, cow or horse manure, says Mono-based gardening expert Julia Dimakos. Cardboard, newspaper, dry fallen leaves, shredded paper, paper egg cartons, straw, hay and eggshells are considered browns. When this matter is exposed to the oxygen in the air, micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi get to work, digesting and breaking it down. To keep pests away, both Richards and Dimakos recommend leaving dairy and meats out of the mix.

Compost containment

There are a few schools of thought on where to house your compost heap. If you live in the country, Dimakos recommends creating your own compost structures. She currently has three simple four-foot by four-foot-square compost boxes she built out of

wood planks. Though several piles are not essential, having three enables you to rotate the piles so one is always ready, another will be ready soon, and the third is a working pile.

Others erect sturdy bins made of chicken wire, cinder blocks or even trash cans perforated on the bottom. Make sure they are elevated off the ground or lined with biodegradable material such as paper or composting bags that will ensure airflow and drainage. A freestyle open pile directly on the ground will also work – and welcome helpful worms.

Tending your compost

What’s the best recipe for success? Include four times as much brown material as green and layer the two lasagne-style, says Dimakos. To start your pile, the bottom should be a brown layer, followed by green and so on. “Too much green material will turn your pile to sludge, while too much brown will cause the pile to go dormant,” she cautions.

This layering keeps odours neutralized, which stops animals from sniffing around, while a sludgy heap smells intensely foul because it emits ammonia and methane. “I top my greens immediately with shredded paper or dry shredded leaves,” says Dimakos.

This process causes the compost pile to heat up –temperatures can reach 130 F (about 54 C) or higher during peak decomposition – until the oxygen is depleted. To keep on track, invest in a compost thermometer to help you know if your pile is active. Moisture is key, too. If the pile is dry, water once a week to aid decomposition.

When the pile cools off and becomes inactive, Richards recommends turning the compost with a shovel or pitchfork to reintroduce oxygen, allowing the process to repeat. “If after turning the pile, it stops heating, this typically signals your compost is complete and ready to use. It should have a sweet smell about it. That’s when you know it’s done,” Dimakos says.

The final product

In an active compost system, in which the brown-togreen ratio is well-maintained, the moisture level is consistent and the temperature rises and falls, garden compost may be ready within two to three months, Dimakos says. But even in a passive compost system without much intervention, compost can still be ready within a year. Just make sure the process is complete before you use it.

“Compost that has not broken down can burn your plants’ roots because there is too much nitrogen,” says Richards. “It can also take nitrogen out of the soil to further facilitate the decomposition, which can slow the growth your garden.”

Once you start using your homegrown compost, expect better growth and less yellowing of vegetable and flower plants, though not immediately. “Over a few years, you will notice your gardens are growing better,” says Richards.

Alison McGill is a writer, editor and podcaster who lives in Halton Hills.

15THSIDEROAD

KILGORIE PINE RIVER LOOP

This is a cool hike on a hot day. You begin with the turbulent Pine River pounding alongside you, pass by a power plant ruin and then overlook a peaceful lake where Atlantic salmon spawn. Stop at Bell Lookout and admire the van Nostrand Family Nature Reserve - all in 6 glorious (and occasionally hilly) kilometres.

Gorgeous, shady hardwood forest.

BROOK TROUT

Park on Centre Road near River Road in Kilgorie in the Township of Mulmur.

PROVINCIAL FISHING AREA

PINERIVER

RIVERROAD

HIKING ETIQUETTE

Hike only on marked trails. Obey all signs. Carry out all litter, including dog poo. Keep dogs leashed. Don’t disturb people, animals, plants or trees.

PRINCE OF WALES ROAD

LARGE-TOOTHED ASPEN

Fast-growing and short-lived, Populus grandidentata helps retain soil and trap moisture in disturbed landscapes.

In 2018, the Pine River was stocked with 10,000 brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and another 5,000 CENTRE ROAD

A moderate, rolling and sometimes muddy 6km, 2-hour hike

Main Bruce Trail

Pine River Valley Side Trail

Carl Alexander Side Trail

Kilgorie Side Trail

NICOLA ROSS IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING LOOPS & LATTES HIKING GUIDE SERIES

<<Horning’sMills~4km

SEEING THE FOREST AND THE TREES

Field botanist Lisa Riederer painstakingly inventories trees, shrubs and groundcover plants for Credit Valley Conservation.

BY TONY REYNOLDS

THE CREDIT RIVER RISES around Orangeville and Alton, and flows south to Lake Ontario at Port Credit. The watershed covers 1,000 square kilometres, is home to about 750,000 people and every year provides natural capital – water supply, air purification, waste treatment, soil formation, carbon storage and much more – that experts value at more than $370 million. Its worth, however, extends far beyond dollars when you walk among the trees or paddle in water that has flowed for 10,000 years.

Lisa Riederer is a field botanist who helps maintain the health of this vital landscape. She works for Credit Valley Conservation and spends the growing season creating inventories of plant life in the watershed. “This gives us an understanding of what we have: what’s common, what’s rare, and what invasive species, diseases and pests are impacting the land,” she says.

5:30 A.M. Lisa wakes up and gets a lunch ready. “Usually I make sandwiches, but sometimes just

snacks. When it’s really hot I don’t feel like eating much.” She also prepares a one-handed breakfast to eat in the car on the way to the office.

6:30 A.M. She leaves home in Hamilton, where she lives with her partner, Nadia Cavallin, and their two Boston terriers, and heads to the Credit Valley Conservation offices in Mississauga.

7:30 A.M. Lisa arrives at the offices, meets her assistant, Alli Albin, picks

up her CVC vehicle and heads for the field. Sometimes it’s an hour’s drive and a 45-minute walk to the worksite, but today’s location is a newly acquired tract near Terra Cotta Conservation Area.

8:10 A.M. After donning boots and hats, the pair pick up backpacks and head out. “We go out into the field with aerial images of the area. We just started using a new field maps app on the phone.” They used to have to use GPS units and a co-ordinate

Lisa Riederer inspects ground cover plants at the Terra Cotta Conservation Area in mid-May.

system called a universal transverse mercator to plot their position on the paper map. Now Lisa just presses a button on her phone.

About 1,500 plant species and subspecies grow in the watershed. Lisa identifies which are growing where and Alli takes notes. They also map plant habitats and collect information about their structure.

“I’ll note what trees, shrubs and groundcover plants are present, how tall they are, how much area they cover, and any disturbances affecting the area,” she says. “If the trees are dying, I find out why and make notes on specific wildlife habitat like trees with large cavities, areas producing lots of acorns or nuts, among many other things.”

On this day in May, the black flies are busy, but Lisa doesn’t mind. “After 15 years I don’t notice them, but some days you feel like everything is trying to drink your blood or sting you.” Then there are the days when the humidity makes it feel like more than 40 C, and they’re walking like mountain goats on the steep valley slopes.

“Of course, we do have many good days, but I think the most memorable ones are when we’re doing aquatic surveys. It’s a treat to be out on the water in a kayak, looking at the aquatic edge, recording the plant species growing in lakes and ponds.”

NOON (OR WHENEVER THE NEED ARISES) . Lisa and Alli find a fallen log to sit on to have lunch … usually. “It’s a little bit difficult sometimes when you’re wading in a swamp and there’s nothing to sit on. You have a standing lunch.” Kayaks are much more fun, as are the days when a plant takes them by surprise.

Lisa carries a jeweller’s loupe. “When you’re not sure what it is, you can look closely at all the plant features,” she explains. Today, along with trilliums and trout lilies, Lisa finds a plant that is not common in this neck of the woods: wood betony that flowers yellow or pale purple in June.

Surveying an old quarry near Forks of the Credit one day, she found a small depression with some unusual native plants. “There was a sedge that was very rare, with a rare horse tail, and also a plant called smallflower

false foxglove – Agalinis paupercula

I had only seen that one in a photo before and obviously it wasn’t anywhere else in the watershed. How would one plant get here?”

Other things can take them by surprise. Over the past few years, bear sightings have been reported in and around the Credit River watershed.

One day in the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area, they noticed a lot of bear scat, which made them very wary. “We didn’t see the bear itself, but it had definitely been there a long time.” Earlier on the day we met them, Lisa and Alli had been walking through a rocky area when a turkey vulture suddenly flew up from its nest no more than two metres away. “That scared us! How did we not see it? Turkey vultures are huge.”

The area where they are taking this survey is about 28 hectares (70 acres) and they will need several more days to complete a full inventory. They’ll return twice more, in the summer and again in the fall, to note the plants that thrive in each season. They’re out in the field most weekdays, rain or shine, from mid-May to October, except in thunderstorms and high winds. When the day is very hot, they may start earlier and leave before the heat hits its peak.

In winter and on days when they’re not in the field, Alli enters the data they have collected into the CVC Natural Heritage Database. Lisa will check it and that information becomes part of an extensive database for anyone who needs information about the watershed.

“If someone wants to know how many wetlands we have, they can look to our vegetation community mapping data,” Lisa says. “If someone needs to know what birds are breeding in a certain area, if there are rare species that can be harmed by human activities, how our watershed will be impacted by the next tree pest or disease, our data will help answer those questions.”

3 P.M. Lisa and Alli start their drive back to the CVC offices to check in before heading home.

Tony Reynolds is a freelance writer who lives happily above Broadway in Orangeville.

A PERFECTLY CLUTTERED TOOL BENCH

BY BETHANY LEE • ILLUSTRATION BY SHELAGH ARMSTRONG

AS I SLIP INTO THE GARAGE TO FIND THE garden snippers, I breathe in the cool, dark, slightly damp atmosphere. My eyes take a moment to adjust from the bright sunlight outdoors. It’s a scorcher outside and I’m happy for the reprieve. I inch my hands over the old hood of the car and make my way to the tool bench.

I hunt for the snips, and eventually find them among the jumble of tools. Reflexively, I start pecking around on the bench to organize the various implements, odd receipts and leftover project parts. As I sift through the disarray, smelling the dank and delicious scent, I am instantly reminded of my dad’s tool bench.

No matter where we lived, there was a space for my

Horsing around Angelstone Tournaments show grounds and Caledon Equestrian Park are the places to be for the horsey set, or those in your stable with horsey dreams. Admission is free to these world class facilities, and both grounds are spectacular. Take a blanket, plenty of hydration, and sunscreen. Food for purchase on site. Trot over to the calendars online and

dad’s tools. House tools and auto tools – often mixed in with one another. As our accommodations grew, so did the collection. It hit its peak when we lived on the Maples road in East Garafraxa. The tool bench was long and L-shaped, and part of a driveshed, not just a garage. Simple but ample and built from wood by the Moote family before us, it had been in use for decades before our takeover. The driveshed was nothing to look at from the outside, but on the inside it was a glorious, slightly mad space.

Tools covered the surfaces. Old and new tumbled together. My dad’s red Snap-On toolbox, with its many drawers, was the source of fascination for me as a preteen and teen. I tried to make sense of it all – socket wrenches, pressure gauges, screwdrivers

check out, for example, the Sportsman’s Cup and the Great Pony Challenge at the Caledon Equestrian Park June 27 to July 2, where you will see Children’s Pony and Junior Hunter Classes to inspire your young riders. angelstone.ca; caledon. showgroundslive.com

Free Family Fishing

It’s Free Family Fishing week in Ontario from July 1 to 9.

Recreational fishing in Ontario fosters awareness about our waterways, fish habitats and the importance of keeping them healthy, and fish as a food source. If you’re participating, a few pro tips: Ensure you follow conservation licence catch limits; obey size limits and sanctuaries; follow the fishing regulations; and carry a permit or ID card issued by the provincial or federal

with different handles and names, bolts, washers and screws. Drywall knives, putty blades and drywall tape piled like a game of pick-up sticks teetering on a stack of half-empty paint cans. Tangy smelling compounds for fixing rust on vehicles beside wire mesh to build out bumpers and wheel wells, and piles of rags scattered across the top of the long bench. It was a mess and a muddle.

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” as the adage goes. I sometimes took it upon myself to tidy things up, placing the wrenches in order, the screwdrivers by size, taking liberty to rearrange the drawers of the red metal nest, one by one. My need for organization overtook my dad’s need for speed and multitasking.

government. It’s the right way to fish! An important highlight for up-and-coming anglers: The TackleShare program lends tackle for free at many locations. Check out the Free Family Fishing site for more info. ontario.ca/page/ free-family-fishing

DIY time is back at PAMA Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives is back with

summertime self-guided art projects to inspire creativity. Do-it-yourself studio time activities change monthly. In July the focus is on multimedia work by Simranpreet Anand in her current exhibition, “a crack in the mirror.” Create your own art inspired by her work. Check the website for August’s theme. Great for children ages 5 to 12 (guardians must accompany children). This

He was a mechanic by trade, and then a house and farm renovator, a tractor owner, multiple lawnmower collector, and a do-it-yourself man who could fix anything.

No doubt, I annoyed the heck out of him by “organizing” the confusion. When he went to look for the scraper or a scrap of trim, it was nowhere to be found. How about a tiny cotter pin to replace the broken one on the trailer hitch (needed ASAP)? It was neatly put in one of the clear jam jars nicely displayed by size on the edge of the window, but nowhere to be found by his hazel eyes.

Now the same sights and sounds greet my eyes and I find myself comforted by the accumulated clutter. There is a history to a lot of these tools handed down from my dad, who now, almost completely blind, can’t see well enough to use his skills. They will someday be my son Adrian’s. There are some gorgeous T-squares of various sizes that belonged to my late brother, Jeff, along with his circular saw and other tools. My husband, Derrick, Adrian and I talk about him when we use them. “What would Jeff do?” we ask as we work through project conundrums. We love our Magnum paint sprayer that we call Tom Selleck every time we pull it out – “Hello, Handsome.” Some lovely wood-handled tools were even my Papa Munro’s – who was a hobby woodworker. So much history in the chaos.

And there, a bit shinier than the others, is a new tool chest. It’s Adrian’s. It’s a gorgeous gunmetal Mastercraft, not so huge that it’s unmanageable, with myriad drawers, like the old Snap-on, that have yet to be filled. My dad gave it to Adrian last Christmas, in his first year of college, and they have slowly started filling it with the basics. It’s a joint venture where my dad can start filling the chest, then guide Adrian under the car hood with instructions as Adrian does the hands-on. Derrick and I filled a gift box with Fast Orange hand cleaner, garage rags and an automotive code reader. Since then Adrian’s bought a creeper so he can roll under the old Mustang he and my dad are working on.

Rummaging around, I open Adrian’s tool chest, grab the Fast Orange and take a whiff – I can’t help but love that gritty smell of cleaned-up work hands and a job well done. I think about maybe organizing the drawers, and make a start … then stop. I close the top slowly and leave everything where it is, in just the right place.

Bethany Lee is a freelance writer who lives in Mono. drop-in is included in general admission. Members are free. pama.peelregion.ca

Caledon Day –free concert included!

Caledon Day is a classic community event. It’s free, and a great time for the whole family. Come together on June 17 at the Caledon East Community Complex for familyfriendly activities all day long.

The fun includes a free concert by the Juno Award-winning Sheepdogs; the Tim Hortons Community Zone (featuring life-sized games, an Art Bus, and vendor market); a Plug’n Drive zone to check out electric vehicles; and a fireworks finale at 9:45 p.m. All this and your kids will be tuckered out and ready to be tucked in after a perfect summer night. caledon.ca/caledonday

BRAIN FOG: HOW TO CLEAR THE COVID HANGOVER

BY GAIL GRANT

WE’RE ALL TALKING ABOUT IT. IT’S AT THE top of our minds … on the tip of our tongues. You know. What’s it called again? Oh, yeah, brain fog. It seems to be an epidemic of its own. We reach for memories and find they can’t always be retrieved. Or the link between words and meaning has been misplaced. And we’re all familiar with the look of incredulous helplessness on the face of a friend who has forgotten where her sentence was going.

I recently had a delightful 20-minute chat with a woman in the grocery store parking lot. After we parted, I resorted to searching my phone’s contact list to come up with her name (and I noticed, somewhat ruefully, that she hadn’t used my name, either).

For me, mind muddle is much farther up the scary scale than the more familiar grinding and crunching of an aging body. But the perversely encouraging news is that it’s not just the older generation feeling the effects of sluggish thinking. I’ve heard much younger people complaining about the same unsettling discomforts.

So let’s just call it the Covid hangover. The last three years flatlined our experiences and limited our options. We suffered through what felt like an interminable period of isolation and aloneness, hoping to mitigate our chance of catching the dreaded virus.

Our social patterns were disrupted, and we formed

new habits. As a result, getting out and about now feels like an unfamiliar effort. It’s tough kickstarting our social engines.

So, often we don’t. We get into our jammies as soon as the sun sets, pop the corn, and settle down, feet up, with Netflix. The cycle persists, the brain fog continues.

During a recent online chat with Caledon East’s Leanne Flood, she told me that she and husband, Brian, have noticed significant changes in their lives since Covid. “Our social world has definitely shrunk.

We’re trying to slowly get back into some things, but it’s a bit of a push.”

But for our own good, it may be time for all of us to make that push and get beyond the lethargy that’s overtaken us – especially for those who live alone, which is more and more of us. In 2021, according to Statistics Canada, 15 per cent of Canadians 15 and older lived alone, the highest number in history, with that number significantly skewed toward older adults.

Of course, living alone doesn’t necessarily equate with being lonely, but if the goal is to keep our brains and even our bodies healthy, social interaction is an important factor in getting there. Many studies have shown that social connections with family, friends and community not only enhance cognitive function but improve outcomes across a wide range of medical disorders from high blood pressure to coronary disease.

But how do you build your social circle? Experts suggest seeking opportunities to meet people who share your interests. This could be through volunteering, taking a class, joining a gym, getting involved with your faith community, or getting a part-time job.

I’m fortunate to live in a Palgrave community that makes social interaction a priority. We recently had a sign-up day at our clubhouse where 14 activity leaders

SINGER, WRITER, ADVENTURER, ATHLETE and opera fan, Tina Daalderop’s zest for life is matched only by her dedication to her community.

Tina was born in Baltimore, the youngest of three children. Her parents divorced when she was just three, and remarried, creating a blended family that exposed her to different lifestyles. Her politician father and stepmother, who grew up abroad with a father in the foreign service, inspired her curiosity and love for travel and adventure. Her mother, a New York model, and stepfather, a physician, led her toward pursuing a career in the medical field.

After high school Tina obtained a degree in early childhood education, followed by an RN, working at Johns Hopkins Hospital. After a break for travel, she returned to school, earning a bachelor of science and helping to set up a clinic for illegal immigrants.

On a trip home during that time, her stepmother

introduced her to Matt Daalderop, who had immigrated to Canada from Holland to study optometry. They married four years later, settling briefly in Toronto before moving in 1975 to the home on Bolton’s North Hill where they have lived ever since –though not without interludes of travel and adventure.

Those adventures included a 15-month transatlantic voyage by sailboat, during which their two children, Mark-Jan and Marijke, then 10 and 11, were homeschooled at sea.

Although Tina long harboured a dream of returning to Maryland where her siblings still live, her commitment to the Caledon community has never wavered.

Tina Daalderop has had a lifelong commitment to community service.

MEET

offered everything from art classes, yoga, golf leagues, and tech education and support to pickleball, tennis and even bocce.

But whatever the activity, the key attraction was to find a way to reconnect with friends and neighbours. “The number of people who turned out was well beyond our expectations, and the atmosphere was a blend of happiness and anticipation,” said Eve Sutton, who directs activities at the clubhouse. By the end of the day many classes and activities were at capacity with substantial wait lists.

And there are other, more casual ways to re-establish those human bonds. With the warm weather, I’ve noticed groups of people having animated conversations on the outdoor patios along Broadway in Orangeville – the perfect place to hang out and relax. And among my friends and acquaintances spontaneous hugging is definitely back. Both are positive signs that we are emerging from the stringent isolation and fears of the Covid days.

We have learned to adapt to shifting physical capabilities as we age. While none of us knows how much runway we have left, we do know that cultivating strong social connections will help us make the most of the time we have – and may even blow away a lot of that pesky brain fog.

Gail Grant is a happily retired senior who lives in Palgrave.

Driven by both her cultural and social service interests, she was instrumental in establishing the Caledon advisory council aimed at fostering culture in Caledon and served on the board of Caledon Community Services. Over the years she has also volunteered with the Orangeville Concert Association, the Humber Valley Heritage Trail Association, Meals on Wheels, HomeJames and Chez Thrift.

Now 78, she is spearheading the post-Covid revival of the popular CrossCurrents music nights at Bolton United Church. And she does some performing of her own at local seniors’ residences with fellow guitarist and singer Freda Wrench. She continues to stay physically active as an avid tennis player and certified Nordic pole walking instructor. Tina says she feels blessed to have had a busy and fulfilling life, and she adds emphatically, “I’m not done yet.”

FROM THE GROUND UP

John and Paola Chiodo’s contemporary Caledon bungalow delivers on two teenagers’ dream of a tranquil life in the country.

BY TRALEE PEARCE • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN FITZGIBBON

AS JOHN AND PAOLA CHIODO tell the story of how we came to be sitting in a gleaming white kitchen sipping espresso and nibbling biscotti, it’s hard not to image the pair busting through a race tape strung across their front door.

“It felt like crossing the finish line,” John says of moving into this well-appointed Caledon bungalow in 2018 with Paola and their two boys,

Alessandro, 10, and Luca, 13. “Landing on this property and building this house – this was something we’ve talked about doing since we were 18 years old.”

And when John refers to building the grey stone house, he’s not speaking as a client. He and his team at his renovation and custom home company, CBG Homes, conjured it from foundation to roof. In close

consultation with Paola, the team delivered a contemporary, single-level home which leans on classic elements to ground it. Crown mouldings are deep, doors are solid wood and the floors are gleaming stained maple. The wide living area and kitchen face the front door and foyer. To the west of the entrance is the formal dining room. To the east is a shared office and down the hallway are three bedrooms.

As the pair describes more about the design and construction process, their priorities – some might say obsessions – big and small aren’t far from the surface. You won’t find any screws on any light switch plates, for instance – a John thing. Paola, who works in telecommunications, needed lots of crisp white and a spacious kitchen with must-haves such as a pot filler over the stove. Paola’s take on the final product:

“You feel the space. It’s light, white and bright.”

That airiness is amplified by deep tray ceilings throughout the 3,800-square-foot main floor. “It’s a bungalow, but it doesn’t feel like a bungalow,” says John. While the space is double that of their previous home, the couple, who met in high school in Malton, agreed they didn’t want a house so big they

could lose track of each other. Back when the teenage dream of owning a country home first captured their imaginations, John was already engrossed in the world of carpentry, thanks to family members in the business – fittingly, his Italian surname Chiodo means nail. “From a young age – before it was legal – I would visit job sites and see how houses were built from the ground up.

ABOVE John, Luca, Paola and Alessandro Chiodo in the living room of their bright, airy home.

FACING PAGE The grey stone Caledon bungalow, built by John and his building company, sits on a one-and-a-half-acre property. John and Paola designed and planted the formal-looking gardens.

www.gbstone.ca

Over my 40-year career as a realtor, I have learned that ‘winning’ in real estate is about making 2 to 3 good real estate decisions in one’s lifetime. The key to making good decisions is not making the mistakes. How do you avoid mistakes? You hire a competent realtor in whom to put your trust.

Over those 40 years, I have helped my clients avoid mistakes and make those good decisions. Real estate purchases are not about doubling your money in a year. Good real estate purchases and sales reflect your needs and wants at specific times in your life. Buying a properly

built, well-cared-for home in a good neighbourhood, that will appreciate in value over years, is the objective.

If you buy quality, you also will be selling quality when that day comes.

So much of what a realtor should do is listen to the stated needs and wants of their clients. A good realtor can then provide the proper advice relative to price, quality of home, neighbourhood and market conditions. There must be a good rapport between realtor and client. I am not part of a real estate team and have a proven record of being able to plow through the volume of real estate transactions year

after year. My clients deal with me, personally, because that is the only way I know and the only way I want it. When you are happy, I am happy –and you deal with me... face to face.

As your Realtor, I will listen, I will advise and I will represent you in the manner that will help you avoid the mistakes and make good, sound decisions. In my 4 decades of experience, I preach what I have learned. My advice and guidance come with decades of experience that will navigate your buying or selling needs in a seamless process without the stress.

Do give me a call and know firsthand that experience truly matters... especially in the fluctuating markets that we are experiencing now.

ABOVE

ABOVE

RIGHT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 99

I was always intrigued with building.” John started CBG Homes in 1999 at the age of 20, while still living at home. Two years later he and his mom moved into a modest Etobicoke apartment, and even by the time John and Paola were married in 2006, spacious, luxurious homes belonged to John’s clients, not his own family. John

worked nights and weekends for many years as the pair saved for the future –a habit he continued when he was his own client.

As he visited job sites across the GTA and beyond, John began to narrow his aspirations to the Caledon area because of its tranquil, rural locale. “The first time I drove Paola up here she was like, ‘Where are you taking me?’ It felt far at the time. But we fell in love with it. We wanted peace and quiet.”

In 2016 John happened upon a oneand-a-half-acre estate lot 10 minutes from Bolton. A developer owned the land and had built a model home on the same street, but John lobbied to purchase just the land so he could build his own home. “The first answer was a hard no,” John laughs, signalling how successful his quietly tenacious approach would eventually be. John signed the deal on his and Paola’s 10th wedding anniversary. “So instead of

The spacious kitchen features chef-worthy touches including a pot filler above the stove for easy pasta-making.

RIGHT Paola and John extended their penchant for crisp white and chrome into the powder room design.

In the living area, white leather couches, glossy cabinets and mirrors balance the dark maple flooring.

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ABOVE A hallway on the east side of the home leads to the family’s three bedrooms.

ABOVE RIGHT The classic dining and side tables are the only two pieces of dark wood furniture retained from their previous home.

RIGHT Soft grey paint, a large rectangular mirror and other shiny touches add a youthful, contemporary feel to the dining room.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

jewelry, I handed my wife a piece of grass,” he says.

And so an exhilarating, at times exhausting, DIY project was underway. The couple sold the Brampton home they’d lived in for 10 years and moved in with John’s mother, who by then lived down the street from them. John and his team started the

house in 2017, and the family took up residence in August 2018, just in time for the school year. To hit that deadline, John and Paola became adept at rapid-fire decision making. “It can be overwhelming,” she says. “There was no time to hem and haw over a doorknob.”

The couple was also decisive when it came to deciding much of their older, dark furniture didn’t work here, so they got rid of a lot. But they also

found they were too tired to shop, so they’ve furnished the place slowly over the past five years – choices include an arresting chandelier, white leather couches and cabinets, and pieces with chrome details that stand up to the architecture. The basement is unfinished for now, with a few of the family’s older pieces of furniture allowed to linger. It’s a wide-open space and therefore a boon for the kids, who rollerblade the entire width of the

house and whack tennis balls against a wall marked with targets. As we sip our espressos, Paola points to the oversized window above the kitchen sink, which looks out to the lawn and trees beyond, as one of the biggest luxuries of the move. In their previous Brampton subdivision home, privacy never felt like a given. “I wondered if my neighbours could see how many sugars I put in my coffee,” she jokes. “No one’s watching me here.”

living/dining, chef’s kitchen Main floor laundry, walkout to multi-level deck Finished basement with rec room, bathroom, gym and office 90x133 ft lot,

CONTINUED FROM

But when the family does want to engage with neighbours, they’re easy to find, especially during walks on nearby Mount Pleasant Road. “Caledon is one of the nicest communities I’ve ever been in,” says John. “Sometimes we’ll go for a few kilometres and the number of people that will walk past and say hello –they’re so friendly. Sometimes my son and I will be playing tennis in the driveway, and people will stop and talk with us. You can have a conversation for five minutes with someone you’ve never known before.”

The family is keen on fishing and hiking at Albion Hills Conservation Park, which is just west of them, and the boys can be found on Earth Day picking up garbage

along the roads where they greet their neighbours. “The kids take pride in where they live.”

As much as they love their new community, the Chiodos admit they are homebodies at their core, a trait already emerging in the next generation. For Luca’s birthday last year, they asked him where he’d like to host it. Thirteen-yearolds like theme parks, trampoline gyms, maybe laser tag, right? Nope. He wanted it in the backyard on the covered porch. “I want to stay home,” he told them.

ABOVE Come summer, the home’s back patio – under a striking cedar-lined ceiling – is where the family spends most of their time.

Luxury of privacy in the peaceful hills of Hockley Valley, exceptional 5-acre estate backing on to conservation land Over 5000 sq ft of living space meticulously renovated by Millcreek Builders

Open-concept main floor with elm plank flooring & soapstone fireplace showcases remarkable aesthetics and design Custom kitchen with zebrawood cabinets and quartz countertops Beautiful views of the landscape & gardens with numerous walkouts East wing w/ large primary bdrm, 4-pc ensuite, sitting room w/ gas fireplace overlooking saltwater pool West wing w/ foyer, bdrm & large office/meeting room Impressive property w/ extensive limestone slab patios, cobblestone driveway, huge garage, beautiful fruit trees & perennial gardens High speed fibre internet $2,900,000

Spectacular 65 acres located in the heart of picturesque Mulmur Rolling open fields, hardwood forest bank barn 7 stalls beautiful run-in and trails throughout the property Custom design chef's kitchen, with large island, natural stone countertops, dining room and living room with cathedral ceilings and plank flooring Very private and peaceful setting with a view over the pond and dock Lots of amenities at your doorstep, skiing, biking, golfing, Bruce Trail and farmers’ markets $2,950,000

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Offers gorgeous pool, hot tub, water and fire features and timber frame cabana 3+1 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms all remodeled with designer finishings

1 4 acres with 103' deep water shoreline nestled amongst mature trees 4 bedrooms, 2 5 bathrooms with amazing lake views from every room Separate bunkie and Arctic swim spa included Short drive to Barrie or Orillia, golf courses, and approximately 1 hour from GTA

rolling acres featuring 9 paddocks (7 self-watering) with perfect sandy footing, 8 stalls and 80x160 ft super bright indoor arena 100x200 ft outdoor sand ring and lunge ring 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, detached 3-car garage Just minutes to Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave 45 minutes to Angelstone and 20 minutes to Teen Ranch

20-acre severed lot is part of the 100-acre parcel Stunning 4633 sq ft home has sweeping views accompanied by a world-class equestrian facility

24 stalls, indoor arena, viewing lounge, heated wash stalls, and outdoor sand ring The property features a guest house, artesian spring-fed pond, 39 acres of hay, forest with trails, multiple barns, and 10 paddocks The house and facility are accessed by separate gated drives, providing added privacy and security $4,950,000

Located

a serene dead-end road, this walkout bungalow sits on a 1-acre lot Features 3+1 bdrms/4 baths and walkout to a deck - an ideal setup for entertaining $1,499,000

Primary house is charming stone (1858) with a seamless addition providing the popular contemporary design features: main floor primary suite, eat-in kitchen/huge island, walk-in pantry, main floor laundry, walkouts to multiple flagstone patios Floor-to-ceiling windows offer long views over rolling lawns to the natural pond, spectacular mature trees and carefully planned perennial gardens Destination pool waits discreetly a short stroll away, for longer walks enjoy trails through the forest The second home has a 4-car attached garage, 2+2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, vaulted ceiling open-concept main floor and fully finished walkout lower level 2 fireplaces and covered back deck area complete the package $7,250,000

Sun-filled stone bungalow on an executive cul-de-sac in the historic village of Cheltenham Main floor features: all wood kitchen, formal dining, sitting and family rooms, 3+1 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms Enjoy lovely deck views over the quiet natural ravine Fully finished walkout lower level has second granite kitchen and guest suite, entertaining area boasting wet bar, fireplace seating, TV/games area and a workout space! Plus tons of storage 3-car garage is extra tall for all your toys, with access to house/yard/walk-down to the basement Everyone’s dream!

$3,200,000

As featured in film productions, recently CBC's Anne with an E, Belain farm has been a working farm since the 19th Century, whose long-term protection has been secured under The Ontario Farmland Trust This 4 bdrm, 3 5 bath, with main flr in-law suite pot, has breathtaking views over the rolling countryside & 2+ ac pond w/ weeping willow 10-stall barn 5 paddocks w/ run-in shelters sand ring 3-car grg, lrg drive shed, a sep 1-bdrm apt, plus an unfinished studio About 40 acs are farmed & 35 acs in forest w/ majestic trails 45 mins to

in-law/income potential Legal non-conforming duplex on 78 ft x 90 ft lot Two 2-bedroom units with two driveways, carport, garage with a studio Near Caledon Ski Club and Conservation Area New septic 45 minutes northwest of Toronto $998,000

and geothermal heating/air conditioning $4,250,000

This almost 1-acre property, with C1 zoning, includes four retail and storage buildings Highlights are a historic brick building with offices bathrooms and a licensed kitchen restaurant and a 25ft x 105ft metal building with heated workshop and multiple doors Additional features include a 23ft x 65ft drive shed and a 27ft x 30ft heated, insulated space Ample parking space is available

for

and

needing storage

solid investment

28-acre commercial plaza in a prime location offers diverse uses with its Corridor Commercial zoning The 17,000 sq ft complex includes grade and truck level doors Ample front and rear parking provide convenience

This

This 3-bedroom, 2-bath chalet-style home in Port Bruce is perfect as a personal retreat, a VRBO

Moffat Dunlap*, John Dunlap**, Murray Snider, Nik Bonellos, Elizabeth Campbell, Courtney Murgatroyd, Sean Wynn, Mark Campbell***, David Warren****

*Chair man, **Broker of Record, ***Sales Representative,****Broker

Opportunity knocking Future development land Outside of Niagara Escarpment Commission & Conservation One farm away from

family residence Indoor pool, sauna Large workshop 50 acres $3,999,999

25 private acres surround this 6000 sq ft modernist masterpiece 4 light-filled bedrooms 4 bathrooms Nearby access to golf clubs, skiing, hiking Asking $5,250,000

Over 100 acres of beautiful land is the setting for this magnificent 7 bedroom/6 bathroom Georgian-style home and 40-stall Halton Hills equestrian estate This property includes indoor arena, workshop, 3 separate apartments and frontages on 2 roads A beautiful place to live, a great income generator, and a wise long-term investment There have been no severances taken Convenient to the city in a quiet country location $7,500,000

Sturdy stone home on over 100 acres near Freelton 60 acres workable plus forested land Renovate the existing 3-bedroom home for yourself or build your dream home and restore the existing home as a guest house You decide the dream – farm life, getaway, lavender farm, weekend retreat Large parcels convenient to the city are a rare offering $2,750,000

5 bdrm nestled on cliff blending into nature

Overlooks hills of Hockley Main floor prim bdrm Sunrm, pool, hot tub & koi ponds w/ waterfalls Fields, gardens, trees, trails, brook & long views 3-car grg w/ heated 2nd lvl loft $3,299,000 Wayne Baguley 519-941-5151

Perfect private setting on almost 30 acres Renovated 4-bedroom Victorian farmhouse with large rooms & fin bsmt Separate 2-bdrm apt for family/income Brand new custom 42x36 HFH horse barn with custom finishes & heated tack room 5-car garage, separate bank barn with 5 stalls plus addition stabling New sand ring for the horses & pool for the humans 8 paddocks with waterers plus forest trails You ll never want to leave home! $2,899,000

Large 83-acre parcel of vacant land with approximately 48 acres of workable land Includes woods and a stream flowing through Perfect storybook setting for your dream home with the opportunity to continue to have working farmland Build your own dream farm or contract the land to a farmer and watch your investment grow Conveniently located near Belwood between Orangeville and Fergus "They re not making more land " $2,300,000

C O U N T R

I V I N

D R E A M 4500+ sq ft 5 bdrm 5 bath spacious kit/din great rm, bsmt workshop, indoor pool, 3-car garage, 45 acres with 5 km trails, bordering Grand River Rolling hills, pond, shed (30'x50

Newly built on 2 46 ac w/ approx 6000 sq ft of total space High end finishes throughout, 9ft ceilings, open concept, walk-up from finished basement to large 4-car garage 4 bedrooms and 5 bath Mins to Orangeville! $2,599,900 Wayne Baguley 519-941-5151

STEPHEN DIGNUM

Private country living on 10 treed acres with easy access to Schomberg, Nobleton, King City and the 400 Located just off Weston Road on the very quiet, low traffic 17th Sideroad

Lovely bungalow in the trees had a complete rebuild in the late 1980s 3+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms Newly renovated kitchen offers a unique, pleasing layout – adaptable for quiet evenings alone or large group entertaining Floor-to-ceiling windows multiple walkouts bring all the beauty of nature right to your doorstep! Simply breathtaking!

EUGENE DIGNUM

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Clear land with fenced perimeter and pretty pond is suitable for sheep, or a couple of horses, located on a paved county road 3-bdrm 2-bath home is larger than it looks with a new propane furnace and w/o lower level with separate entrance $1,199,000 9

jacquelineguagliardi com

519-833-0569

• 800-268-2455

9 - A C R E F A R M – A R T H U R

Move-in-ready, 3-bdrm bungalow w/ fenced yard Detached 2-car garage w/ loft + 30’x32’ Quonset for toys & hay 3 year new, insulated, 3-stall barn w/ tack/feed room and wash stall, fenced 80’x160’ outdoor arena, chicken coop and 5 acres seeded in hay $1,350,000

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5 - A

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This strong architectural open-concept home features 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, primary room with 4-piece ensuite with steam shower crown moulding top quality Thermador kitchen appliances including Thermador steam oven and ample natural light Enjoy 4 fireplaces and many walkouts to your serene 3 44-acre backyard with inground pool and outdoor dining/ entertainment area Generac generator Fully automated and controlled by your phone from lights to heating/AC system Whole home renovated (2015-2016), high efficiency propane furnace (2016) windows (2015) and many more Turn key move-in-ready – just in time to enjoy the beautiful property this summer! $2,299,000

112 / IN THE HILLS

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At a 1000 ft elevation just north of Caledon enter a world of breathtaking vistas Entertain in your impressive 11,000 sq ft chateau with 35 ft vaulted ceilings, 72 ft great hall and music hall A 3-storey elevator allows access from the garage and secondary suite to the 1200 sq ft reception/music hall, acoustically designed for concerts and recitals Take in the panoramic views from the 1500 sq ft 2-level terrace, enjoy the inground pool, all-sports court, stroll through the 2km groomed trails and 5 5-acre vineyard A 2600 sq ft winery building could also be converted to vintage car storage, equestrian facilities, etc $5,200,000

Year-round enjoyment at this 5-acre wooded property complete with backyard oasis including heated inground pool, patio and firepit areas, outdoor kitchen and cabana Beautiful

“True North” log home with wood-burning fireplace, an open concept rustic charm, with soaring ceiling up to loft and primary bedroom Finished basement features wet bar, gas fireplace and 4th bedroom Plus detached workshop/garage $1,499,999

With over 1550 sq ft of living space, you don’t need to downsize This 2-level, penthouse condo offers updated kitchen with view out to the open balcony, large family room/den, separate laundry room and upper level with two primary bedrooms, each with full ensuite bathrooms and walk-in closets Did we mention the two underground parking spaces and short walk to shops, cafés and restaurants Book your private showing today $684,900

Located in central Orangeville this irresistible 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom bungalow offers a beautiful mature lot 60 x132 , large trees and parking for 4 cars Features include a spacious kitchen with oak cabinets, dining room with walkout to rear sunroom, updated 4-piece bath Basement has recreation room with wet bar, bright laundry room with above-grade window and large workshop/utility area $699,900

Peaceful one-acre property, NW of Orangeville, overlooking farming fields & open meadows Facing easterly views, this classic red brick bungalow awaits its new owner 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, living room with cozy wood stove, engineered wood floors Spacious country kitchen has quartz countertops & white cabinetry Main floor laundry/mudroom w/ access to doublecar garage, rear yard & stairs to basement Visit our website for virtual tour $984,900

One of Ontario’s most sought-after communities Features walkout basement

kitchen, large principal rooms Workshop and hanger $3,249,000

RCR Realty, Brokerage Independen ly Owned & Operated

Backs onto coveted Credit River in Brimstone for fly fishing Stunning loft style home with great room main floor concept, gourmet kitchen, walkout lower level $1,949,000

Situated on nearly 90 acres this Dutch Masters built equestrian facility features 16 stalls 2 grooming stalls, wash stall, 80x180 indoor arena with heated viewing room, heated tack room, office and 100x200 outdoor sand ring 14 paddocks, 30-acre hayfield and a separate bank barn with 7 additional stalls Lovely updated and maintained 4-bedroom house Separate 4-car garage $3,950,000

Tucked away on nearly 15 acres of Carolinian forest with 2 spring-fed ponds this wonderful 3-bedroom family home has been totally updated inside and out New kitchen, bathrooms, wiring, plumbing, furnace, a/c, composite deck, roof, siding and so much more Brand new state-of-the-art septic system just installed Enjoy a coffee on the deck overlooking the main pond 20x40 detached workshop/garage Don't miss this one! $1,975,000

3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms with superb unobstructed views of this scenic 45-acre parcel Enjoy ever-changing seasonal views from the covered wrap-around porch All-season shop with heated floors and studio/office with bathroom, heated 3-car garage, and bank barn Wonderful setting for an equestrian facility, landscaping business, hobby farm, agricultural crops, wedding venue and more Only a 6-minute drive to the Acton GO where 10 GO trains run daily to Union Station Angelstone Tournaments a 6-minute drive, Blue Springs Golf Course a 10-minute drive away and 26 minutes to Mohawk Woodbine Racetrack 4962 Third Line W in Erin $2,880,000

Victoria Phillips and Janna Imrie Sa es Representat ves

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A CALENDAR OF SUMMER HAPPENINGS

COMPILED BY JANET KERR DIMOND • ILLUSTRATIONS BY JIM

STEWART

ARTS & LETTERS

NOW – JUN 24 : KEIGHT MACLEAN:

ORDINARY WOMEN An award-winning, Queer, disabled female artist reproduces historical portraits of women with a twist. Tues-Sat 11am-4pm. Museum of Dufferin, Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

NOW – JUL 2 : A ROUND THE SQUARE

ART SHOW AND SALE Featuring 35 artists, 110 works on 12 x 12-inch square canvases including 3D works. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. Headwaters Arts Gallery, 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

NOW – SEP 1 : #HOPEANDHEALING

CANADA WITH TRACEY­ MAE CHAMBERS Constructed with red wool, silk and cotton yarn to start a conversation about healing. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

NOW – SEP 3 : ਸ਼ੀਸ਼ੇ

| SHEESHE

‘CH THARE Ṛ | A CRACK IN THE MIRROR A survey of multimedia work by artist Simranpreet Anand. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUN 22 : CRICUT: LIBRARY TOTE

BAG No experience necessary. Supplies provided. Library devices with Cricut Design Space installed available. Free, register. 6:30pm. Caledon Library, 20 Snelcrest Dr, Caledon. 905-8571400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUN 22 : CONNECTIONS: ART + BOOK CLUB Discuss Bonnie Garmus’ novel Lessons in Chemistry and women in STEM fields. Tour of Iron Willed exhibition. Free, register with Brampton Library. 7-8:30pm. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUL 2 – AUG 6 : YOURS TO DISCOVER: SIGHTS/SITES OF PEEL REGION Visual records of a place and time in various media. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUL 5 – AUG 6 : LIGHT. COLOUR. TEXTURE Kathryn Thompson, glass; Marnie Cooke, paint; Brian Parrott, wood. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. Headwaters Arts Gallery, 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

JUL 6 & 19 : LASER ­ ENGRAVED

BOOKMARKS Use our Glowforge 3D Laser Cutter to create a bookmark. No previous experience necessary. All supplies provided. Free, register Jul 1 at 10am. Jul 6: 6:30pm. Jul 19: 2pm. Caledon Library, 20 Snelcrest Dr, Caledon. 905857-1400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUL 22 : NOTEBOOK & JOURNAL

MAKING – AGES 16+ Use decorative papers and learn a book-binding stitch. No experience necessary.

1-3pm. $25; register. MoD, Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-9417787; dufferinmuseum.com

AUG 9 – SEP 10 : AS THE STORY GOES

Sometimes the artist’s narrative turns to exploration. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. Headwaters Arts Gallery, 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

AUG 12 : MODERN BATIK (EAST AFRICAN FABRIC ART) – AGES 12+ Design your own batik artwork with Deon Best. No experience necessary. All materials provided. 1-4pm. $50, register. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

AUG 16 & 24: EMBROIDERED TEA TOWELS Use our Janome Embroidery Machine to decorate a tea towel. No experience necessary. Supplies provided. Free, register Aug 1 at 10am. Aug 16: 2pm. Aug 24: 6:30pm. Caledon Library, 20 Snelcrest Dr, Caledon. 905-8571400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

AUG 29 & SEP 26 : MOD MASTERCLASS: CYANOTYPES Learn a 170-yearold photographic printing process with Jo Thomson. Wear something to protect clothing. Aug 29: 10am. Sep 26: 1pm. $85, register online. Museum of Dufferin, Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 10 : THE EDEN MILLS WRITERS’ FESTIVAL Showcase of 60+ established and emerging Canadian writers in all genres. Noon-6pm. Eden Mills. 519-341-4320; emwf.ca

SEP 14 – OCT 2 : HEADWATERS

ARTS FALL FESTIVAL JURIED ART

SHOW & SALE Opening Night Gala, Jurors Walk, Arts Marketplace, live concert by The Campfire Poets, A Bookish Afternoon featuring Canadian authors. Arts Marketplace and Jurors

Walk free. Tickets: Opening Night Gala, The Campfire Poets, Bookish Afternoon. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. Headwaters Arts Gallery, 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

SEP 29 – OCT 1 : CREEMORE

FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS Comedy, activities, and artists in venues, homes and on porches. Sep 30: Special program for the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. 3 Caroline St W, Creemore. Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society, 705-466-9906; phahs.ca

COMMUNITY

FARMERS’ MARKETS

ORANGEVILLE : May 6, Saturdays, 8am1pm, to Oct 21. Second St & Broadway. orangevillefarmersmarket.ca

CREEMORE : May 20, Saturdays, 8:30am-12:30pm, to Oct 28. Station on the Green parking lot, 10 Caroline St E. creemorefarmersmarket.ca

GRAND VALLEY : Jun 21, Jul 26, Aug 23. 3-8pm. Elizabeth Taylor Pavilion, 32 Water St, Grand Valley. landmangardens.ca

ERIN : June 22, Thursdays, 3-6:30pm, to Sep 28. Erin Fairgrounds, 184 Main St. erinfarmersmarket.ca

TBC BOLTON SUMMER MARKET : The Royal Courtyards, 18 King St E. downtownbolton.ca

NOW – ONGOING : GENERATIONS

LOST: HEALING THE LEGACY OF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS The enduring impacts on survivors, descendants and society. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

NOW – ONGOING : IRON WILLED: WOMEN IN STEM Recognition for the crucial role of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

NOW – SEP 30 : BEYOND THE BARS: THE HISTORY OF THE PEEL COUNTY JAIL Stories of those who spent time within. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUN 16 : SHELBURNE BLOOD DONOR

CLINIC Same day and open appointment spots available. Book now online. 3:306:30pm. Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex, Shelburne. Canadian Blood Services, 1-888-236-6283; blood.ca

JUN 16 : CREEMORE CELEBRATES

SUMMER SOLSTICE A magical evening of music surrounded by nature and warm community spirit. 5-10pm. Free. Creemore Village Green, 181 Mill St, Creemore. Creemore BIA, experiencecreemore.com

JUN 16, 23 & 30 : FRIDAY NIGHT FUN

DARTS – 19+ Drop-in evening for new and experienced players. 7:30-9:30pm. $5/week. Cash prizes. Alton Legion Br 449, 1267 Queen St, Alton. altonlegion.ca

JUN 16 & 23, JUL 7 & 14, AUG 4 & SEP 1 :

6 FRIDAYS IN THE PARK A range of live music, children’s entertainment and community activities. 6pm. Free. Jack Downing Park, 140 Main St E, Shelburne. 519-925-2600 x239; shelburne.ca

JUN 17 : CALEDON DAY 2023 Kids’ activities, local vendors, musical acts including four-time Juno Award winners

The Sheepdogs, fireworks and more.

2-10pm. Caledon East Community Complex, Caledon East. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

JUN 18 : RELESSEY MEMORIAL

All welcome. 2:30-4pm. Relessey Church, 874615 Dufferin Cty Rd 8 and 5th Ln, Mono. Relessey Cemetery Board, 519-941-1100.

ABBREVIATIONS

CCS

Caledon Community Services

CPCC

Caledon Parent-Child Centre

CVC

Credit Valley Conservation

DCAFS

Dufferin Child and Family Services

DCCRC

Dufferin County Community Resource Circle

DPSN

Dufferin Parent Support Network

EWCS

East Wellington Community Services

MOD Museum of Dufferin

NVCA

Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority

OAS

Orangeville Agricultural Society Event Centre

PAMA

Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives

SBEC

Orangeville & District Small Business Enterprise Centre

JUN 20, JUL 18 & AUG 15 : CHRIST CHURCH BOLTON FREE COMMUNITY SUPPER Open to everyone in every stage of life. 5:30-7pm. 22 Nancy St, Bolton. 905-857-0433; christchurchbolton.ca

JUL 20, AUG 17 & SEP 21 : ALZHEIMER OF PEEL – DEMENTIA DAYS Drop in for free information and resources. 10am. Caledon Specialist Clinic, 18 King St, Bolton. CCS, 905-584-2300

JUN 22 : LIBRARY LIVING Program for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Guest speakers, crafts, stories, music, info. Allergy Alert. 1:30-3pm. Free. Brampton Caledon Community Living, Caledon Library, 150 Queen Street S, Bolton. 905-8571400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUN 22 : AN EVENING UNDER THE STARS Cocktails, dinner, music and dancing at a private Mono country property. Proceeds to Dufferin Community Foundation. 5:30-11pm. $200. 519-938-0780; dufferincommunityfoundation.ca

JUN 19 – JUL 31 (MONDAYS) : EXPLORER’S BIBLE STUDY In-depth study of Galatians. Online or on-site discussion groups meet morning/evening. $10. 7-8pm. tabitha.ebs@gmail.com

JUN 20 : A SILENCED HISTORY WITH DR. PAMELA PALMATER

Commemorate National Indigenous History Month with “A Silenced History – What We Weren’t Taught in School.” 6:30-8pm. Free, register online. Monora Park Pavilion, 500 Monora Park Dr, Mono. County of Dufferin: People and Equity Department, dufferincounty.ca

JUN 20 : SENIORTECH: SOCIAL MEDIA

SAVVY Avoid the hazards, ensure time online is fun and fulfilling. Bring your own device. All levels. 1:30pm. Free. Caledon Library, 150 Queen Street S, Bolton. 905-857-1400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUN 23 : WINES OF THE WORLD Over 50 international wines, local craft beers and ciders. Lavender Blue goodies and live music with The Sweeter Thans. Home James will get you home safely. Proceeds to Rotary initiatives. 6-9pm. $75. Caledon Equestrian Park, 200 Pine Ave, Palgrave. Rotary Club of Palgrave, rotarywow.com

JUN 23 & 24 : DUFFERIN COUNTY MULTICULTURAL EVENT Celebrate art, food, music and more! Jun 23: 6:30pm – Art show exhibit opening. Jun 24: 11am-4pm – Multicultural events. Dufferin County Multicultural Foundation, Museum of Dufferin, Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

JUN 23, JUL 28 & AUG 25 : CALEDON

SENIORS’ CENTRE MONTHLY

DINNERS Dine-in or take-out. Jun 23: Greek kabobs. Order by Jun 21. Jul 28: Pulled pork. Order by Jul 26. Aug 25: TBD. Order by Aug 23. Pickup 4:30-5pm. Dine-in 5:30pm. Proof of vaccination required or a negative rapid antigen test. $15; local delivery $2; call to order. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

JUN 24 : MUD HERO TORONTO – ALL AGES A dirtilicious obstacle challenge. Wash stations. Kids: 1km (ages 4-7) and 1.5km (ages 8-12). Adults: 6km Classic or 12km Challenge. Register online. Entertainment, demos, great food and drinks. Cash only. 8am-10pm. Parking ($15), bag check ($5), spectator pass ($15). Mansfield Outdoor Centre, 937365 Airport Rd, Mulmur. mudhero.com

JUN 24, JUL 1, AUG 12 & 26 : ROSEMONT MARKETS Shop goods by local makers and artists. Rosemont Hall, 9237 Highway 89, Adjala Tosorontio. Rosemont General Store & Kitchen, 705-435-6575; rgstore.ca

JUN 24, AUG 19, SEP 9 & OCT 1 : FIELD TO FORK FARM TOURS & DINNERS Six local chefs create menus featuring goods from local farms. Music by Sohayla Smith. Rain or shine. Wear practical shoes. Proceeds to NDACT. 4:30-8:30pm. $125 online. 518024 Cty Rd 124, Melancthon. lennoxfarm.ca

JUN 27, SEPT 25 : STIR THE POT

Prepare soup for our food bank and shelters. $60, buys ingredients and includes wine and dinner. 6:30-9pm. Lavender Blue Catering and Café, 125 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-9393663; lavenderbluecatering.com

JUN 27 : SENIORTECH: PHOTO

FUN Stay organized, create and print keepsakes. Bring your own device. All levels. 1:30pm. Free. Caledon Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-8571400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUN 28 : HI COUNTRY HAM AND STRAWBERRY SUPPER Cold ham dinner and strawberry treats. 5-7pm. $20; children 6-10 $5; preschool free. High Country United Church, 346255 15 Sdrd, Mono. highcountryunited.weebly.com

JUN 30 : BOLTON TRUCK & TRACTOR PULL Food vendors, Bavarian garden and kids’ land. Fun for all ages. 6-11pm. Albion & Bolton Fairgrounds, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. Albion & Bolton Agricultural Society, 905-880-0369; boltontractorpull.ca

JUL 1 : CREEMORE CANADA DAY CELEBRATIONS BBQ, street hockey tournament, children’s activities, bike parade, Pie Bakers’ Contest,

music and fireworks. 9:30am. Free. Clearview Township, 705-4286230; clearviewtownship.ca

JUL 1 : DOWNEY’S CANADA

DAY STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

Entertainment, pancake breakfast, kids’ play area, live music, K-9 dog show and strawberries! 9:30am-4pm. Purchase tickets online. A portion of proceeds to Caledon Community Services. Downey’s Farm Market, 13682 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon. 905838-2990; downeysfarm.com

JUL 1 : THE NORTH DUFFERIN STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL Join us in Honeywood to celebrate the strawberry harvest. 5-7pm. North Dufferin Community Centre, Mulmur. mulmur.ca

JUL 2 – AUG 27 : SUNDAYS IN THE PARK Different types of fitness (10am) and genres of music (1pm) for all ages. Picnic in our newly built park space and splash pad. 10am-3pm. Free. Creemore. creemorevillagegreen.ca

JUL 7 – 9 : CALEDON RIBFEST Live music, vendors, children’s entertainment, rib-eating contest and more. Fri Sat 11am-10pm. Sun 11am-7pm. Free. Canadian Tire parking lot, 99 McEwan Dr E, Bolton. caledonribfest.ca

JUL 7 – 9 : CARABRAM BRAMPTON’S

MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL

Experience cultures through authentic cuisine, traditional dance and music. 6-11:30pm. Various locations, Century Gardens Recreation Centre, Brampton. carabram.org

JUL 8, AUG 6 & SEP 9 : WHOLE

VILLAGE ORIENTATION Tour the farm and eco-residence. 1-4pm. $10. 20725 Shaws Creek Rd, Caledon. 519-941-1099; wholevillage.org

JUL 12 : TEN MICROSOFT TRICKS

I WISH I’D KNOWN SOONER Save time and frustration using Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Zoom. 6:30pm. Free. Caledon Library, 905857-1400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUL 14 – 16 : ORANGEVILLE

ROTARY RIBFEST Mouth-watering

BBQ ribs, beer tent, car show, Kidsfest, entertainment. Proceeds to community projects. Fri 4-7pm. Sat 11am-10pm. Sun 11am-7pm. Alder Street Recreation Centre, Orangeville. The Rotary Club of Orangeville, 519939-1298; orangevilleribfest.com

AUG 11 – 13 : FERGUS SCOTTISH

FESTIVAL & HIGHLAND GAMES

Heavy events (shot put, caber toss, etc), highland dance, clans and heritage, pipes and drums, and so much more! Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex, Fergus. 519-787-0099; fergusscottishfestival.com

AUG 12 & 13 : ELYSIAN FESTIVAL A unique blend of yoga, meditation, and alternative healing with great teachers. Vendors on site. Portions of proceeds to mental health awareness and initiatives. 11am-8pm. Tickets on website. Alder Street Recreation Centre, Orangeville. elysianfestivalorangeville.com

AUG 16 : TEN WEB TRICKS THAT WILL GIVE YOU SUPERPOWERS Hacks and websites to boost your productivity! Zoom. 6:30pm. Free. Caledon Library, 905-857-1400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

AUG 18 : IN GOOD SPIRITS – A LOCAL CRAFT BEVERAGE TASTING EVENT

The finest locally produced regional beverages, delicious appetizers and music. 6-10pm. $25, as of mid-Jul online. Mill St, Orangeville. Orangeville BIA, 519-942-0087; downtownorangeville.ca

AUG 19 : TASTE OF ORANGEVILLE

Sample delicious food from our best restaurants with live music. Tasting tickets sold onsite until 3pm. Free entrance; tasting tickets $1 each with tasting samples between 1 to 4 tickets each. 11am-4pm. Mill Street, Orangeville. Orangeville BIA, 519-9420087; downtownorangeville.ca

SEP 19 – 23 : INTERNATIONAL PLOWING MATCH & RURAL EXPO

A celebration of agriculture and rural living featuring plowing competitions, educational displays, live entertainment and hundreds of vendors. Camp and RV sites available. 8:30am-5pm. Daily pass $25; youth (6-15) $5; 5 and under, free. Bowling Green, Amaranth. IPM 2023 Local Committee, plowingmatch.org

SEP 24 : HEIDI’S WALK FOR HOPE A 5km walk to raise funds and awareness toward violence against women. Proceeds to Family Transition Place. Leashed dogs and baby strollers welcome. Rain/ shine. $40; children 12 & under free. $20; virtual registrants receive a tax receipt. 10am-2pm. Island Lake Conservation Area, Orangeville. 519-942-4122 x243; heidiswalkftp.ca

FALL FAIRS

See websites for details.

SEP 1 – 3 : ORANGEVILLE FALL FAIR Orangeville Agricultural Centre, 247090 5 Sdrd, Mono. Orangeville Agricultural Society, 519-942-9597; oaseventcentre.ca

SEP 14 – 17 : BRAMPTON FALL FAIR Brampton Fairgrounds, 12942 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon. 905843-0210; bramptonfair.com

SEP 15 & 16 : SHELBURNE FALL FAIR

Shelburne & District Fairgrounds, 200 Fiddlepark Lane, Shelburne. shelburnefair.weebly.com

www.bramptononstage.ca

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 118

SEP 22 – 24 : BOLTON FALL FAIR & Bolton Fairgrounds, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-880-0369; boltonfair.ca

SEP 23 & 24 : GRAND VALLEY FALL

FAIR

Fairgrounds, 60 Main St N, Grand Valley. 226-979-3724; grandvalleyfallfair.ca

OCT 5 – 9 : ERIN FALL FAIR

Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, 190 Main St, Erin. erinfair.com

KIDS

JUN 17 & 18, 24 & 25 : DIY STUDIO TIME – AGES 5 TO 12

tour Iron Willed: Women in STEM, then create self-guided art projects. All children with an adult. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUN 23 – 25 : DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID JR

ocean home for the world above. Fri 8pm. Sat 2 & 7pm. Sun 2pm. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

JUN 25 : SUNDAY FUNDAY WITH CHALLENGE ISLAND

Explore

www.visitcaledon.ca

build your own rocket. All children with an adult. $30 per family (2 adults and up to 3 children), register. 2-3:30pm. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUN 30 : POWERFUL POLLINATORS –PA DAY CAMP with Ontario Honey Creations. 8:30am4:30pm. $60. Museum of Dufferin, Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

JUL 1 – 30 : DIY STUDIO TIME (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS) – AGES 5 TO 12

work inspired by Simranpreet Anand’s multimedia exhibit A Crack in the Mirror.” All children with an adult. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

visitcaledon.ca to discover fresh food, ice cold drinks and the best of our charming villages.

S U M M E R 2 0 2 3

E X P L O R E Y O U R M U S E U M !

U N I T Y I N D I V E R S I T Y

E X H I B I T I O N

F e a t u r i n g 1 3 a r t i s t s f r o m a c r o s s O n t a r i o , t h i s j u r i e d e x h i b i t i o n h i g h l i g h t s s t o r i e s a n d o r i g i n a l a r t w o r k e x p l o r i n g t h e t h e m e o f " U n i t y i n D i v e r s i t y "

J u n e 2 3 - J u l y 2 9

R e g u l a r a d m i s s i o n r a t e s a p p l y .

S U M M E R D A Y C A M P S

A r c h a e o l o g i c a l d i g s a n d h e r i t a g e c r a f t s !

T w o f u n - f i l l e d k i d s ' c a m p s t o c h o o s e f r o m

A r c h a e o l o g y C a m p

A u g . 1 4 - 1 8

B l a s t f r o m t h e P a s t C a m p

A u g . 2 1 - 2 5

N O T E B O O K - M A K I N G

W O R K S H O P

L e a r n h o w t o c r e a t e y o u r o w n h a n d m a d e n o t e b o o k o r j o u r n a l i n t h i s f u n a n d s i m p l e c l a s s C h o o s e f r o m a v a r i e t y o f d e c o r a t i v e p a p e r s a n d l e a r n a n e s s e n t i a l b o o k b i n d i n g s t i t c h

J u l y 2 2

N o e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e d .

C Y A N O T Y P E W O R K S H O P S

C r e a t e y o u r o w n b o t a n i c a l a r t w o r k u s i n g t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y p h o t o g r a p h i c p r o c e s s o f c y a n o t y p e p r i n t i n g T h i s

M o D M a s t e r c l a s s i s l e d b y l o c a l a r t i s t J o T h o m s o n

A u g 2 9 o r S e p t 1 2

N o e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e d .

WHAT’S ON

CONTINUED

JUL 20 : TRCA PRESENTS: MULLING OVER MYSTERIOUS EELS Facts, myths and theories about American eels. 6:30pm. Free. Caledon East Community Complex – Lion’s Den. Caledon Library, 905-857-1400 x228, caledon.library.on.ca

JUL 24 : INDIGENOUS GAMES –ANIMAL MUK (INUIT) – AGES 6

TO 10 Drop in and play while building skills. 2pm. Free. Caledon Library, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-8571400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUL 25 : ART ON WHEELS: TEXTURE – PRESENTED BY PAMA Create a painting using tools to create texture. Noon-1:30pm. Free. Caledon Library, 225 Dougall Ave, Caledon. 905-8571400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUL 28 – 30 : THE ADDAMS FAMILY Love and friendship through adversity, with a comical, macabre, yet poignant spin. Times TBD. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Theatre Orangeville – Academy Programs, 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

JUL 30 : SUNDAY FUNDAY WITH BRAMPTON LIBRARY – AGES 9 TO 12 Design a 3D model using Tinkercad. All children with an adult. Free, register. 2-3:30pm. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

AUG 1 – 31 (TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS) : SUMMER STAYCATION: BE A DETECTIVE –AGES 5 TO 12 Drop in, solve the mystery and create your own art. All children with an adult. 10am-3:30pm. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

AUG 5 – 27 (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS) : DIY STUDIO TIME –AGES 5 TO 12 Drop in and tour Yours to Discover: Sights/Sites of Peel Region, then make your own masterpiece. All children with an adult. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

FROM PAGE 120 CONTINUED

AUG 25 – 27 : PUFFS A magical boy in a town somewhere across the pond. Times TBD. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Theatre Orangeville – Academy Programs, 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

MUSIC

SEP 8 : MONSOON SOUND CURATED BY NOYZ South Asian hip-hop festival showcases the unique blends of different cultures. 7pm. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE AT GARDEN SQUARE Free concerts all summer. All performances at 7pm unless noted. Garden Square, 12 Main St, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

JUL 7: KIRK DIAMOND AND THE MOVEMENT OF AHRYEL Opener: Jônelle.

JUL 14: ROCKSTAR

LIVE Live band karaoke with real rock stars!

JUL 28: THE ROSEBOWL

Curated by TCspades, featuring Ameerah, Ashlye, Kwasi Obeng, MixTapper and Os.

AUG 4: EAST COAST KITCHEN PARTY Indulge in the culture of the East Coast with Eclectic Revival and Screeched Inn.

AUG 11: MAZAA

Curated by Hasheel.

AUG 18: STOMP N’ STAMPEDE

All things country with DJ Johnny Rivex and headliner Rob Watts.

AUG 25: WANNABE Celebrate Girl Power with this great Spice Girls tribute band.

SEP 1: ADRIAN SUTHERLAND

This Cree singer-songwriter shares a night of live music.

NOW – SEP 20 (WEDNESDAYS) : ACHILL CHORAL SOCIETY

WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS Learn to sing quality classical, contemporary and traditional music. 7-9:30pm. Free, register at info@achill.ca. Westminster United Church, 247 Broadway, Orangeville. achill.ca

www.yorkdurhamheadwaters.ca

JUNE 23 : CROSSCURRENTS CAFE

New General Store. 7:30pm. Donations only; no tickets necessary. Bolton United Church, 8 Nancy St, Bolton. facebook.com

JUN 27 – 29 : HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN Leisa Way and Friends share the timeless songs of The Great American Songbook. Tues 7:30pm. Wed 2 & 7:30pm. Thu 7:30pm. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Theatre Orangeville, 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

AUG 11 – 13 : COMING HOME

FESTIVAL A wellness music festival with three evenings of live bands, forest camping, workshops, artisan market, yoga and sound baths. Weekend adult pass $244; youth (13-17) $166; single day passes also available. 223227 Station St, Amaranth Station. LaRock Productions, 519-575-5597; cominghomefestival.com

AUG 13 : ROTARY RHYTHMS & REELS – DRIVE ­ IN CONCERT: EARLY MORNING RAIN A moving tribute to Gordon Lightfoot with Leisa Way & The Wayward Wind Band. Proceeds to Rotary Club of Shelburne to combat food scarcity. $15; $60 per carload. 5-8pm. Shelburne Fiddle Park, Dufferin Cty Rd 11, Shelburne. 519278-4578; shelburnerotaryclub.com

OUTDOOR

JUN 17 : VELOCITY RIDE TO SUPPORT CALEDON SENIORS

Choose from 10km, 25km familyfriendly trail routes, or 50km, 100km road routes, or ride virtually. CCS, 905-584-2300 x269; ccs4u.org

JUN 17 : DUFFERIN HI ­ LAND ONE ­ DAY END ­TO ­ END FUNDRAISER HIKE Hike 56km in one day! Bus leaves at 6:30am. $65, includes shuttle service, checkpoint snacks and refreshments, White Trillium Badge. 6am-6pm. Mono Community Centre, Mono. dufferinbrucetrailclub.org

JUN 21 : CREEMORE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY MEETING & SPRING FLOWER & VEGETABLE SHOW

Gail Cocker speaks on Pruning for the Faint of Heart. 7-9pm. Free. Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E, Creemore. gardenontario.org

JUN 24 : MONO POLLINATOR GARDEN FESTIVAL Presentations by CBC’s Paul Zammit and In The Hills’ Don Scallen. Stroll 5 acres of lavender fields. Local vendors. Rasmi’s Falafel Truck. Free, register at townofmono. com. Rain or shine. 2pm. Avalon Lavender Farm, 347036 Mono Centre Rd, Mono. Town of Mono Pollinator Garden Committee, townofmono.com

JUN 24 & 25, JUL 29 & 30, AUG 20 : SILVER FOX EQUINE HORSE SHOWS

by shotgun start for the best-ball tournament. 11am-6pm. Guelph Lakes Golf and Country Club, 7879 Wellington Rd, Guelph. 519-833-9696; ew-cs.com

JUL 15 & 16 : BASS FISHING DERBY AT ISLAND LAKE Big catch and youth prizes. Adults (13+): $50; $80 two days. Youth (to 15): $10 day. Boat launch fee included. Electric boat rentals, live bait for a fee. Anglers 18 to 64 need valid fishing licence. Youth not eligible for cash prizes. 7am-3pm. Island Lake Conservation Area, Orangeville. Friends of Island Lake, CVC, 1-800-668-5557; cvc.ca

JUL 15 – AUG 31 : TRAIL RIDE FOR BREAST CANCER Ride, walk or hike anywhere with anyone. Online silent auction to Jul 15. Registration provides T-shirt, $25 receipt from the Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation and a goody bag. $50/participant. Dufferin County Forest, 937513 Airport Rd, Mansfield. 416-407-6695; trailrideforbreastcancer.weebly.com

JUL 15 & AUG 24 : FOREST BATHING WITH SOCK GEE GAN – ALL AGES Rest and rejuvenate through mindful and sensory awareness. Bring comfortable clothing, blanket, backpack, reusable cup. Rain/shine. $10; $24 for families (up to 2 adults, 3 children), register. Jul 15: 1:30-4:30pm. Aug 24: 3:30-6:30pm.

PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

JUL 21 & 22 : CREEMORE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY SUMMER FLOWER & VEGETABLE SHOW

SEP 2 : WE WALK THE LINE: A TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY CASH Ward Cornforth and his band accurately recreate Cash’s biggest hits. 7:30pm. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-9423423; theatreorangeville.ca

SEP 15 – 17 : WHISKEY JACK PRESENTS STORIES & SONGS OF STOMPIN’ TOM Tom’s greatest hits combined with backstage stories. Fri Sat 7:30pm. Sun 2pm. Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Theatre Orangeville, 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

Fun schooling show series. Sat: Hunter Jumper. Sun: Dressage and Eventing. Food on site, friendly dogs on leashes. 8am. Silver Fox Farm, 873096 5th Ln, Mono. 647-203-8348; silverfoxequine.com

JUL 4 & 5 : FRIENDS OF BETHELL HOSPICE GLEN EAGLE GOLF DAYS

Glen Eagle is donating a portion of green fees on both days. 8am5pm. 15731 RR50, Caledon. Bethell Hospice Foundation, 905-838-3534; foundation.bethellhospice.org

JUL 6 : EWCS GOLF TOURNAMENT

Enjoy 18 holes of golf, lunch followed

Entries labelled and brought in Jul 21 3:30pm-6pm. Judging 6:30pm. Doors open 7pm. Entries remain for the Creemore Flower Show 8am-1pm Jul 22. All welcome. Free. Creemore Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E, Creemore. gardenontario.org

JUL 23 : HILLSBURGH GARDEN CLUB

70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Refreshments, food, activities and music. Bring a lawn chair and reusable water bottle. Watercolour Painting Class or Gardening Seminar extra. Free, register on our Facebook page. 1-4pm. Hillsburgh Library, 9 Station St, Hillsburgh. 519-855-4390

(1846-1925),The Deagle Power Plant, Cataract Falls, Caledon Township, Peel County,

51

41

Korsten Jewellers

47 Gallery Gemma

Drawer

Boutique

8 Orangeville Flowers 40 Suzanne Gardner Flowers

FOOD, DRINK & CATERING

72 Am Braigh Farm, FF14

72 Downey’s Farm, FF14

71 Giddy Yo, FF13

73 Heatherlea Butcher Shoppe, FF15

There are Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden

JUL 25 : CALEDON COUNCIL

COMMUNITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

Shotgun start. $250/person; includes breakfast, green fees, cart, reception, dinner and prizes. Proceeds to the National Wildlife Centre’s new field hospital in Caledon. 8:30am. TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, 18821 Main St, Alton. 416-571-8356; caledon.ca

AUG 12 : MONARCH & POLLINATOR

EVENT Learn about monarchs and spend time on the farm. 10am-2pm. 16555 Humber Station Rd, Caledon. albionhillscommunityfarm.org

AUG 12 : HEREWARD FARMS

LAVENDER FESTIVAL Local artisans and vendors, food, cocktails, entertainment and photos! Pick your own lavender. Other packages available for separate fee. $10; percentage of proceeds to charity TBA. 11:30am6pm. 141051 15 Sdrd, East Garafraxa. 226-779-4973, herewardfarm.com

THEATRE & FILM

MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT Reel Fun for the Whole Family! Weather permitting. Bring a blanket and chair. Pre-movie activities, special guests, entertainment and more. 7pm. Garden Square, 12 Main St, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

JUN 28 : ENCANTO

JUL 5 : PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH

JUL 12 : BLACK PANTHER:

WAKANDA FOREVER

JUL 19 : BAD GUYS

JUL 26 : LIGHTYEAR

AUG 2 : MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU

AUG 9 : THE SUPER MARIO BROS

AUG 16 : TURNING RED

AUG 23 : THE LITTLE MERMAID

AUG 30 : SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

STARLIGHT SATURDAY MOVIES

Bring your chair to the Square and enjoy star-studded movies under the stars. Special events and appearances.

Submit your event

To submit your community, arts or nonprofit event:

Select “What’s On” from the menu bar at www.inthehills.ca.

That will take you to the listings page. Select “Add Your Community Event” and complete the easy form.

Submit by August 4, 2023 for the autumn (September) issue.

For up-to-date listings between issues, go to www.inthehills.ca/events.

We reserve the right to edit submissions for print and web. www.inthehills.ca

8pm. Garden Square, 12 Main St, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

JUL 8 : GREASE

JUL 15 : BOLLYWOOD SPECIAL

JUL 29 : FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF

AUG 5 : BLACK ADAM

AUG 12 : TOP GUN: MAVERICK

AUG 19 : ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA

AUG 26 : ELVIS

SEP 2 : FAST X

JUN 16 : AFTERNOON FILM CLUB

“There Are No Fakes.” A painting leads to the brutal world of an art forgery ring in Canada’s far north. Offered in support of Senior’s Month. Mature subject matter. 2pm. Free. Caledon Library, 150 Queen Street S, Bolton. 905-857-1400 x228; caledon.library.on.ca

JUN 23 – 25 : WAIT UNTIL DARK A sinister con man and two ex-convicts are about to meet their match. Fri Sat 7pm. Sun 1pm. $20. The Hive, Lester B. Pearson Theatre, 150 Central Park Dr, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

JUL 6 – 9 : OUTLAW BY NORM FOSTER

Accused of murder and a long way from home, a young Canadian homesteader has only his wits to defend himself.

Thu Fri 7:30pm. Sat 2 & 7:30pm. Sun 2pm. The Rose Studio II, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905874-2800; tickets.brampton.CA

JUL 20 – 22, 27 & 29, AUG 3 – 5 : BRAMPTON’S OWN SHAKESPEARE

SHOW – TWELFTH NIGHT Grab a chair, pack a picnic, and enjoy a comedy of mistaken identities and unrequited love triangles. Jul 20, 27 & Aug 3: Chinguacousy Park, 9050 Bramalea Rd, Brampton. Jul 21 & Aug 4: Mount Pleasant Square, Sideford Rd, Brampton. Jul 22, 29 & Aug 5: Ken Whillans Square, 41 Main St S, Brampton. 7:30pm. Louie The Goat Productions. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

AUG 11 – 13 : THEATRE ORANGEVILLE

SUMMER ARTS FEST A summer festival of theatre, music and art for all ages. Mount Alverno Luxury Resorts, 20706 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon Village. Theatre Orangeville, 519942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

AUG 12 : ROTARY RHYTHMS & REELS

– DRIVE ­ IN MOVIE NIGHT Kids’ dance party preshow. 7pm: Secret Lives of Pets 2. 9pm: Spiderman – No Way Home. Proceeds to Rotary Club of Shelburne to help combat food scarcity in our community. 5-11pm. $25. Fiddle Park, 515677 Dufferin Cty Rd 11, Shelburne. 519-278-4578; shelburnerotaryclub.com

AUG 24 – 27 : THE ORILLIA OPERA HOUSE’S PRODUCTION OF BED AND BREAKFAST Brett and Drew decide to start a B & B in a new community. Thu Fri 7:30pm. Sat 2 & 7:30pm. Sun 2pm. $29. The Rose Studio II, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

Three beautiful books offering a glimpse into the wonderful world of the fairies at the bottom of the garden, written and illustrated by Mary Scattergood. Available at Mary’s Studio at 20451 Porterfield Road in Caledon, Decor Solutions and Sproule’s Emporium in Orangeville, and Granny Taught Us How in Violet Hill.

Art at the Farm June 24 & June 25, 12–5pm maryscattergood.com

PRESENTATIONS ON POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY GARDENING BY PAUL ZAMMIT AND DON SCALLEN

SATURDAY JUNE 24 · 2 PM

Free, registration required at townofmono.com

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 126

109 Moffat Dunlap Real Estate

Moffat Dunlap, John Dunlap, Murray

Snider, Nik Bonellos, Elizabeth Campbell, Courtney Murgatroyd, Sean Wynn, Mark Campbell, David Warren

104 ReMax In The Hills

Chris Richie, Karen Caulfield, Carmela Gagliese-Scoles, Sean Anderson, Dale Poremba, Jennifer Unger

84 ReMax Real Estate Centre

Ann Shanahan, Brandie Kirk, Betty Hunziker

100 ReMax Realty Specialists Inc.

Maria Britto

46 ReMax Realty Specialists Inc.

Sigrid Doherty

87 Royal LePage Credit Valley

Rita Lange

108 Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty

Denise Dilbey

110 Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty

Paul Richardson

28 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Barwell Real Estate

37 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Doug & Chris Schild

113 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Doug & Chris Schild

112 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Jacqueline Guagliardi

105 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Matt Lindsay

111 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Roger Irwin, Dawn Bennett

97 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Suzanne Lawrence

113 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Suzanne Lawrence

114 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Victoria Phillips & Janna Imrie

19 Royal Le Page RCR Realty

Wayne Baguley

35 Royal Le Page RCR Realty

Wayne Baguley

110 Royal Le Page RCR Realty

Wayne Baguley

114 Sam McDadi Real Estate Brokerage

Sam McDadi

112 Sotheby’s International Realty

Daena Allen-Noxon & Associates

112 Sutton-Headwaters Realty

Dillon Holden

114 Sutton-Headwaters Realty

Jim Wallace

SCHOOLS & EDUCATION

4 Brampton Christian School

24 The Hill Academy

SENIORS’ SERVICES

20 Avalon Retirement Lodge

97 Headwaters Home Care

TOURISM & TRAVEL

123 Central Counties Tourism

40 Orangeville BIA

41 Orangeville BIA

120 Town of Caledon

TREE SERVICES

77 Lloyd Brown Tree Services

SWIMMING AT WOODSIDE LODGE

Nothing beats a refreshing swim on a hot summer day.

The people in this photo, snapped by Louise Goodeve in August 1938, would probably agree. They were part of a group of about 100 people enjoying a picnic at Woodside Lodge in the Hockley Valley. Were the boys watching from the bridge wishing they could splash with the others in the Nottawasaga River?

Built by Ernest Goodeve at the northeast corner of Hockley Road and Mono’s Fifth Line, the lodge was operated as a family business by Ernest and Louise, his wife, along with their daughter Waneita, until 1944, when new owners took over and the Goodeves moved into Orangeville.

During its heyday in the 1930s and ’40s, the lodge –and the extensive park that surrounded it – was the

happening place in Mono. Attracting visitors from far and wide, it hosted skiers, family reunions, wedding showers and receptions, church and community groups, and those simply looking for a bit of fun. Rumour had it that four silver dollars were embedded in the dance floor of the main building.

Now privately owned, that building, with its distinctive dark-stained round logs, remains visible from Hockley Road, but most of the smaller outbuildings, which had fallen into disrepair, have been dismantled. And trees and brush are taking over the park where the group in Louise’s snapshot enjoyed their picnic and swim on that hot August day.

— DYANNE RIVERS