Creativity shines at Paint Nite in Buckhorn
Paint Nite came to Buckhorn earlier this month as 43 artists showed up to strengthen the left sides of their brains and to raise money for the Buckhorn Community Centre. More than $700 was raised.
Paint Nite is a business for individual entrepreneurs headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and is in more than 1,700 cities across Canada and the United States. The company donates $15 to the place where the event is hosted. Canvas, paint, brushes, apron and instructor(s) are provided.
The instructor leads participants in taking the model painting apart, starting with the background, blending colours, and then placing on top various elements of the painting. Creativity is allowed with some patrons choosing different color schemes. It was a great evening for a great community organization.
Loonie Auction
The Buckhorn Community Centre was the place to be March 10 for a fundraiser to refurbish the baseball field to safely support adult and children’s league. There was a silent auction which offered items from the Buckhorn Pharmacy, Adale’s Hair Corner, McLean Berry Farm, Buckhorn General Store, Buckhorn Canoe, Buckhorn Foodland, Buckhorn Garage, Ron Windover, and businesses in Lakefield and Peterborough.
After a pasta dinner by Chef Brian Henry the Loonie Auction with auctioneer Dog Pearson took the spotlight.
The first item – a wheelbarrow of booze donated by Buckhorn Home Hardware, a plant donated by Griffin’s Greenhouse and pruning saw donated by Heming Lawn and Garden – raised $622 and on it went.
Blue Jays tickets, Maple Leafs tickets, a float plane ride, a paddle boat were all there for the bidding.
Richard Lam, owner of the Cody Inn, donated $500. Jeff Chesher provided financial support for the excavation to begin. $7,800 was raised.
Ratepayers
The spring meeting of the Buckhorn Ratepayers Association featured four Buckhorn residents that travelled the Northwest Passage in August 2017.
These residents - Martyn Obbard, Sue Sudbury, Doug Chenoweth, Marlys Kerkman – presented their experiences onboard the Akademik Sergei Vavilov as it travelled from Resolute through Barrow Strait and Lancaster Sound stopping at Dundas Harbour on Devon Island and then going down the coast of Baffin Island stopping at Pond Inlet and Qikiqtarjuaq passing Monumental Island and then up Frobisher Bay to Iqaluit.
The audience heard about the facilities aboard the Akademik Sergei Vavilov, a Russian flagged vessel with an ice strengthened hull for safe polar expedition.
Sudbury talked of the welcomes the group received at Pond Inlet and Kikiqtarjuaq. She expressed her dismay that one out of every six residents had tuberculosis.
Obbard, a large-mammal expert, talked of his two trips north of the Arctic Circle last August. The first trip was to travel the exact route that Franklin took but ice conditions prohibited going down the Boothia Peninsula and the Franklin Strait. Ice and wind also eliminated stopping at Grise Fiord and Alexandra Fiord on the second trip.
Walrus and polar bear were seen along with seal, orca and different kinds of birds. The rainy, wet cold weather did not curtail the spirit of these explorers who were frequently met back on board with Bailey’s and hot chocolate.
Rural Women’s Summit
The Rural Women’s Summit is still reverberating a few weeks later.
While there was a panel of women who shared their loves and challenges of rural living many of those in the audience had equally riveting stories.
Shirley works at a mine north of Havelock. She was there to listen to see how they can work closer with the community to get more females involved.
Gail from Community Futures was there to understand women in small businesses in a rural area.
They are also getting a group together to educate women in how to run a campaign.
The panelists responded to some of the topics raised. Community Care manager from Apsley, Lorri Rork, said there is a subsidy for transportation if money is short to pay for rides to various places such as the grocery, the doctor or the bank.
Selwyn Mayor Mary Smith said services in rural area are sometimes difficult to organize as many social services are based in the city.
Courtney Mader pointed out that getting services for special needs children in rural areas can be tricky.
One participant brought up the Women‘s Institute which is 120 years old and has been bringing attention to many of these issues during those years.
The whole group suggested ideas such as private/public partnerships, an Uber type of transportation for the rural area, mentoring, new resident information sessions, and promoting rural schools.
In the evening, MP Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women, pointed out that she was the first elected female in this riding, the youngest, and the first Muslim in cabinet.
She spoke of the Five Gs for the empowerment of women.
Gender – significant money is being provided for women to enter the trades. The government is providing a female entrepreneurship strategy. There is new parental leave in which the second partner has five weeks to stay with the baby.
G7 – Canada is hosting the G7 this year.
Gendered lens – There is an intersectional gendered lens for rural versus urban and Seniors versus youth.
Gendered appointments – Balancing appointments in terms of gender.
Gender-based violence – Me Too continues to awaken the public.
An announcement was made about a new community award – the Peterborough Kawartha Impact award. It was developed because a lack of role models can be a systemic barrier to women.
The criteria for this award is that the individual must work or study in this riding, no age restrictions, for one person, and nominations should be sent to Monsef’s constituency office. Nominations are open between now and Mother’s Day, May 13. The award will be presented in October.