Church to host opera concert

part of the story. The hope is that the concert will bring exposure to both the Historical Society and the Church, while simultaneously providing an opportunity for those in the community to experience live, elegant music. “We want people to enjoy the evening, and to bring some class and some culture to Kemptville,” said David.

The music for the concert has been organized by Kirsten Waymann and Jennifer Thivierge. David was eager to offer thanks to them, noting that they met at Salamanders for lunch last fall, which is where the idea for the concert was born.

by Brandon Mayer

The North Grenville Historical Society and St. James Anglican Church will host a much-anticipated opera concert on February 10. The concert – featuring five esteemed performers – will take place at St. James Anglican Church on Clothier St. W., in Kemptville.

David Finnie is the Chair of the concert. The Co-Chairs are Donna Gould, who represents the NGHS fundraising team, and Mandy Nich- olls of St. James Anglican Church fundraising team. David explained that the Historical Society is currently doing well, and that this joint fundraising effort is an extension of other efforts underway.

The Historical Society will use the funds raised to help support their archives, and the Church will put its portion toward building restoration being completed in the spring.

Although the concert is being held as a fundraiser for the two local organizations, raising money is only a small

The music for the concert will be provided by Kirsten Waymann (on violin) and Peter Boczar (on keyboard). Together, they make up the duo called Strings and Ivory. Both Kirsten and Peter live in Petawawa, and they are a strong musical pair who perform regularly at weddings, receptions and other special events.

Three singers will provide the operatic touch to the evening. FinnishCanadian soprano Emili Losier holds six higher education degrees in music, performance and arts management, and works as a performing soprano, researcher, educator and arts manager. She has won various awards for her work, including a Social Sciences and Research Council grant from the Government of Canada. On the opera stage, she has been described as “a nature’s child…touching the heart from beginning to end.”

Saskatchewan-born tenor Philip Klaassen began making his mark on the operatic stage with the Saskatoon Opera in Schools Tour in productions of The Magic Flute, The Brothers Grimm, and The Barber of Seville. He has since performed roles &in productions of Die Zauberflote, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Le Villi, Gianni Schicchi, Cendrillon and Turn Of The Screw. Most recently, he appeared as a featured soloist on the Windsor Symphony Orchestra's new holiday album "Christmas, eh?", released in December 2022.

Finally, Jennifer Thivierge has been involved with music education for over 35 years. She has been a performer, vocal coach, music teacher and more recently a cofounder and Director of the Ottawa South Youth Choir that fulfills a need for music in the rural Ottawa community. Singing various genres of music continues to be a passion and she is excited to be back on stage sharing a night of music.

The opera concert would not have been possible without the generous support of several lo- cal business owners who stepped up to become silver sponsors. These include Karen McCallion of the Kemptville Hearing Clinic, Robert Walker of Walker and Associates, Rick Buffham of R&B Heating, and Dawn Patterson of Cranberry Hill Animal Hospital.

Only 150 tickets to the opera concert will be sold, and they are going quickly. After the concert, a gathering will take place free of charge for ticket holders, featuring sweets, truffl es, coff ee, and tea. Tickets to the concert are $20.00 each, available for purchase at the North Grenville Historical Society office, 148 Prescott St., in Kemptville.

Knitting and sewing with a purpose

things. I made big bucket hats for the summer but they didn’t really take off. I was trying to find a niche. Wool socks seem to be it!” Debbie has other creative ideas in the works as well. “The wheels are constantly turning,” Debbie added.

Knitting and sewing are well known to be relaxing hobbies, but one local women has taken these activities to a new level by using them for a noble purpose – feeding the hungry. Donating the profits from the sale of her creations to local food banks is nothing new for Debbie Amirault. The North Grenville women has been featured in the Times on many occasions in the last several years in relation to her generous Mouth2Mouth project.

Now, after nearly three years of going strong, Debbie has raised $7,100 through the Mouth2Mouth project and donated it to local food banks, including House of Lazarus and the Salvation Army. All of the profits from the project go right back into the community via donations. Her most recent donation was in the sum of $500 given to the Salvation Army food bank in Kemptville in December.

In a conversation with the Times, Debbie explained that the idea for the project originally came about when the COVID-19 mask mandates were first put into place in mid 2020. At that time, a friend of hers who was an avid sewer donated materials to get her started. After that initial donation ran out, Debbie reached out to the community and was overwhelmed with more donations of materials from others in the community.

The masks were originally $2 each, but the price was eventually raised to $5 each when Health Canada’s mask standards were tightened. The masks have mostly been sold through various online groups. Now, with mask mandates no longer in place, the demand has gone down considerably. This has not stopped Debbie, though. She has moved on to crocheting and knitting projects, particularly creating items that can be purchased and given as gifts, such as wool socks. Just like with the masks, the profits from all of Debbie’s sales are turned into donations to local food banks.

“It took me a whole year to get that $500 donation!” said Debbie, referring to her most recent donation to the Salvation Army food bank. “I was trying different

Asked why she feels it’s important to support local food banks, Debbie pointed out that her inspiration came from the hardship and food insecurity that many people experienced when the COVID-19 pandemic set in. Even though the need has gone down since the beginning of the pandemic, it is still higher than it was preCOVID. Debbie predicts that with the current economy, an increasing number of people will be accessing food banks, even if it is just to supplement the food that they buy to get them through to the next pay day.

To learn more about the Mouth2Mouth project, visit a dedicated Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/profile. php?id=100070400351914.