Milton Villager Magazine Volume 1, Issue 16 - January 2014 www.MiltonVillager.com
If you would like to advertise in Milton Villager email rick@dilorenzo.com Publisher - Rick Di Lorenzo, rick@dilorenzo.com
Milton
Event Calendar
Villager
Photographers - Ann Kornuta, Denise Cooperwhite, Grant Rushton Reporters - Stuart Service, Laura Steiner, Leslie Kennedy, Elizabeth Kogan, Samantha Dotson Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily that of the publisher and no liability is assumed for omissions or errors Follow us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/MiltonVillager Milton Villager Magazine is available at these fine local businesses: Grocery stores: Metro, Food Port, Real Canadian Super Store, La Rose Bakery Food: Hero Burger, Pizza Nova, Troys Diner, Coffee Culture, Heritage Fish and Chips, Symposium, Shoeless Joe’s, Portabello’s, Bombay Grill, Mama Mila’s Cafe, Quiznos, Cafe Zauq, Empire Wok, Mr. Sub Recreation: Milton Sports Centre, Leisure Centre, Milton Centre for the Arts, Making Waves Swim School Shopping: Milton Mall, Home Hardware, Staples, Canadian Tire
*Please contact the publisher to have a magazine rack installed at your local business Printed at:
Milton Film Festival - January 11-12 at Milton Centre for the Arts www.MiltonFilmFest.com Kids Talent Show - January 17 at Milton Seniors Activity Center http://vibrantmiltonconnections.weebly.com/upcoming-events.html Chinese New Year Festival - January 18 at Milton Mall 10 am - 3 pm Mayor’s Gala for the Arts - January 18 at Milton Centre for the Arts with a Las Vegas theme featuring Matt Dusk Milton Chinese New Year Gala - January 25 at Milton Centre for the Arts 2nd Annual Autism and National Service Dogs Fundraiser January 26 at the Mohawk Inn and Conference Centre
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4 | Milton Villager
Grand Opening by Ann Kornuta
T
he new Thompson & Louis Saint Laurent Tim Hortons Restaurant celebrated its grand opening on December 14. Despite fifteen cm of snow, families came out to take part in the festivities and wish the Sdao family success with its new location. “We are thrilled to bring this new location to Milton and excited for our guests to experience the new Tim Hortons look,” said Daniel Sdao, Tim Hortons restaurant owner. The Sdao family has been operating Tim Hortons restaurants for close to twenty-five years. It is proud to introduce the chain’s new look to its customers and community. “Guests can relax by the fire and watch TV, while sipping their favourite cup of coffee and enjoying a grilled panini or whatever else fits their mood. We welcome everyone to come and enjoy the newest addition to the Tim Hortons family in Milton.”
New to this Tim Hortons location is an electrical vehicle (EV) charging station in the customer parking area free for guests to use. “I’ve made a conscious effort to reduce my footprint both on a personal level and on a business level, whether via reducing food waste, installing more efficient lighting, or streamlining some of our internal policies.” says Daniel Sdao. “I’m offering this to guests because I believe in the benefits... economically, environmentally, or otherwise. I believe in the future of this technology and the impact it will have on transportation in the coming years. I’ve visited numerous other charging locations that are offered for free from other businesses and I’m always sure to give them my patronage.” Throughout the afternoon, customers were treated to free coffee, free donuts, face painting, balloon creations, a magician, and a special musical appearance by 2012 Milton Talent Contest winner, Gavin McLeod. The new location is open twenty-four hours with a full Tim Hortons menu.
Lisa Roach Sales Representative
Dedicated, Reliable, Knowledgeable
6 | Milton Villager
L
arge snowflakes mesmerizing the eye with their natural beauty were falling softly on the ground during the morning the Milton Villager met with Lisa Roach (Lisa), a Milton-based Century 21 sales representative at a busy café. As a mother of three young children, Lisa understands how stressful the house buying/selling process can potentially be, especially for young families. As a realtor, she specializes in assisting first-time homebuyers and young families and strives to create a stress-free transaction for her clients. “I am very hands-on from start to finish. I will walk you through the process,” she says of her approach. Lisa is a firm believer in bearing the load of her clients. “There are a lot of things that I take on because I want the home buying or selling process to be fun for my clients. I truly believe in making it as enjoyable an experience as possible. When planning for 2014, I asked myself what aspects of home selling and buying are stressful and what I can do as a realtor to lessen the stress for my clients. So I have expanded my team of professionals and added additional services this year in keeping with that stress-free transaction goal.” Lisa has a knowledgeable and skilled team to call upon at any time during the home selling/buying process, essentially providing a convenient one-stop method for her clients to deal with all of their real estate-related needs. A community-minded individual, Lisa describes herself as a “proud member of momstown Milton for over four years. It’s nice to make that connection with other moms. I’m grateful for the friendships and bonds that have been created by being a part of that community.”
Lisa also sits on the board of directors for the Children’s Aid Foundation of Halton (CAFH), and recently an opportunity arose for her to organize the first-ever springtime Family Fun Run in Milton. The event, slated for June 1, 2014, will be in support of CAFH, and Lisa is particularly excited as she can combine her avid love of running with her dedication to the foundation. When asked what tips she could share for those potentially looking to buy and/or sell, she says: 1. Use a local realtor, someone who is knowledgeable about the neighbourhoods in your area. I always say that it’s about finding neighbourhoods that complement your lifestyle. 2. Be smart. Get pre-approval to ensure you know what you can afford in order to plan your home search accordingly. 3. Ask questions. Know what your realtor is going to do for you to make sure there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications. Above all, Lisa firmly believes, “It’s not about me. It’s about you. Call me, I understand.”
C
hristmas is the most magical time of year: a season of generosity and giving back. Milton’s seasonal traditions include the Miracle on Main Street, held on December 9, 2013 from 6–9 am. It started five years ago as Troy’s Toy Drive before the name change to Miracle on Main Street to give it a more direct connection to downtown Milton. Troy Newton, a director at the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation sat down for a lunch discussion with Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. to discuss ways they could help give back to the community. From that humble start, Miracle on Main Street was born. Over time the event has evolved turning from a simple collecting of toys, to a full morning event that shuts down a stretch of Main Street between Commercial and Mill Side Drives in front of Troy’s Restaurant. The parking lot across the street was used for a mini-midway. It has become a kickoff event for the Christmas season. The snow on the ground gave it a definite festive atmosphere. Music added a dash of Christmas spirit. A stage was set up outside featuring performances by Jon Abrams and Jessica Lockwood, while the Milton Choristers performed Christmas Carols. Inside Troy’s, singer Elvira Hopper and pianist Darryl Dennie entertained the crowd of diners, making waiting for a table easy. A silent auction was held outside.
Milton Villager
Milton Tradition Returns for Fifth Year
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By Laura Steiner | Photos by Ann Kornuta
People of all ages came out for it. For some families, it was a chance to start teaching their kids to give back. Samantha Healey came down with her husband and baby girl. “We wanted to teach our daughter the joys of giving, instead of always receiving.” Healey explained. The toys will be given to the Halton Women’s Place, Salvation Army, Hospital for Sick Children, and McMaster Children’s Hospital. For Rob Hewlett, it is about the kids: “I think it’s a great thing that they do here— to collect toys for all the kids.” The spirit of generosity makes Miracle on Main Street an amazing Milton Christmas tradition.
8 | Milton Villager
Partnerships continue to play a key role in the event with the involvement of the Halton Regional Police. The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation was able to bring more awareness and build bridges with the Halton Regional Police and the local community. The event’s success is attributed to Troy Newton, Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. and Tiger Jeet Singh. “What Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. and Troy put together, and what all the others put together in the background— they did a phenomenal job,” Hewlett credited these organizers as the brains behind Miracle on Main Street.
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A Heritage Christmas Event Raises Money For Charity
I
t was a traditional good time for Santa and his elves up at Country Heritage Park for the second annual A Heritage Christmas. Taking place over three weekends before Christmas, children & their families were treated to horse drawn rides, live reindeer, and meeting the big guy himself, Santa Claus. Other activities included arts and crafts, live blacksmith demonstrations, petting miniature horses, a tractordrawn tram, the fascinating illusions of the Magical Elf, traditional holiday treats for sale at the Candy Land shop, and a barbecue with hot chocolate & delicious hot dogs and hamburgers. Brad Brosseau and Tina Brake of Dream Catcher Stables, creators and producers of the event, says “A Heritage Christmas” is a win-win-win situation. “Families enjoy some good old fashioned fun. Country Heritage Park gets much deserved attention and money. Sick Kids Hospital gets money to help more kids, and Cystic Fibrosis Canada can get more research funding. It can’t get any better than that!”
Jennifer Smith, Ron Base, Magdalena Jackiewicz
MiOlton Film Festival By Elizabeth Kogan | photo by Adam Smith
10 | Milton Villager
n the evening of January 11, 2014, the lobby of the Milton Centre for the Arts will transform into a platform possessing the charm, class, and elegance worthy of old Hollywood. It will be a sight to behold, and you too can be a part of the red carpet gala experience: sampling delicious appetizers, sipping cool refreshments, viewing stellar films, and chatting with local celebrities. The first-ever Milton Film Festival will run the weekend of January 11, beginning with the 11:00 am showing of Blancanieves, a silent film set in 1920s Spain, inspired by the Brothers’ Grimm tale “Snow White.” The film extravaganza ends on January 12, with the 8:00 pm showing of English Vinglish, the story of an Indian woman who is made to feel insecure by her own family and by society in general because she does not speak English; the film captures her journey of self-discovery as she learns English. The gala reception will be held at 7:30 pm before the screening of The Hunt on January 11, at 8:30 pm. The film stars Mads Mikkelsen and is Denmark’s submission to the Best Foreign Language film category at the 2014 Oscars. The Milton Villager sat down with Jennifer Smith, director and committee chair, and Katie Pearce, short film coordinator for the Milton Film Festival, to chat about the inspiration behind this extraordinary showcase of cinematic genius.
Smith explained, “The monthly Film Forum program, which is held at the Milton Centre for the Arts, is an intimate and interactive way to enjoy a movie, and its success certainly inspired the Milton Film Fest. A little known fact, however, is that Ebertfest was actually a key source of inspiration. As a writer and as a person who appreciates the arts, I’ve always been fascinated by Ebertfest. It’s a celebration of films: new, old, and classics, that the late film critic Roger Ebert felt had been overlooked. The fest is held in Champaign, Illinois, in a gorgeous one hundred-year-old vaudeville theatre holding 1,500 seats. The theatre has recently been restored, and its ceilings are like the Sistine Chapel.” Says Pearce, “It (Milton Film Festival) all began very organically. We (the members of the festival organizing committee*) are a group of people who just like talking about movies together. The films that will be shown over that ( January 11–12) weekend just can’t be seen anywhere else in town. There’s no running around from location to location like at other film festivals. Everything is all in one place. The best part is that you get to talk to each other about it and ask the person beside you what he or she thought of the movie.” Author and former film critic for the Toronto Star, Ron Base, will host the two-day event. Base will discuss the films with the filmmakers, as well as moderate question and answer sessions with the audience. Two-time Emmy Award-winning film and television director/ producer Paul Saltzman will be taking questions from the audience after the screening of his documentary film, The Last White Knight. Milton native Steve Belford is presenting two of his short films: A Star on Hollywood Boulevard, directed by him, and The Wolf of Waubamik Woods, which he co-wrote and co-produced. “It’s exciting to feature local talent,” says Smith. Milton resident Stuart Servicé, a journalist and photographer, will also be featuring his short film, Black Hearts Bleeding Black. Pearce reports that nineteen short films were submitted and a panel of four from the committee narrowed the selection to nine: “We had submissions from students, local amateur films, and even from professional filmmakers.” Says Pearce, “Film is a communal experience: it’s theatre. What better venue than the Milton Centre for the Arts to get together and really be engaged in the experience.” Two days. Eight screenings. One incredible weekend of film right around the corner. Don’t miss it: MiltonFilmFest.com * Milton Film Festival Organizing Committee: Jennifer Smith, Magdalena Jackiewicz, Brian Tyers, Katie Pearce, Adam Smith, Ron Base, and Jan Mowbray
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Jim Dills, Marsha Waldie
New Milton Biographies Volume 12 | Milton Villager
by Laura Steiner
Released by Milton Historical Society
T
he Milton Historical Society’s goal is to encourage appreciation and spread knowledge of Milton’s cultural and historical heritage. It has published several books on historic homes and buildings, Milton’s military history, and now three volumes on some of Milton’s most interesting people.
“I would venture to say that our society is one of the most proficient societies at publishing,” Marsha Waldie claimed.
Milton Historical Society has published several titles, including Historic Homes of Milton, The Blacksmith, and Memories of Milton. The Historical Society was founded in 1977 with its first project: the preservation of the County Court House, known today as Town Hall. The Historical Society uses Waldie’s Blacksmith Shop, which is a 150-year-old building located at 16 James Street, as its home base. Marsha Waldie owns the property and is the third generation of her family to own it. “We want to preserve Milton’s History,” Waldie said of the Milton Historical Society.
Waldie released volume three of the Biographies series on December 8, 2013. The first two were compiled by Alex Cooke. Sadly, Cooke has died since Volume 2 was released. “He was a good mentor,” Waldie described. Cooke is featured in Volume 3.
Waldie and the staff spent the last two years gathering the biographies. The person’s status in Milton did not matter
to her. She felt strongly that one contributed to the town no matter what one did. In order to be featured in the biographies, a person had to be deceased.
“I’m not concerned over whether they were doctors or lawyers or whether they were high-powered people. I’m concerned with even the low guy,” Waldie said.
One schoolteacher featured in the book is Mrs. Adeline MacKay. MacKay started teaching in a one-room schoolhouse out in the country. She rode her bike back and forth to school and was taken in by a local farmer during the winter. “Adeline was quite the gal,” Waldie remarked.
One of the more powerful individuals is George Cottrelle, an industrialist and entrepreneur. In addition to building his business as a banker, he played a key role in Canada’s war efforts. During World War II, Cottrelle was asked by Prime Minister Mackenzie King to take charge of the oil and gas rationing across the country.
“You become a detective and discover things. A lot of these people I knew.”
“We encourage people to give us their family histories,” she said. Who knows, if you do, you could be featured in a future volume of “Biographies.” To learn more about the book and the Historical Society, visit its website: www.miltonhistoricalsociety.ca or visit Waldie’s Blacksmith Shop from 9:30am–12pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“You don’t realize these types of people were associated with Milton.”
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Cottrelle also financed the building of Maple Leaf Gardens.
Milton Villager
Gathering the information was one of the things that Waldie liked best about doing the book. She started with dates—an anniversary date or birth— and went from there. Waldie even walked through the cemetery for research.
Chinese New Year Festival Celebrating the Year of the Horse!
Brought to you by Independent Living Halton in partnership with the Milton Chinese Association and the Milton Chinese Arts Society
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18th, 10 am - 3 pm 10 am - 12 noon 12 noon 12:30 pm 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Children’s crafts and activities Opening remarks and Eye Dotting Ceremony Lion Dance Tai Chi and martial arts demos, traditional dances by the Milton Chinese Arts Society
Visit miltonmall.com and click on Chinese New Year Festival under Mall Events miltonmall.com Corner of Ontario and Main
Milton’s population: 300,000 by 2041 by Laura Steiner
In 1996, Milton’s population was 32,104. It jumped to 84,362 people by 2011, with 2013 estimates putting the population well over the 100,000 mark, and it will hit 238,000 by 2031. Milton’s projected population is 300,000 people by 2041, according to Town Planner, Barbara Koopmans. Koopmans presented the surprising statistics as part of the Chamber of Commerce’s Growth Breakfast on November 28. “After several false starts, Milton experienced the perfect storm,” Koopmans characterized the growth.
There was pent-up demand for homes in Milton. As someone who has lived in Milton since the mid1980s, I find these numbers difficult to wrap my head around sometimes. When I first came to Milton, it was a small town; there were still farmer’s fields east of Thompson Road, and that is where Laurier Avenue ended. It is hard to imagine Milton at 100,000, much less at 300,000.
The growth is mandated under the Province’s Places to Grow Act. The provincial legislation passed in 2005 and gave the provincial government the power to designate geographic areas for growth. The other piece of legislation concerning Milton is the Growth Plan for the Golden Horseshoe, which designates Milton as an urban growth centre (UGC). “We want people to live, work, and play within our town.”
The growth will be accommodated through the intensification process: building up instead of out and focusing on areas surrounding transit stations and major intersections.
As an Urban Growth Centre, downtown Milton is mandated to grow to 200 residents and jobs combined, per hectare of land. How to do this while maintaining the area’s heritage is one of the major challenges.
“The area that falls within the Civic Precinct Master Plan is outside the UGC, with the exception of the Mary Street and Charles Street area,” Koopmans said.
A review of the Civic Master Plan was announced in August 2013, with a formal study to be released in early 2014. The area known as the civic precinct is located around Town Hall, along the south side of Main Street. Derry Green Business Park is essential to bringing more jobs to Milton.
“Bringing on Derry Green is important to Milton,” Koopmans said in her presentation. Derry Green Business Park is a two-thousand acre complex bounded by the Sixteen Mile Creek, highway 401, Sixth Line, and James Snow Parkway. It will fuel employment growth until 2021 and is expected to bring between 17,000 and 18,000 jobs to the area. Final approval for Derry Green came in June 2010. There are no plans for Milton to become a city. Some believe that is because residents genuinely like being called a town; there is a friendliness associated with the word town. Whatever happens by 2031, Milton will need to be in line with provincial policies, which means accommodating 238,000 people. The growth will require an additional 2,119 hectares of existing land in Milton converted into residential use, and the town will become the second largest municipality by population in Halton. We will have the population of a city, but hopefully still the friendliness of a town.
www.miltonbusinessconnections.ca
Community Group
Computer Networking/Sales
Niraj Adhiya | 905-875-3939 info@discovermilton.com www.discovermilton.com
Sam Kassam-Macfie | 416-995-0939 sam.kassam@momstown.ca milton.momstown.ca
Robert Duvall | 289-878-7922 gurus@rdcnetworks.com www.rdcnetworks.com
GPS Tracking Services
Mortgage Broker
Photographer
brokerage #10287
Robin Chalmers | 647-784-5665 r.chalmers@vehiclepathcanada.ca www.vehiclepath.ca
Christine Walker | 647-801-0001 Christine.walker@mtgarc.ca www.mortgagesbychriswalker.ca
Eva Mende-Gibson | 416-986-9559 eva@blinkofaneyephoto.ca www.blinkofaneyephoto.ca
Contractor
Graphic Design
Group Travel/Cruising
Jason Sandilands | 416-873-6941 jason@i-gotta-guy.ca www.i-gotta-guy.ca
David O’Connell | 905-636-9393 david@creativitygoesbang.com www.creativitygoesbang.com
Dean Barreca | 416-726-3270 dean@thecruiseexpert.ca www.thecruiseexpert.ca
Every Milton area small business owner who is looking to make new connections, should come out and meet our group to meet other great Milton entrepreneurs. Where: Ned Devine’s Irish Pub, 575 Ontario Street South When: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 7pm-9pm Hope to see you there. RSVP to connect@miltonbusinessconnections.ca
Milton Villager
Online Digital Media
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Your Connections to Milton’s Small Business Community
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