New Online Event Listings
March 04th 2010 Due to the wealth of great information we’re getting about public events happening up and down the Escarpment, we’ve just added a new Calendar of Events! These listings are FREE for anyone who sends us the information. If there’s a webpage with complete details about the event, make sure you give us the link so we can easily point people to it.
If you want the public to know about your event, this free calendar listing will help spread the word. Make sure you tell your contacts to check the calendar for your details.
Send us your info and give us a few days to post it. We love to spread the news about things that are on, all along the Niagara Escarpment.
Swim Meet for Haiti this weekend with local Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club
January 28th 2010Here’s another Escarpment-area group that is raising funds to help Haiti:
Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club has more than 200 young people in their swim club who practise at swimming pools around the city of Hamilton. Head Coach Grey Fairley and his coaches have put together a last-minute fundraiser to help the people of Haiti. This recreational swim meet will be held for anyone in the club, their families and friends. The children are very excited about being able to help Haiti while doing something they love. There could be 200 or more people swimming and each swimmer will donate a minimum of $10 to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health System Haiti Relief Fund. The viewing area at the McMaster Pool is open to the public.
Date: Sunday, Jan. 31
Location: McMaster University Swimming, Ivor Wynne Centre
Time: 12 pm to 2 pm
What are the kids that you know doing for Haiti?
Jordan Art Gallery Auction to Benefit Heart and Stroke Foundation
January 27th 2010Silent Auction with portion of proceeds to benefit the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Opening reception and preview: Sunday, February 7, 2~4PM. Participate in this exciting opportunity to win valuable art for the month of February!
Janny Fraser, Joyce Honsberger, George Langbroek, Mori McCrae, Michelle Teitsma, Sandy Middleton, Robyn Kennedy, Jan Yates, the artists and owners of the Jordan Art Gallery, have created works from their hearts and artistic souls for this worthy event. ‘Heart to Heart’ is an exhibition and auction highlighting the love and generosity of spirit symbolized by Valentine’s Day.
The value of the artwork will be listed and all of the artists have agreed to reduce the price of their work to encourage sales. Patrons will be able to bid and counter bid for the month of February. Each bidder will be assigned a number, to be used upon bidding. If another wishes to bid on the same artwork, the bid will then go up, which adds to the excitement of the show! At the end of the month, all bidders will be contacted to get a ‘last chance’ to place their bid. Closing bids will be called at 4 PM Sunday, February 28.
The winners will go home with a great deal on a valuable painting, mixed media work, photograph or jewelry made with love by a local Niagara artist. They will also know that they have contributed to the betterment of the lives of those whose hearts are in need by contributing to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.
Habitat for Humanity Halton Supports Haiti Relief Efforts
January 20th 2010We’re happy to pass on this news about Habitat for Humanity Halton (HFHH) and their work in Haiti. They want to emphasize that donations from individuals until February 12 will be matched by the Canadian Government.
HFHH will provide support to the disaster response efforts of Habitat for Humanity International to help low-income Haitian earthquake victims with immediate and long-term shelter solutions. Donations to the Habitat fund from individual Canadians will be matched by the Canadian government up to February 12.
“Habitat for Humanity will mobilize all available resources to address shelter solutions for low-income families affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti,” said Torre Nelson, area vice president of Habitat for Humanity International’s Latin America and Caribbean office.
Habitat’s early response to the earthquake is threefold, with the extent of the interventions depending on the amount of support that they are able to mobilize:
1) Cleanup: This involves mobilizing people to clear the way for shelter construction and home rehabilitation;
2) Shelter Kits: Habitat will distribute building materials and tools in shelter kits; and,
3) Transitional Shelter: Transitional housing can be built quickly and provide permanent base structures that can be expanded over time. These shelters will include the provision of water and sanitation, and will include hurricane- and earthquake-resistant features.
Consistent with the Habitat capacity-building approach of giving a “hand-up, not a hand out,” Habitat International’s approach will engage local residents in the rebuilding process.
“I feel privileged to have joined an organization that focuses on helping the 6.5% of Halton residents who live in poverty, while also helping our community respond to the gut-wrenching need that we all feel to help Haiti at this time of trauma,” said Anne Swarbrick, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Halton.
Habitat for Humanity has been at work in Haiti for 26 years and will use its local expertise and mobilize resources as part of the rebuilding efforts. Habitat has provided more than 2,000 Haitian families with housing solutions through a variety of initiatives including new home construction, developing local construction skills, and disaster mitigation. Habitat works in coordination with community and government agencies.
To make a donation that will be matched by the Canadian government up to February 12, or to get more information about the work being done by Habitat for Humanity in Haiti, visit www.habitathalton.ca – or visit ReStore at 1800 Appleby Line, Burlington.
About Habitat for Humanity Halton
Habitat for Humanity Halton is a community-based, non-profit organization working for a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. Founded in 1999, it is a member of Habitat for Humanity Canada, and part of a worldwide network that spans 100 countries. With 10 homes completed and three more currently underway, Habitat Halton provides low income families with a hand up to home ownership to break the cycle of poverty.
For more information, visit: www.habitathalton.ca
About Habitat for Humanity Canada
Habitat for Humanity Canada is a national, non-profit, faith-based organization working for a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. Their mission is to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Habitat for Humanity Canada was founded in 1985, consists of over 50,000 volunteers and 72 affiliate organizations from coast to coast, and is a member of Habitat for Humanity International, which spans 93 countries and has built over 350,000 homes worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people.
About Habitat for Humanity’s Disaster Response
Habitat’s Disaster Response focuses on the housing needs that arise from natural disasters and humanitarian emergency conflicts. Habitat offers expertise in technical information; program design and implementation; and disaster response policies, protocols and procedures. They also provide support and informational resources for disaster mitigation and preparedness; helping communities in disaster-prone areas protect themselves against future threats.
Rally Against the Proroguing of Parliament
January 17th 2010This news item just came in to Escarpment Views:
The chairperson of the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR), Mervyn Russell, will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming “Rally Against the Proroguing of Parliament” on Saturday, January 23 at 1 pm.
The Rally will take place at Heritage Park in Oakville which is located at 337 Kerr Street opposite MP Terence Young’s office. Other speakers will include James Ede, Oakville NDP Executive member, Marion Schaffer, Green Party activist, Willie Lambert, Oakville and District Labour Council past President, and Kim Ford, local activist.
All are welcome to attend this public event.
For more information, please contact Mervyn Russell at 905 845-3250 or OCCPEHR at 905 849-5501.
How to Help Haiti After the Earthquake
January 13th 2010There’s a Niagara Escarpment community connection to Haiti. Georgetown is the location of the Canadian offices of Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation Inc., which provides physical medicine and rehabilitation programs to Haitians with disabilities.
Eric Doubt of Georgetown is the executive director. Marnie Hughes of Georgetown shares this information: “Last November I had the privilege of being project coordinator for the International Conference of Healing Hands for Haiti in Toronto. I was fortunate to meet many individuals from Haiti, Canada and the U.S. who have dedicated the past 10 years to providing rehabilitative medicine and education to the disabled of Haiti. After yesterday’s devastating earthquake, what is left of their facility will be put to use helping, where possible, even more vulnerable Haitians. It would mean a great deal if you would consider directing your help to http://www.healinghandsforhaiti.org/. Thank you very much for considering this.”
Responses to Prime Minister Harper Proroguing Parliament Again
January 08th 2010 While watching The National on TV last night, I was struck by the discussion about our Prime Minister proroguing Parliament again, and the question of what citizens think about it, whether they’re rising up and objecting.
The topic came up earlier yesterday at a family birthday celebration, and all of us there expressed concern. We had also previously been talking about Nazi Germany, and it was easy to think of Hitler’s actions after being elected.
I have also had emails before now, about this latest act of our Prime Minister, from friends and associates who are not normally given to political commentary, all alarmed, displeased or cynically amused at what has happened. I believe that even when the Olympic excitement is over, we will remember this as an attempt to trick us with bread and circuses.
So the answer to Peter Mansbridge’s commentators’ question is yes, citizens are upset and talking. Consider this blog post one more expression of disapproval.
And whatever you think, your comments on this are important to the national discussion. I wonder what the Niagara Escarpment community thinks about it. Why not share your opinion here? It can’t hurt; it may help.
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
United Way of Milton’s Christmas Tour
November 12th 2009On Nov. 20 & 21, the United Way of Milton will host “A Town & Country Christmas House Tour.” This is your chance to see six Milton houses decorated for Christmas by professionals.
If last year’s tour is anything to go by, the houses will be amazing. Not every style may be your taste, but the variety and lavishness of the decorating is what makes these tours so interesting. You just might pick up a wildly creative idea or two that you can use in your own home.
On Fri. Nov. 20, the tour is by bus because it includes a pre-tour dinner and wine and snacks after the tour. It sounds like a wonderful party on wheels for $70. Plus the houses will be all lit up in the dark hours.
The Sat. Nov. 21 tour is self guided and costs $25. You can visit the homes in any order, at any time.
The tour is a fundraiser for the United Way of Milton, so you’re supporting a good cause with your good time. Tickets are available at 905 875 2550 or campaign@miltonunitedway.ca.
If you’d like to see what the homes were like on last year’s tour, look for the Winter issue, coming out around Dec. 1. We visited the homes on Milton’s tour as well as the one mansion on the Halton Hills’ tour, and Mike took plenty of photos. We tried to capture some of the fabulous scenes displayed there. I can only say that it must be nice to live like that over Christmas.
Does your community hold Christmas house tours? If you go on them, why do you? What do you get out of them?
First, Ann Kloppenburg, Then, Giant’s Rib Solstice Fundraiser
June 22nd 2009Last Thursday we had back-to-back receptions to go to. The first was the opening of Burlington artist Ann Kloppenburg’s exhibition “The Beauty of Halton” in the Visitor Centre of the Halton Region Museum. Ann had been kind enough to send us an invitation herself, and we were happy to attend.
The exhibition is a collection of Ann’s watercolours of natural scenes. She says she has “a great feeling for sky and water” and her style is “loose and free.” She works in both large and small sizes, featuring local landscapes. She has taught at the Burlington Art Centre and I believe she told me that she’ll have an exhibition there this fall. But until Sept. 7, you can see her moody scenes at Halton Region Museum.
After this opening reception, Mike and I were off to Hamilton’s waterfront. Giant’s Rib Discovery Centre organizers held their third annual summer solstice fundraiser at Parks Canada Discovery Centre. The Giant’s Rib group was formed to interpret the natural and cultural heritage of the Niagara Escarpment.
A wine and cheese reception presented wine from Vineland Estates and three fine cheeses from Mickey McGuire’s of Dundas. A film of Escarpment photographs by The Spirit of Nature was shown in the theatre. A highlight of the evening was the introduction of the new Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Wall of photos and text. There was also musical entertainment, a silent auction of great products and a gorgeous sunset over the Escarpment.
How did you spend the summer solstice?