Autumn In The Hills

THE SEASON OF ART WILL RURAL TRANSIT FINALLY GET MOVING ?

A FRESH VISION FOR THEATRE ORANGEVILLE SPOTTING RARE SPECIES IN HEADWATERS

How do you picture retirement

We think it looks a lot like this — Laughter over bingo cards and theme days in full swing. Music in the lounge and crafts at the table. New friendships. Familiar comforts. The freedom to spend your days exactly how you choose.

At Avalon Retirement Lodge, retirement living isn’t about stepping away from life; it’s about continuing to embrace it with confidence, joy and connection.

If you’re ready to turn this picture into your reality, we’d love to meet you!

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PRODUCTS

Local to the Caledon community, Selena O’Hanlon was born in England but her family moved to Canada when she was a toddler. While still a youngster, Selena rode the necessary number of naughty ponies (think stop drop and roll when tired or sweaty) before her mother found Toby. Selena and Toby have the same birthday and she credits him with making her the horsewoman she is today.

Selena is a long standing member of the Canadian Eventing team and has so far represented Canada at the Olympics, World Equestrian Games and Pan American Games. As a life long equestrian and competitor, Selena has developed the ability to bring varying types of horses through the Eventing levels successfully.

Selena is also a gifted clinician and coach bringing her wealth of experience to O’Hanlon Eventing (located in Caledon) which offers a variety of services. This includes training, rehab programs, clinics, boarding and lessons (with a focus on enhancing the technique of both horse and rider across all three Eventing phases; Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country).

Selena’s Recent Accomplishments:

2011 Canadian team silver medalist at the PanAms in Mexico.

2011 Badminton 5*

2012 Short listed team member for the Olympics in UK.

2014 Canadian equestrian team member for WEG in France (Placed 6th as a team).

2014 Kentucky 5* (Placed 10th)

2015 Canadian team member (alternate) for PanAms in Toronto Canada. Torch bearer for PanAms in Kingston, Canada.

2017 Michael Gutowski Award for highest placed Canadian in world rankings.

2018 Equestrian Canada Equestrian of the Year - The Dr. George Jacobson Trophy

2019 & 2020 Equestrian Canada National Squad 2023 Equestrian Canada Development Squad 2023 Winner Rocking Horse Open Intermediate 2024 Equestrian Canada High Performance Squad

FEATURES

38 STILL WAITING FOR THE BUS Rural communities are built for drivers — but what about everyone else? As new transit efforts gain ground, riders are hoping for more than a lift BY

EMILY DICKSON

41 TAKING THE STAGE

Jennifer Stewart steps into the spotlight as Theatre Orangeville’s new artistic director BY JAMES

GERUS

48 SEASON OF COLOUR, SEASON OF ART

A curated roundup of fall’s must-see exhibitions and events BY EMILY

DICKSON

52 BRIEF ENCOUNTERS

A fleeting glimpse of one of these five rare Headwaters species can feel like magic — and like a warning we can’t ignore BY

DON SCALLEN

58 HOW A MONO GARDEN GROWS … AND GROWS … AND GROWS

Henry van Oudenaren’s remarkable selection of plants pushes the boundaries of what will grow successfully in Headwaters BY TONY

REYNOLDS

22 CONTRIBUTORS

24 LETTERS Our readers write

29 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Painter and photographer Iris Ranieri

30 FIELD NOTES

Step into local history, watch the curtain rise and visit a farm or fair this season BY EMILY DICKSON

35 FENCE POSTS

A bad connection BY DAN NEEDLES

64 FOOD AND DRINK

Toast local sandwich stars at Pia’s on Broadway, sip a cider and dig into locally made pies BY EMILY DICKSON

69 MEET THE MAKER

Sarah Allinson minds her own beeswax BY

JANICE QUIRT

71 MADE IN THE HILLS

Miniatures that tell a story, the art of blacksmithing and whimsical monochrome cards BY

STEPHANIE CASINO ESGUERRA

72 A DAY IN THE LIFE

Nature journalling educator Billie Jo Reid

75 COUNTRY LIVING 101

Your septic system, demystified BY ALISON McGILL

77 TAKE A HIKE

Dufferin Rail Trail BY NICOLA ROSS

78 HEADWATERS NEST

Rest and repeat BY BETHANY LEE

80 AT HOME IN THE HILLS

Classic design, casual luxury BY GAIL GRANT

96 WHAT’S ON A calendar of autumn happenings

108 FIND AN ADVERTISER

114 BACK STORY

Oscar and Sport, Erin’s war dog BY DYANNE RIVERS

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

Tralee Pearce

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Dyanne Rivers

Emily Dickson

ART DIRECTOR

Kim van Oosterom

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Danielle Arnold

Erin Fitzgibbon

Rosemary Hasner

Elaine Li

Pete Paterson

ILLUSTRATORS

Shelagh Armstrong

Ruth Ann Pearce

Jim Stewart

WRITERS

Stephanie Casino

Esguerra

James Gerus

Gail Grant

Bethany Lee

Alison McGill

Dan Needles

Janice Quirt

Tony Reynolds

Nicola Ross

Don Scallen

ON OUR COVER

“Starstruck” (detail) by Peter Dušek

FOUNDING PUBLISHER Signe Ball

In The Hills is published quarterly by MonoLog Communications Inc. It is distributed through controlled circulation to households in the towns of Caledon, Erin, Orangeville, Shelburne, Creemore and Dufferin County.

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WONDERSTRUCK

OCCASIONALLY, A SUBTLE, UNINTENDED THEME begins to emerge as an issue of In The Hills comes together. This theme is not as intentional as, say, that of a summer edition that skews toward farm-fresh eating or a winter issue packed with snowy outdoor pursuits, all of which we embrace; rather, it’s a zeitgeist-y undercurrent that in its own way reflects the moment in which we find ourselves.

As article drafts started flowing in this summer, the notion of wonder kept popping up in pieces entirely unrelated to one another, each flirting with the sense of being astonished or awed by something, whether it was seen for the first time or through fresh eyes – fresh gimlet eyes in some cases.

In “Taking the Stage,” Theatre Orangeville’s artistic director, Jennifer Stewart, and executive director, Sharyn Ayliffe, told writer James Gerus they had taken to calling the theatre’s fall season “a season of wonder.” Indeed, their first mainstage play, The Wonder of It All, is a rumination on a 25-year marriage that, to its inhabitants, may feel like anything but awe-inspiring at times. Likewise, naturalist Don Scallen worries about the future of his wonderful nature finds. He shares his bittersweet pursuit of five flora and fauna species that may soon vanish from Headwaters. “I’m struck with awe whenever I encounter them, but I’m also saddened by the knowledge that they may soon be gone,” he writes.

In a profile of nature journalling educator Billie Jo Reid, writer Janice Quirt finds the Christmas tune “I Wonder as I Wander” on repeat in her head as she watches Reid lay the groundwork for children and adults alike to find childlike wonder in local natural settings.

Finally, there is the cover of this issue: one of Peter Dušek’s fine-art photographs, mentioned in Emily Dickson’s survey of the fall art scene. Dušek’s piece is a stark, unsentimental –modern, even – rendering of a familiar touchstone in these hills: weathered barns and outbuildings. The title of the piece – “Starstruck” – is a play on the white star at the peak of each roof but also handily describes the feeling of gazing at a routine sight through a new lens.

Twenty years ago, I would have called the pileup of wonders in this edition a meme – but now this term, which once referred to a spontaneous cultural occurrence, has been co-opted to mean goofy viral videos we actively DM to one another.

Whatever you call it, noticing these threads has reminded me that there’s no better time than now – especially when more than enough dread, apathy and angst is going around – to search out slivers of wonder and to relish each and every one.

GET TO KNOW OUR ROVING REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS – ROBERTA FRACASSI AND VICTORIA JOHANSEN – PLUS CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER ERIN FITZGIBBON

Roberta Fracassi

Roberta Fracassi is an In The Hills veteran – for almost 19 years she has been a beloved regional sales manager for happy clients in Orangeville, Shelburne, Rosemont and the area north of Highway 9. Having grown up in Dufferin County, Fracassi enjoys small town life in Orangeville and is passionate about building strong connections with the local business community. She attributes the magazine’s success to consistent advertiser results and a dedicated team that has worked hard to build its reputation as the best-known and best-loved magazine in Headwaters. When Fracassi is not busy with work, she enjoys having a laugh with girlfriends and spending time with family and her adorable pooch, Leo, who is a big fan of walks around Island Lake Conservation Area. Her happy place is anywhere by the water.

Victoria Johansen

With more than 30 years in media sales, magazine publishing and business marketing, Victoria Johansen brings a wealth of experience to her new role as regional sales manager for Caledon, Erin and other areas south of Highway 9. Having joined In The Hills earlier this year, Johansen says that when it comes to her role, “I don’t feel like I’m ‘selling advertising.’

Instead I’m providing outstanding opportunities for businesses to communicate and market to an incredible community.”

Born in Toronto, but a resident of Orangeville since 2002, Johansen can often be found playing golf at one of the many courses around Headwaters, and she admits to being fiercely competitive at card games. She’s also a diehard Maple Leaf fan, always counting down the days to hockey season.

Erin Fitzgibbon is a photographer and artist who works as a teacher with the Peel District School Board. She has been a part of In The Hills for about 10 years, primarily snapping photos for the “At Home in the Hills” department. In this issue, Fitzgibbon visits an elegant Caledon country property, complete with an enviable pond.

An adventurous Orangeville resident since 2001, Fitzgibbon has raised three boys in the community. She is an avid canoeist and explorer, constantly searching out new cities and natural locales to explore. As an artist she focuses on creating images that celebrate nature and human resilience. She recently took part in a group exhibition at the Propeller Art Gallery in Toronto. Her work is also part of the Art à la Carte exhibition at Queen’s Park.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller about China's secret role in the 1970s space race between the U.S. and the U S S R

From one of Canada's most beloved and celebrated Newfoundlanders comes a rollicking insider's guide to his home province

Canada's greatest modern-day explorer sets out for the Arctic wilderness to solve a mystery more than 100 years old

Ideas that blossom

When I got my summer copy of In The Hills, I really liked the “Gardener on the Roof” article by Don Scallen [summer ’25]. I run Brighter Future Homes in Shelburne, and as someone who builds and designs biofilters to purify the air indoors, I’m always interested in learning about plants and the benefits they can have on buildings and our environment. I plan to build my own berm-style home with green roofs sometime in the near future! — Brad Reid, Shelburne

Creatures great and small

This is a great set of photos of things that are right under our nose [“Life in the Milkweed Patch,” Notes from the Wild at inthehills.ca, August ’24]. Thank you for putting this in your magazine. The colours of flowers and visitors are so vibrant. Just beautiful. — Darcy Grube, Bucks County, PA (previously of Caledon)

CORRECTION

In the summer Letters, we misidentified artist Susan Powell’s residence as Caledon. Powell was gracious when we contacted her: “Technically I did live in Caledon for many years! And yes, I have been living in Hillsburgh for 29 years.”

Inspiration for life

I was so happy to read about Gary and Pat [“A Lifetime of ‘Doing,’” winter ’23]. They certainly live exemplary lives. Gary was the vice-principal at Thistletown Collegiate where I taught and he later became a superintendent with the Etobicoke and Toronto school boards. He also served for many years as president and past president of our district RTO (Retired Teachers of Ontario). Fond regards, Gary and Pat. Yes, I’m still kicking around! Ninety-three now and counting. — Abe Plaatjes, Mississauga

EDITOR’S NOTE

Poet John Drudge sent us this poem earlier this year, but its autumnal gold, crickets and “sharpening air” felt like fall to us. Drudge lives in Caledon with his wife and two children. A social worker by profession, this Pushcart Prize nominee has also authored seven books of poetry and appeared in numerous publications. Thank you for this heartfelt ode, John.

Up in Caledon

The Caledon Hills

Rise and fall

In a rolling harmony

Of greens and golds

Where the wind

Is a storyteller

And the maples and oaks

Quietly listen

With morning spilling

Sugary light

Over barn roofs

And stone fences

And the mist curling

In the warmth

Of dreaming fields

Against a chorus of crickets

And the call of a lone hawk

Cutting circles in the blue

And the roads

Coiling through deep valleys

With farmhouses huddling

Against the sharpening air

Blowing woodsmoke

Into wide-open sky by John Drudge

We welcome your comments! For more reader commentary, or to add your own thoughts on any of the stories appearing in this issue, please visit inthehills.ca. You can also send your letters by email to tralee@inthehills.ca. Include your name, address and contact information. In The Hills reserves the right to edit letters for publication.

Stefano’s in-house, fresh baked sourdough bread available every weekend.

Large variety of local apples, pears, concord grapes, peaches and cream cor n, field tomatoes, fall squash, eggplants, brussel sprouts, broccoli and tur nips.

FA L L D É C O R I S H E R E

Fresh cut flowers, potted mums, grasses, potted kale, decorative ur ns, pumpkins, gourds, cor n stalks and cor n bales R E

Fresh lasagna, meatballs and tomato sauce, far m fresh eggs, baked goods, fresh baked pies, fresh baked bread, preserves, jams and maple syrup

O P E N E V E R Y D AY ! April to Nov 8am to 7pm, Holidays 8am to 6pm Open all Thanksgiving weekend.

to yours

Celebr ate Caledon’s Cult ur al Vibr ancy

www.inthehills.ca

AUTUMN ONLINE

IRIS RANIERI

A passion for the outdoors finds a way into each of Iris Ranieri’s acrylic paintings and photographs. “Even when I try to create a purely abstract painting, a landscape always seems to emerge,” says the Caledon artist. “I am drawn to the beauty of wild places, as well as nature’s perfect colours and details. Trees and water inevitably make their way into my work.” The outcome, however, has evolved from realistic depictions using photographs as a guide, to a looser, more impressionistic style she considers more personal and confident. Ranieri’s most recent pieces were inspired by the sound of moving water, and the smell of cedar and pine in British Columbia. Other works capture the towering trees, high peaks and changeable weather of Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park. irisranieristudio.wixsite.com/iris-ranieri-studio

STEP INTO LOCAL HISTORY, WATCH THE CURTAIN RISE AND VISIT A FARM OR FAIR THIS SEASON

BY EMILY DICKSON

In this photo from the Erin Fall Fair archives, young Bob Merry, left, from the Mount Forest area attends the 1952 fair with a friend. The calf beside him competed in the Shorthorn class. To commemorate the 175th anniversary, Merry, now 82, will be opening the ceremonies.

Best in Show

175 YEARS OF THE ERIN FALL FAIR

Since 1850 the Erin Fall Fair has been a cherished community celebration of farming and country life. This year the Erin Agricultural Society celebrates its 175th anniversary with a weekend of agricultural exhibits, parades, local food, animal exhibits and live music from October 10 to 13 at the Agricultural Society Fairgrounds.

Fall fairs were traditionally held to showcase innovation, share new ideas related to rural living and build an appreciation for the importance of agriculture. Some of the quintessential events included horse and pony shows, tractor pulls and displays of vintage tractors, livestock shows and presentations of traditional sewing and quilting.

Over the years the entertainment has expanded to include interactive activities for kids and a midway. New events this year include the Power Wheels Demolition Derby and a 175th Heritage Tent.

PRODIGIOUS PERFORMERS

Get ready to be wowed at this year’s Caledon Chamber Concerts, starting with the multi-instrumental Rebekah and Jurecka Duo on September 27 – they sing and play violins, viola, guitar, banjo uke, mandolin, harp, piano, clarinet, Hardanger fiddle, saxophone, bandoneon and accordion. Then on October 18 witness the exquisite touch of Montreal’s award-winning concert pianist Jarred Dunn. Both concerts take place at St. James Anglican Church in Caledon East.

TAKE A HIKE ON BRUCE TRAIL DAY

Explore Canada’s oldest and longest marked footpath on Bruce Trail Day with two free local club events on October 5. The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club will be at the Riverside Woods Nature Reserve in Mono for guided hikes, family nature hunts and a bird of prey show. At the Dufferin Hi-Land Bruce Trail Club Music Walk, local performers play in the serene forests of the Split Rock Narrows Nature Reserve in Mono.

MORE FARMYARD FUN

Put on your boots, get your passport map and head out for the Dufferin Farm Tour on September 27. It’s a self-guided tour of local farms, where you can meet the hardworking farmers and get up close with cows, goats and sheep. This annual event is a fundraiser for local food banks, and admission is a small non-perishable food donation.

young and old meet new friends at the

A MARATHON OF SPORT

The 2025 Motionball Marathon of Sport Caledon welcomes athletes of all abilities to join a full day of fun and inclusive sports to raise funds for the Special Olympics Canada Foundation on September 13 at the Caledon East Community Complex. Each team of 10 will be joined by a Special Olympics athlete from the community.

FOR GOOD CAUSES

The Headwaters Health Care Foundation recently announced its Smart Headwaters campaign raised $18 million for technology — including the region’s first MRI machine and an advanced CT scanner. Nearly every wheelchair, surgical instrument, monitor and diagnostic imaging machine at the Headwaters Health Care Centre is purchased through donations. Supporters can continue to help the foundation meet its goals at the Under the Big Top fundraiser on September 12 at Hockley Valley Resort. Then on October 9 the Headwaters Hike to Fight Cancer returns to the Caledon Ski Club to raise funds for cancer care at the hospital.

The Rotary Club of Shelburne’s Nutcracker Gala at the Shelburne Golf and Country Club raises funds on November 15 for the Shelburne Food Bank. The annual Home for the Holidays Gala has supported Caledon Community Services for over 30 years. Held November 28 at the Royal Ambassador in Caledon East, this fundraiser supports local seniors, caregivers, food programs and medical transportation.

DREAM JOBS AWAIT

The annual Dream Career event returns October 15 at the OAS Event Centre, where more than 1,200 students Grades 8 to 12 learn about in-demand industries and employment opportunities in skilled trades. Hosted by the Dufferin Board of Trade and the Career Education Council, this event aims to connect youth with local employers — and local businesses can take part as exhibitors or sponsors.

Tucked behind the bustling dining room, the McLaren room is a warm and inviting space for celebration. With its stone fireplace, cozy countryside mural, and rustic charm, it’s the perfect backdrop for festive gatherings. Let our team handle every detail so that you and your guests can

TURNING BACK TIME AT THE DUFFY HOMESTEAD

Grit and determination must run in the Duffy family because what else could drive someone to take a perfectly good house and painstakingly restore it to its original 1800s style, brick by brick, plank by plank and beam by beam?

Alan Duffy is a seventh-generation Duffy and the owner of the Duffy Homestead and Museum, now open for walk-ins on Wednesdays and Saturdays as well as for private tours.

Alan is the descendent of Elizabeth Duffy, who emigrated from Ireland to Canada with her four children and put a down payment on 100 acres in August 1832. The property was sold in 1955, but Alan had a dream to reclaim it and restore it to a “living history museum.”

By 2019 he had managed to repurchase 60 acres and work began. On the exterior, when an attempt at removing the white paint from the red brick walls didn’t work, each brick was pulled out, turned around, and put back in place. Inside the house, behind planks of wood and layers of paint, were newspapers dating back to 1890. Hidden in the attic was a metal box holding a list of treasures, dated May 10, 1904, belonging to a 12-year-old Vera Duffy. And at the bottom of a water cistern, they discovered hand-carved children’s wooden alphabet and number blocks, circa the early 1900s.

Today the museum offers a recreation of a typical settler home with period relics such as an antique clothes-washing plunger, wood-burning stoves, horseshoes and hoof files, and classic clothing. A First Nations exhibit displays artifacts including arrowheads, bow and quiver, and a beaver pelt from various groups that inhabited southern Ontario. There is also a permanent display room of military memorabilia from the Duffy family’s enlistments, as four of Eliza’s grandsons served in the military in the 1860s.

A FREE HALLOWEEN FILM

Grab a seat at Shelburne’s Grace Tipling Hall October 25 at 2 p.m. for a free Halloween screening of Beetlejuice presented by the Town of Shelburne and the Shelburne Arts, Culture & Heritage Committee. It is first-come, first-served, so arrive early.

NOW PLAYING

Theatre Orangeville’s 32nd season kicks off this fall under the leadership of new artistic director Jennifer Stewart, who directs a real-life couple in The Wonder of It All, on stage from October 9 to 26, with an homage to matrimony and all its ups and downs. Then from November 27 to December 21, enjoy the “hair-larious” pantomime Rapunzel: A Braid New World, a delightful, family-friendly romp through a beloved classic fairy tale where audience participation is not only expected, but encouraged. (For more on Stewart, see page 41.)

Canada’s most famous astronaut and prolific author, Chris Hadfield, returns to Fall Authors on Stage on October 26 to talk about his new book, Final Orbit, a Cold War thriller set against the backdrop of the 1970s space race. The talk is at the Orangeville Town Hall Opera House in partnership with BookLore.

Singin’ in the Rain Jr, based on the iconic movie musical, takes to the stage at Grace Tipling Hall in Shelburne. Young performers belt out the show’s Hollywood standards from November 21 to 30.

To call The Rose Brampton’s fall lineup wildly varied would be an understatement. Scott Thompson resurrects his Buddy Cole comedic persona October 2. Classic Albums Live brings the world’s best-selling album, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, alive on October 23. Rage Against the Machine guitarist and political activist Tom Morello shares A Night of Stories & Music October 30. And Jann Arden’s Christmas Tour brings the sassy Canadian singer to the stage on November 19.

CELEBRATE A HISTORIC HAMLET

Belfountain’s Bicentennial Bash is shaping up to be the biggest event the hamlet has ever hosted. To mark its 200th year on October 4, the Belfountain Heritage Society has planned a full day of festivities including music, a scavenger hunt, an art show with the unveiling of a bronze sculpture, a vendor’s market, vintage cars, an appearance by the Erin Air Cadets, performances by the Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band, the 2nd York Militia –and a reenactment of the War of 1812. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event in the historic hamlet.

Rural Romp Harvest Market

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

Fall in love with autumn at our cozy country festival!

Shop local vendors, enjoy wood-fired pizza, take in the changing leaves, enjoy the live music and explore the farm animals. It’s the perfect way to soak up the last golden days of the season.

Then, as the air turns crisp and the twinkle lights come out …

Christmas Market & Tree Farm Opening

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15

When’s the best time to start thinking about Christmas? Most people say November and we say we’re ready! Step into your very own Hallmark moment with festive décor, crackling fire, hot cocoa, live music and a market full of unique holiday treasures. Don’t forget your perfect Christmas tree is waiting for you to take home.

A BAD CONNECTION

BY DAN NEEDLES • ILLUSTRATION BY SHELAGH ARMSTRONG

“SOMETHING THERE IS THAT DOESN’T LOVE a wall,” wrote the poet. Or a cellphone, he could have added.

I was a late adopter of cellphone technology, about three steps ahead of the Amish. My wife insisted I get a little drugstore burner when her father became ill 15 years ago. It had become essential for me to be reachable. Since then I have lost, drowned, boiled and mashed every phone put in my hands. And the odd thing is … nobody ever tries to reach me.

The latest mishap occurred when I was loading groceries into the truck and happened to set my phone on the tonneau cover, just for a second. I was pulling into the lane at the farm when I realized my mistake. I raced back into town and found the phone on the road in front of Walker’s Small Motors. It had been run over about 50 times in 10 minutes. I picked up the pieces, put them in a plastic bag and took them to Mohammed, who runs the dollar store and has built a lively trade repairing these things.

He looked at the contents of the bag sorrowfully and said, “Oh, Dan. I am not a magician.”

While I’d been gathering up the pieces on the highway I’d noticed the side of the road was littered with cellphone parts. Apparently, I was not the first. This stretch in front of Walkers is a cellphone graveyard. Mohammed nodded. “That’s about as far as people get before the phone falls off the back of the truck.”

I wasn’t always a Luddite. I was the very first person at Queen’s Park to put a personal computer on my

desk back in 1978. And I had one of the first mobile phones too. I was the assistant to Ontario’s Minister of the Environment and we had a phone in the government limousine so that we could be reachable at all times in case of ecological catastrophe. But the phone never really worked. Reception was poor, the

But the phones didn’t last. I ran over one in a parking lot, lost one in the manure pile while wrestling with a ram during a blizzard, dropped one in a lake while fishing, fumbled another one down a sewer in town.

connection would last for only a minute before going dead or joining someone else’s conversation. I learned to hate it because it always delivered the first half sentence of bad news and then suddenly quit. To get the other half of the sentence you had to find a radio tower and park under it, or go call the office from a pay phone. (Remember those?)

Eventually I moved out of the city to the farm where nobody needed to reach me for anything in particular for the next three decades. After my fatherin-law died I threw that little drugstore phone in the farm pond and went radio silent for a brief period. Then I suffered a bad fall in the barn on a winter

night and lay on the concrete for several hours until my wife found me rigid with hypothermia. When I could walk again, she imposed a phone-carry rule that came with severe penalties for non-compliance. But the phones didn’t last. I ran over one in a parking lot, lost one in the manure pile while wrestling with a ram during a blizzard, dropped one in a lake while fishing, fumbled another one down a sewer in town. The others are just gone, somewhere around the farm. The odd one turns up when I’m rototilling. My wife decided it would make more sense to put an ankle bracelet on me, which my iPhone has now become with her tracker app.

My phone quacks, which is not a good choice if you actually own a duck. Somebody set it to quack for me and I don’t have the attention span to figure out how to change it back to something normal. My wife has 300 contacts on her phone list. I have six. Those six people know that if they leave a message it may not be picked up until the polar ice cap melts. They – along with phone scammers – learned long ago that it’s better to call me on my landline at suppertime.

If you see a straw hat and a cellphone on a bench at McDonald’s, they are most likely mine. My wife would very much appreciate it if you would let us know through this publication. You can keep the hat.

and playwright

Wednesday to Saturday 8 to 6

Sunday 8 to 5 Closed Monday and Tuesday

read more about the during the vibrant colours of au tumn, where the cri sp air and golden leaves provide the perfect backdrop for cura ting family memories. Join u s in experiencing the town’s charm, including the fun and th Fall Fair hosted It’s always a pleasure representing CANADIAN MADE at Amorettos. We like di erent, we like mix-and-match, we like dressing you for any occasion. We are Amorettos. One-of-a-kind denims, kimonos, dress up, boho chic or quilted outerwear. We

Still waiting for the bus

RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE BUILT FOR DRIVERS – BUT WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE? AS NEW TRANSIT EFFORTS GAIN GROUND, RIDERS ARE HOPING FOR MORE THAN A LIFT

BY EMILY DICKSON • ILLUSTRATION BY RUTH ANN PEARCE

Orangeville Mayor Lisa Post knows all too well the difficulties of relying on public transportation to get around. As someone “born and bred” in town, she remembers trying to catch the bus home as a teenager from Orangeville District Secondary School to her house on the west side. She often had to wait more than an hour if the buses were full – sometimes in the dead of winter.

It’s one of the reasons she is so proud that the public bus system, Orangeville Transit, has been fare-free since 2023. “I think it is crucial, absolutely crucial,” Post says, adding that despite the initial skepticism about funding a free transit program in a commuter town like Orangeville, there has been overwhelmingly positive feedback since the pilot launched.

According to Tony Dulisse, the town’s manager of transportation and development, ridership has swelled from about 102,900 annual users in 2019 to about 260,000 a year since 2023. The program has been extended to 2027. In April this year, a town report revealed that the bus route network at the time, which had three routes, provided coverage to 67 per cent of the town. The report proposed changing this to two 45-minute routes with more bus stops that would expand that coverage to more than 80 per cent in September. “Our goal is to make sure that 100 per cent of Orangeville is covered by transit,” Dulisse, one of the authors of the report, says.

For Orangeville and other Headwaters communities, a truly robust transit system can often seem out of reach in a deeply cardependent culture. In the city, relying on

bike paths, short-term car and e-bike rentals and public transit are a part of life. In rural areas and small towns, those without access to vehicles or who don’t drive, such as the elderly and people with mobility issues, have few available choices for travelling to jobs, health services, shops and other essentials –not to mention friends, family and social gatherings, which are just as important.

‘It is challenging for people when they move here and see that there are limited options for transit’

ORANGEVILLE MAYOR LISA POST

Indeed, Orangeville’s fare-free bus has helped residents combat isolation, says Post. However, a hyperlocal solution alone is not enough, she acknowledges. Residents also need to get to other small towns in the area and to urban centres such as Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga. “When people need to get around, they need to have an option that’s reliable, affordable, and can get them to the places that they need to be.”

A new five-year initiative announced in June by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation may offer some promise in

bolstering more realistic transit networks. The Ontario Transit Investment Fund has pledged $9.5 million in funding to improve transit between Dufferin County – home to Orangeville, Shelburne, and other largely rural towns and townships – and Grey and Bruce counties to the north. In August Grey Transit announced that starting in September, the Dundalk–Orangeville route will be covered by an increased number of daily trips between towns.

Change can’t come fast enough for anyone who has typed a query for transit directions into Google Maps and received a response of “Can’t seem to find a way there.” And while directions do pop up for some destinations –say, from Owen Sound to Orangeville – the result may as well be nil. In this hypothetical situation, the transit route involves three or four bus or train transfers, a stop at Union Station in Toronto, and more than six hours of a traveller’s time.

A patchy transit map

Currently, Orangeville is the only town in Headwaters with a dedicated public transit system. Caledon has five bus connections to Brampton in the GO Transit regional public transportation system. Erin has none. The Town of Shelburne ran a free pilot program in 2023 and 2023, but ridership proved minimal.

Grey County operates a bus route from Dundalk to Orangeville, with stops in Melancthon and Shelburne along the way. (Starting in 2024, however, Grey County residents were given priority access to that service). To travel farther south – say to a

GO Transit train station in Brampton to eventually get to downtown Toronto – it’s necessary to travel to one of the GO stops in Orangeville, Caledon, Victoria or Bolton. This can be time-consuming and challenging, as bus connections are often infrequent or available only during rush hour. Short trips that would take less than 30 minutes by car are maddeningly impossible, as a visit to any local Facebook community group reveals. “Is anyone willing to drive back and forth from Shelburne to Orangeville twice a day at 9 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.?” a member asks in the Shelburne and Area Q&A group. “Please do not suggest cab companies as I have tried. They are very expensive, and the bus does not line up with work hours.” In an Orangevillefocused group, a mom describes waiting 40 minutes with her son for the bus he needs to catch to get to his summer job at the local Home Depot. Another wonders whether it is possible to get from Shelburne to the Mount Pleasant GO station in Brampton by 9 a.m. (Spoiler alert: It’s not.)

Martina Rowley, who has lived in Orangeville for eight years and has not owned a car since moving from England to Canada in 1998, uses public transportation daily to get around town and travel to urban centres such as Toronto. That journey takes careful co-ordination because the connections between the Orangeville bus, the GO bus and the GO train, which she catches in Brampton, can be infrequent with significant gaps in scheduled service.

‘The type of service that people may need in Dundalk, Shelburne and Orangeville is different from what somebody out in Melancthon needs, or somebody in Thornbury’

STEPHANIE STEWART, MANAGER OF COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION FOR GREY COUNTY

“The last bus you can take in the morning to Brampton and Toronto from Orangeville is at 7:30 a.m. Then the next one isn’t until 3:35 p.m. to get you into town for something in the evening,” she explains. Rowley, who volunteered on the town’s transportation task force in 2019 and 2020, notes that the local fare-free bus can often be 20 to 30 minutes late due to heavy traffic, bad weather or service disruptions.

The town is listening to rider feedback and working on improving the journey. Dulisse says two new buses are coming in 2026, and the town’s goals include better connecting the east and west sides of town. The September plans Dulisse backed, which are set to increase the area covered by Orangeville Transit to more than 80 per cent, will expand services to underserved areas, offer more stops, shelters and efficient routes, and shift stop locations to improve safety and flow.

Meanwhile, the town continues to have talks with Metrolinx, the provincial agency that owns GO Transit and that is tasked with co-ordinating and improving transportation across the GTA. The aim is to increase the frequency of GO bus service to and from Orangeville, and to have the town’s Centre Street Transit Hub double as a GO bus stop to increase the ease of catching a connecting bus. Looking ahead, Dulisse says commuters could one day even see service that extends from Orangeville east to Caledon, King City and even Newmarket, depending on demand.

“I think it is challenging for people when they move here and see that there are limited options for transit,” says Post, who hopes some of the annual ridership data collected by the town will help inform Metrolinx about how to better invest in GO service for Orangeville. “They’re relying on our ridership growing before they

make changes to our service. And my argument is you need to change the service to grow the ridership, because people aren’t taking it because the times don’t work.”

From isolation to access

The new provincial funding for Dufferin, Grey and Bruce counties aims to strengthen the network of rural communities in partnership with Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit, a not-for-profit ride-booking service for residents experiencing mental or physical challenges.

“The funding that we receive for the first year – so for 2025 – is to continue service between Dundalk and Orangeville and conduct a study to determine the best way forward,” says Stephanie Stewart, manager of community transportation for Grey County. The study results will aid in planning routes and which types of transit to offer, including on-demand and fixed routes along main highways.

All this comes at a time when many residents’ travel and commuting habits are in flux. When the DundalkOrangeville route opened in September 2020, Stewart says, people used it to travel to Orangeville either for work or to access the GO bus to commute to larger cities. But Orangeville, Shelburne and Dundalk have all grown, creating more opportunities for local employment within those communities and new demand for routes between counties.

The biggest challenge, Stewart says, is the sheer size of the region these three counties cover – about 10,000 square kilometres, or more than the entire Greater Toronto Area. Each county comes with its own demographics and population spread, from larger towns like Owen Sound, which boasts tens of thousands of residents, to tiny communities of just a few hundred. “The type

of service that people may need in Dundalk, Shelburne and Orangeville is different from what somebody out in Melancthon needs, or somebody in Thornbury,” she says.

A feasibility study conducted in 2023 by Bruce County found a traditional bus service, which typically offers services during peak morning and evening commutes, is not the answer. The population includes many young people and retirees, as well as seasonal tourists who do not necessarily need a bus during those times. Instead, the study recommended alternative options, including ride-sharing apps, on-demand transit services, charter buses for tourists and seasonal workers, and expanding the user base of Saugeen’s SMART Transit.

With the latest round of provincial funding, there may be opportunities to create new routes based on demand and possibly reintroduce services that had been shut down, Stewart says. Grey Transit previously offered routes from Owen Sound to Dundalk and Owen Sound to the Town of The Blue Mountains, but both were discontinued in March this year when previous provincial funding ran out. “We’re working very hard to try to make sure that everybody has access to transit, just like any other social service,” she says.

To offer the increased number of trips on its Dundalk–Orangeville route in September, Grey Transit will stagger the schedules of the two buses on the route. Previously, they ran two buses simultaneously. According to Stewart, there will no longer be any restriction on who can ride this route. Riders are encouraged to book in advance.

Orangeville’s mayor hopes the partnership with Bruce and Grey counties will be “wildly successful.” The increase in usage “will really help us to continue to advocate for better GO bus service here,” Post says. “And that will help to feed the cycle of transit.”

Orangeville is one of the few places in Canada with a fare-free transit program, and it’s now seen as a model for other towns looking into similar initiatives, Post points out. “Because the fact is, everybody needs good public transportation. Everybody takes the bus. And if we make it accessible for everybody, then everybody will continue to take the bus.”

taking the stage

JENNIFER STEWART, THEATRE ORANGEVILLE’S NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

BY JAMES GERUS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELAINE LI

On the first day of rehearsals for Theatre Orangeville’s Young Company production, Hadestown: Teen Edition, which hit the stage in late July, the theatre’s newly appointed artistic director, Jennifer Stewart, smiles widely as the group of 12- to 18-year-

olds harmonizes around a soloist. As all the singers realize they finally hit the right note, music director Aaron Eyre exclaims, “That’s hot!”

In this early outing, technically the first production of her tenure, Stewart appears content to let others – the kids

and the music director – fill the space. She is clearly pleased with the sounds echoing through the theatre company’s Dream Factory rehearsal site on the Fergus Road just outside Orangeville.

“This cast is extraordinarily talented,” says Stewart. “You see some kids get

excited when they finally hit that high note or sing all the syllables in the right order. It’s like alchemy!”

Stewart’s stint as artistic director began in January, when retiring artistic director David Nairn, who had been at the helm of the professional theatre for 26 years, stayed on for a time to help smooth the transition. Stewart’s first season is this fall. She moved to Orangeville with partner, Daniel, and son, Luka, in January. They had previously divided their time between Stratford, Ontario, and Málaga, Spain. In fact, Stewart’s last gig before taking on her new role was in a pantomime in Málaga. A well-rounded theatre artist, she also recently toured Ontario, performing her one-woman show, Confessions of Motherhood, which she wrote, produced and performed.

Now in Orangeville, she says she’s committed to making theatre for this community. “David’s been taking me around to meet everyone, which has been great because it’s a really great way to be integrated into the community super-fast. Now I know where to get my car fixed, get my dry cleaning, get my coffee. I’ve met all the owners, which is special. I feel privileged.”

A season of change

Nairn, a larger-than-life creative force who is moving on to the next phase of his career, announced his departure in June last year. The organization cast a wide net to find its next artistic director, one who fit the mandate to create Canadian shows and who is committed to its values of integrity, excellence and kindness for the

community. When Stewart applied, she appeared to fit like a glove.

An element of the interview process called on her to pitch a season. “There was a magic number,” she recalls. The undisclosed number related to the number of artists the theatre can afford to hire over the course of a year. “And my season just hit the number, right on. David was asking

me yesterday, ‘You didn’t know the number?!’”

Says Sharon Ayliffe, Theatre Orangeville’s executive director: “Jennifer just brought such magnetic energy and seemed to have a firm understanding of life in a community like ours. There’s a ton of similarities between the rural culture of Stratford and Orangeville. There was no

apprehension on her part – she was just all in and it felt right.”

In what now looks like classic foreshadowing, Nairn and Stewart first crossed paths on stage years ago, during their acting days. In 1992, the pair appeared together in a production of Camelot, the musical about King Arthur, in Grand Bend.

“David played King Arthur … and

I played Tom, the boy at the end of the play,” says Stewart, as she sits with Ayliffe in the Theatre Orangeville offices at Highway 10 and Broadway. “So, King Arthur comes up to me and says, ‘Run, boy, run. Tell my story … that once there was a place called Camelot.’

“So I just thought it was kind of fitting that now I’m taking over David’s legacy at Theatre Orangeville. Thirty-three years later, it’s a great story. You couldn’t write that.”

“Kismet,” Ayliffe adds.

Made for theatre

Stewart is steeped in stage culture. She grew up in theatre hub Stratford, Ontario, where her Grade 2 teacher, Lois Burdett, taught her students Shakespeare: “She would take the story and translate it into a choral speaking!” Burdett tasked the young Stewart with playing Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and mentored her in Shakespeare’s art.

Burdett had connections with the Stratford Festival and, that season, gave her class the opportunity to mount their production on the theatre’s main stage for the festival’s acting company. The next year, the festival’s artistic director at the time invited Stewart and other students to be in a professional production of The Winter’s Tale

Stewart’s mother initially hesitated to accept the offer – her daughter was only eight years old and had never acted professionally. “She didn’t want me hanging out with actors!” Stewart recalls with a laugh. But Burdett, whose work introducing children to Shakespeare was recognized in 1996 when Governor General Roméo LeBlanc awarded her a Meritorious Service Medal, assured her parents

Rapid Fire — Getting to Know Jennifer Stewart

What better way to get to know Theatre Orangeville’s new artistic director than to pepper her with questions? Here goes.

FIRST TIME YOU SAW A PLAY OR MUSICAL, AND YOUR AGE

Pirates of Penzance at the Stratford Festival! I was seven years old.

LAST PLAY YOU SAW AND RATED 5/5 Sense and Sensibility at Stratford. Loved it. Five out of five.

MOST UNUSUAL PLAY YOU HAVE SEEN

In England you can see a play a night. They have little theatres in pubs. There was a musical called Money, very unusual, but kudos to them for doing it. But we left at intermission and had a drink!

GREATEST LENGTHS TO SQUEEZE IN A VIEWING

Flying to London on a layover on the way to Spain and catching a matinee of Clueless the Musical

MOST REMOTE LOCATION WHERE YOU HAVE SEEN A PLAY

Bali. Moscow, too. Because we were students and got to see everything for free!

BOOK AHEAD OR RUSH SEATS

Depends. I like to read reviews because if it gets good reviews, it might sell out fast.

A BROADWAY PRODUCTION THAT INTRIGUES YOU

There’s a play in New York City right now called John Proctor Is the Villain – a new play in a high school setting with students studying The Crucible, debating whether John Proctor really was the villain. I would love to see it.

HOW AN ACTOR CAN ACE AN AUDITION WITH YOU

Good question. Be prepared. Know your stuff. Do your monologue from a Canadian play!

FAVOURITE SHAKESPEARE PLAY AND WHY. AND FAVOURITE SHAKESPEARE CHARACTER AND WHY

I love The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Julia, the lead, and her journey in that.

FAVOURITE MUSICAL

Gypsy. Antonio Banderas put the show on in Spanish in Málaga and he modernized it. I saw it three times.

FAVOURITE ONE-HANDER

Well, there is a show called Age Is a Feeling by Haley McGee. It is a choose-your-ownadventure play about life, and she has 12 stories and the audience chooses six of the stories through the course of the evening. You only see six stories, so she must edit the play as she is going along to tell the six stories. You want to see the play again because you want to hear the other stories.

FAVOURITE ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

Hadestown. Everyone is on stage the whole time and doing a little bit of everything.

CONTEMPORARY PLAYWRIGHT WHOSE WORKS YOU LIKE

That’s interesting because I am in my Canadian playwright era right now. Kristen Thomson I really enjoy. She wrote The Wedding Party And Haley McGee too. She wrote The ExBoyfriend Yard Sale. It is a one-person show where she takes items from ex-boyfriends and asks, “Can I sell this to make money to pay my Visa bill? And what did that relationship cost me? And is selling that item worth the cost of the relationship?”

BEST DIRECTOR YOU’VE WORKED WITH RECENTLY

In the last couple of years, I have been directing more than acting. But I know that one of my favourite directors was Jack O’Brien. He directed Hairspray in Toronto. He would come and whisper in your ear a few words that could crack open everything in an instant, get you thinking in a different way. Because talking too much confuses actors. It’s not thinking, it’s doing. He taught me a lot as an actor that I try to incorporate in my directing.

AN OPENING-NIGHT RITUAL

I love the check-in circle, getting everyone on the same page, grounded, ready to do the show.

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE AT THE THEATRE ORANGEVILLE OPERA HOUSE None yet. To be determined.

PET PEEVE IN THE THEATRE

Cell phones on during the show.

BEST DIRECTOR ADVICE

Trust your instincts. Both in theatre and in life.

the experience, her ability to tell a great

of fine arts in theatre directing at the East 15 Acting School, which is affiliated with the University of Essex in England. During this time, she had the opportunity to travel to places such as Moscow and Bali to study theatre directing.

Today Stewart takes in as many productions as she can, anywhere in the world. These may include opera, Shakespeare, a Toronto mainstage musical or an artsy fringe show in the basement of a bar. “You need to see a lot of shows, different actors, see what’s going on.”

On a recent layover in London, England, before hopping on a flight to Spain, her husband’s home country and a place the family often visits, Stewart took a few hours off to see Clueless the Musical in the city’s West End.

The show was a blast, but she also had ulterior motives. “I was kind of checking it out for the Young Company for the future,” she says, mulling over her own review of the musical. “It was very dance-heavy. Although it doesn’t have to be. They just had a dance-y ensemble, but you could have varying degrees of choreography for the students.”

Theatre Orangeville’s bright future

One notable difference between Nairn’s tenure and Stewart’s is that the artistic director and executive director will now share responsibility for running the theatre, reflecting a growing trend among professional theatres in Canada. Previously, the artistic director was the top dog, but Nairn recommended the theatre’s

board of directors adopt the change. Finding a new artistic director who would be familiar with Theatre Orangeville was unlikely, which meant Ayliffe’s role as a supportive and Orangeville-experienced executive director became essential.

Having worked with the theatre since 2011, Ayliffe has seen it weather a variety of storms, most significantly the Covid pandemic, which began 11 days after she was promoted to the role of general manager in 2020. A challenge for sure, but Ayliffe says the theatre has emerged stronger, just as it has with Stewart’s arrival: “Theatre Orangeville seems to find these kismet moments.”

Post-pandemic, Theatre Orangeville has seen a great deal of growth. Its budget is double what it was when Ayliffe originally joined and she says, “There’s been a growth in how much youth programming we’re doing, and while the mandate has stayed the same, I think the interpretation of that has evolved as the community has evolved. There’s been a lot of evolution in bringing more diverse voices to the stage.”

SEPTEMBER

17OCTOBER 5, 2025

As Stewart and Ayliffe prepare to launch Theatre Orangeville’s 32nd season this September, they’re looking forward to what they’ve taken to calling a “season of wonder.”

“Well, our first mainstage play is called The Wonder of It All,” Stewart says with excitement. She will direct this world premiere of playwright Mark Weatherley’s comedic examination of the trials and tribulations of a 25-year marriage.

The other world premiere is the pantomime Rapunzel: A Braid New World, by Debbie Collins and Nairn, who will direct the production. Common Ground, a romantic comedy by John Spurway, is next on the bill, followed by Murder at Ackerton Manor, Steven Gallagher’s farcical murder mystery that spoofs the works of Agatha Christie, and The Wedding Party by a Stewart favourite, Kristen Thomson (see sidebar).

One of the staples of a Theatre Orangeville season is often a work by Norm Foster, arguably Canada’s most popular playwright. He has been a friend of the company since collaborating with Nairn in the

early 2000s and is a favourite of avid Theatre Orangeville-goers. The Norm Effect, a three-day festival of staged readings of some of his best-loved works, begins September 17. Joining Foster on stage for the readings will be Nairn and other Theatre Orangeville actors and friends.

Most notably, all the plays in the season are Canadian. “That’s our mandate,” Stewart explains, “and has been for a very long time. Which we’re very proud of right now, in this moment, in history. Not many theatres can say that.”

Back in the Dream Factory rehearsal space, the Young Company actors have finished rehearsing the first song in their musical production. There are dozens of songs to go, but the wonder these young people absorb along the way will make the challenge worth it.

And as Day 1 of rehearsals comes to a close, a world of kismet moments and memories to be made is waiting for Stewart in the wings.

OPENING

Thursday, September 18

Opening Night Soirée

Sunday, September 21 Jurors Walk

Sunday, September 21

Caledon Culture Days

Meet the Artists, HandsOn Demonstrations

Saturday, September 27

Fall Studio Crawl & Caledon Culture Days

Meet the Artists, HandsOn Demonstrations

Saturday, September 27

Outdoor Arts Market in the Annex Camryn Durante Music on the Lawn

Saturday, October 4

Sunday, October 5 Caledon Studio Tours

Throughout the Fall Festival

Meet the Artists: Behind-the-Scenes Conversations

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season of colour, season of art

AS LEAVES CHANGE, SO DO THE GALLERIES AND GATHERING SPACES OF HEADWATERS –HERE’S A CURATED ROUNDUP OF FALL’S MUST-SEE EXHIBITIONS AND

EVENTS

Autumn’s ever-changing palette of eye-popping golds, reds and yellows provides a fitting backdrop to a season jam-packed with colourful art events. If you wanted to fill your every spare moment with a gallery show, studio tour, art auction or hands-on arts workshop, you could – and many artists are appearing in more than one event.

What follows is a sampling of the season ahead, starting with a few summer shows that last until mid-September.

As autumn leaves start to fall Chaos and Order at the Headwaters Arts Gallery in the Alton Mill Arts Centre includes 25 pieces

BY EMILY DICKSON

focusing on the creative process as a “crooked path filled with obstacles.” The exhibit, which spotlights the work of artists including Caledon painter Patty Maher, Bolton painter Domenic Tuzi and Brampton’s Krishna Tyagi, closes September 14. This is also the final day of the Orangeville Art Group’s 53rd Annual Art Show and Sale, celebrating the organization’s 70th anniversary. Exhibitors include painter Milly Tseng and Orangeville multimedia artist – and In The Hills contributor – Stephanie Casino Esguerra. Threads and Strokes: A Tapestry of Expression is a solo exhibit by Megan Mare, the maker behind hand-crocheted line Cozy Knits N Knots

(and the friendly program co-ordinator at Shelburne’s Streams Community Hub). The show, at the Shelburne Town Hall Art Gallery from September 8 to 26, features textured paintings, weaving and hand-painted, bleach-dyed pieces.

Peter Dušek’s Field Work exhibit captures the quiet serenity of rural architecture, including barns, silos and other countryside buildings – and their relationship with the land and sky. Look through the lens of this Hockley Valley artist and photographer at the Museum of Dufferin from September 13 to January 31, 2026.

The much-anticipated Headwaters Arts Fall Festival Juried Art Show and Sale follows, from

SAM MEANDRO

WALNUT LIDDED HOLLOW FORM WOOD 9"

September 17 to October 5, at the Alton Mill. Talented creators whose works will be featured include Erin photographer Amy Tendera; Mono textile artist Lynn Gilbank; Orangeville-based acrylic painter Bill Carroll; Caledon illustrator –and longtime In The Hills contributor – Jim Stewart; Brampton painter Sherry Park, who maintains a studio in the Alton Mill; Guelph painter Natalie Thomas, and Toronto-based painters Piera Pugliese and Sandamali Angunawela.

The opening night soirée, which takes place September 18, is a grand affair with a silent auction, art show and sale, and live entertainment by vocalist Shelisa Akbar and guitarist

Paul Llew-Williams. On September 27 an Outdoor Arts Market will feature a variety of vendors.

Celebrate Culture Days

Autumn marks the return of the annual Canadawide Culture Days celebrations of the arts, which take place over three weeks from September 19 to October 12. And as Headwaters communities gear up to join the festivities, Caledon leads the way. After the town’s programming was ranked among the top 10 in the country last year, Caledon was named an official 2025 Ontario Culture Days Provincial Festival Hub. This year’s events will offer free studio tours, exhibitions,

live music, dance and hands-on activities.

On September 27, for example, the Caledon Creative Arts Festival at the Caledon East Community Complex offers a record number of workshops, including brush lettering, paper quilling, weaving, foraged-ink painting, cyanotype printing and collage painting, while CultureFest on October 4 at the Humber River Centre in Bolton celebrates diversity by offering dance and musical performances, a fun zone for kids and a variety of world cuisines to sample.

The Caledon Studio Tour on October 4 and 5 invites art lovers to take a self-guided tour to see local makers in situ, including folk-inspired

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artist Mary Scattergood; Alton painter Paul Morin; contemporary, multidisciplinary artist Andie Trépanier; fine porcelain potter Debra Gibbs; and scratchboard artist Shelly HawleyYan, as well as the studio artists of the Alton Mill. And the artists, musicians and authors of Artful Caledon will share their talents at the Caledon East and Albion Bolton public libraries. Oil, watercolour, and scratchboard artist Derek Germano and acrylic painter Kimberley Popoff are just two of the folks taking part. As part of Belfountain’s Bicentennial Bash on October 4 (see Field Notes, page 32), painter Cindy Leeman, Wendy Mitchell of Treehouse Pottery

and others will be at the Belfountain Art Show at the Belfountain Community Hall to present Paint Historic Belfountain, a homage to the hamlet’s distinctive heritage buildings. On September 27, Mitchell will also show visitors how to use handcarved block prints on posters and pennants.

The Museum of Dufferin is also doing its bit by hosting the inaugural Earth & Fire: Clay and Glass Festival on September 20. In addition to attractions such as crafts for kids, tours of the glass gallery, workshops and a silent auction, the works of various artists will be on display and for sale. Among them will be works by Mulmurbased Jen Main, Simon Heath of Creemore

and Sandra Sobolewski of Claymore Ceramics in Mono. Watch for the mixed-media mosaics of Caledon East’s MaryLou Hurley and pieces by Terra Cotta woodturner Sam Meandro.

And on September 20 and October 8, visit Orly Breitner at her Forest View Studio in Mono to see how she combines 3D embroidery, watercolour and resin art to create richly textured works.

The Creemore Arts Fest from October 3 to 5 features more than 45 artists on location along Mill Street, at the Station on the Green, and in local storefronts and homes. Participants include bronze and freeform wire sculptor Ann Clifford of Dunedin; Nottawa’s Amber Harloff, whose

QUIETLY CONTEMPLATING CHAOS

ON

recent work embraces metal, resin and limestone; and featured artist Samay Arcentales Cajas, a Toronto-based Kichwa digital media artist. Opening night for Metal Paper Clay takes place on October 3 at Gallery Lagom, where sculptor Frith Bail, printmaker Liz Eakins and jeweler Andrea Mueller present an intersection of three distinct yet resonant materials. At the Creemore Village Green and other locations, you’ll find family activities, food trucks and a makers’ market. This year’s live entertainment includes Canadian indie rocker Begonia at Avening Hall, Gogo in Anthropos at the Creemore Log Cabin, and a darkly comic clown show, Les Expertes Sanitaires

FREEFORM WIRE SCULPTURE 9' x 4.5'

PHOTOGRAPHY,

As winter looms

The Southern Ontario Visual Artists group exhibits How the Artists View It II at the Shelburne Town Hall Art Gallery from October 6 to 24. Members displaying their work will include Orangeville’s Robert Chisholm and Alton Mill artists Lynden Cowan, a painter, and Margaret Pardy, whose scratchboard creations focus on wildlife.

Then, if you’re keen to invest in a beautiful piece of original Canadian art, the three-day McMichael Canadian Art Collection’s Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser in Kleinburg from November 7 to 9 is an opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind finds by artists working in acrylic, oil, watercolour, wax,

mixed media, pen and ink, sumi-e, stone, wood, glass, steel, iron and paper. Some of the returning top draws from last year’s sale are origami artist Andrew Wang, landscape painter Lee Munn and abstract animal artist Laura Stevens.

And at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, find a peaceful escape with Stuart Clifford Shaw’s exhibit En Plein Air, on until January 2026. His dreamy impressionistic work that captures life by the lake –it should help get you through the coming winter.

Find more in “What’s On,” starting on page 96, and check event websites for details and schedules.

A FLEETING GLIMPSE OF ONE OF THESE FIVE RARE HEADWATERS SPECIES CAN FEEL LIKE MAGIC –AND LIKE A WARNING WE CAN’T IGNORE

BY DON SCALLEN

D Brief Encounters

uring the most recent ice age, the flora and fauna of this part of southern Ontario were scoured away by glaciation, and the land was smothered under hundreds of metres of ice. In a warming climate the ice gradually receded, eventually exposing a barren landscape that evoked the high Arctic of today. Initially, only the hardiest species survived. But over thousands of years, this corner of the continent was transformed into the verdant, species-rich landscape we know today – one that supports myriad plants and insects, and a rich assemblage of vertebrates including reptiles, amphibians and mammals, as well as more than a hundred species of breeding birds and a growing population of humans.

This expanding human presence has built the commu nities we love, with opportunities to work, play and follow creative pursuits. Clearing land for agriculture and industry has given us local food, contributed to the economy, and supported crucial social needs such as hospitals and schools. But the story of growth in Headwaters isn’t all positive. In today’s human-modified landscapes, many plants and animals struggle, and some of those now hover on the brink of local extinction.

What follows are the stories of five species that may soon disappear from these hills. For millennia they have lived here, contributing beautiful threads to the fabric of Headwaters life. I’m struck with awe whenever I encounter them, but I’m also saddened by the knowledge that they may soon be gone.

Born to wander

Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)

ONTARIO STATUS: THREATENED

An old Blanding’s turtle roams its Headwaters territory. In her 80 or so years, she has seen great changes: forests felled, and wetlands drained and replaced by strange new things – buildings, quarries and roads. As with others of her species, wanderlust is baked into her existence. She has evolved to ramble, to move from wetland to wetland in her quest for food and mates. During the warm months, she’ll wander hundreds of metres within a territory that she knows intimately. In her early years, her journeys were largely uneventful. She walked through forests and beaver swamps. She walked through farmland and apple orchards as well, but she always knew the next wetland wasn’t far off.

Blanding’s turtles are remarkable animals. Their domed shells, much higher than those of the familiar painted turtles, are reminiscent of army helmets. Long necks, when extended, reveal rich yellow throats. Their plastrons (the bottom part of their shells) are yellow with dark blotches; each plastron is as unique as a human’s fingerprints and permit identification of individual turtles over their long lives.

Blanding’s turtles were once far more common. Their wandering habits, so important to connect them with habitats and others of their species within large home ranges, are now their undoing. And what an undoing! The loss of thousands of years of genetic heritage, the loss of their millennia-long contributions to the local ecology, and the loss of wonder for those of us who love our fellow creatures. The pox we have visited on the house of Blanding includes habitat loss and a network of killing roads. These roads are ribbons of death for Blanding’s turtles and many other reptiles. Stand on the verge of Highway 9 in Headwaters and ponder how a plodding creature like a turtle might hope to cross. Even lesser roads are becoming increasingly busy year after year. Any species with the temerity to risk a crossing plays Russian roulette, not with bullets, but with vehicles.

Blanding’s turtles likely still exist in Luther Marsh, one of the few areas of Headwaters offering a large expanse of roadless wetland. Occasional sightings elsewhere in these hills suggest remnant populations, but nowhere is this threatened species common.

If you cross paths in Headwaters with this marvel of creation, consider yourself fortunate, as I did recently on a visit to a friend’s property along the Niagara Escarpment. It was spring. Hepatica and bloodroot were opening to the warming sun, and the virtuoso song of a winter wren serenaded us as we arrived at a vernal pool (a temporary spring pond) to look for clumps of jelly, the eggs of spotted

salamanders. My friend looked up and exclaimed, “A turtle!” Knee deep in water, I followed her gaze across the pond to a mossy bank where a magnificent Blanding’s turtle sat, soaking up the sun.

In my friend’s 25-year stewardship of her escarpment property, she had never before seen a Blanding’s. But there it was, having presumably arrived to feast on the vegetation and tadpoles in the vernal pool, and perhaps on the salamander eggs we sought. A week later, it was gone, having wandered off, as Blanding’s turtles are wont to do, to avail itself of the resources offered in other parts of its extensive territory.

Herb of desire

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

ONTARIO STATUS: THREATENED

In the dappled shade of a sugar maple forest, the glint of red berries signals the presence of rare plants steeped in history. The sublime flute­like song of a wood thrush rings out from a grove of nearby hemlocks, providing an apt musical accompaniment to the discovery of a patch of wild ginseng. The ginseng grows in the company of common woodland herbs, including bloodroot, zigzag goldenrod and

sarsaparilla, and draws nourishment from soil rich in leaf mould. Thus far, these particular plants have escaped poaching and habitat loss, the twin threats that plague wild ginseng populations in Canada.

Most Canadians have at least a passing understanding of the fur trade, which fuelled the early settlement of North America. Beaver pelts sparked intense rivalry between the British and the French, and First Nations’ economies adjusted to supply the insatiable appetites of fur-crazed Europeans.

Few realize, though, that ginseng was also coveted and exploited by the European powers. The value of ginseng exports from New France in the first half of the 18th century was huge, second only to the fur trade, building fortunes and driving conflict. Beaver pelts were fashioned into hats, driving North American beavers to near extinction. Ginseng, valued as a panacea for a host of ailments in China, followed a similar trajectory. Beavers have made a resounding comeback; ginseng hasn’t.

The roots of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), a species closely related to American ginseng, have been prized for their purported medicinal benefits since time immemorial. Ginseng devotees consider it a treatment for myriad maladies, including fatigue, diabetes, asthma, anxiety, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Its genus name, Panax, derives from “panacea.” Ginseng is also purported to boost athletic performance, ease age-related issues and enhance sexual performance.

That most of the alleged benefits of ginseng haven’t been validated by science doesn’t matter. Ginseng as a cure-all is a deeply entrenched belief in Asia, and now in other parts of the world as well. This means the demand for ginseng will likely remain strong into the future. Much of this demand is now satisfied by agriculture, and Ontario is one of North America’s biggest producers. Production flourishes in Norfolk County, where ginseng is grown on land formerly devoted to tobacco. Since ginseng is a woodland plant, shade cloth is necessary to limit sun exposure. But cultivated ginseng only partially alleviates the pressure on wild populations because of the unfounded belief that wild ginseng roots have superior therapeutic properties. This has driven the price of pirated wild ginseng roots, especially forked roots that are interpreted to represent the arms and legs of humans, through the stratosphere. A single root can fetch hundreds of dollars – and even more –on the black market.

And this, of course, is the attraction for poachers. Ontario’s Endangered Species Act made it illegal to harvest or trade in wild ginseng. This act was recently replaced by the Species Conservation Act, which was rolled into the controversial Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act. How this new legislation will affect protections for endangered species remains to be seen. Even if prohibitions remain in place for harvesting and possessing ginseng, this plant’s future could be imperilled if the new law permits cutting the forests critical to its survival.

A biologist, familiar with ginseng poaching, told me poachers are skilled “naturalists” – albeit naturalists who have crossed to the dark side. They are guided by intimate knowledge of the plants and where they might be found.

In a 2017 interview with CBC, Jean-François Dubois, then senior wildlife enforcement officer with what is now Environment and Climate Change Canada, compared the severity of ginseng poaching in Canada to high-profile poaching in other parts of the world. “This is our ivory horn. This is our rhino horn,” he said.

I’ve found American ginseng just south of Headwaters and in Simcoe County. It probably occurs sparingly throughout these hills. If this storied herb grows on your property, take a moment to celebrate your good luck, but be careful who you tell about it.

Fleetingly airborne

Eastern green drake mayfly (Ephemera guttulata)

ONTARIO STATUS: NOT YET LISTED AS A SPECIES OF CONCERN

The fisher sits at his workbench and takes stock of his fly­tying materials: fish hook, moose hair, deer hair, squirrel fur, feathers, and assorted artificial fibres and threads. Satisfied, he begins to tie a green drake fly. An artisan who has honed his skills over hundreds of hours of practice, this fisher is a practitioner of a time­honoured craft linking him to the beautiful fish

that flourish in the burbling waters of clean, cool streams. He looks forward to the annual emergence of green drake mayflies and hopes his artificial green drake will be accurate enough to fool a wary trout. In fly fisher parlance, this is called “matching the hatch.”

Green drake mayflies have elongated, diaphanous wings, networked with black and lime green patterning, rendering them as beautiful as butterflies. But alas, they are little known, due to their brief tenure as adults and their diminishing numbers. Like other mayfly – aka “shadfly” – species, green drakes spend most of their lives as aquatic nymphs (larvae) that burrow into the coarse gravel sediment at the bottom of streams. They feed by filtering organic matter from the water.

After two years or more, they rise to the surface and transform into immature flying forms called “duns.” Finally, in a day or so, they undergo a second metamorphosis to become reproductive adults that participate in mating swarms above the streams and, true to their genus name, “Ephemera,” live only briefly.

Henry Frania is an entomologist who uses facilities at the Royal Ontario Museum to study mayflies, though he is not formally affiliated with that institution. At the ROM, he analyzes data gathered over a two-decade span at several sites along the Caledon stretch of the Credit River to research the eastern green drake mayflies of the river’s watershed. The data reveal alarming declines. Twenty years ago Frania recorded large numbers of green drakes along the West Credit. By 2020 they were effectively gone from this section of the river. Similarly, other sites along the Credit now produce only negligible

numbers of these mayflies. Only the Middle Branch, through the deep, wooded gorge between Cataract and Forks of the Credit, has yielded heavy hatches in recent years, though these hatches follow a curious cycle: heavy one year, light the next.

Like canaries in coal mines, green drake mayflies are among the first organisms to recoil from environmental insults. With mayflies, this usually means deteriorating water quality as agriculture, aggregate extraction, and housing have replaced forests and reduced the flow of water in the Credit. The loss of forests means that soil, previously held fast by tree roots, washes easily into waterways during storms. This silt covers the gravel streambeds that are essential habitat for green drake nymphs. Another threat, says Frania, is “much more difficult to assess and mitigate.” This involves the witches’ brew of chemicals “from homes, lawns, industry, farms, and roads that are going into our sewage and storm sewer systems, or percolating directly into the ground.”

From south to north, he has tracked the local extinction of green drake mayflies along the Credit. He believes that before European settlement, “they probably occurred in all the riffles and rapids right down to the mouth of the Credit River. By the 1930s they were gone from Erindale, by the 1950s the downstream limit was Terra Cotta, by the 1990s Inglewood, and now the Credit Forks. The future prospects for the green drake mayflies are grim.”

If these insects disappear, the brook and brown trout the upper Credit is famous for will lose a food source, and the fly fishers who eagerly await the green drakes’ emergence and try to “match the hatch” will lose a treasured connection with the river.

Aquatic jewel

Redside dace

(Clinostomus elongatus)

ONTARIO STATUS: ENDANGERED

Tiny splashes triggered by the Lilliputian leaps of small fish called redside dace dimple a crystalline stream flowing through a Niagara Escarpment woodland. The dace, equipped by evolution with large upturned mouths and big eyes, are hunting aerial insects. Among the 20 or so minnow species in Headwaters, only they can do this.

Named for the brilliant red stripes that adorn their flanks, redside dace are eye-catching fish. Decades ago, I pickled a few for a university biology class. That was long before they were recognized as endangered,

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but I wince at the memory. My professor remarked that they looked as if they had been painted by mercurochrome, a red-coloured antiseptic formerly in widespread use as a topical medicine.

My first encounter with this species was bankside near the confluence of a tiny stream and the Credit River. Gazing into a limpid pool, I was held spellbound as shafts of sunlight illuminated their brilliance.

Redside dace have a limited range in southern Ontario. They are present in a few of the watersheds of rivers flowing into western Lake Ontario and southern Lake Huron, and are now designated “endangered” due to their declining numbers. The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club celebrates them by offering a badge emblazoned with their image to hikers who have walked the entire Caledon Hills section of the trail.

As visual predators, redside dace need clear waters that enable them to peer upward to track the small flying insects they feed on. A silted stream means hunger – they simply can’t see their prey. After a rain, many Ontario streams and rivers run like chocolate milk, carrying the sediment washed into them from roads and farmland. It’s no surprise, then, that redside dace, along with other fish that depend on sight to find their meals, have been eradicated from many of these waterways.

Last spring I visited a familiar stream to check on a redside dace population I’ve followed for years. In places the stream is so narrow that I can straddle it with spread legs. Trees protect this special place. They offer cooling shade and their roots hold the soil, preventing it from sullying the stream after downpours. My good fortune that day was to witness the dace spawning in the nests of creek chubs, perhaps the most common Headwaters minnow species.

Male creek chubs use their mouths to pick up small pebbles and to excavate bowl-shaped depressions in gravel streambeds. When this process is complete, females arrive to lay their eggs and the males release their milt (sperm) to fertilize them. Redside dace also arrive – and lay eggs in the creek chub nests. The larger creek chubs don’t seem to mind that their nests become incubators for the eggs of the smaller dace –another example of the myriad links that connect organisms and how the fortunes of living things are intertwined.

Small undiscovered populations of redside dace probably continue to exist in streams that flow into the Credit. Finding and protecting these vestiges of a once-thriving population is paramount to the survival in Headwaters of these beautiful fish.

Forest phantom

Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum)

ONTARIO STATUS: ENDANGERED

The winter has been long and cold. For much of the season, deep snow covered the forest floor. But cracks are beginning to show in the ice world. The days are warming and meltwater has begun to trickle into the subterranean haunts of Jefferson salamanders. The water reaches the salamanders deep in the ground and they begin to stir. The moisture signals change, and the salamanders respond. They start to wend their way upward through fissures in the rock and through the dark tunnels of shrews and moles. At the surface it is raining – optimum weather for Jefferson salamander travel. Though snow still covers much of the ground, the salamanders crawl out of the earth and begin the trek to their breeding ponds.

Jefferson salamanders can be the length of an adult human’s hand. They are rather plain, with greybrown bodies, but close inspection reveals flanks speckled with light blue.

They emerge in late winter or early spring to walk to vernal pools, a grand odyssey for animals whose legs are the length of a human fingernail. The ponds that beckon them can still be largely ice-covered at that time of year, but a fringe of open water is usually present at the margins, where the ice has melted in contact with the warming earth. Jefferson salamanders slip into this open water and soon begin to breed. They are ultra-hardy.

Pure-blooded Jefferson salamanders are rare in Headwaters but can be found at least as far north as Mono Cliffs Provincial Park. Strange multi-genetic salamanders that incorporate Jefferson salamander genes are found more widely, but I won’t dive into that odd phenomenon here. (It’s complex and confusing, even challenging perceptions of what defines a “species.”)

Extensive forests are critical to Jefferson salamander survival, but forests alone aren’t enough. They also need ponds containing no predatory fish. These ponds are usually vernal pools, which hold water in the spring but dry up later in the year, making them unsuitable for fish. Much of Headwaters has been deforested and no longer offers Jefferson salamanders the habitat they need. It is vital that we protect the forests and wetlands of the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine for Jefferson salamanders and myriad other animals.

Breeding at the ponds is fleeting, lasting a month or so. Jelly-like egg masses are deposited along sticks, and other sub-surface features, and then the salamanders return to their subterranean lives in the forests. After hatching, the carnivorous Jefferson larvae, sporting large fleshy gills on the sides of their heads, prowl the pond bottoms for aquatic insects and crustaceans. If lucky, they will transform into

terrestrial juveniles before their pond dries up. Then they will join their parents in the forest.

Undiscovered populations of Jefferson salamanders probably exist in Headwaters. Their nocturnal habits, the brevity of their springtime breeding and their subterranean lifestyle render them difficult to find. Landowners with appropriate habitat should check their ponds after dark in early spring, at about the same time as the spring peepers begin to call.

These stories are about plants and animals on the brink. But the malign forces threatening them also affect more common organisms. It’s hard to imagine a future in which these negative forces are reduced. Given the inevitability of growth, my hope is that we will also do what we can to vigorously protect existing parks and conservation areas, and identify more land to protect.

There are also more targeted ways in which we can help the rarities I’ve profiled here. We need to install more barriers to lessen the road mortality of reptiles and other animals. We need to improve measures to intercept stormwater before it drains into streams, and we need to ensure those streams are buffered by trees that can cool their waters and limit erosion. If we genuinely care about biodiversity, we need to be aware of the plants and animals at risk in Headwaters, and tailor solutions to address the particular threats to their survival. This starts with maintaining the protections embedded in the former Endangered Species Act. Let’s hope our

governments care enough to do that.

Finally, I’m hoping the stories of these five remarkable species will spark readers’ interest in these creatures, as well as others in Headwaters. Sightings of the five could be shared with the Natural Heritage Information Centre in Peterborough (ontario.ca/ form/natural-heritage-information-centre-nhicobservation-reporting-form). It is important that we learn more about the distribution and occurrence of rarities to inform conservation measures.

To protect your privacy, and the plants and animals themselves, your observations will not be made public. And please visit this article online at inthehills.ca to drop your photos and notes into the comments at the bottom of the page – without sharing details of specific locations.

The green drake mayfly is an exception. Because mayflies are not threatened by malign actors, locations where this fascinating insect still occur can be made public. Henry Frania, the entomologist at the ROM, would appreciate hearing about any and all sightings during their brief emergence period in May.

Let’s hope that with greater awareness and effective conservation actions, these wonderful species will continue to contribute to the rich natural heritage of Headwaters well into the future.

Don Scallen is the author of Nature Where We Live: Activities to Engage Your Inner Scientist from Pond Dipping to Animal Tracking. His new book Spotted Salamanders and Their World is out this fall. Read more of his observations on local flora and fauna in “Notes from the Wild” at inthehills.ca.

How a Mono garden grows ... and grows ... and grows

Henry van Oudenaren’s remarkable selection of plants pushes the boundaries of what will grow successfully in Headwaters and provides plenty of puzzles for him to solve – and fruits and nuts to eat.

BY TONY REYNOLDS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSEMARY HASNER

Idrive up the long lane through the trees, past the small “Hockley Hank” sign to the house and garden beyond.

Henry van Oudenaren calls a greeting from somewhere among the tall plants and emerges, looking almost as if he grows here too. The avid gardener, and dedicated fruit and edible nut grower, spends most of every day among the many plants on his property – and he loves to talk about his passion.

“My hobby has always been gardening,” he says. “My Dutch parents came

over in 1950 to Bobcaygeon, where I grew up. Dad also loved gardening. When I visited, he’d point out new and unique things and ask if I had any. If I’d say no, he’d get a shovel and dig me out a clump. That’s how I began to populate my gardens here.”

Before moving to Mono, van Oudenaren focused on growing ornamentals and vegetables at his home in Whitby. But this horticultural avocation was placed on hold when his work with a life sciences company – he was president and country manager – took him to the United Kingdom for three years and then to the United States.

the Mono property, slightly less than 11 acres, with a small stream running through it, on the north side of the Hockley Valley, east of Airport Road.

Henry

When he and his wife, Wanda, returned to Canada in 2010 and their three children had moved on, the couple sold the Whitby house and found

At the time, the property was planted mostly in trees – rows of spruce, a few pines, some tamarack, and rows of black walnut. “Walnut gives off a plant toxin, so now I’ve got rows of black walnut trees in between rows of dead or dying pine and spruce,” van Oudenaren says. He believes one treeless area was a paddock because there were horse stalls in a small building. The grass and weeds in the former paddock had grown to a height of more than seven feet. So there was work to do.

“I started by digging a pond in the backyard,” he says, “planting stuff in

and around it. Then I built 15 raised beds out of cedar logs from my forest out front.” He started planting unique and interesting ornamental perennials for the most part, and as they spread he would separate them and wonder whether they might sell. “We potted them up and they went like hotcakes, and ever since we’ve been adding to our collection.” And selling the extras. In 2017, when van Oudenaren retired at 55, he began to collect plants the way some people collect hockey cards. “I look from coast to coast during the wintertime for varieties of things that I don’t have yet. I get a few for myself and get another few to see

if anybody else is interested.” And like most collectors, he never passes up an opportunity to add to his assortment.

He read about a woman who grew sweet – edible – chestnuts in the Cambridge area and drove down to take a look. The variety she grew originated in China, and he didn’t know how well it would grow in the Headwaters’ climate and whether it was resistant to blight. The chestnut blight, a fungus, has all but killed off the native American chestnuts in southern Ontario.

The trees van Oudenaren saw, however, were thriving – hardy and blight-resistant. So he bought a bag of nuts … not to eat, but to plant. “I researched how to cold stratify the nuts, how to germinate and grow them. I had a hundred per cent germination

and 150 chestnut seedlings in the basement.” The next spring some went into his orchard and the rest were sold.

“We were going down to Kingston to see our son and daughter-in-law, and loaded up the car with as many seedlings as we could fit,” he says. He and Wanda pulled into parking lots in Belleville and Kingston to meet customers who had driven in from all around to pick up the seedlings they had pre-ordered.

From other growers and research centres, he has also sourced and grows hardy almonds, as well as English and Japanese walnuts, or heartnuts, to go along with his own black and white walnuts, aka butternuts. This year he added six varieties of hardy apricots to his collection, some developed at the

federal government’s Harrow Research and Development Centre. The names of these varieties begin with the prefix Har–, signifying “Harrow bred and breeding rights.” He also added hardy cherries, developed by the University of Saskatchewan. These grow on bushes rather than trees.

Van Oudenaren also grows persimmons and pawpaws from various sources including some he has cultivated from seed. “Pawpaws are the largest native fruit in North America,” he says. “The trees used to be everywhere here. Nowadays there’s almost a cult following, with pawpaw conventions in the fall. Several states in the northeastern U.S. include places named Pawpaw.”

But he grows most of his plants,

including apples, from either nuts or seeds. Apples are highly susceptible to all kinds of diseases and insects, he says, and don’t grow true to seed. This means a tree grown from a McIntosh seed, for example, is unlikely to produce fruit that looks or tastes like the fruit of the parent tree.

So as an experiment, he sprouts seeds taken from McIntosh, Honeycrisp and other store-bought apples to purposely grow trees genetically different from the parent tree. Their flowers are pollinated by other varieties. “I want to see what happens,” he says. “I may get the next best apple, or it may only be good for cider, but either way I want to see how diseaseresistant the new apples are.”

In addition to seeking resistant

varieties, van Oudenaren likes to push the northern boundaries of where plants will grow. After all, the placement of his garden on the sunny side of the Hockley Valley provides protection from the north and west and the worst of winter winds. Among the peach trees in his orchard are three he grew from Ontario peach pits. These trees started producing after just three years, and this year –season four – just one of them yielded more than 20 kilograms of insect- and disease-free peaches without the use of pesticides. In Mono, not Niagara!

He is also experimenting with growing his fruit and nut trees using the European espalier method.

“[Europeans] will run wires horizontally and prune their trees to be

DESIGN / CONSTRUCTION

LIGHTING

DOING BATTLE WITH WEEDS

The fertile soil in Henry van Oudenaren’s garden, along with manure tea, provides his plants with what they need to thrive. Unfortunately, this means all his plants. “The best thing I grow is weeds,” he says. “The biggest and best weeds you’ve ever seen.”

One of van Oudenaren’s primary goals is to find ways to reduce his workload, so he gave these weeds his full attention, focusing especially on the seven-foot weeds in the paddock. “When I expanded into that area, I used a rear tiller and knew from experience that I was either waking up dormant weed seeds in the ground or preparing a beautifully fertile bed for weed seeds that blow in.”

Because he doesn’t use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, van Oudenaren took another tack. He decided the raised beds he started with needed too much water, so he took them out and laid commercial-grade woven plastic ground cover over the entire orchard.

“It’s been down for four years now and there’s no degradation,” he says. “It lets the rain through, but there’s no vegetation growing underneath. It’s like gardening in your living room. You could walk on there in your sock feet.” So there’s no mowing, no tilling, no trimming – and no gas fumes. The only weeds are the few that find the holes he cuts to plant in, but they’re easily controlled.

The ground cover also has other advantages. It acts like a mulch, keeping moisture in the soil so the garden needs little watering. And van Oudenaren believes it also keeps insects at bay. “I think the

ground cover helps because a lot of these insects overwinter in the soil and the less soil there is available to them, the fewer insects you’re going to have.”

Avian allies

Ducks and chickens are another of his pest control strategies. He keeps two breeds of ducks: Indian runners and call ducks. These birds are out in the garden every day, even in winter. In fact, on a walk through the garden, it can feel as if you’re herding them. They scuttle out of the way muttering little duck quacks as they go. The ducks spend the day eating all the detrimental bugs and slugs, snails, flying things and weeds – but they won’t touch the plants.

The chickens, on the other hand, will eat the plants, so they’re relegated to their own fenced-in area. Still, they play an important role. Chickens gobble up kitchen scraps and weeds, turning them into fertilizer much faster than a compost heap.

“I take the manure from my ducks and chickens, and local farmers will drop off a load of cow or horse manure,” van Oudenaren explains. He likens the process of making manure tea to using tea leaves to make a cup of tea, though on a much larger scale. “I fill a barrel or trough half full with the manure and the other half with water, and leave it for a few days. Then just give it a good stir, strain it [to remove weed seeds and other debris] and use it to water the plants a few times each season.”

Fencing it in

Deer like to nibble on the tree buds and berries, so van Oudenaren has come up with a plan designed to deter their visits. He has strung three rows of highly visible white electric fence ribbon at intervals above the existing four-foot fence that encloses about half the former paddock – to make deer think they are facing an eight-foot fence. But deer can easily clear eight feet, so van Oudenaren has strung another length of similar ribbon three feet farther inside the paddock. Though none of the ribbon is electrified, to the deer this additional ribbon creates the illusion of a three- dimensional barrier, which discourages the animals from trying to jump.

The next level of defence is the espalier system that’s also eight feet high. The rows are close enough together that deer couldn’t land on the other side, so they don’t jump. And if they do somehow find their way in, they can escape only to the left or right, another deterrent.

To discourage rabbits, who love chomping on the tender bark of saplings, he places plastic grow tubes around all the young trees. Because the snow was so deep this past winter, he had to trudge through snowdrifts to add a second tube above the first.

To keep raccoons and other beasties out of the strawberries, van Oudenaren built a hinged wooden frame, topped with 0.5-inch hardware cloth and set it over the plants. Though effective against four-legged pests, it also keeps out the ducks, so slugs and ants had free rein. This season, however,

LEFT: Van Oudenaren’s ever-expanding, south-facing orchard. The commercial ground cover eliminates grass cutting and trimming, reduces the need for watering, and keeps unwanted ground-dwelling insects and diseases at bay. The grow tubes deter rabbits from nibbling at the trees’ tender and tasty young bark. about or buy plants from him, he can speak with first-hand knowledge about how well each plant thrives in the Headwaters environment, especially those he has started from seed. “It has made it so interesting because you like to share your passion, and we have like-minded people coming here. Some just zoom in and zoom out, but others are interested in a tour of the ornamental gardens and orchard.”

applications of coffee grounds mixed with manure tea seem to be controlling them.

Seeking solutions

He’s also trying to figure out why the differerent varieties of serviceberry bushes start growing vigorously in the spring but fall prey to a disease or infestation just as they’re coming into bloom. A puzzle to be solved – and van Oudenaren is always interested in solving puzzles.

Then there’s the Japanese beetle that’s becoming so prevalent. “They spend 11 months underground” he says, “and one month eating and procreating, often doing both at the same time.” Unfortunately, the leaves of many of his plants are out of the ducks’ reach, so the beetles are able to turn the foliage into lace.

He has learned the problem with pheromone traps is that they attract bugs from far and wide, so the infestation expands. Fortunately – so far at least – the beetles have invaded only the ornamental and sales areas of the garden. Perhaps the ground cover in the orchard and the long grass surrounding it have deterred them. To this puzzle at least, maybe he has found a solution.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61

two-dimensional rather than three, training the branches to grow against a wall or along wires – and that’s what I’m doing.”

With the assistance of a grant from Dufferin County’s Experimental Acres program, van Oudenaren is stringing wires at two-foot intervals up to eight feet – as high as he can reach without a ladder. He will then prune the trees and secure the branches so they grow horizontally along the wires or in V shapes, depending on each tree’s needs. With no ladders involved, the fruit will be much easier to pick, and he hopes also that this will make the trees less vulnerable to hungry deer (see sidebar at left).

His garden continues to expand almost exponentially. Just this year he added 55 new varieties of fruit and nuts, which boosts his total to nearly 40 varieties of edible nuts (see note below) and about 200 different kinds of fruit. Not all the plants are mature enough to produce, but many are. He picks haskap, or honeyberries, in May, strawberries in June, raspberries in July, blackberries in August and goji berries in all four months. In addition, there are elderberries, sea buckthorn berries, kiwi fruit and 27 varieties of cherry, including the cornelian cherry. Native to central and southern Europe and western Asia, this plant is related to Ontario’s native red-barked dogwood.

“Our first priority is to fill our two chest freezers so that my wife and I have fruit for the whole year, because there is nothing better than in the middle of winter popping a raspberry or strawberry or sea buckthorn berry from your own garden into your mouth,” he says. “We’ve gotten to the point now where we have enough that we are also able to sell fresh or frozen fruit as it’s available.”

In late fall van Oudenaren posts his results on social media, including the Garden Ontario and Town of Mono Facebook groups, noting when the harvest started and ended, as well as the varieties of fruit and nuts it yielded. He also keeps detailed records of all the plants in his garden, tracking their growth and yield, so he knows them well. And when other gardeners ask

Van Oudenaren’s botanical curiosity knows no bounds. “I decided to make syrup a number of years ago,” he says, “but could only find seven sugar maples among all my trees. I did the research and discovered many different trees produce sap to make into syrup. So I tap my sugar maples, silver maples, Manitoba maples, and I also tap the black walnut trees. They don’t produce as much syrup and it’s a darker colour but with a very interesting taste.”

He’s also curious about tropical plants and has a grove of potted plants he moves in and out of his house by season, except for one banana tree that survives winter outside, although the season isn’t long enough for it to produce fruit. Among the others are oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, kumquats, loquats, finger limes, passion fruit and a half-dozen different mulberries. There are greenhouses, beehives and birds, too.

Should you wish to visit, you can message Hockley Hank via his Facebook page. Once there, you can certainly zoom in and zoom out – but if you’re at all curious about gardening or out-of-the-ordinary plants, there’s much to discover and see for yourself, as well as a wealth of knowledge to tap.

Note: Categorizing fruits and nuts is sometimes complicated. When Henry van Oudenaren tots up the fruits and nuts in his collection, he groups them into their culinary category according to how they are commonly known. This means that, like most of us, he counts almonds, for example, as nuts. Botanically, however, almonds are not considered true nuts. Like peaches, they are a type of fruit called a drupe.

THIS FALL TOAST LOCAL SANDWICH STARS AT PIA’S ON BROADWAY, SIP A FLIGHT OF CIDER AND DIG INTO LOCALLY MADE PIES

BY EMILY DICKSON

Legendary loaves

More than 70,000. That’s the number of handmade loaves of classic sandwich bread that Xel Campbell estimates he has baked since he and his wife, Laura, began running Pia’s on Broadway in 2012. Laura’s mother, Pia Wiesen, opened the restaurant in 2009.

“This recipe really is foolproof,” says Xel as he pulls a pan of freshly baked loaves from an industrial oven in Pia’s kitchen early one recent morning, many hours before the restaurant opens. “It’s salty, it’s got a light, airy crumb with a chewy crust … it’s perfect for any sandwich.”

And sandwiches are exactly what this popular hub on Orangeville’s bustling downtown strip is known for. The round blue sign that hangs outside simply says “Good Sandwiches” — an idea that came from Laura’s father who thought everyone walking down Broadway should know what awaits inside.

A bestseller is the Cobb sandwich, made with house-roasted turkey, bacon, blue cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion and homemade mayonnaise. “Everyone should make their own mayonnaise — it’s so easy,” promises Laura as she sets up at the sandwich station to prepare what will be one of many.

Xel’s day typically starts at 4 a.m. when he preheats the oven, bakes the loaves that have been rising overnight in the fridge, and prepares the next batch of dough for the following day. He also bakes sourdough on Saturdays and buttery brioche buns for burgers. But the top bread is still the sandwich loaf. “Here in Orangeville, we just like to keep it simple,” he says. “We’ve experimented over the years, but what I’ve found our clientele actually wants is that classic, comforting sandwich bread.”

Baking has been a passion for Xel Campbell ever since he attended Stratford Chefs School where an instructor said something that stuck with him: “Why would you want to go to work and get your hands covered in dirt and blood, when they could be covered in flour and sugar?”

SPÄETZLE FROM SCRATCH

Rustik Local Bistro has been a recent star of the restaurant’s social media feeds showing the secrets of how they’re made. A gob of gooey noodle dough is spread onto a wooden späetzle board and then a special tool used to quickly scrape bit by bit into boiling water, a method that makes the noodles soft, but also chewy. Then they are sautéed with butter and herbs, and topped with rotating selections of vegetables and meat. According to owner Brett Jaggard, this warm and hearty dish pairs well with cool autumn weather.

NOTHIN’ BUT A HOUND DOG

Mono Centre Brewing’s Hooch Hound Scotch Ale hints at the dark days of prohibition when dogs were specially trained to sniff out bootlegged alcohol. But no need to hide – grab a pint with its caramel, molasses and scotch notes, sink into one of the brewery’s Muskoka chairs and warm up by the fire tables.

Happy crustomers

If you’re planning ahead for Thanksgiving, consider wowing your family with a decadent blueberry pie, one of the specialties at Son of a Chef in Orangeville. Pecan pie is the star of the show at the Rosemont General Store, while freshly picked Canadian apples go into the classics made at Holtom’s Bakery in Erin. The inventive Try Pye from Mulmur’s Maple Grove Farm is three pies in one, letting you enjoy a trio of different seasonal flavours. And while pies are available at Downey’s Farm Market in Caledon, visitors might consider sampling one of the thousands of pumpkin doughnuts made daily during the farm’s PumpkinFest September 20 to October 31. “We’ve been making them ever since we opened the doors in 1993; my parents came up with the recipe,” says Darlene Downey, adding that a portion of sales support Bethell Hospice Foundation.

CIDER TAKES FLIGHT

Not sure which kind of cider suits your palate? Sample five — draught, dry hopped, pear, applelager or sangria — in a tasting flight pressed on-site in Caledon at Spirit Tree Estate Cidery. Learn more about the production process during a 45-minute guided cidery tour, and from mid-September through November, head to the orchard to fill a bag of Honeycrisp, McIntosh and Gala, Northern Spy or Mutsu varieties. Catch the tail end of their Live Music Series every Saturday afternoon in the Cider Gardens. Orangeville’s Traveling Wannabes are playing on September 28.

REPLENISH RIGHT

Sebastian and Alex Riedelsheimer of Caledon Hills Brewing Company are behind a new not-beer beverage. Northern Hydration is a sports drink — or as the Riedelsheimers like to call it a “recovery drink” — made with pure Caledon spring water, electrolytes, and a choice of natural orange, lemon and lime flavours. The brothers, once Team Canada junior squash competitors, wanted to create a high-quality post-workout drink without sugar, fake flavours or a nasty aftertaste. Says Sebastian, “You’d have to drink three bottles of a typical sports drink to get as many electrolytes as we provide.”

LET’S BREAK BREAD

The Food and Friends: 55+ Social Breakfast Program is a chance for seniors in Caledon to get together for a fun morning meal, make new connections and build community in a relaxed environment. This initiative by the Town of Caledon takes place Friday mornings at the Caledon East Town Hall in the Cafe from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and registration is required.

A SLICE OF THE ACTION

The spicy salami and arugula pizza drizzled with sweet, sticky farm honey and a dash of crushed red chili pepper is a fan favourite at Erin Hill Acres’ Courtyard Cafe where every pizza is handmade and baked until bubbling in an Italian wood-fired oven. Wash it down with a lavender lemonade made with culinary lavender grown in their own fields.

MARK YOUR CULINARY CALENDAR

Sip award-winning wines and savour gourmet bites in the scenic setting of Adamo Estate Winery with Movie Night in the Vineyard on September 26 — a special screening of A Star Is Born featuring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, 9 to 11 p.m.

At Feast of Hops in Erin, your tasting passport lets you nosh on six Culinary Challenger pairings, featuring local restaurants including The Busholme, Jess for You Cafe and Fusionz, and craft beverages from GoodLot Farm and Farmstead Brewing, Heartwood Cidery and Grand Valley Brewery. This fundraiser for the Erin Rotary Club takes place on September 28 at the Erin Agricultural Society Building from 1 to 5 p.m., with live music by The Campfire Poets.

Then on October 18, after enjoying hiking or mountain biking through the scenic trails of Mulmur’s Mansfield Outdoor Centre, stick around for Hops in the Hills, a tasting event that combines the great outdoors with the love of craft beer.

And Empty Bowls is back on November 2 at the Alton Mill Arts Centre. Choose a handcrafted bowl, a local gourmet soup, and take the bowl home to remember those less fortunate. Proceeds to local food programs.

www.janssendesign.ca

MINDING HER BEESWAX

Beekeeper Sarah Allinson’s handmade candles reflect her dedication to authenticity – and sustainability.

BY JANICE QUIRT

BRIGHTLY COLOURED HIVES DOT A TREED property in the rolling Mulmur countryside as a few bees drowsily circle their homes. At the foot of the lane leading from the road sits a farmstand that offers honey, candles, eggs and honey soda. Nestled at the end of that lane is Ontario Honey Creations’ main shop and production studio, where owner and apiarist Sarah Allinson is as industrious as her honey makers.

Today she is making beeswax candles, using a byproduct of the honey harvest from her hives, which are scattered over private properties throughout Headwaters.

When bees sense that their honey is ready, they cap with beeswax each hexagonal cell they have created in the honey frames, the wooden casings that provide the structure for their honeycombs. When “capping” happens, Allinson knows the honey is just right for harvesting.

Whether harvesting honey or beeswax, she wears a full bee suit and uses a smoker. To harvest only beeswax, she removes a honey

frame and uses an automatic hot knife to scrape off the caps. She then replaces the frame, enabling the bees to reuse the comb, as it is labour intensive for bees to rebuild a comb from scratch. She then repeats this process for all 10 frames in each box of a hive.

Once the “uncapping” is complete, some honey residue remains in the beeswax. Most of this is removed in a centrifugal extractor, and the wax is then pressed down to squeeze out any remaining honey.

The resulting beeswax is placed in a large melter, a steel drum containing equal parts boiling water and beeswax. The wax floats while the debris sinks. The water and debris are released via a valve at the bottom.

The clean beeswax is then captured in pails or a rectangular frame to make beeswax bricks. Once the bricks harden, any lingering debris is scraped away.

In her studio, Allinson feeds the beeswax chunks or bricks into a double boiler-like melter.

The water temperature is at 85 F. Temperature is important – if it is too warm, the beeswax will crack in the candle moulds.

In about an hour, once the beeswax is liquid, she fills a silicone scoop and lets it sit for five minutes while she prepares a variety of silicone moulds. This resting stage helps prevent valleys or tunnels from forming in the candles. These can be fire risks.

Mould patterns include flowers, while shapes feature owls, turtles, traditional beehives called skeps, and numbers for birthday candles. Allinson has acquired moulds over the years from suppliers who exhibit at the annual conferences of various beekeeping associations. “You can also make your own moulds using liquid silicone,” she says. “I might try that soon.” Her favourite candle is the owl.

She uses braided natural cotton wicks in a variety of lengths and widths, wielding an upholstery needle to insert them into the larger candles through a hole in the bottom. A metal wick-centring device keeps the wick in place until it’s time to pour the liquid beeswax.

Larger candles can take hours to cool, while smaller ones just an hour. But all, especially those featuring an intricate design such as

Sarah Allinson uses a silicone scoop to pour liquid beeswax into a variety of silicone moulds. Once the wicks are trimmed, bumps and ridges are smoothed on a hot plate.

petals, must cool completely before being removed from the mould. “You can assess readiness by touch and colour. Pouring wax is a pale yellow –almost white – colour, but cools into the brighter yellow beeswax colour,” says Allinson.

After removing the candles, she trims the excess wick at the bottom and top. She saves small wick pieces to make birthday candles – hers is a no-waste operation.

It’s then over to her trusty hot plate, set to a low temperature, to smooth any ridges on the bottom, ensuring the candles sit straight. Only a couple of seconds are required for smoothing.

“Beeswax has a low flammable point,” she says. “You have to be careful on the griddle.” Individual candles are packaged in gift boxes and sold at the Orangeville Farmers’ Market yearround, online or at her farm store or farm-gate stand.

Like Allinson herself, loyal customers are drawn to the candles, redolent of the scents of the hives, out of an

appreciation for natural products and a clean burn.

“Mass-produced petroleum candles and added synthetic scents – that’s not for us,” Allinson says. “Instead, every beeswax candle is unique, with variations in colour that depend on the bees. It really is a pure, simple and sustainable option.”

What started as a hobby 14 years ago became a full-time business in 2014. Allinson, who left a corporate career in human resources to tend to the hives, reflects on how much her life has changed since she moved from Toronto to Amaranth and now to Mulmur.

“I’ve always loved nature and animals, and this passion allows me to celebrate both as a career,” she says. “I believe in authenticity, not perfection.”

Janice Quirt is a freelance writer who lives in Orangeville.

MINIATURES

THAT

TELL A

STORY, THE ART OF BLACKSMITHING AND WHIMSICAL MONOCHROME CARDS

BY STEPHANIE CASINO ESGUERRA

TINY PERFECT MEMORIES

Artist Burcin Yilmaz of Amaranth specializes in creating miniature characters set in detailrich terrariums. Yilmaz says she seeks to tell a tiny story encapsulated in glass. “I have been passionate about plants and model-making since I was a child,” she says. The bespoke business she started, Terrarium House, conjures up designs based on a client’s dream, photo, memory or description of a loved one — nature hikes and waterside vignettes are popular.

“I use selected plants and hand-painted, handmade figures to bring these ideas to life. I spend hours focusing on small details to make each piece unique.” (Prices by request, Terrarium House)

AN ANCIENT CRAFT IN MODERN TIMES

Derek Ardron of Orangeville has always been fascinated by blacksmithing and discovered his talent for this craft during the pandemic. Searching for something to keep him busy during lockdown, Ardron studied online and began his adventure into this ancient art. “I had always loved the craft; I found it interesting since I was a child. When Covid came around I found myself on YouTube watching videos. I decided to make a forge, and I got a piece of railroad track, and started. I found it was a great way to be creative and it was great for my mental health.” His pieces include remarkably delicate florals such as sunflowers and roses. (Prices by request, Dardron Forge)

BIRDS IN BLACK AND WHITE

Mono artist N.E. McHaffie’s stark tableaus of snow buntings in flight or long-legged wild turkeys trotting their way across a snow-covered field seem to capture moments frozen in time. McHaffie’s charming pastoral images grace a series of five hand-illustrated cards available at Dragonfly Arts in Orangeville. Other renderings include a rural farm tucked deep in fresh snow; birds alighting on tiny branches; and a flock of juncos, all aflutter. ($5 each, Dragonfly Arts

SOURCES

Derek Ardron, Orangeville, FB @dardronforge Dragonfly Arts, 89 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-941-5249. dragonflyarts.ca Terrarium House, Amaranth, IG @terrariumhouse

IT ’ S ONLY NATURAL

Nature journalling educator Billie Jo Reid aims to inspire others to share her enthusiasm for the natural world.

BY JANICE QUIRT

“I WONDER AS I WANDER” IS best known as a Christmas tune, but it also handily sums up the ethos of nature journalling, an activity that involves sketching observations from the living world – and following up by reflecting on those observations. Certified nature journalling educator Billie Jo Reid has garnered glowing reviews while leading her fellow nature nerds in this newly popular practice; she was recently honoured with the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s WILD Educator of the Year award.

Here’s a day in the life of the Orangeville-based outdoor educator –consider her a modern-day Darwin in quick-dry pants – at an April session that began at the Orangeville Public Library on Mill Street.

8:30 A.M. Reid is up and fixes some breakfast.

9:30 A.M. She preps her supplies, which include samples of her own nature journals to show participants, as well as nature books for all ages. In her art kit she packs a mechanical pencil with purple lead for no-smear sketching, an eraser, a 0.5-micron black pen, a 15 cm ruler, a palette of watercolour paints and a medium tip paintbrush with a refillable water cartridge. And of course, her nifty “brush cuff,” so she always has a damp cloth to wipe her brush with. Not to be forgotten is her own journal, filled with thick paper for watercolours and pens. Magnifying glasses and homemade bug containers also go into the pile.

Finally, she fills her personal water bottles, grabs apples and sunscreen, and tucks a first aid kit into her bag.

10:30 A.M. Reid folds some zines (Your Quick Start Guide to Birding, 7 Ways to Connect with Nature and Your Quick Start Guide to Nature Journaling) produced by the Wild Wonder Foundation, based in California, where Reid trained.

11:45 A.M. It’s a small snack for lunch and then she heads to the library.

12:15 P.M. Reid meets library staff member Shannon McGrady. With more than 30 sign-ups, today’s offering is one of their most popular programs. As people file in, they peruse the

Billie Jo Reid, right, explores the practice of nature journalling with Mariusz Mierzwinski and his daughter, Oliwia.

books, zines and Reid’s handiwork; some can’t resist the temptation of art supplies, immediately putting pencil to paper.

Drop-ins linger, including the father and daughter who stay the whole two hours. “We just came to return our library books!” says the dad, Mariusz Mierzwinski.

1 P.M. Reid delivers a slide presentation introducing the concept of nature journalling. She focuses on the framework: “I notice … I wonder … It reminds me of ….” She recommends starting by recording metadata – the date, weather and location. “It’s valuable data and breaks up the space so it’s not a blank page anymore.” In nature journalling,

participants can use words, pictures and numbers to document what they see around them.

Reid guides the group through two quick blind contour-drawing exercises to shift the focus from drawing to recording. “If you’re drawing a bird, it’s not going to sit there for 10 minutes while you perfect your sketch,” Reid points out. “You might capture some details so that you can identify it later – the drawing is just a tool for your thinking!”

1:30 P.M. Reid leads the way south on Mill Street to Mill Street Park.

1:45 P.M. Reid uses her teacher voice to ask everyone to find something interesting in nature to observe. “Sometimes you’ll have a feeling, like I want to know more about this.”

Under the watchful eyes of the adults, kids are soon crossing the bridge, perching on the banks of Mill Creek, catching bugs and studying leaves. Reid connects with individual participants to chat about what they’ve found, but she is slow to directly answer their questions lest she short-circuit their discoveries.

“One small group was looking at a burst resin bubble on a tree, and carefully took a sniff,” she says. “I asked them what it reminded them of. They said, ‘Being sick with a cold.’”

The young scientists determine the smell is similar to Vicks VapoRub or Pine-Sol and ask if their mystery substance is evergreen tree sap. “They got there on their own, which is much more satisfactory,” says Reid.

With younger participants, Reid uses praise, enthusiasm and jokes. “One kid was super into plants, so I said, ‘Tell me about your plants. Why are they fuzzy? Why do you think they have hairs? Do they keep the plant warm?’” she says. “They giggled and said, ‘Maybe.’ They were so in the zone, looking, drawing and taking everything in.”

3 P.M. The workshop is ending, but participants want to know how they can take future courses. Reid lists upcoming workshops on her

Pine & Ponder website and social media feeds. Posts depict bright and beautiful sketches of insects, plants and birds annotated with observations and queries. Talk about being an influencer!

From older adult participants to the youngest tykes, everyone has caught the nature journalling bug, the sign of a great teacher.

4 P.M. Reid is home. Although a self-professed extrovert, she tends to crash after an event.

“When I’m on, I’m on big. Afterward, I’m contentedly tired and happy that it went well.”

Wanting to catch up with the family, she saves putting away her supplies for the next day. Her husband, Dave Orr, works for Credit Valley Conservation and matches her passion for nature. Daughter Raine, 13, plays competitive soccer and is a referee who officiated three games that day. Aspen, 11, also plays competitive soccer and spent the day with friends.

5 P.M. Reid checks on her native pollinator garden, complete with bird bath, house and feeders. This certified wildlife habitat in her home’s front yard also served as the required stewardship program to complete her training as a nature journalling educator.

6 P.M. Chef Dave makes a Mexican feast. On a visit to Florida last year, the girls learned to make guacamole at a Mexican restaurant and they contribute their favourite addition to the meal.

8 P.M. Reid finishes putting together marketing packages for schools, which form the bulk of her programming. She also offers sessions geared to adults, often tapping into the self-care vein.

9:30 P.M. Speaking of self-care, it’s time to call it a day. Her restful wind-down is fuelled by fostering curiosity in the place Reid loves most: the great outdoors.

YOUR COUNTRY SEPTIC SYSTEM, DEMYSTIFIED

Avoid a messy meltdown of this vital part of your rural life with regular maintenance and preventive care.

BY ALISON McGILL • ILLUSTRATION BY RUTH ANN PEARCE

LIVING OFF THE URBAN GRID MEANS

managing your wastewater – everything that drains from toilets, showers, bathtubs, sinks, washing machines and dishwashers. While townsfolk rely on a municipal sewer line to cart off, safely treat and dispose of wastewater, in the country you likely have your own septic system.

Here, wastewater flows through a main drainage pipe that leads to a septic tank installed underground outside your home. In the tank, solid material (sludge) sinks to the bottom while fats, oils and grease float to the top and form scum. Sludge and scum remain in the tank while the liquid (effluent) is carried out to a leach field.

There are two basic versions of septic setup in Ontario: traditional and chamber. In a traditional system, the liquid wastewater is dispersed from the tank through an outlet pipe to the drain field, where it seeps through a bed of sand and gravel before percolating through the ground – a filtration process that helps remove harmful contaminants, including bacteria and viruses.

In a chamber system, primary treatment takes place in the tank itself. The clarified wastewater is then dispersed to a specialized drain field, which has plastic leaching chambers containing perforated pipes that release the effluent into the ground. In both systems, natural elements in the soil, including microbes, remove any remaining contaminants, completing the treatment process.

Septic care basics

“A lot of people who are new to septic systems are nervous because they’ve heard nightmare stories about what happens when they malfunction,” says

Don Dillman, owner of Dillman Sanitation, a multigenerational family business that has served Dufferin County since 1966.

He offers two key pieces of advice: Have your tank pumped regularly and use common sense about what you put through your water system. “If you are good to your septic system, it will be good to you,” he says. Septic owners also need to keep up with tank maintenance. According to the Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association, tanks should be pumped when sludge measurements reach about one-third of the working capacity of the receiving chamber –typically every three to five years. This depends on the size and condition of the tank, as well as water usage. For example, if there are just two people in a household, you may be able to go as long as six years between pumps, according to Dillman.

A typical septic pump service takes about an hour. A technician will arrive with a vacuum truck and remove the lids on your lawn to access your tank. A powerful hose sucks up the wastewater, sludge and scum into the truck’s holding tank. Once cleared, your septic tank is inspected for damage, leaks or blockages, then rinsed and flushed with clean water to remove any remaining debris.

When

sh*t happens

If your tank is full, you will smell it. Your yard, household drains and toilets will have a strong sewage-tinged odour. If you have a backup or a clog in your system, your pipes will start to gurgle, creak and groan, and water will drain very slowly.

See bubbles coming from the toilet? Consider it a septic emergency. This is typically the precursor to a potentially massive home disaster – hazardous raw

sewage seeping through your bathtub and shower drains. In this situation, shut off all water in your home and call a septic system professional.

Blockages are another concern. To prevent them, Dillman identifies a few offenders. Don’t flush wet wipes or facial tissues, as they don’t break down. Dishes should be rinsed and cleared of solids before being placed in the dishwasher. “Never put heavy grease directly down the drain, or any food scraps,” he adds. He also suggests being mindful of how often your septic pump motor needs to work each day, particularly when it comes to laundry and showers. Overuse over time can lead to system failure.

Pump motors have a shelf life, Dillman explains. “Like anything mechanical, pump motors don’t last forever. They are easy to pull out and replace, and I have many proactive clients who do this every second time we pump as a preventive measure.”

Buying and selling with septic in mind

When you buy a country home, a condition in the purchase agreement often requires that the septic tank is pumped before the deal closes. A septic inspection, which involves a professional evaluation of all system components, including the tank, drain field and connecting pipes, as well as water flow, is not legally required. However, in recent years, many financial institutions have started requesting them, Dillman says, and he recommends having one done. “If the inspection fails, it then comes down to a decision of how the potential buyer wants to proceed with the deal and fixing the issues.”

Alison McGill is a writer, editor and podcaster who lives in Halton Hills.

DUFFERIN RAIL TRAIL

<<Flesherton&OwenSound

The Junction Restaurant is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays (closed Mondays).

Devil’s paintbrush (Pilosella aurantiaca)

The 38-km Dufferin Rail Trail (Orangeville to Dundalk) is part of a continuous route that will eventually extend from Mississauga to Owen Sound. In Dufferin, my favourite section to walk is the 6-km stretch from Corbetton to Dundalk because it comprises a combination of rich farmland, several stream crossings (over bridges!) and an extensive wetland complex. Furthermore, whether you hike it there and back for a total of about 12 km, or as a oneway walk with a car drop-off, you can stop in Dundalk for refreshments.

Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)

While the wetlands are alive with waterfowl and very loud frogs, what struck me was the profusion of wildflowers. Look for these late bloomers as summer slips into autumn. Take your cellphone along so you can identify these and many more.

HIKING ETIQUETTE

Hike only on marked trails. Obey all signs. Carry out all litter, including dog poo. Keep dogs leashed. Don’t disturb people, animals, plants or trees.

Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota)

DUFFERINRD17

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

HIGHWAY 89

Viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare)

An easy 6 km, 1.5- to 2-hour, one-way hike (double for a round trip).

Dufferin Rail Trail

Corbetton to Dundalk

DUFFERIN RD 124

REST AND REPEAT

BY BETHANY LEE • ILLUSTRATION BY SHELAGH ARMSTRONG

AS THE FINAL SUMMER DAYS STRETCH INTO fall, we are greeted with puffs of fresh, crispy breezes and cozy fall feelings. The cooler air arriving through the curtains makes you feel lazy, but there’s also some FOMO (fear of missing out) on the last wisps of summer – all mingling with the beginnings of backto-school (the real new year). Oh, and a little dash of Where did the time go?

At the beginning of June, I started taking inventory of the summer and my goals. One word that came to mind was rest. And I found it not so much in lazy days at the beach or the spa, but in breaking away from around-the-clock activity, especially in our world that seems unavoidably “on” 24/7. It is a change I hope to carry into the fall.

Summers typically mean vacation time, camp for kids and a few long weekends – this should feel relaxing, and those breezy days of summer should feel extra-long. Maybe not whole-August-off-long, as we imagine summer in Europe to be, but a retreat from the everyday. Somehow, they don’t. Turns out, trying to stuff fun into an already busy schedule isn’t restful at all. What makes it so hard for us to rest? And what does rest mean?

At the same time, I struggle with the whole idea of

self-care equalling rest. These days, self-care to some can often mean going to the spa. Grasping a short bit of alone time and paying for a time-limited service linked to a healthcare-adjacent business doesn’t meet my criteria for rest. I usually feel anxious about the treatment cost, and I like my own space better.

Turns out, trying to stuff fun into an already busy schedule isn’t restful at all. What makes it so hard for us to rest? And what does rest mean?

However, the bath-with-candles option chez Lee doesn’t work for me either. When I’m home, I find it hard to stop cleaning or cooking, or tending to the dogs or checking email one last time.

So I’ve started some other habits that are helping me define my version of rest.

First, let’s start with sleep. I’m now very protective of my shut-eye time. A friend recommended the book, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep

and Dreams by Matthew Walker, and I took the science to heart. Longevity studies and neuroscience tell us we need to allow the complicated brain to cleanse itself through sleep. Come my (early) bedtime, I’m wrapping things up and tucking in. My husband, Derrick, still likes to stay up late and watch TV – I do not. My son, Adrian, likes to spend time in his room online with his puppy, Otto, by his side. I no longer care if the movie is half done or if there is one more load of laundry I can flip. I’m protective of my sleep like a momma bear.

I’ve also been trying to commit to the practice of the “micro-rest” through very short walks, small stretch breaks and even lying on the couch ten feet from my desk for a breather. Sometimes it’s a mere five minutes. Petting the animals helps or taking them out for a quick spin. Sometimes I’ll just look up at my favourite tree and enjoy the breeze on my face or the sun shining on my skin.

I also recently helped enact a change at my workplace. Now we wrap up meetings five or ten minutes short of the half or full hour. Hurrah! A short time for a micro-rest, a drink of water or “bio break.” We are making it a habit and making it official. We’re also dropping the guilt that seemed to build over Covid

NEST IDEAS

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by neuroscientist Matthew Walker, shares evidence that sleep is one of the most critical aspects of our lives. sleepdiplomat.com

In the book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Peter Attia, a podcaster, author and longevity expert, discusses how to embrace sleep in the chapter “How to Learn to Love Sleep, the Best Medicine for Your Brain.” Attia explains the short- and long-term damage that accumulates through sleep deprivation, and how managing sleep is one of the pillars of Alzheimer’s prevention. This book sits on my bedside table, and I refer to it from time to time to remind me of my longevity goals. peterattiamd.com

A fabulous Toolkit for Sleep offers 12 tips from neurologist Andrew Huberman in a worthy fiveminute read. hubermanlab.com/newsletter/ toolkit-for-sleep

The Trails retreat – where food, mindful movement, rest and nature meet – sounds right up our (quiet and restful) alley! A two-storey log cabin available for bookings in Mono backs onto natural hardwood forest paths near the Bruce Trail and Island Lake. Yoga and functional movement classes in private or group settings too. Sounds very restful to me. thetrailsretreat.ca

that if you don’t fill your day with back-to-back meetings, you aren’t working hard enough. What baloney.

I also use time management apps on my devices to alert me when I’ve hit my daily limit (one hour and 15 minutes) on social media. Sometimes, I hit snooze for another 15 minutes, but my time spent online consuming little scrollable bits has gone down significantly.

My concept of rest is clearly changing. Is yours? I’m unlearning old habits and rejecting outdated suggestions from articles about what equates to rest. We might never get back to full days with nothing to do, no news or packages arriving, no instant social-media gratification. And I’m okay with it – I’m embracing the small moments instead.

Bethany Lee is a freelance writer who lives in Mono.

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CLASSIC DESIGN , CASUAL LUXURY

A tranquil Caledon home inspires connecting with nature, relaxing with friends and family, gracious entertaining – and a whole lot of sports.

BY GAIL GRANT • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN FITZGIBBON

‘The home is a magnet for outdoor sports enthusiasts. We have hosted football, golf and tennis weekends; we’ve enjoyed kayaking on the pond during the summer season and hockey, pond skating, crosscountry skiing and tobogganing in the winter months’

WHETHER EXTREME SKIING IN places such as the Andes or meeting the challenges of the corporate world, Carol Grant Sullivan and her husband, Brian Sullivan, enjoyed an active, fast-paced lifestyle. But in 2012, they changed course. Looking for a break from the busyness of their Toronto lives, they bought their Caledon home on Thanksgiving weekend that year.

The opportunity to spend more time in nature seemed like the right move at the right time. “Our children had recently graduated from high school, Brian was planning a slowdown from the business world, and I am able to do what I do from anywhere, so the timing seemed right for a change of pace,” says Carol.

Neither has regretted the move for a minute.

“Coming from a large family, I am accustomed to a home filled with lots of family and friends,” says Carol. And Stormont House, the Sullivans’ elegant French-country-style Caledon home named after Stormont County in the Ottawa Valley, where Carol has ancestral roots, has proven the perfect venue for large gatherings.

Stormont House, Carol and Brian Sullivan’s French-country-style Caledon home, welcomes family and friends with its blend of classic design, natural surroundings and a spirit of play.

“Our home has been the setting for many ‘Big Chill’ weekend parties, for milestone birthdays, engagements and anniversaries,” she adds.

The 88-acre property is primarily wooded, sheltered from the road, and teems with both wildflowers and wildlife. Eagles, swallows, a beaver dam and the interlacing walking trails encourage outdoor activity.

“The home is a magnet for outdoor sports enthusiasts,” says Brian. “We have hosted football, golf and tennis weekends; we’ve enjoyed kayaking on the pond during the summer season and hockey, pond skating, crosscountry skiing and tobogganing in the winter months.”

One fond memory involves the arrival of a bride-to-be for a wedding shower and outdoor lunch. For that event, Carol’s red wooden skiff, which lives on the edge of the pond during the summer months, was filled with beach balls. And family weekends are always an excuse to have some spontaneous fun, which sometimes involves hastily assembled costumes. At one gathering, family members dressed up as their favourite rock star and performed a song; at another, they dressed as their favourite tennis player.

The spacious entrance hall, home to a grand piano, basks in an abundance of natural light from floor-to-ceiling French doors, and looks through the house to the greenery that graces the pond area at the rear. The hall is flanked by a formal living room on the

left with a wood-burning fireplace and brown-velvet-covered walls, an idea Carol first saw while staying at the Art Deco Carlyle Hotel in New York City.

On the right, the sleek, up-to-themoment kitchen and breakfast room boasts a unique chandelier Carol found in New York, and enjoys an uninterrupted view north across the pond. As Carol and I chat, we are lucky enough to spot a deer cautiously choosing his route along the pond’s edge.

The kitchen flows into the red room, or the family “kick-back” room and library, which features two walls lined with bookshelves. The wood-burning fireplace and individual pieces of Carol’s locally made accessories in the form of pillows and cozy toss blankets are an invitation to curl up in front of the TV.

Throughout the home, exceptionally high ceilings with detailed and intriguing cornices range in height from 10 feet in some areas to a full 16 feet in others and, when paired with the darkstained oak floors used throughout, create a feeling of spacious elegance.

“While the rooms flow nicely together, each has its own purpose,” says Carol.

The Sullivan family are enthusiastic tennis – and hockey – fans. During the Covid years, they hired Richard Phelan, a well-known tennis court contractor, to build a tennis court on the property. Milton teenager Ellie Daniels, who was 14 at the time, was driven to the Sullivan property by

TOP LEFT: High ceilings –some soaring to 16 feet –combine with dark oak floors to give the home both formality and warmth.

TOP RIGHT: The gracious front entrance, brightened by floor-to-ceiling French doors, welcomes family and friends – and sets the tone for Stormont House’s airy elegance.

BOTTOM LEFT: The kitchen and breakfast room, anchored by a chandelier Carol Sullivan found in New York.

BOTTOM CENTRE: Classic country house ceramics reinforce the kitchen’s cheery colour palette.

BOTTOM RIGHT: The green garden room, with views in three directions, is a favourite spot for reading and napping.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

her mother most days during the pandemic lockdown to practise her game during this crucial time in her tennis development. Her coach used Bluetooth to keep their sessions on track. Ellie went on to qualify for the junior women’s circuit and continues to play on the women’s tour.

The main floor is also home to

Brian’s office, with playful zebraimprinted wallpaper adding a lively touch to his ensuite.

The spa-like principal suite on the second floor overflows with calm vibes. The gentle blue and white silk fabric used in the interior is highlighted by expansive French doors and reflects the blue sky and wisps of cloud floating by outside. Enjoying the south-facing views from the balcony off the primary bedroom with the first cup

of coffee is a perfect way to set a gentle mood for the day ahead. And if you’re lucky, you might spot an osprey or an eagle hunting in the nearby marsh.

Both Carol and Brian enjoyed the process of filling the home with furniture that combined old family treasures with fresh new ones. “I was spending a good deal of time in New York during that time and discovered Bunny Williams, a designer who specializes in country

homes.

The

says Carol.

Brian and Carol credit Dee Dee Taylor Eustace of Taylor Hannah Architect, the

The

LEFT: The family’s “red room” doubles as a library and TV lounge, with shelves of books, a fireplace and Carol’s handmade pillows and throws.

TOP RIGHT: An enormous window framing the view from the home’s upper landing makes for a clever contrast with the modern, graphic wall covering and art.

BOTTOM LEFT: The creamy tones of this bedroom provide a quiet contrast to the high energy of the living spaces.

BOTTOM CENTRE: A powder room off Brian Sullivan’s office features a bold zebra wallpaper design.

BOTTOM RIGHT: A guest room pays homage to the family’s love of skiing and to Carol Sullivan’s line of home accessories and clothing, Caroline Furs.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

room with up-to-date equipment and boasts creative wall designs painted by Carol’s fitness instructor, Justine Silva, as well as the room at the centre of Carol’s business, Caroline Furs (carolinefurs.com). There, she creates and sells cashmere-backed home accessories, as well as jackets, blankets and cushions, all put

together by Nicky Di Cesare Gobbato. Stormont House hosted a very special lunch this year, following the inaugural Hudson Cup hockey tournament at Upper Canada College, played in loving memory of Carol and Brian’s son, Hudson Alexander Sullivan, who drowned tragically last summer.

All proceeds from the annual tournament are dedicated to the Hudson Sullivan Foundation,

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wraparound views to the north, east and west, invites feet-up relaxation and often encourages thoughts of an afternoon nap.

Photographs of fun family events, from skating parties to board-game tournaments to honours conferred on family members, adorn many of the home’s walls. Each serves as a reminder of the love passed from person to person in this familyoriented, 6,000-square-foot home that has settled peacefully into its surroundings.

The 2,400-square-foot two-bedroom guest house next to the pool features the same eye for detail and design as the main house, with exceptionally high ceilings, dark-stained oak flooring and a wonderful assortment of wicker furnishings, including

chairs, tables, sofas, and even lampshades and chandeliers, creating a feeling of casual luxury. The guest house is smartly outlined by trimmed spruce hedges and a flagstone patio. At Stormont House, grandchildren Casey and Wyatt Sullivan, aged three and five, are treasured regular visitors, dogs are always welcome, and laughter is never far away, a reflection of the owners’ charm and warmth – and the home’s upbeat, positive vibe.

Gail Grant is a happily retired senior who lives in Palgrave.

Baguley

A CALENDAR OF AUTUMN HAPPENINGS

COMPILED BY JANET KERR • ILLUSTRATIONS BY JIM STEWART

ARTS & LETTERS

NOW – ONGOING (THURSDAYS) : NOTTAWASAGA WEAVERS & SPINNERS WEEKLY GATHERING

Work on fibre projects, mentor one another, socialize over lunch. 10am1pm. Gibson Centre, 63 Tupper St W, Alliston. 705-435-6991; nottguild.ca

NOW – SEP 13 : BIGGEST BOOK SALE OF THE YEAR! Add to your personal library for $2 a bag. MonSat 10am-5pm. Shelburne Library, 201 Owen Sound St, Shelburne. 519925-2168; shelburnelibrary.ca

NOW – SEP 14 : ORANGEVILLE ART

GROUP’S ART SHOW & SALE – 70 YEARS OF ART IN THE COMMUNITY

A diverse collection of artworks from our accomplished members. Sep 6: reception 1-5pm. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. orangevilleartgroup.com

NOW – SEP 30 : LIBRARY CARD

SIGN-UP MONTH New card or renewal. You could win an exciting

prize! Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. Shelburne Library, 201 Owen Sound St, Shelburne. 519-925-2168; shelburnelibrary.ca

NOW – DEC 9 (EVERY OTHER TUESDAY) : AFTER HOURS WRITE CLUB Writing workshop with local author Anthony Carnovale. Free, register online. 7-8:30pm. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

SEP 23 : DOWNTOWN BOLTON PUBLIC ART WALKING TOUR Share your ideas for Caledon’s public art future. Walk less than 1.2 km, sidewalks and the Humber Valley Heritage Trail. 5-6:30pm. Humber River Centre, 28 Ann St, Bolton. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

SEP 6 – OCT 4 (SATURDAYS) : CLAY CREATIONS 101 – AGES 16+ Learn handbuilding and glazing techniques. All levels. 11am-2pm. Fee. Streams Community Hub, 305 Col. Phillips Dr, Shelburne. 289-203-8202; streamshub.org

SEP 12 – OCT 6 : ARTS ON MAIN –CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Themed and

juried exhibition of 2D and 3D artwork displayed in Main St windows of New Tecumseth. Sep 13: reception 1-3pm at FortyOne: Local Art Market. 705-4352378; southsimcoeartscouncil.com

SEP 13 – ONGOING : FIELD WORK BY PETER DUŠEK The quiet poetry and essence of rural architecture. Sep 13: reception 1-3pm. Mon-Sat 10am-4pm. Free. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 16, OCT 21, NOV 18 & DEC 16 : ORANGE THREADS Share your passion for reading and all things fibre arts. 1-2:30pm. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

SEP 17 – OCT 5 : HEADWATERS ARTS FALL FESTIVAL JURIED ART SHOW & SALE Over 70 artworks by 65+ selected artists from across Ontario. Sep 18: Opening Night Soirée, 6-9pm. Fees. Sep 21: Jurors’ Walk, 2-4pm. Caledon Culture Days, Meet the Artists/demos. Sep 26: Songcraft Sessions. Sep 27: Outdoor

Arts Market, 11am-5pm. Fall Studio Crawl, Meet the Artists/demos. Oct 4-5: Caledon Studio Tour. See website for tickets. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

SEP 19 : CULTURE DAYS DOWNTOWN ART CRAWL Artist talks, demos and activities. 6-9pm. Free. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

SEP 20 : ART IN THE HILLS OF ERIN

Explore the studio, watch a sculpture take form, try some clay with Rosalinde Baumgartner. 10am-5pm. Studio Artevoke, 5949 Wellington Rd 26, Belwood. artevoke.com

SEP 20 : EARTH & FIRE: CLAY & GLASS FESTIVAL Over 30 vendors, kids’ crafts, workshops, glass gallery tours, food and drink vendors. Part of Culture Days. Fee. 10am-5pm. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 20 : EARTH & FIRE: WHEELTHROWING WORKSHOP – AGES 14+

Beginner-friendly workshops with Sandra Sobolewski. Create a piece to be glazed, fired and picked up later. 10:15 & 11:15am, 1 & 2pm. 10:15am-2:45pm. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 20 : MARY SCATTERGOOD STUDIO OPEN HOUSE Please join us! Sale. 10am-5pm. Mary Scattergood Studio and Gallery, 20451 Porterfield Rd, Caledon. 416998-2008; maryscattergood.com

SEP 20, OCT 18 & NOV 15 : NOTTAWASAGA WEAVERS & SPINNERS

MONTHLY MEETINGS Speakers, workshops, excursions and fibre arts techniques. 1-3pm. Gibson Centre, 63 Tupper St W, Alliston. 705-435-6991; nottguild.ca

SEP 21 : PAINTING WITH NATURE

Breathe and relax with Fabienne Good and Darlene Hostrawser. Part of Culture Days. 1-3pm. Free. 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-941-9300; altonmill.ca

SEP 23 : STORY-SHARING CIRCLE

Read a book(s) by an Indigenous author, then share its impact. Free, register online. 7-8:30pm. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

SEP 27 : COZY KNITS DIY PUMPKIN PATCH – AGES 16+ Hand crochet three plush pumpkins. All levels. 11am12:30pm. Fee. Streams Community Hub, 305 Col. Phillips Dr, Shelburne. 289-203-8202; streamshub.org

SEP 27 : ART & POSTER WORKSHOPS FOR BELFOUNTAIN’S BICENTENNIAL BASH Create posters and pennant flags using heritage block printing. Walk-ins welcome. Children 13 & under with an adult. 1-4pm. Free. Belfountain Community Hall, 17204 Main St, Belfountain. Belfountain Heritage Society, 519-3160060; belfountain-heritage.com

ABBREVIATIONS

CCS

Caledon Community Services

CLD

Community Living Dufferin

CMHA

Canadian Mental Health Association

CMOW

Caledon Meals on Wheels

CVC

Credit Valley Conservation

DCAFS

Dufferin Child and Family Services

EWCS East Wellington Community Services

FTP Family Transition Place

MOD Museum of Dufferin

PAMA

Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives

SBEC

Small Business Enterprise Centre

SEP 27 : CALEDON CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL Artisan market, live music, authors, workshops and visual art showcase. Part of Culture Days. Noon-5pm. Free. Caledon East Community Complex, Caledon East. Town of Caledon Recreation & Culture, 905-584-2272; caledon.ca

SEP 27 : MOD STUDIO: BOTANICAL INK CARDS – AGES 16+ Turn simple plants from our gardens into stunning cards. Supplies provided. 1:30-3pm. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 27 & 28 : HANDCRAFTED WITH LOVE – ARTISAN MARKET Curated selection of 20+ local vendors. 10am4pm. 1137 Boston Mills Rd, Caledon. 905-838-2520; spirittreecider.com

OCT 3 – 5 : CREEMORE ARTS FEST Artists on location, concerts, interactive exhibits and family-friendly fun. See website for tickets. Creemore Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E, Creemore. Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society, 705-466-9906; phahs.ca

OCT 4 – 5 : CALEDON STUDIO TOUR

Scenic, self-guided road trip to 12+ studios and 40+ artists. Part of Culture Days. 10am-4pm. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

OCT 4 – 13 : PAINT HISTORIC BELFOUNTAIN Artworks created will be curated and displayed at Belfountain’s 200th Anniversary celebrations. Belfountain Community Hall, 17204 Main St, Belfountain. Belfountain Heritage Society, 519-3160060; belfountain-heritage.com

OCT 8 – NOV 9 : DECONSTRUCTED NATURE Art show and sale by Kareen Hague, Cindy Lam, Lori Fonger and Leah Olsen-Kent. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

OCT 10 : MOD STUDIO: FALL HARVEST CENTREPIECE – AGES 16+ Use plants/natural materials from the museum grounds and gardens. All supplies provided. 1:30-2:30pm. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

OCT 18 : MOD MASTERCLASS: BASKET WEAVING WITH FABIENNE GOOD Learn traditional methods using recycled magazines. 1-2pm. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 519-941-1114; dufferinmueum.com

OCT 25 : PLASTER & PIGMENT: EXPLORING TEXTURE – AGES 16+ Explore texture and colour to create bold abstract art. All levels. 11am2pm. Fee. Streams Community Hub, 305 Col. Phillips Dr, Shelburne. 289-203-8202; streamshub.org

OCT 26 : AUTHORS ON STAGE: CHRIS HADFIELD World-renowned astronaut, fighter pilot and bestselling author speaks with Bernadette Hardaker. Reception following. 7-9:30pm. Fee, at Theatre Orangeville 519-942-3423 or BookLore 519-9423830. Orangeville Town Hall Opera

House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. BookLore, Theatre Orangeville, 519942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

OCT 29 : AUTHOR TALK – ISAAC MURDOCH Knowledge keeper and storyteller Bomgiizhik Isaac Murdoc launches a new book of Anishinaabe traditional stories for all. 7-8pm. Free, register. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

OCT 29 : MOD STUDIO: MAKE YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN CANDLES –AGES 16+ Customizable shapes, scents and colours. Supplies provided. Fee, register online. 1:30-2:30pm. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

NOV 1 : SEASONAL WRAPSODY Over 30 vendors selling locally handmade items. Demos. 9am-4pm. Fee. The Gibson Centre for Community, Arts and Culture, 63 Tupper St W, Alliston. Nottawasaga Handweavers and Spinners Guild, 705-435-6991; nottguild.ca

NOV 1 : COZY KNITS DIY BLANKET –AGES 16+ Create your own chunky knit blanket. All levels. Materials included. 11:30am-3:30pm. Fee. Streams Community Hub, 305 Col. Phillips Dr, Shelburne. 289203-8202; streamshub.org

NOV 7 – 9 : AUTUMN ART SALE FUNDRAISER Shop original art and sculpture by contemporary Canadian artists. Proceeds to McMichael Volunteer Committee artists and projects. Opening Night Reception & Sale: Fri 6-10 pm. Sale: Sat Sun 10am-5pm. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 10365 Islington Ave, Vaughan. mcmichael.com

NOV 12 – JAN 4 : ARTFUL GIVING –ANNUAL CHRISTMAS ARTISAN GIFT & FINE ART SALE Beautifully crafted items in various media from 30+ vendors. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Free. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-943-1149; headwatersarts.org

NOV 15 : CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE & ARTISAN MARKET Outdoor market, baking samples, hot cider, Santa and Mrs. Claus. Noon-3pm. 1137 Boston Mills Rd, Caledon. 905838-2520; spirittreecider.com

NOV 23 : AUTHORS ON STAGE:

ALAN DOYLE Celebrated musician, songwriter and author speaks with Bernadette Hardaker. Reception following. 7-9:30pm. Fee, at Theatre Orangeville 519-942-3423 or BookLore 519-942-3830. Orangeville Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. BookLore, Theatre Orangeville, 519942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

COMMUNITY

FARMERS’ MARKETS

ORANGEVILLE WINTER

FARMERS’ MARKET: Nov 1 – Apr 18, Saturdays, 9am-1pm. 87 Broadway. orangevillefarmersmarket.ca

ORANGEVILLE : Saturdays, 8am-1pm, to Oct 18. Second St and Broadway. orangevillefarmersmarket.ca

CREEMORE : Saturdays, 9am-1pm, to Oct 25. Creemore Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E. creemorefarmersmarket.ca

ALLISTON DOWNTOWN MARKET: Sundays, 9am-2pm, to Sep 21. Centre St & Victoria St. allistonbia.com

ERIN : Thursdays, 3-6:30pm, to Sep 25. Erin Fairgrounds, 184 Main St. erinfarmersmarket.ca

NOW – DEC 22 (MONDAYS) : CMHA PEEL DUFFERIN – RAPID ACCESS ADDICTION CLINIC Lowbarrier, immediate access and care for substance use management. 10am. Caledon Specialist Clinic, 18 King St, Bolton. CCS, 905-451-2123; ccs4u.org

SEP 6 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE BINGO TOURNAMENT & LUNCH Quiche. Check-in 9:30am, bingo 10am, lunch at noon. Cost includes three bingo cards and prizes! 9:30am-2pm. Fees, call by Sep 4 to register. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

SEP 6, 13 & 20 : FLOODS, FIRES & FORTITUDE: A HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR Jay Wilson weaves dramatic storytelling with a touch of theatrical magic. Rain or shine. Wear comfortable shoes. 10:30am. Fees, use promo code EARLY to save 20% if purchased at

least two days in advance. 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-941-9300; altonmill.ca

SEP 7 : AIRPORT DAY! Activities, tours, entertainment and the Great War Flying Museum. Proceeds to CCS. Donations of nonperishable food, baby essentials or money gratefully accepted. 10am-4pm. Brampton Flight Centre, 13691 McLaughlin Rd, Cheltenham. Brampton Flying Club, 905-8381400; bramptonflightcentre.com

SEP 9, OCT 14 & NOV 11 : ORANGEVILLE & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY MEETINGS Sep 9: Falling for Autumn and Flower Show. Oct 14: Mycology 101. Nov 11: Decorating for the Holidays and AGM. Bring a mug, prizes. 6:30-8:30pm. Orangeville Seniors’ Centre, 26 Bythia St, Orangeville. orangevillehort.com

SEP 10, OCT 8 & NOV 12 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE SPECIAL LUNCHES Sep 10: BBQ hamburgers/ hot dogs. Oct 8: Peameal bacon. Nov 12: Grilled cheese. Pick-up 11:45 am, dine-in at noon. Everyone welcome! 11:45am-1pm. Fees, call two days prior to register. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton, 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

SEP 11 : ORANGEVILLE HYDRO’S CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY Join us for pizza, bucket truck rides, swag and fun! 5-7pm. Free. 400 C Ln, Orangeville. 519-942-8000; orangevillehydro.on.ca

SEP 11, OCT 9 & NOV 13 : ORANGEVILLE & DISTRICT PROBUS MEETINGS

A club for socially engaged people, retired or semiretired. Guests welcome. Sep 11: David Phillips. Oct 9: Kevin Donovan. Nov 13: Judge Norman Douglas. 10am. The Salvation Army New Hope Community Church, 690 Riddell Rd, Orangeville. Probus Club of Orangeville, 519-938-8934; probusorangeville.club

SEP 11, OCT 9 & NOV 13 : NEWCOMERS WEBINAR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING & SETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE Learn about Eh Cafe (English conversation circles), LINC and settlement assistance. 2:30pm. Free. Zoom. CCS, 905584-2300 x230; ccs4u.org

SEP 12 : HEADWATERS PRESENTS UNDER THE BIG TOP – A SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL! Live entertainment, silent and live auctions, sumptuous food, dazzling cocktails. Proceeds to Headwaters Health Care Centre. 5:3011:30pm. Fees. Hockley Valley Resort, 793522 3rd Ln Mono. Headwaters Health Care Foundation, 519-9412702 x2303; hhcfoundation.com

SEP 12, OCT 3 & NOV 14 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE DECOUPAGE FUNDRAISING NIGHTS Sep 12: Birdhouse. Oct 3: Bottle. Nov 14: Tray. Hors d’oeuvres, supplies included. Cash bar. 7-9:30pm. Fee, call to register. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

SEP 13 : MOTIONBALL MARATHON OF SPORT CALEDON Teams of 10, all abilities, join for fun and inclusive sports. Proceeds to Special Olympics Canada Foundation. 9am-4pm. Fees, register. Caledon East Community Complex, Caledon East. motionball.com

SEP 13 : HONEY GARLIC FESTIVAL Garden tours, pizza truck, vendors and our farm stand. 11am-3pm. Free. 16555 Humber Station Rd, Caledon. albionhillscommunityfarm.org

SEP 13, OCT 12 & NOV 8 : WHOLE VILLAGE ORIENTATION Tour the

farm and eco-residence. 1-4:30pm. Fee. 20725 Shaws Creek Rd, Caledon. 519-941-1099; wholevillage.org

SEP 13 & NOV 8 : PAST PURSUITS: HOUSE-HUNTING WORKSHOP

Learn more about researching historic buildings with Archivist Laura Camilleri. 10am. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 16, OCT 21 & NOV 18 : CHRIST CHURCH BOLTON COMMUNITY

SUPPER Join us for a warm meal and good company. Everyone welcome. 5-7pm. Free. 22 Nancy St, Bolton. 905857-0433; christchurchbolton.ca

SEP 16, OCT 21 & NOV 18 : LIVING INTO HOPE – GRIEF SUPPORT

GROUP Peer support group supports who you are in the midst of losing your loved one. Drop in. 1:30pm. Free. 346255 15 Sdrd, Mono. 519-941-0972; highcountryunited.weebly.com

SEP 17 & OCT 15 : CREEMORE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY MEETINGS

Sep 17: Joy in the Garden. Oct 15: Seed Collection. Nov: No speaker. 7pm. Creemore Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E, Creemore. 705466-3170; creemorehort.com

SEP 17 – OCT 22 : ERIN’S SCARECROW FESTIVAL Open to everyone in the township of Erin. Businesses and residents get together to display their custom scarecrows. #scarecrowsoferin

SEP 18 : FTP 40TH ANNIVERSARY COMMUNITY APPRECIATION OPEN HOUSE & BBQ Safety, support and hope for Dufferin and Caledon. 3-7pm. 20 Bredin Pkwy, Orangeville. 519-9424122 x243; familytransitionplace.ca

SEP 18 : HOW TO START A SMALL BUSINESS Requirements and considerations with Mark Jamieson. 5-7pm. Free. Orangeville and Area SBEC, 200 Lakeview Crt, Orangeville. 519-941-0440; orangevillebusiness.ca

SEP 18, OCT 16 & NOV 20 : HEAR WELL BE WELL: FREE HEARING HEALTH CHECKUP Drop in for basic hearing tests, hearing aid checks, cleanings and insights. 10am. Caledon Specialist Clinic, 18 King St, Bolton. CCS, 905-584-2300 x230, ccs4u.org

www.yorkdurhamheadwaters.ca

SEP 18, OCT 16 & NOV 20 : ALZHEIMER SOCIETY OF PEEL DEMENTIA DAYS

Drop in and get program information to support a family member or loved one with dementia. 10am. Caledon Specialist Clinic, 18 King St, Bolton. CCS, 905-584-2300 x230; ccs4u.org

SEP 20 : HOMETOWN HARVEST IN THE VILLAGE OF ERIN Seasonal decor, street sales, music and delicious food. 10am-3pm. Erin Chamber of Commerce, erinchamber.ca

SEP 20 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE – THE GRAND PARADE Fundraising walk supporting seniors and their families. 10am-1pm. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

SEP 20 – OCT 31 : DOWNEY’S PUMPKINFEST Wagon rides, corn maze, live entertainment, farm animals and more! 9:30am-5pm. Fees. Downey’s Farm Market, 13682 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon. 905-838-2990; downeysfarm.com

SEP 21 : DOORS OPEN BRAMPTON

Explore local architecture, join tours of the historic Peel County Jail. 1-5pm. Free. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

SEP 25 & OCT 30 : CANCER SUPPORT GROUP Peer-led group for those journeying with cancer. 1pm. Free. 346255 15 Sdrd, Mono. 519-941-0972; highcountryunited.weebly.com

SEP 26 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE MONTHLY DINNER Lasagne. Pick-up 5:15pm, dine-in at 5:30pm. Everyone welcome! 5:15-7pm. Fees, call the centre by Sep 24 at 3:30pm to register. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

SEP 27 : FALL RURAL ROMP Selfguided tour to farms, markets, nurseries and businesses in Southern Wellington County. Treasure hunt, kids’ activities, corn mazes and more. 10am-4pm. Taste Real, 519-837-2600 x2614; wellington.ca

SEP 27 : GRAVESTONES EXPLAINED! Cassandra Jasinski speaks on historic cemeteries and gravestone design. Then descriptive walk, weather

permitting. 2-4pm. Pay what you can. St Andrew’s Stone Church, 17621 St Andrew’s Rd, Caledon East. Friends of St. Andrew’s Stone Church, 519-927-5987; standchurch.org

SEP 28 : FEAST OF HOPS Local culinary and brewer expertise, live music and best-in-show competition. 1-5pm. Fee. Erin Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, 184-190 Main St, Erin. Rotary Club of Erin, 519-833-9258; erinrotary.com

SEP 29 : A STORY OF SPORTS & SURVIVAL IN CANADIAN

RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS Listen and learn from Eugene Arcand. Virtual or watch at the Humber River Centre. Town of Caledon presentation in honour of Orange Shirt Day. 6-7pm. Free, register. Humber River Centre, 28 Ann St, Bolton. Town of Caledon Recreation & Culture, 905-584-2272; caledon.ca

SEP 30 & OCT 25 : HEADWATERS

NATURE MONTHLY MEETINGS

Sep 30: Orchids of Bruce/Grey Counties. Oct 25: Ontario Fish. 7pm. Donations welcome. Orangeville and District Seniors’ Centre, 26 Bythia St, Orangeville. 519-217-2645; onheadwatersnature.ca

OCT 2 : CARING FOR YOUR YARD

WEBINAR Practices to prepare for winter while providing habitats for birds and pollinators. 7-8pm. Free. Virtual, 1-800-668-5557; cvc.ca

OCT 2 : ORANGEVILLE & AREA JOB

FAIR Connecting Dufferin County employers with local job seekers! 3-7pm. Free. Best Western, 7 Buena Vista Dr, Orangeville. Orangeville & Area SBEC, 519-941-0440; orangevillebusiness.ca

OCT 3 – 4 : TUFF THERAPEUTIC RIDING FOUNDATION CLOTHING

SALE New and gently used high-end clothing and accessories. Proceeds to our program promoting mental health and wellness for at-risk youth. 10am-7pm. Free. 4458 Con Rd 4, Adjala, Loretto. tufftherapeuticriding.com

OCT 4 : WESTMINSTER HARVEST HOME BAZAAR Bake table, crafts, penny auction, fresh-pressed apple cider (bring a jar). Vendors on-site. 9am-2pm. Free. 247 Broadway, Orangeville. 519941-0381; westminsterorangeville.ca

OCT 4 : CALEDON CULTUREFEST

Celebrate and experience food, dance, crafts and more. 11am-3pm. Free. Humber River Centre, 28 Ann St, Bolton. Town of Caledon Recreation & Culture, 905-584-2272; caledon.ca

OCT 4 : BELFOUNTAIN’S BICENTENNIAL BASH Parade, vintage cars, live music, food, family-friendly activities, art show and heritage displays. Free parking and shuttle service. 11am-5pm. Belfountain Community Hall, 17204 Main St, Belfountain. Belfountain Heritage Society, 519-3160060; belfountain-heritage.com

OCT 4 : COMMUNITY FOR COMMUNITY LIVING FALL FUNDRAISER Campfire Poets, games, art activities, Creative Partners on Stage (CPOS). Noon-4pm. Monetary donation to CLD and a nonperishable food item for Orangeville Food Bank appreciated. 065371 Cty Rd 3, East Garafraxa. 519941-8971; communitylivingdufferin.ca

OCT 4 : CALEDON HAS TALENT! Enjoy our local talent, silent auction, bistrostyle food and cash bar. Proceeds to St. James Church. 6:30-8:30pm. Fee, Janice Reed 905-838-0888 or janreed@ rogers.com. St. James Anglican Church, 6025 Old Church Rd, Caledon East. 905-584-9635; stjamescaledoneast.ca

OCT 4 – APR 12 (SATURDAYS) : TEEN RANCH PUBLIC SKATING – ALL AGES Bring your own skates and join us. 6:30-8pm. Fees. 20682 Hurontario St, Caledon. 519-941-4501; teenranch.com

OCT 5 : CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CFUW HEADWATERS Plum Johnson joins us to launch her second book, reminisce and look to the future. 1-4pm. Monora Park Pavilion, 500 Monora Park Dr, Mono. Canadian Federation of University Women, cfuwheadwaters.com

OCT 11 : THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE YOGA Cultivate mindfulness. 9:3010:30am. Free, register. Humber River Centre, 28 Ann St, Bolton. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

OCT 11 : SHELBURNE THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE Please leave food donations on your porch or by your front door by 9:30am. 9:30am-noon. Mel Lloyd Centre, 167 Centre St, Shelburne. Rotary Club of Shelburne, 519-2784578; shelburnerotaryclub.com

OCT 11 : SHELBURNE PUMPKINFEST Autumn festivities and family-friendly activities. Free pumpkins while supplies last. Noon-4pm. Natasha Paterson Memorial Park, 340 Gordon St, Shelburne. 519-278-4578; shelburnerotaryclub.com

OCT 18 : BOO ON BROADWAY & BEYOND Jack O’Lantern Carve Off, farmers’ market, free kids’ activities, petting zoo, trick or treating. 8am1pm. Orangeville BIA, 519-9420087; downtownorangeville.ca

OCT 18 : CALEDON HORSE TACK SWAP – FALL 2025 Two buildings of new and used horse equipment for sale. 10am-3pm. Caledon Fairgrounds, 18297 Hurontario St, Caledon Village. Caledon Agricultural Society, 519-925-3461; caledonfair.ca

OCT 18 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE LUNCH & EUCHRE TOURNAMENT Lasagne. Check-in 11:30am, lunch at noon, euchre tournament 1pm. Prizes and much more! 11:30am-4:30pm. Fees, call to register by Oct 16. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

FALL2025 AT THE MUSEUM

FULL CIRCLE DOCUMENTARY & Q&A

Join us for an evening with filmmakers Scott Jordan and Daryl Phillips for a screening of Full Circle. The film will be followed by Q&A hosted by Kevin Callan!

OCTOBER 4, 2025

$20+HST

MOD MASTER CLASS: BASKET WEAVING WITH FABIENNE GOOD

In this 1-hour workshop, participants will learn traditional methods of basket weaving to create their own woven basket using recycled magazines.

OCTOBER 18, 2025

PRICE $35.00 +HST

MOD STUDIO: FALL HARVEST CENTREPIECE

Design your own fall themed centrepiece, using plants and natural materials harvested from the museum grounds and gardens

OCTOBER 10, 2025

REG: $50 +HST MEMBER: $45 +HST

MOD STUDIO: MAKE YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN CANDLES

Craft your own Halloween themed candles! Select from our molds to create unique candles with customizable scents and colours.

OCTOBER 29, 2025

REG: $35 +HST

MEMBER: $31.50 +HST

OCT 23 – DEC 23 : THE SISTERS

TOUCH OF CHRISTMAS One-ofa-kind, hand-painted, personalized ornaments, bakery, decor and nativities. Thu Fri: 10am-7pm. Sat: 10am-6pm. Sun: 11am-4pm. Dec 22 & 23: 10am7pm. Free. St. Kosmas Aitolos Greek Orthodox Monastery, 14155 Caledon King Twnln S, Bolton. The Sisters, 905-859-8077; thesisterstoc.com

OCT 24 : WORLD POLIO DAY IN ORANGEVILLE Join the fight for a polio-free world. 12:30-1pm. Orangeville Town Hall, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. The Rotary Club of Orangeville, 519-939-1298; endpolio.org

OCT 24 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE

WILD WEST HOEDOWN DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT Dinner at 7pm, then Campfire Poets. Everyone welcome! 6:30-10:30pm. Fee, call the centre to register. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

OCT 24 : ELBOWS UP WHISKEY

NIGHT Curated Canadian craft whiskey nosing experience. Each ticket includes a commemorative Glencairn whiskey glass. Cash bar, silent auction. 7:3010pm. Fee. Singhampton Community Centre, Singhampton. Clearview Township Small Halls Festival, 705428-6230 x262; smallhallsfestival.ca

OCT 24, 25, 31 & NOV 1 : HAUNT IN THE PARK Huge walk-through event with 50+ live characters and candy! Evening scares are full scares, chickenout route available. Mini Boo is familyfriendly in daylight. 7-11pm: Full Scare. Oct 25, 10am-2pm: Mini Boo. Free, nonperishable food donations, cash for Shelburne Food Bank accepted. KTH Shelburne, 300 Second Ln, Shelburne. 519-925-1534; hauntinthepark.com

OCT 25 : REPAIR CAFÉ Bring whatever you need fixed. If you have repair skills, please get in touch. 10am-2pm. Free. Caledon East Community Complex, Caledon East. ecocaledon.org

OCT 25 : SAFE DRIVING FOR SENIORS Kristy Kastelic from the Ministry of Transportation presents Safe Winter

Driving and The License Renewal Process. 10:30am-2:30pm. Free. Shelburne Library, 201 Owen Sound St, Shelburne. 519-925-2168; shelburnelibrary.ca

OCT 25 : MASQUERADE ON MAIN STREET Trick or treating, costumes, candy and community fun. 11am2pm. Free. Downtown Grand Valley, Main St. Grand Valley BIA, 519-9285652; townofgrandvalley.ca

OCT 25 : THRIFTING FOR VICTORY FASHION SHOW FUNDRAISER Fabulous finds from our beautiful upscale donations. Refreshments, prizes, silent auction. Proceeds to Victory House. 1:30-5pm. Fee. Compass Community Church, 246289 Hockley Rd, Mono. Victory House in Caledon, 416-456-3560; thevictoryhouse.ca

OCT 26 : MONO MULMUR CITIZEN’S COALITION (MC 2 ) ANNUAL MEETING John Riley speaks on Environmental Land Use Planning. All welcome. 2-4pm. Free. Monora Park Pavilion, 500 Monora Park Dr, Mono. monomulmur.com

NOV 1 : FALL FOR CALEDON MEALS ON WHEELS Live music, dinner, dancing, silent auction and 50/50 draw. 6-10pm. Fees. TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, 18821 Main St, Caledon. 905-857-7651; cmow.org

NOV 2 : EMPTY BOWLS HEADWATERS Choose a handcrafted bowl, a local gourmet soup, take the bowl home. Proceeds to local food programs. 11:30am-4pm. Fee. Alton Mill Arts Centre, 1402 Queen St, Alton. Ann Randeraad, 519-938-2092; annranderaad.com

NOV 6 : PEEL REMEMBERS: THE SECOND WORLD WAR Drop-in, celebrate Peel residents through archival records for the 80th anniversary. Fee. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

NOV 6 : EXPERT IN THE LIBRARY: HONOURING OUR HEROES PAST & PRESENT Stories of service, struggle and sacrifice. 7-8:30pm. Free, register. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519-941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

NOV 7 – 9 : THE UDDER TOURNAMENT Ladies’ charitable hockey tournament, 30 women’s teams, eight divisions of skill levels. Everyone welcome. Home-cooked meals, bar, raffle, silent auction. Proceeds to Bethell Hospice. Fri 4pm-midnight. Sat 8am-midnight. Sun 9am-3pm. Angela Webster, uddertournamentsponsorship@ gmail.com. Caledon East Community Complex, Caledon East. facebook.com

NOV 8 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE CRAFT & BAKE SALE, SILENT AUCTION & MORE Peameal bacon on a bun, BBQ, refreshments and tea room. Come out and support the centre! 8am-1pm. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

NOV 8 : 3RS CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Perfect gifts, tasty treats and holiday cheer! Support local artisans. 10am4pm. Free. Monora Park Pavilion, 500 Monora Park Dr, Mono. 519941-3599; townofmono.com

NOV 9 – DEC 5 : WINE SURVIVOR A virtual, competitive, survivorstyle program for registered adult participants to compete for larger wine prizes. Fee. Rotary Club of Erin, 519-833-9258; erinrotaryclub.ca

NOV 13 : CARTERS ANNUAL CHARITY & NOT-FOR-PROFIT LAW WEBINAR

Changes to the law with Bruce MacDonald and Kenneth Hall. On-demand replay available. Webinar is eligible for 4 hours of substantive CPD credits toward the annual Law Society of Ontario and CPA Professional Development requirements. 9am-1:15pm. Fee. Carters Professional Corporation, 519-942-0001; carters.ca

NOV 15 : CHRIST CHURCH BOLTON

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Local artisans, wonderful finds, bake sale, Nearly New Room. 9am-1pm. 22 Nancy St, Bolton. 905-857-0433; christchurchbolton.ca

NOV 15 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE LUNCH & BID EUCHRE TOURNAMENT

Quiche. Check-in 11:30am, lunch at noon, bid euchre tournament 1pm. Prizes and much more! 11:30am-4:30pm. Fee, call to register by Nov 13. 7 Rotarian Way, Bolton. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

NOV 15 : NUTCRACKER GALA

Proceeds to Shelburne Food Bank and local Rotary initiatives. 6-11pm. Fees. Shelburne Golf & Country Club, 516423 Cty Rd 124, Melancthon. 519278-4578; shelburnerotaryclub.com

NOV 18, 21 & 22 : OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Fill a shoebox with school supplies, toys and hygiene items for needy children around the world. Tue 5:30-8:30pm. Fri noon-4pm. Sat 9amnoon. Broadway Pentecostal Church, 556 Broadway Ave, Orangeville. 416-697-9999; samaritanspurse.ca

NOV 21 : JOY + LIGHTS

FESTIVAL – ANNUAL

TREE LIGHTING Santa and friends light the spectacular 30 ft tree. Time TBD. 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Orangeville BIA, 519-942-0087; downtownorangeville.ca

NOV 21 : TREE LIGHTING & WINDOW WONDERLAND IN THE VILLAGE OF ERIN Tree lighting in McMillan Park 6pm. Window Wonderland reveal 6:30pm on Main St. Pony rides, reindeer visits. Parking at McMillan Park (North) and Millwood Rd (South). 6-9pm. Free. Village of Erin Main Street. Erin Chamber of Commerce, erinchamber.ca

NOV 21 – 23, 28 – 30 : JOY & LIGHTS

HOLIDAY GIFT MARKET Step into a winter wonderland inspired by European Christmas markets! Santa visits. Times TBD. 87 Broadway, Orangeville. Orangeville BIA, 519-9420087; downtownorangeville.ca

NOV 21 – 23, 28 – 30 : JOY + LIGHTS

FESTIVAL Tree lighting, Santa Claus parade, Holiday market, festive shopping, live music, Santa visits and

family-friendly festivities. Times TBD. Downtown Orangeville, Orangeville BIA, 519-942-0087; downtownorangeville.ca

NOV 22 : BETHELL HOSPICE HOLIDAY

BAZAAR Gently used treasures, vintage items, home-baked treats, plants/ greenery, hand-crafted goods and the Bethell Bistro. New location. All proceeds to Bethell Hospice Foundation. 9am-3pm. Knox United Church, 2976 Charleston Sdrd, Caledon Village. 905-838-3534 x2248; foundation.bethellhospice.org

NOV 22 : TWEEDSMUIR CHRISTMAS

BAZAAR Cookie corner, bake table, crafts and large silent auction. Something for everyone. 9am-1pm. 6 John St, Orangeville. 519-941-1334; tweedsmuirpresbyterian.org

NOV 22 : CHRISTMAS TREASURE

Crafts, treasures, decorations and bake sale. 10am-3pm. Free, coffee and treats for a donation. Trinity Primrose United Church, 200 Owen Sound St, Shelburne. 519-9252233; shelburneprimroseunited. weebly.com

NOV 23 : PAMA FALL OPEN

HOUSE New art and history exhibitions, artists, curators and community partners onsite. 1-5pm. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-7914055; pama.peelregion.ca

FALL FAIRS 2025

Please see websites for more details.

SEP 11 – 14: BRAMPTON FALL FAIR Brampton Fairgrounds, 12942 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon. 905843-0210; bramptonfair.com

SEP 12 – 14: SHELBURNE FALL FAIR

Shelburne & District Fairgrounds, 200 Fiddlepark Lane, Shelburne. facebook.com/shelburnefair

SEP 19 – 21: BOLTON FALL FAIR

Albion & Bolton Fairgrounds, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. boltonfair.ca

SEP 19 – 21: GRAND VALLEY FALL

FAIR Grand Valley Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, 60 Main St N, Grand Valley. 226-979-3724; grandvalleyfallfair.ca

OCT 10 – 13: ERIN FALL FAIR Erin Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, 190 Main St, Erin. erinfair.com CONTINUED

Saturday, October 4, 2025 · 11am – 5pm

FREE PARKING & SHUTTLE SERVICE

from Caledon Ski Club, West Lodge, 17431 Mississauga Rd. to Belfountain’s Street Party on Old Main Street

BE PART OF HISTORY!

11am: Parade – Email us to participate! 12pm: Sculpture and Plaque Unveiling Live Music from 1pm: MAXIMUM 60s, Golden Country Classics Band, Free Agents with Melyssa Kerr, and others 1:30–5pm: War of 1812 Re-enactments by the 2nd Regiment of York Militia FREE Horse-drawn Wagon Rides, Art Show, Vintage Cars, Vendors’ Market, and more! Volunteer and help make this day a success. Contact Sarah belfountainheritage@gmail.com

KIDS

NOW – ONGOING : DCAFS PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS Community resources for child and youth mental health, child welfare, developmental support services and behaviour solutions. 655 Riddell Rd, Orangeville. 519-941-1530; dcafs.on.ca

NOW – ONGOING : HAPPY DAYS A nostalgic journey through the cherished memories of childhood. Tues-Sat 10am4pm. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com,

SEP 6 – NOV 23 (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS) : DIY STUDIO TIME Create and explore with inspiration from PAMA exhibitions. 1-4pm. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-

participation required. 11am-noon. Fee, register. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 12, OCT 10, NOV 14 & DEC 12 : TEEN ADVISORY GROUP – AGES 13 TO 17 Drop in to share ideas about programs, services and collection. Earn volunteer hours. 4-5:30pm. Orangeville Library, 275 Alder St, Orangeville. 519-941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

SEP 13 : MOVIES IN THE PARK: CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD (PG-13) Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Weather permitting. 8-10pm.

Free. Lloyd Wilson Centennial Arena, 15551 McLaughlin Rd, Inglewood. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

SEP 20 : MOVIES IN THE PARK: MOANA 2

Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Weather permitting. 6:30-8pm. Free. Dennison Park, 70 Learmont Ave, Caledon. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

SEP 20 : EARTH & FIRE: WHEELTHROWING WORKSHOP – AGES 14+ Beginner-friendly workshops with Sandra Sobolewski. Create one piece to be glazed, fired and picked up later. 10:15 & 11:15am, 1 & 2pm. 10:15am-2:45pm. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 21 & OCT 11 : LITTLE MERMAID SWIM WITH REAL MERMAIDS! Drop in and sing your heart out to the Little Mermaid soundtrack! Sep 21: SouthFields Community Centre, Caledon. Oct 11: Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness, Bolton. 1-2:30pm. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

SEP 24 : MOD TOTS: FALL HARVEST –AGES 1 TO 4 Tot-friendly harvest crafts and sensory play! Caregiver participation required. Fee, register. 11am-noon. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

SEP 25 : EXPERT IN THE LIBRARY: RAISING DIGITAL CITIZENS –KEEPING KIDS SAFE ONLINE

Experienced psychologists help parents navigate the digital world. 7-8:30pm. Free, register online. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

SEP 26, OCT 24 & NOV 28 : TEEN CHRONICLES BOOK CLUB – AGES 13 TO 17 Chat about books and meet friends. Earn volunteer hours by leading or writing reviews. 4-5pm. Orangeville Library, 275 Alder St, Orangeville. 519-941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

SEP 27 : GIVE IT A WHIRL – AGES 13+ Join encaustic artist Karen Brown and try painting with coloured beeswax. No experience required. Materials provided. Part of Culture Days. 11am, 1 & 3pm. Free, register at classes@ altonmill.ca. 11am-4pm. 1402 Queen St, Alton. 519-941-9300; altonmill.ca

SEP 27 & 28 : ART AT THE PARK –CHILDREN’S PROGRAM Guided projects using various materials. 11-noon and 1-2pm. Free, register. Sep 27: RJA Potts Memorial Park, 125 Pembrook St, Bolton. Sep 28: Dennison Park, 70 Learmont Ave, Caledon. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

SEP 29, OCT 27 & NOV 24 : AFTER SCHOOL CLUB – AGES 7 TO 12 Drop in for fun DIY activities, STEM, games and crafts. Children 9 and under with an adult in the library. 4:30-5:30pm. Orangeville Library, 1 Mill St, Orangeville. 519-941-0610; orangevillelibrary.ca

OCT 11 : ZINE WORKSHOP WITH PAMA – AGES 12+ Make your own beginner-friendly, one-sheet zine. 1-3pm. Free, register. Caledon East Community Complex, Caledon East. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

OCT 18 : HALLOWEEN AT THE “BOOSEUM” Monstrous creations and messy experiments. 10:30am, noon, 1:30 and 3pm. 10:30am-4pm. Register. PAMA, 9 Wellington St E, Brampton. 905-791-4055; pama.peelregion.ca

OCT 24, NOV 28, JAN 30 & FEB 13 : TEEN RANCH PD/PA DAY CAMPS – AGES 5 TO 12 Outdoor adventure, creative programs. Optional hockey skill development add-on. 8:30am4:30pm. Fees. 20682 Hurontario St, Caledon. 519-941-4501; teenranch.com

OCT 25 : TRICK OR TREAT MAIN STREET IN THE VILLAGE OF ERIN Fun treat seeking at participating businesses and more! 11am-1pm. Erin Chamber of Commerce, erinchamber.ca

OCT 25 : HOGWARTS IN CALEDON Owl adoption, potions, herbology, dragon eggs, quidditch and more! 11am3pm. 16379 The Gore Rd, Caledon East. 647-526-7645; kingscollegeschool.ca

OCT 26 : MONO’S CHILDREN’S

HALLOWEEN PARTY Tricks, treats and endless fun! 3-5pm. Fee, register online. Mono Community Centre, Mono. 519-941-3599; townofmono.com

NOV 15 : STREAMS WORD OF MOUTH MONOLOGUE COMPETITION –AGES 8 TO 17 Submit your monologue performance Sep 15-Oct 12 to enter. Finalists will be in our live showcase Nov 15. 3-5pm. Free, donations appreciated. Grace Tipling Hall, 203 Main St E Shelburne. Streams Community Hub, 289-203-8202; streamshub.org

NOV 21 – 23, 28 – 30 : SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN JR Hilarious situations, snappy dialogue and hit parade score. Fri Sat 7:30pm. Sun 2pm. Fee. Grace Tipling Hall, 203 Main St E, Shelburne. 519-9399038; lpstageproductionsinc.com

NOV 22 : JOY + LIGHTS FESTIVAL –SANTA CLAUS PARADE BROADWAY EDITION Dazzling floats, cheerful characters and joyful holiday spirit. Time TBD. Downtown Orangeville, Orangeville BIA, 519-942-0087; downtownorangeville.ca

NOV 22, 23, 29, 30, DEC 5 – 7 : ALICE IN WONDERLAND – TRADITIONAL PANTOMIME BY BEN CROCKER

A white rabbit leads Alice to a place like no other! Audience participation. Fri 7:30pm. Sat Sun 2pm. Fee. 72 Trafalgar Rd, Hillsburgh. 519-8554586; centurychurchtheatre.com

MUSIC

SEP – NOV: LIVE MUSIC AT ROSE THEATRE All performances at 8pm unless noted. Fee. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. 905-874-2800; rosetheatre.ca

SEP 7 : MORGAN JAMES FEATURING THE B-JAZZED ORCHESTRA Soulful and soaring arrangements. 7pm

OCT 4 : FLOW FEST Global percussion, movement and community. 7pm

OCT 9 : THE POETS: A TRAGICALLY HIP TRIBUTE PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GORD

DOWNIE & CHANIE WENJACK FUND Cree band channels the spirit of The Hip.

LINK DIRECTLY TO OUR ADVERTISERS AT INTHEHILLS.CA

107 McMichael Canadian Art Collection Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser

26 Ontario Culture Days 104 Small Halls Festival

FARM RECREATION

34 Erin Hill Acres

FASHION & JEWELLERY

46 A.M. Korsten Jewellers

36 Amorettos

28 Gallery Gemma

37 Hannah’s

47 Scented Drawer Fine Lingerie

46 Seconds Count Hospital Thrift Store

Bistro

The Busholme Gastro Pub

The Craft Pizza Bar & Italian Eatery

The Globe Rosemont

Two Brothers at Osprey Valley

Two Brothers at Osprey Valley

English Toffee Labradors

Caledon Community Services Home for the Holidays Gala

Caledon Studio Tour 26 Creative Arts Festival 68 Creemore Arts Festival 26 Culture Fest 37 Elliott Tree Farm Christmas Tree Experience 37 Erin Fall Fair 34 Erin Hill Acres Christmas Market & Tree Farm Opening

Erin Hill Acres Rural Romp Harvest Market 106 Fall Festival at the Alton Mill

45 Headwaters Arts 29th Annual Fall Festival Juried Art Show & Sale

FENCING

79 McGuire Fence

FINANCIAL SERVICES

18 BMO Nesbitt Burns Wealth Management, N. Meek

12 RBC Dominion Securities, S. Roud

FIREPLACE SALES & SERVICE

76 Caledon Fireplace

FLOWERS

16 Orangeville Flowers

47 Suzanne Gardner Flowers

37 The Village Green Florist

FOOD, DRINK & CATERING

67 Albion Hills Community Farm

86 Heatherlea Butchery & Cafe

36 Holtom’s Bakery

67 Lost Bear Market

67 Ontario Honey Creations

67 Orangeville Farmers’ Market

25 Rock Garden Farms

21 Rosemont General Store and Kitchen

46 Son of a Chef Bakery

67 Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

47 The Chocolate Shop

67 Wicked Shortbread

20 YF Patissier Chocolatier

GIFT BASKETS

46 More Than Just Baskets

OCT 10 : MOKSHA BY THIRD SPACE: THE SACRED STRINGS OF THE SUBCONTINENT Indian classical music with four world-class artists. 7:30pm

OCT 11 : THE ROSE ORCHESTRA –MY COUNTRY, MY LAND: A CELEBRATION OF CANADA & BOHEMIA Smetana’s The Moldau and Beethoven’s majestic Triple Concerto featuring the Bedford Trio. 7:30pm

OCT 23 : CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER

The world’s best-selling album filled with unmatched musical brilliance.

OCT 24 : THIS IS BRAMPTON: BOLLYWOOD MASHUP CURATED BY HARITA & RAJAN DESAI

Timeless Bollywood melodies with contemporary sounds.

OCT 25 : TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: FIESTA SINFÓNICA

Sultry classics and highenergy showpieces. 2pm

OCT 25 : THIS IS BRAMPTON: THE BLACKLIGHT CONCERT CURATED BY CONNOISSEUR

GHOST Celebrate Brampton’s vibrant and diverse hiphop and R&B scene.

OCT 30 : THIS IS BRAMPTON: RISING VIBES CURATED BY TCSPADES Dynamic hiphop and R&B showcase.

OCT 30 : TOM MORELLO: A NIGHT OF STORIES & MUSIC Rage Against the Machine’s guitar virtuoso is a one-man revolution.

NOV 19 : JANN ARDEN CHRISTMAS TOUR Music, humour and heartfelt storytelling from this multiplatinum award winner.

SEP 13 – NOV 8: SMALL HALLS FESTIVAL – MUSIC EVENTS Fee. Cash only. No ATM. 705-428-6230 x262; smallhallsfestival.ca

SEP 26 : NEWFOUNDLAND SONGBOOK Shipyard Kitchen Party celebrates rich history, culture and spirit. 7:30pm. Creemore Station on the Green

OCT 4 : ANDREW HYATT CONCERT –AGES 19+ Stories, songs and soul. 8pm. Duntroon Hall

NOV 1 : SHARE A SONG WITH SOHAYLA SMITH – ALL AGES Sing along or listen in. 1:30pm. Singhampton Community Centre

NOV 1 : SOHAYLA SMITH A soulful evening paired with local gourmet food. 7:30pm. Singhampton Community Centre

NOV 6 : SONGWRITERS THAT ROCK Father-daughter duos Jason and Emilia Redman, Chuck and Ella Baker. 7pm. Nottawa Memorial Community Centre

OCT 3 – 5 : CREEMORE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS – MUSIC EVENTS Fee. Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society, 705-466-9906; phahs.ca

OCT 3 : BEGONIA Canada’s breakout alt-diva. 8pm. Avening Community Centre, Avening.

OCT 4 : ELLIOTT BROOD Meticulous, boisterous and entertaining. 8pm. Avening Community Centre, Avening.

SEP 27 : CALEDON CHAMBER

CONCERTS PRESENTS REBEKAH & JURECKA DUO An evening of jazz, classical, world music and fiddle. 7:30-9:30pm. Fee. St. James Anglican Church, 6025 Old Church Rd, Caledon East. 905-838-0888; caledonchamberconcerts.com

OCT 4 : THE ROUTES OF COUNTRY

MUSIC Travelling history with The Muir Family Band. 2-4pm. Fee. Century Church, 72 Trafalgar Rd, Hillsburgh. 519855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com

OCT 18 : A CONCERT OF THANKSGIVING Beautiful music to soothe your soul. Please bring a donation for the Salvation Army food pantry. 3-5pm. New Hope Community Church, 690 Riddell Rd, Orangeville. orangevillecommunityband.ca

OCT 18 : CALEDON CHAMBER

CONCERTS PRESENTS JARRED DUNN Evocative, mystical and technically perfect. 7:30-9:30pm. Fees. St. James Anglican Church, 6025 Old Church Rd, Caledon East. 905-838-0888; caledonchamberconcerts.com

Michele

Sue Collis, Sarah MacLean

89 Coldwell Banker, Ronan Realty

Britton Ronan, Marc Ronan, Sarah Lunn 109 Cornerstone

Nancy Urekar

19 Harvey Kalles

Hilary Matthews

93 Moffat Dunlap Real Estate

Moffat Dunlap, John Dunlap, Nik Bonellos, Elizabeth Campbell, Courtney Murgatroyd, Sean

Wynn, Mark Campbell

90 ReMax In The Hills

Chris Richie, Karen Caulfield, Carmela Gagliese-Scoles, Sean Anderson, Dale Poremba, Jennifer Unger

85 ReMax Realty Specialists Inc.

Sigrid Doherty

92 Royal LePage Credit Valley

Rita Lange

87 Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty

Denise Dilbey

90 Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty

Paul Richardson

33 Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty

Tom Linkletter

95 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Doug & Chris Schild

44, 94 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Suzanne Lawrence

92 Royal LePage RCR Realty

Victoria Phillips & Janna Imrie

12, 88 Royal Le Page RCR Realty

Wayne Baguley

91 Sutton-Headwaters Realty

Jim Wallace, Rebecca Wallace, Sarah Aston, Dillon Holden

RECREATION

106 Mansfield Outdoor Centre

SENIORS’ SERVICES

8 Avalon Retirement Lodge

57 Headwaters Home Care

71 Lord Dufferin Centre

TOURISM & TRAVEL

101 Central Counties Tourism

46–47 Orangeville BIA

26–27 Town of Caledon

36–37 Town of Erin

TREES

37 Elliott Tree Farm

109 Lloyd Brown Tree Services

WEDDINGS

25 Alton Mill Arts Centre

4 Mrs. Mitchell’s

OUTDOOR

NOW – OCT 12 (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS) : WEEKEND MAPLE

SUGARBUSH EXPERIENCE TOUR & TASTING Guided sugarbush and museum tour. Tasting flights. 10:30am or 12:30pm. 9467 Erin East Garafraxa Twnln, Hillsburgh. 519216-0699; elliotttreefarm.ca

NOW – DEC 1 : TEEN RANCH FALL

TRAIL RIDES – AGES 10+ Gentle terrain with walk and trot. Weight limit 250 lbs/rider. 8am-5pm. Fees, register. 20682 Hurontario St, Caledon. 519-941-4501; teenranch.com

SEP 8 : CALEDON SENIORS’ CENTRE CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT Lunch, 18 holes, cart, prizes and more. Register 11am, lunch at noon, tee off 1pm shotgun train. 11am-6pm. Fees, register. Glen Eagle Golf Club, 15731 RR 50, Caledon. 905-951-6114; caledonseniors.ca

SEP 14 : BIRDS ON THE MOVE: A MIGRATION MORNING Lighthearted birding walk. No experience needed. Wear comfy shoes, bring thermos and binoculars. 8-10am. Fee, register. 937365 Airport Rd, Mulmur. 705-4354479; mansfieldoutdoorcentre.ca

SEP 18 : “FORE” HONEYWOOD

GOLF TOURNAMENT Shotgun start (scramble), lunch, cart, SWAG bags, contests and prizes. Rain or shine. Sponsorship opportunities. Proceeds to Honeywood Arena Renovation Fund. 8am. Fees, register. Shelburne Golf and Country Club, 516423 Cty Rd 124, Melancthon. Township of Mulmur, 705-466-3341; mulmur.ca

SEP 20 & 21 : SOUND BATH & YOGA AT THE PARK – AGES 18+ Reconnect with nature and your body. All levels, bring a yoga mat, water and any props. Weather dependent. Free, register. Sep 20: 11am-noon, Lloyd Wilson Centennial Park, 15551 McLaughlin Rd, Inglewood. Sep 21: 2-3pm, John Clarkson Park, 415 Dougall Ave, Caledon. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

Visit us online

For up-to-date listings between issues, and for more details, go to inthehills.ca/events.

To submit your community, arts or nonprofit event: Select “What’s On” from the menu bar at inthehills.ca.

That will take you to the listings page. Select “Add Your Community Event” and complete the easy form.

Submit by Friday, October 17, 2025 for the winter (November) issue.

We reserve the right to edit submissions for print and web. inthehills.ca

SEP 27 : DUFFERIN FARM TOUR

Self-guided tour, farm-related activities and local produce. 9am4pm. Free, nonperishable food donation or cash for the food bank appreciated. dufferinfarmtour.com

SEP 27 : BRAMPTON TOUGH RUN

The 5 km run features paddle boats, tire flips and a ski hill climb. 9:30amnoon. Fee, register. Chinguacousy Park, 9050 Bramalea Rd, Brampton. City of Brampton, 416-270-8065; brampton.ca

SEP 27 : THE FARMERS’ WAY Tour of market gardens to working farms. Includes bus and farm-fresh lunch. 9:30am-4pm. Fee. Creemore Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E, Creemore. Clearview Township Small Halls Festival, 705-428-6230 x262; smallhallsfestival.ca

SEP 27 – OCT 19 (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS) & OCT 13 : FALL WAGON RIDES AT TERRA COTTA Interactive guided tour by group reservation only. Up

to 20 people per reservation. 11am-noon, 3-4pm. Fees. Terra Cotta Conservation Area, Halton Hills. 1-800-668-5557; cvc.ca

OCT 5 : CELEBRATING THE BRUCE TRAIL DAY – CALEDON HILLS

BRUCE TRAIL CLUB Guided hikes, bird box building, family nature hunts. Birds of Prey 11am, 1pm. 9am3pm. Free. Riverside Woods Nature Reserve, 713403 1st Ln (West Parking Lot), Mono. caledonbrucetrail.org

OCT 5 : BRUCE TRAIL DAY WITH DUFFERIN HI-LAND BRUCE

TRAIL CLUB Walk with music, kids’ scavenger hunt, bird box building. Light snacks, refreshments provided. 10am-2pm. Free. Split Rock Narrows Nature Reserve, 755437 2nd Ln EHS, Mono. dufferinbrucetrailclub.org

OCT 9 : HEADWATERS HIKE TO FIGHT

CANCER Raising much-needed funds for breast cancer care at Headwaters Health Care Centre. 3:30-7:30pm. Fee. Caledon Ski Club, 17431 Mississauga Rd, Caledon. Headwaters Health Care Foundation, 519-941-2702 x2303; hhcfoundation.com

OCT 18 : DUFFERIN HI-LAND BRUCE TRAIL CLUB’S 25 KM CHALLENGE HIKE Minimum 3.5-4 km/hour pace over challenging terrain. Serious hikers only. 8am-5pm. Fee. Boyne River Valley, Bruce Trail, 715699 1st Ln E, Mulmur. dufferinbrucetrailclub.org

OCT 19 : INTRODUCTION TO MOUNTAIN BIKING FOR ADULTS

Skills and safety taught at a relaxed pace. Working mountain bike, properly fitted helmet necessary. Dress for the weather. 9am-noon. Fee. 937365 Airport Rd, Mulmur. 705-435-4479; mansfieldoutdoorcentre.ca

OCT 19 : SMALL HALLS FESTIVAL: HIKE THE BRUCE Escorted hike for all ages and abilities. Dress for the weather. Bring water and snacks. 1-3pm. Free, register. Singhampton Community Centre, Singhampton. Clearview Township Small Halls Festival, 705428-6230 x262; smallhallsfestival.ca

OCT 25 : AMAZING RACE CLEARVIEW:

SMALL HALLS EDITION Complete wild challenges. Halloween After Party 8pm. Costumes encouraged. 10am-11:30pm.

Fee. Creemore Station on the Green, 10 Caroline St E, Creemore. Clearview Township Small Halls Festival, 705428-6230 x262; smallhallsfestival.ca

OCT 26 : BOLTON ROTARY HAUNTED

HILL WALK/RUN Enjoy the 1 km Fun

Run or 5 km course in your costume. Refreshments, scavenger hunt and prizes. Proceeds to local youth groups and activities. 9-11am. Free. Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness, Bolton. Rotary Club of Bolton, rotaryhauntedhill.com

NOV 1 : MONORA PUMPKIN TRAIL

Drop off your carved pumpkin 8am5pm to light up the Monora Trails! Then walk the Pumpkin Trail 5:30-8:30pm! 8am-8:30pm. Free. Monora Park Pavilion, 500 Monora Park Dr, Mono. 519-941-3599; townofmono.com

THEATRE & FILM

SEP 6, 7, 12 & 13 : ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN Celebrate our existence, from the whimsy of childhood to the wisdom of old age. Fri 8:15pm. Sat 2:15 & 8:15pm. Sun 2:15pm. Fee. 18365 Hurontario St, Caledon. 519-9275460; caledontownhallplayers.com

SEP 7, 13, 14, 19 – 21 : MELVILLE BOYS BY NORM FOSTER A tenderly funny and unsentimental look at four lives in transition. Fri Sat 7:30pm. Sun 2pm. Fee. 72 Trafalgar Rd, Hillsburgh. 519855-4586; centurychurchtheatre.com

SEP 17, 19 & 21 : THE NORM EFFECT: A THREE-DAY ADVENTURE THROUGH FOSTER’S WORLD Three Foster plays, all by and starring Norm Foster with esteemed actors and friends. Wed 7:30pm: On a First Name Basis. Fri 7:30pm: The Writer. Sun 2pm: Jonas & Barry in the Home (with David Nairn). Fee. Orangeville Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

SEP 29, OCT 20, NOV 10 & DEC 1 : MONDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES See website for our season. 4:30, 7 and 9:1pm. Fee, cash only at BookLore or Galaxy at the door. Galaxy Cinemas Orangeville, 85 5th Ave. mondaynightmovies.ca

9:00am Forest Bathing

10:00am Exploring

Riverside Woods

10:15am Upland Side Trail

12:15pm Nature Walk

12:15pm Exploring

Riverside Woods

9:30am Family Nature Hunt

11:00am Birds of Prey Show

1:45pm Family Nature Hunt

1:00pm Birds of Prey Show

Sponsored by:

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OCT 2 : SCOTT THOMPSON AS BUDDY COLE Kids in the Hall’s most famous character with hilarious and incendiary monologues. Mature content. 8pm. Fee. The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

OCT 4 : FULL CIRCLE – 10 DAYS CIRCUMNAVIGATING KILLARNEY PROVINCIAL PARK Filmmakers Scott Jordan and Daryl Phillips discuss their film. Q & A hosted by Kevin Callan. In partnership with Small Towns, Big Ideas. 4-7pm. Fee. Airport Rd & Hwy 89, Mulmur. 1-877-941-7787; dufferinmuseum.com

OCT 4 & 5 : GOGO IN ANTHROPOS Gogo is on an odyssey of self-realization and pitfalls. Anastasia Phillips’ career spans 20 years in TV and film. Sat 10:30-3pm. Sun noon-2pm. Fee. Creemore Arts Festival. Historic Creemore Log Cabin, 151 Library St, Creemore. Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society, 705-466-9906; phahs.ca

OCT 9 : QUE THE COMEDY – AGES 19+ Come hungry for hearty food and laughs. Cash bar, cash only, no ATM onsite. 8-10pm. Fee. Nottawa Memorial Community Centre, Nottawa. Clearview Township Small Halls Festival, 705428-6230 x262; smallhallsfestival.ca

OCT 9 – 12, 15 – 19, 22 – 26 : THE A comic misadventure for modern lovers. Some mature language. Sun Wed 2pm. ThuSat 7:30pm. Fee. Orangeville Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, Orangeville. 519-942-3423; theatreorangeville.ca

OCT 11 : THIS IS BRAMPTON: TALES FROM THE JOKE KEEPERS CURATED BY DANIEL SANKER & The GTA’s top comedians and a stellar musical performance. 8pm. Fee. The Rose Studio, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

OCT 17 : THIS IS BRAMPTON: FLOWER CITY SLAM CURATED BY THE WILD WOMAN Brampton’s premier poetry slam competition! $500 in prizes. 8pm. Fee. The Rose Studio, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

OCT 23 : THE JAY MARTIN COMEDY SERIES: ALL-STAR EDITION Nine of the best together for the greatest show yet! 8pm. Fee. The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

OCT 24 : MOVIES IN THE PARK: HALLOWEENTOWN (PG) Drive-in or bring a lawn chair and blanket. First come, first served. Please bring a nonperishable food donation for CCS. Halloween costume contest! 6-9pm. Free. Caledon Village Fairgrounds, 18297 Hurontario St, Caledon Village. Town of Caledon, 905-584-2272 x4376; caledon.ca

NOV 6 – 9 : THE PRINCE OF EGYPT BY BRAMPTON MUSIC THEATRE

Powerful musical of identity, faith and the enduring strength of the human spirit. Thu Fri 7:30pm. Sat Sun 1 & 7:30pm. Fee. The Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Ln, Brampton. Brampton On Stage, 905-874-2800; tickets.brampton.ca

NOV 7 – 9, 14 – 16, 21 – 23 : WILLOW QUARTET By Joan Burrows. Kim navigates grief to a new normal. A drama about choices, consequences and forgiveness. Fri Sat 8:15pm. Sun 2:15pm. Fee. 17272 Mt Wolfe Rd & Hwy 9, Caledon. 905-880-5002; blackhorsetheatre.ca

NOV 8, 9, 14 & 15 : BENDING THE TRUTH

A comedy by Londos D’Arrigo. The result of a donation turns up on Simon’s doorstep and changes his fate as a writer. Fri 8:15pm. Sat 2:15, dinner theatre 6:30, show 8:15pm. Sun 2:15pm. Fee. 18365 Hurontario St, Caledon Village. 519-927-5460; caledontownhallplayers.com

MARKETPLACE

OSCAR AND SPORT, ERIN’S WAR DOG

FOR YEARS AFTER WORLD WAR II, Sport, a dog whose reddish coat suggested a large dollop of Irish terrier in his lineage, was a familiar sight on Erin’s Main Street. Trotting along purposefully, Sport was often on a mission. Tucked into his collar was a note that his owner wanted delivered, and Sport intended to carry out his mission – for carrying out missions was what he had been trained to do.

That training had taken place in England, where Staff Sergeant Oscar Steky was stationed with the No. 1 Canadian General Reinforcement Unit. A trained chiropodist and shoemaker, Oscar had shortened his Serbian last

name, Stekovich, and opened a practice on Erin’s Main Street in the 1930s.

Volunteering soon after war was declared, Oscar was sent to England, where his skills were in high demand. After all, foot care and boots in good repair are essential for a well-functioning infantry.

When a slightly scruffy dog strayed into the Canadian camp one day, Oscar named him Sport. The two formed a deep bond, and Oscar trained the dog to carry messages around the camp. Sport became the unit’s mascot, and when Oscar was demobbed at war’s end, he arranged to have his beloved companion shipped home.

Sport’s arrival in Erin in December 1945 was “probably

one of the happiest days of Oscar’s life,” notes author Doug Kirkwood in his book, We Will Remember Them

When the Erin branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was founded, Oscar became its first president, and Sport continued his mascot duties with the local company of the Lorne Scots Army Reserve. When he died, he was buried in the Erin fairgrounds – with full military honours provided by the Lorne Scots. Sport’s modest memorial, weathered by time, now sits in front of the Erin Legion. His service as a war dog is also honoured on the website of Veterans Affairs Canada. And when Oscar died in 1963, his funeral was also conducted according to military tradition.