Archive for December, 2009
Gift Idea: Escarpment Views Notecards
December 18th 2009 Just in time for last-minute Christmas shopping, we’re announcing a new page on our website, where we hope to offer unique products for sale. We have begun by showing Escarpment Views blank notecards.
I always have blank notecards available. I use them for all occasions, writing my own messages for birthdays, congratulations, sometimes condolences. I even use them for letters to friends and relatives. A “real” card in the mail can be a great pleasure.
Our notecards feature some of Mike Davis’ most popular photography of places near the Niagara Escarpment: the first four magazine cover photos, Scotsdale Farm and flowering lilac bushes. These photos have produced a lot of “Aahs” from viewers.
You get eight cards and envelopes for $10 plus GST and mailing. If you happen to want more copies of any images, let us know. We’ll customize your order at no extra charge! If you want the notecards by Dec. 24, let us know and we’ll rush them to you.
Do you have other photographs from the magazine that you’d like to see as notecards? And do you have ideas for other interesting products we can offer through our website? Don’t be shy about promoting your own work if you have something cool. Leave a comment and share your ideas.
Celebrating Two Years of Publishing Escarpment Views!
December 17th 2009 We’re starting our third year of publishing Escarpment Views, which is a significant achievement for any small business, let alone one that’s facing the current challenging economy. If I knew how, I’d insert a graphic image here of horns and streamers and confetti and Congratulations! Can anyone tell me how to do this here?
We’re pretty happy about this. Things are looking better for 2010, as the economy improves and the magazine gets better known and recognized for consistency of quality.
We thank all our advertisers and subscribers for supporting and encouraging our vision in our critical first two years. Despite being filled with a massive amount of work, the time has truly flown by. We certainly wouldn’t be at this point without your involvement.
More than one objective, impartial business person has told us recently that we need to celebrate our achievements more, and to realize that we’re doing very well. We’re trying to do that, but there are community events and performances to go to, people to introduce ourselves to, and always, the next and future issues to think about and work on.
What do you have to celebrate about this year? Are you taking a moment to congratulate yourself on your efforts?
Wiarton Willie a Poet’s Muse?
December 15th 2009I recently received the following message from a Georgetown friend and subscriber, Helen Tazzman. It’s fun enough to share with everyone:
“Congratulations on the quality of the articles and Mike’s photos in Escarpment Views. I will mail in the subscription renewal when I can safely leave home. The Kubota ad was interesting to me as that company bought out the plant where my father worked so that he was their employee before he retired.
“The Wiarton Willie Festival caught my eye. Last February, I wrote a poem on Willie:
Groundhog Day by Helen Tazzman
Of all the pesky critters,
That one would love to zap,
The worst by far is Willie
Who put Wiarton on the map.
He sleeps for most of the winter
And that’s just fine with us,
If only he rested longer,
He’d save us a lot of fuss.
But no, he goes and shows his face,
When he clearly isn’t wanted,
And casts his shadow on the land,
With more winter we’re now daunted.
If only we could hatch some schemes
To keep him in his bed,
Perhaps some downy pillows or carrots by his head,
Whatever groundhogs fancy, we will gladly bring,
If it will surely give us
A longed-for, early spring.
February 16, 2009
“Strange Places” Concert at Georgetown’s St. John’s United Church
December 13th 2009Don’t miss this!
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT
To make you feel part of the season
Monday, December 14, 7 pm
St. John’s United Church
11 Guelph Street, Georgetown
the first block south of the Y intersection with Main Street
Something for everyone
¨ A short musical drama, “Strange Places”
reflects the idea that God appears in strange places,
perhaps a manger or in lives of those we know.
¨ The choir will sing traditional anthems
¨ Performances on the flute and grand piano
¨ Audience members will also join in familiar carols
St John’s with its strong musical tradition and superb acoustical space will uplift your spirit. Heading the musical ministry team of Diane Murray-Charrett and Elaine Rusk is Carolyn Maule, a professional musician when she is not directing the St. John’s choir.
No admission. Freewill donations will be shared with the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle campaign.
Winner of Tickets for Amy Sky, Marc Jordan, Dan Hill Concert
December 12th 2009 The winner of the draw for two free tickets to the Amy Sky, Marc Jordan and Dan Hill concert on Dec. 17 in Guelph is Carolyn Martin of Georgetown.
Thanks to everyone who entered the draw. We had entries from Kitchener, Guelph, Terra Cotta and Georgetown, making a good representation across the central part of our distribution area.
We also thank Full Capacity Concerts for providing the free tickets for our first draw. We’re pleased by the response to it and we welcome other freebie giveaways for future contests. Keep checking our blog for announcements of other offers.
Free Presentation About Coyotes and the City
December 10th 2009Here is a guest blog by “our man in Hamilton,” Paul Glendenning. He’s an ad consultant for us and is also interested in environmental and green issues and causes, making him well suited to Escarpment Views. We’re happy to have him do some writing for us as well.
Whether you live on a farm, in a small town or bustling urban centre, chances are coyotes have made their presence known. A cunning survivor, this canny creature has managed not only to survive but thrive through adapting to our way of life. Lurking on the edges of civilization, coyotes have quietly crept into the void caused by the loss of other larger predators who have been pushed to more remote corners of the country.
Unfortunately conflicts do occasionally occur and isolated incidents can become huge news stories painting a very malevolent picture of this relatively small predator of rabbits, mice and the occasional deer.
In the hope of reducing conflict through education, the following special presentation is taking place in Hamilton, Ontario.
The Urban Coyote
Learn more about coyotes and their habits as well as other urban wildlife
In this engaging presentation by Lesley Sampson, coyote researcher,
advocate and founder of Coyote Watch Canada
Join the “pack” gathering at the Hamilton Spectator Auditorium
44 Frid St. Hamilton, Ontario
on December 16th at 7 p.m.
Special guest wildlife biologist Bill Leeming
Introduction by Hamilton City Councillor Brian McHattie.
Free Admission.
Non-perishable food donation appreciated for local food banks.
For any questions or directions, please contact rhcoyotes@live.ca.
—
Have you had any dealings with, or observations of coyotes, good, bad or indifferent?
Free Tickets to Amy Sky, Marc Jordan and Dan Hill!
December 09th 2009 Just a few days left to enter our draw for a free pair of tickets to the big-name concert of the season! The contest closes Sat. Dec. 12 at noon.
Amy Sky, Marc Jordan and Dan Hill will play the River Run Centre in Guelph on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. Amy Sky is known for “I Will Take Care of You” and “Ordinary Miracles.” Dan Hill had hits with “Sometimes When We Touch” and “In Your Eyes.” They also perform in London’s Aeolian Hall on Dec. 18, for anyone out that way.
For your chance to win free tickets to the Dec. 17 concert, email editor@EscarpmentViews.ca with your name, address and phone number. To avoid being discarded as spam, don’t put the word “free” in the Subject line. We’ll arrange to have the tickets held in your name at the River Run Centre box office. These tickets have been generously provided by Full Capacity Concerts.
If you don’t win but would still like to attend this fun holiday performance, get tickets through the River Run special page.
Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (and Nature) to Benefit From Gift Offer
December 08th 2009 In time for Christmas gift giving, Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy has added a page to their site to promote the Escarpment Views subscription offer. It includes a photo of last spring’s cover, which features their useful summary and explanation of programs to help Ontario landowners save significant amounts of money. You can read that article in PDF format.
Our offer to help the Conservancy with its work of protecting natural spaces near the Niagara Escarpment is simple. For every new subscription or renewal to Escarpment Views, we will give $5 to the Conservancy if you want to support them. You have to include a note with your cheque for $21, directing us to give them $5. You can subscribe or renew here or just mail us at
Escarpment Views
50 Ann St.
Georgetown ON L7G 2V2.
Robert Barnett, executive director of Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy, points out “Every $5 allows us to acquire the land under 15 trees.” Isn’t that amazing?
Help us to help them protect land, trees and wildlife. Subscribe for yourself or for a friend. Your gift at Christmas can help protect nature forever!
You can read much more info about the work of the Conservancy. What do you think about what they’re doing?
Georgetown Choral Society to Play Lincoln Center, NY
December 07th 2009“A Candlelight Christmas” on Dec. 5 began with the Georgetown Choral Society (GCS) walking down the aisles through the audience, holding flickering lights while the women hummed “O Come Emmanuel.” The sound was like a medieval convent of nuns at worship. It was a lovely, atmospheric start to a varied concert.
There was a good mix of familiar carol melodies and less-known works. There were even two sessions of audience participation, much like seventh-inning stretches at baseball games, to keep people alert and energized. The old singalong carols were made fun by chorister Jack Morrison, who demanded better efforts and unusual treatments, even putting director Dale Wood on the spot to sing a solo chorus of “Jingle Bells.”
Performance highlights were “Christmas Kum Ba Ya,” an interesting arrangement of English and African lyrics, part of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, sung in English as “Christians Be Joyful,” and “Carol of the Bells,” sung without organ accompaniment, sounding like a carillon of church bells. A significant work was a composition of director A. Dale Wood, “What Could I Give to This Stranger?” a beautiful new carol on the old theme of a gift worthy of the Christ child. Finally, Händel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” ended the concert, but not quite, as the choir sang a final work by candlelight.
My favourite piece of the night was their “Go Where I Send Thee,” a rollicking gospel carol. I’ve said before that it’s quite a stretch to get middle-aged white men and women to perform gospel well, but they did a great job of this. I suppose it’s best not to push the swayin’ and rockin’ throughout if it doesn’t feel right. It may even have made for a more dramatic surprise with the rhythmic clapping and foot stomping at the end. This is a real crowd pleaser that I hope they’ll perform frequently.
And some pretty amazing news is that GCS has been invited to perform in Lincoln Center, New York City on Jan. 18, 2010. They’ll perform Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man,” which they performed last spring in Norval. If you can be in New York at that time, try to get tickets to this.
Did you catch this performance? What other concerts are you enjoying?
Amy Sky, Marc Jordan, Dan Hill Perform in Guelph
December 03rd 2009 This is a fun experiment for us. We have two free tickets to give away for the Dec. 17 concert in Guelph by Amy Sky and Marc Jordan. Also performing will be Dan Hill, with much less hair than he had as I remember him from my university days. (How is it that we’ve gone grey or bald so quickly?) The 8 pm concert at the lovely River Run Centre promises to be “an evening of beautiful songs and stories with a touch of holiday spirit.”
Here’s the experiment. We will hold a random draw for two free tickets to this concert on Sat. Dec. 12. To enter this draw, email me at editor@EscarpmentViews.ca by noon on Dec. 12. Give your name, address, phone number and email address. Don’t put the word “Free” in the subject line, as my spam filter might reject your message.
We’ll hold the draw after noon on Dec. 12 and contact the winner. The tickets will be left for you in your name at the box office on Dec. 17. These tickets have been generously provided by Full Capacity Concerts.
We’ll be interested to see if our readers and viewers respond to this, our first giveaway. If you do, we might have more of these offers in future. Would you like us to?