Providence Bay
Alexia Hannigan
Alexia here with your friendly poppa fly! Cultural ceremonies and celebrations rule this time of year on Manitoulin Island. The busy season beckons with paddles, flags and feathers up. Everywhere you look, there are bustling indoor and outdoor markets, yard sales and the water is teaming with boats, buoys and birds. We welcome visiting friends, neighbours, artists and artisans and enjoy, acknowledge, honour and celebrate a wondrous Indigenous History Month, Happy Pride and Happy Father’s Day celebrations with family and friends.
Here’s what’s happening: Providence Bay fairgrounds/arena: Providence Bay “Blue Jeans and Country Dreams” fair committee and crew are going full tilt again, leading up to opening day this August! For updates, quilt raffle tickets and Lone Pine Stage tickets and information, check out the Providence Bay Fair Facebook page or visit providencebayfair.ca.
Providence Bay Hall: No public events this week.
For the full Manitoulin Recreation events calendar with class schedules visit: events.centralmanitoulin.ca or contact Alison Sloss at asloss@centralmanitoulin.ca, 705-377-5726 ext. 35.
Providence Bay Curling club: The youth and junior curling club has 50/50 tickets for sale! Proceeds go toward our program as well as the first Manitoulin Girl Guides. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased by e-transfer to provbayjrcurlers@gmail.com. Thanks for your support!
Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast Buffet is on Sunday, June 15 from 8 am to 12 noon at the Providence Bay Curling Club.
Providence Bay/Spring Bay Lions Club: Providence Bay/Spring Bay Lions club is seeking donations of gently used items for their annual Canada Day yard sale set to take place the last weekend in June at the Providence Bay Hall parking lot. To arrange for pickup or drop-off of donations and items, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Lion John at 705-377-7740.
Providence Bay Beach Boardwalk and Discovery Centre: Providence Bay Beach is an amazing 2 km sand beach on Lake Huron that is open to the public. Play safe and enjoy the beautiful beaches, boardwalk and views!
Be sure to stop into Huron Island Time. Walk to the end of the boardwalk and say hello to the folks at the Providence Bay Tent and Trailer Park and get some selfies in front of Maxim’s beautiful art murals!
Check out the Mutchmor Peace Café and delight in local art, crafts, jewellery and enjoy a cup of coffee or an iced latté and be sure to snap a selfie in front of the south shore community bear mural!
Reuse/Recycle: The Providence Bay Reuse Shed opened as of June 1st at the Providence Bay Transfer Station, for more information contact 705-377-5726. Visit the transfer station at 4077 Government Road. Summer hours are Thursday, Saturday or Sunday from 2 to 6 pm until the September long weekend.
The Lions Club Bottle drive continues next to the arena; this program is open to the public and we encourage everyone to drop off their used bottles and cans. Your empties help fund great local initiatives.
A huge thank you to the 650 volunteers who helped clean up 277 bags of garbage from 224 km of roadsides, streams, shorelines and public spaces.
Shout out to our garbage cleanup heroes Brooklyn and Jordyn for taking the crown again this year and winning the Tallest Cup Stack Challenge!
Congrats to Keith McAllister, winner of our overall draw!
Trophy Winners: School Cleanup Award: Central Manitoulin Public School (48 bags!). Business Cleanup Award: Little Current Lions Club (27 bags!). Community Cleanup Award: Central Manitoulin (a whopping 102 bags!). Well done everyone!
Toulin Turtles:
Turtles are nesting all over the sideroads right now so please watch closely and slow down while driving around lakes and wetlands. If you see an injured turtle contact Turtle Pond at 705-691-0433.
The Heavens: June 11 – The enchanting Full Strawberry Moon; June 21 – Summer Solstice: The official start of summer.
Manitoulin Island is a dark sky reserve so find a dark sky spot, bring your telescope (or just your eyes) and enjoy the wonders of the cosmos.
The Friends: Happy Birthday to all you early June bugs.
June is a time when people gather to celebrate, remember and reunite. Where dad’s get to show, shine and show-off a little, so this is an ode to all of our sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, best buds, fathers of brides-to-be, fathers, grandfathers and forefathers.
You are the rock-steady; remarkable rockets your mother’s raised you to be and you’re doing great! A toast and a tip of the hat to all you Vader’s, waders and men of men, it’s certainly not an easy role to fulfill. Take a minute to congratulate yourself for your physical prowess, mental fortitude and multi-tasking…even if it is just taking a nap while balancing a beer and a butter tart on your belly. We don’t say it often enough, so dearest dads, this one’s for you: We love you and we are grateful for you. It’s the start of another wonderous and warm season under the sun in beautiful Rainbow Country, enjoy every minute and make it count!
“June is the pearl of Summer, shining with warmth and joy” -L.M. Montgomery
Kagawong
Team Fergmeijer
We came across an interesting summer job opportunity, and Team Fergmeijer decided to go for it! We applied for jobs sorting bugs at an insect farm. We were called in for an interview and everything seemed to go pretty well – the person interviewing us said we boxed all the right ticks.
Have your say! The township is revamping how we use the landfill and drafting a new waste management bylaw. Council is keen to hear your thoughts and are accepting constructive criticism of the draft bylaw over the month of June. You can access the bylaw and the public at the township office or on the township’s website (www.billingstwp.ca/news). All comments must be submitted in writing via the comment form or via email to bylaw@billingstwp.ca. All comments must have your name and contact information included.
Thinking of burning brush as you tidy up your yard? Don’t forget that burn permits are required in Billings! Stop by the township office to get your free permit, which is valid for one week. Burn permits are not required for a small bonfire.
Happiest of happy birthday wishes go out to the one and only Karlene S. May your presents be filled with joy and your cake be calorie free.
On Saturday, June 28 it is Team Aelick’s annual stroll for liver in support of Liver Canada. This 5k walk through the village starts at the Park Centre at 11 am. You can join the stroll, support from the sidelines, and donate through their team page (bit.ly/teamaelick). Donations over $20 qualify for a tax receipt.
The Old Mill Heritage Centre is now open five days a week, from Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Stop by and check out the amazing “ship model” exhibit of all the ferries that serviced Manitoulin for over 100 years! The museum is also gearing up for its big celebration of the 100th anniversary of the mill on Saturday, July 19.
If you are looking for a fun and easy way to get more involved in the community, the library is looking to fill a spot on its board. Contact billingsreads@gmail.com or stop in at the library to chat with the librarian for more information.
Billings library’s annual used book sale is only a month away! On Saturday, July 19, rain or shine, there will be thousands of books up for grabs and you will be turtley surprised by some of the developments in the works!. Did you know that the members of the library board and volunteers get first dibs on books? If you would like to volunteer at the sale, reach out to the library. Volunteer hours are available for any high school students who would like to help out.
The library will also be holding their annual beach movie on Saturday, August 9. They will be showing the a-maze-ing 80s classic, Labyrinth!
As if that wasn’t enough library info for one column, the popular Blind Date With a Book fundraiser for the library is happening again this year! Choose from 30+ new books wrapped in plain brown paper with just the genre and general clues to the story visible. A true choose your own adventure! As any good date should, each Blind Date book comes with a box of chocolates from Manitoulin Chocolate Works. This fundraiser starts Thursday, July 3 and is only available at the library’s table at the Wednesday market in Kagawong.
Now, last, but not least – don’t forget that it’s t-minus two Wednesdays until the Kagawong market kicks off for another season!
One half of Team Fergmeijer couldn’t figure out why Siri kept calling her Shirley this morning. It was getting pretty annoying, but then she realized she’d left her phone on Airplane mode. Have a great week!
Meldrum Bay
Elaine Bradley
On Friday night, May 30, at cards there were 17 people. High lady was Elaine Bradley with 69 points; high man was Doug Carter with 72; ladies’ lone hands went to Karen Noble with three; men’s lone hands went to Sara Lyn Arnot with four; most euchres went to Anne Steele with nine; the door prize was won by Bob Benedict; Karen Noble won the 50/50 draw and she took home the juice; the money jar is safe for another week.
It was nice to have Sara Lyn visiting us.
The lilacs are in full bloom and the lady slippers are everywhere. We are working on our gardens. Mine needs a lot of work and its not getting enough. My brother is home from his job in the Sault for a few days and we are enjoying having him back.
Church is back on a weekly basis now at 9:15 am. It was nice to get together on Sunday for the worship service.
Kits and Quilts got together on Tuesday preparing items for disaster relief. They meet every second Tuesday.
Brian and Helen Black used to live in Meldrum Bay and we all thought a great deal of them. Helen’s birthday was celebrated by a group of us at the Watersedge Pub and Restaurant. We had a nice seat overlooking the water. The food was good. The company was better. We do miss our good friends and it was wonderful to share this happy day with them.
Our boat is in the water at the docks with the others.
We have a stew and chili dinner coming up with a euchre tournament following on Sunday, June 15. Joe’s poker paddle will be on Saturday, June 21. We always have a good time. Come and join us.
Have a great week everybody.
Barrie Island
Enid Runnalls
Carolyn Lane-Rock and Enid Runnalls attended the Annual General Meeting of the Ontario District 13 Horticultural Association which was hosted by the Campbell H.A. at Burpee-Mills Hall. Members and delegates from various associations in the district attended the business meeting, and listened to Dr. Janice Mitchell’s important message about local pollinator health as it relates to crop spraying of glyphosate. Lunch was served and there was a small flower show of spring flower specimens, indoor plants and arrangements.
The tulips continue to bloom with the shifting temperature of this prolonged cool spring. At the same time, the garden is sprouting and haying will begin soon.
Primary Track and Field was held early this year at C.C. McLean. Arie and Isaiah Miller put in their best effort and came home with several ribbons and Arie won the gold medal for his age group! The boys are also very involved in ball and soccer.
Sorry the news is light this week – we took a little trip down to Toronto and just returned last night so haven’t had time to call around. Will catch up with you next week.
Silver Water
Karen Noble
Murray and Gladys Duncanson went to Espanola on Friday. They attended a performance by their granddaughter, Willow Duncanson.
On Friday, May 30 we went to euchre in Meldrum Bay.
On Saturday morning, we had our first market in our yard. Thanks to everyone who came out to help raise money for the Angel Bus. The next market will be on Saturday, June 21. Vendors are welcome and there is no cost to set up a table.
On Sunday, June 1, Myra Duncanson and I went to Tehkummah to their monthly tournament. We took another load of books and movies to the Tehkummah library. Congratulations to Rose Van Every and her partner Donna who won the day. There were 10 tables of players. Mike and Susan Arbour won the 50/50 draw.
On Monday I went to Gore Bay to work.
On Tuesday, Shawn Noble and I went to Mindemoya to drop off his loaner vehicle and then went to North Bay to pick up his new vehicle which is replacing the one that a deer hit a few weeks ago.
Albert Meijer went to kits and quilts in Meldrum Bay on Tuesday morning. He visited with TJ Murray and his friends and family on the way home.
On Tuesday evening there was fire practice with a large number of team members out.
On Wednesday I went to work again. I did some errands afterwards.
The UCW meeting was on Thursday afternoon at Sylvia Pfeifer’s home. There were 14 ladies and we discussed lots of upcoming events such as the picnic on June 28. The theme is “In the garden.”
There was a birthday lunch for Helen Black on Thursday afternoon at the Watersedge.
There was euchre at the Silver Water Community Hall at 7 pm on Thursday.
On June 15 there will be a luncheon and euchre tournament in Meldrum Bay starting at 12 noon.
Happy 8th Birthday to Shelby Duncanson on June 5.
