 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. June 14, 2013. The Saturday is the blowout day for the Sound of Music – the day they pull out all the stops and begin with a parade with every possible group they could find to take part. As events in this city go it at times beats even the Santa Claus parade – except they don’t have the big guy in the red suit.
There is a new parade route this year. It starts at 11:00 am. at Central Park; travels along New Street and James Street to City Hall; then turns south on Brant Street, west on Lakeshore, ending at Maple Ave., featuring as always Burlington’s own Teen Tour Band and Junior Redcoats.
With the parade ending the music begins.
Here is the lineup for the first half of the day.
People will certainly want to get out onto the pier and take in the view.
Then back for the evening schedule.
 By Staff
Taking part in the Sound of Music this year was different. The people were there; the sound was as good as it usually is – but there was something difference. People walked onto the grounds of Spencer Smith Park the way they always have but this time they veered the east just a bit and out onto the expanse of this pier that leads you out into the lake.
Burlington is the only city that has a pier that juts out into the water the way ours does. Some people think there is a reason for this.
For those who wished there was an observation deck that gave people a view they had never had of the city before.
With the “quick tour” of the pier over people then headed west on the Naval promenade and on to enjoying the festival.
The line-up for today is set out below in two parts.
 Events at the pier then take a break while the public officials take the time to formally open the pier. When the festivities are over take the time to wander back and have a look at the plaque that is set up. Nice piece of public art.
 The Sound of Music Festival schedule shows bands playing while the politicians are giving speeches. Given that those politician are the people funding parts of the Sound of Music that didn’t look like a wise move to me..
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. June 13, 2013 Show time. The SOUND begins at 5:30. The schedule for tonight is set out below.
 This year, the Sound of Music may have something significant to compete with. The city is expecting to have all the gating removed from the spanking new Brant Street Pier, which will allow people to walk out onto the pier and take it all in.
 There is a lot to see – print out the map.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. June 13, 2013 The Regional Police are passing on some sound advice.
Figure out beforehand where you want to meet with all the members of your family in the event that one of them gets lost.
 The Lost and Found Tent is on the Naval promenade just to the west of the entrance to the pier that you can now walk out on. The Halton Regional Police Service want to help the public to prevent unnecessary trauma to family members who become separated while attending this year’s Burlington Sound of Music Festival being held from June 13th until June 16th.
The Service recommends you establish a pre-determined meeting place when arriving at the venue in the event you become separated. Establishing a meeting place with older children and adults and/or advising young children to go to the nearest police officer for help will ensure an immediate and safe reunion.
A ‘Missing Person’ tent has also been established at the festival. Look for the Happy Face 🙂 on the map. The tent is on what is now the Naval promenade just to the west of the entrance to the pier – which you will be able to walk out on this weekend.
 By Walter Byj, Correspondent
BURLINGTON, ON. June 11, 2102. I was asked by the publisher to give my first impression of the pier at night. I had been down to the pier with my wife after learning that the pier lights were now functioning,
So we ventured down to the lake Sunday night to experience the pier at night. I mentally set no expectations as to what to expect. I wanted to be impartial so that I could judge the pier at night in an open and honest manner.
However, emotionally, I wanted to be impressed and to have somewhat of a WoW factor when viewing the pier. I knew that there would not be neon lights flashing, this would be way over the top, but hopefully there would be a feeling that the lighting system would mesh well with the pier. In sports parlance, I wanted not just a home run, but a grand slam. I guess I set my goal too high.
I was not ecstatic with what I saw, nor was I disappointed. I felt more like the title of an old Peggy Lee song, “Is That All There Is”, a kind of hollow and empty feeling.
Perhaps being disappointed because I expected much more, I turned to my wife to get what is always her honest and truthful opinion. Her response, “Much Ado About Nothing”.
Sometimes a sober second viewing is needed. Perhaps there will be more appreciation of the pier once it has been walked on and then viewed upon leaving.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. May 22. 2013. Burlington native Bill Wood is bringing his band, The Woodies back Home to perform at Emma’s Back Porch on Thursday, June 13 at 9 PM. An ex Nelson High School Alumni – Bill Wood who is best known as the front man for Canadian Pop stars Eye Eye, had a slew of hits in the 80’s including “Out on a Limb”, “X-Ray Eyes” and “Endless Night”.
 The Woodies on a Come Back Tour – Emmas June 13 Some of the bands you may remember Wood being in include The Oh No’s where Woodie was band mate for several years with fellow Burlington boy Mychael Danna. Today Danna is a very successful Academy Award-winning film composer, winning the Best Original Score for “Life of Pi.”
Bill Wood, modestly corrects the public record and explains that he was nominated for single of the year. “I believe Glass Tiger took it home. The album was nominated twice, once for single of the year, and one for producer [Terry Brown] , but neither brought home the gold”, adds Wood.
Other Burlington bands Wood was a member included Darwin, Shadowfax, Skyballoon and Popeye.
 The stairs went in in 1992 when new management took over the rental of the building. Today what was once the “hot spot” in Burlington is now a quieter, more sedate location for brunches and special events. The picture above the clock is the restaurant in its prime. Craig Kowalchuk is opening up what many knew as the Tree Top part of Emma’s Back Porch for the event.
For those who are getting close to collecting pension cheques the Tree Top will evoke fond memories and smiles of a time when Burlington didn’t have a night life. “It was The Brant Inn and the Tree Top”, that was it.
 Back in the days when it was a more colourful establishment – these stairs were THE entrance to the Tree Top – getting up was a bit of a grunt. There are those who tumbled down. Kowalchuk has been the sole owner of Emma’s which is a very popular locale with a great deck on the lake side. Tough to get a seat much of the time.
Inside the furniture is what Kowalchuk calls “Canadian Country Cabin” which is another way of saying there was no other place to put that old furniture.
But if you look at many of the tables you will see initials carved into the surface. “A lot of broken hearts can be seen in those carvings” said one patron who was talking to Kowalchuk about the sanding and re-surfacing he wanted to do to the table tops. “No, assured Kowalchuk, we are not sanding those carvings away, we are just taking off some of the grime and then putting a better surface on them.”
Kowalchuk has run Emma’ since 1992 when he installed the grand stairway with the magnificent clock on the west side. Before that was put in the way to the top floor Tree Top was up a skinny, steep stairway. It was a grind to get up and those stairs saw more than one person tumble all the way to the bottom – with a couple of bounces.
Kowalchuk brings a background in the setting up of franchise operations for one of the better operations in the country. He understands the fundamentals and runs a pretty tight ship. He is also president of the Burlington Restaurant Association and has some concerns about the city’s banner policy.
Emmas is a little more sedate these days. Quieter, more of a family place for many.
But it wasn’t always that way. We lived in the place and we have any number of ways to prove we were legal. “We Lived at the Treetop” Bill Wood said enthusiastically.
The Woodies Come Back Tour has a cover charge – a modest $10 If the crowd wandering down around the pier is small that might be because everyone is at Emmas listening to a group that was part of a very colourful past.
 George and Emma Byrens, who purchased the building in 1919. It was once the location of the jumpingest joint in town. There was the Tree Top and the Brant Inn and that was it. Now it is a quieter, more sedate location – Mother’s Day Brunches and special occasions. The building is believed to have been the home of the Kern’s family and the place Lt. Col, William C. Kerns was born in. Kerns was a partner in Waldies, a store located on John Street and eventually became the sole owner.
There was a fire in the top floor of the building at one point and that may have been what resulted in the location becoming a restaurant.
George and Emma Byrens, who purchased the building in 1919 had the place up to 1952. That’s where the name Emmas Back Porch came from.
Somewhere the name Estaminet got put into play – why that name isn’t all that clear. Estaminet is French for a small bistro or café.
The Cooper family then bought the place and in the early 60’s they created the Tree Top lounge. At one point they had rented the place to a group from St. Catharines but that didn’t work out so they took it back.
 It’s not a street that gets used all that much. the properties to the left lost much of their value when the Conservation Authority revised the set back required for properties fronting on the lake. Now there really isn’t anything of any height that can be built on those lots. The properties to the right have significant potential if someone can assemble enough of the land and then convince the city to contribute the street and come up with [piece of land big enough for a decent development that gives the public access to the water. The Official Plan Review team will be hiring a consultant to come up with some ideas. Along the way the property was sold to Mayrose Tyco, the group that is building the Bridgewater condo complex a couple of hundred yards west on Lakeshore Road. Mayrose also owns the parking lot across the street
No one knows yet how many people are going to show up the 13th to tell the full story. We may have to promise not to identify anyone personally
An evening at the Tree Top to get yourself started on the Sound of Music festivities sounds like an interesting way to spend a weekend.
If you go this far – you will have spotted all kinds of mistakes as to who owned the place when and what it was called. Talk to three people and you will get four stories. Help get the story right – leave a comment and we will update this piece on a part of Burlington’s rich colourfull history.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 6, 2013. It’s a good idea; it should work. And if you ever wanted to try out one of those stand up paddle boards well Maria Gerow has just the thing for you.
Gerow has always thought setting up a rental location for paddle boats and deck chairs somewhere along the Beachway Park was a great idea. “I’ve had the idea for more than five years and I’ve been bugging the city for the past three years about renting the Pump House and running a rental operation out of the place”, she said.
 Many have wanted something in the Pump House – the hope was that maybe an upscale wine bar – the best that could be done was a rental outlet. The signage on the door isn’t very upscale. Perhaps there will be something better than a hand drawn sign in the near future. When the city Waterfront Access Protection Advisory Committee (it was sunset last December) recommended putting something in the building – they thought an upscale coffee shop with a nice selection of wines would be just the ticket – Gerow saw her chance and when the city ran its advertisement looking for a tenant for the space she moved real quick and got her idea in front of the right people and before she knew it – well it didn’t happen quite that fest – I mean this is city hall – she had a three year contract and opened up the last long weekend and she was in business.
 Looks easy enough and if you want to try it – Burlington Beach Rentals is the place. A Burlington resident Gerow was in insurance for some time but that entrepreneurial streak in her came to the surface and she now has a business called Burlington Beach Rentals – where you can rent paddle boats; stand up boards, chairs to sit out in the beach on with an umbrella.
Sun tan lotion, sun glasses will also be available. Small rental lockers and for those who rent chairs – WiFi is also available.
Gerow has targeted the “family friendly” market. If you’re a boozer and a carouser – don’t bother dropping by.
 Two adults or one adult and a child. Looks like fun. Prices seem reasonable and according to Gerow the demand is there. Now all she needs is some sunshine.
The Beachway will be going through a change; not in the next six months but certainly in the next few years. The Regional Planning people produced a report which they felt set out a detailed background. some feel the report was badly biased and there is a bit of a move to have the report sent back for a re-write.
However, the report is a regional document and the decision as to what will be done is a Regional decision. It will be up to the Burlington Council members to convince their fellow regional council members to accept what Burlington wants done. And that is a large part of the problem: Burlington isn’t at all clear on what it wants.
The people who live in the Beachway have made their point loud and clear – they don’t want to have to move. They like where they are and they think that if anything is done about housing in the Beachway it should be to add more housing.
 The Family Medical facility under construction will be the first part of a several phase re-build of the hospital. When completed it will change fundamentally the way people see and use the west end of LAkeshore Road. A couple of years from now the hospital will open the Family Medical facility where ten new doctors will practice on the ground level of a structure that will have several levels of parking. The entrance to that facility will be off Lakeshore Road which will change the traffic pattern considerably.
When the hospital completes its re-build the entrance to the hospital will also be on Lakeshore Road which will change that par of the city.
Lakeshore Road will become the entrance way to a park – what we don’t know is what kind of a park will it be?
The Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrade will be completed by the time the Family Medicine Facility is operational. The planned planting of a cedar tree screen will make the roadway much different than it is today.
Is the Burlington Beach rental operation the first part of the change?
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. June 7, 2013 — The Brant Street Pier will open to the public on June 13, two days ahead of the community celebration planned for Saturday, June 15 at noon at Spencer Smith Park.
“We are opening the pier to the community as soon as it safe to do so,” said Scott Stewart, General Manager of Development and Infrastructure. “The pier will be open and the fencing will be down the afternoon of Thursday, June 13.”
The city is also lighting up the pier, including the beacon feature, each night starting at 9 p.m. following successful lighting tests earlier this week.
 Less than a week – and hundreds of people will be out on the pier enjoying the view. The pier could hold more than 2100 people – assuming they were standing shoulder to shoulder. Is there a Guinness Book of Records opportunity here. Maybe 2000 people enjoying the Goodness of Guinness all at the same time with a helicopter overhead recording the event. Dial up the city events department – see what they think. The city is planning two celebration events related to the pier. The first is a thank you event to recognize the city’s funding partners, including the federal and provincial governments, Halton Region and Burlington Hydro. That takes place Friday, June 14 at 1 p.m. and includes speeches, a plaque unveiling and a tour of the pier.
MP Mike Wallace, Mayor Rick Goldring and representatives from Conservation Halton, Burlington Hydro and other community partners are expected to attend. The seven children who will leave their hand prints on the pier will help dignitaries unveil the plaque that recognizes the completion of the Waterfront at Downtown Burlington, including the Brant Street Pier.
 Charissa Pavlou, one of the city’s best kept entertainment secrets. Hear her just the once and you will want to know why we aren’t seeing her during the Sound of Music Festival. This young lady is going to break through big time soon. The second event is on Saturday, June 15 at noon, when the Burlington Teen Tour Band will march out onto the pier to signal the pier’s official opening. When the band leaves the pier, the community will be invited to walk on the pier and eat free cupcakes, leave hand prints on a canvas and enjoy local entertainment, including from Burlington vocalist Charissa Pavlou and other local artists.
So – here is how it is going to play out. Assuming the work is complete – all the fencing will come down the afternoon of the 13th and anyone wandering around can stroll out to the end of the pier. No sense of occasion, no marching bands, nothing special. And at $20 million – this is special.
Then a day after the politicians will show up and huff and puff and look important; unveil the really rather nifty plaque that will have been put in place and all get their pictures taken. There are a lot of gulls flying around – you know what one of them can do to the dignitaries on this occasion don’t you?
Then the NEXT day the pier will go through yet another opening when everyone will be cleared off while the Burlington Teen Tour Band will march out and open the pier for the people. Cupcakes get served – maybe balloons too.
Then everyone gets cleared from the pier at 3:00 pm so things can be set up for the fireworks display that night.
 Here is the Burlington Teen Tour Band opening up the Performing Arts Centre. Imagine them doing the same thing on the pier. Going to be a glorious sight. Mercy on us all – what a mess! Now you have some idea as to just why it took three times as long as expected to get built and more than twice what the city expected to pay for the thing. Someone called the pier the “mistake on the lake”; could he have been right.
Whoever is making the decisions about the opening doesn’t appear to have any sense of occasion or a feel for drama. The dignitaries could have been lined up and given credit for finding the money to build the thing and then the plaque unveiled. Right after that the Burlington Teen Tour Band could have come marching in off Lakeshore Road down the promenade and out onto the pier with all their flags snapping in the wind. The public would have followed them on out to the pier.
The band could have done one of those fancy turns they do at the end of the pier and come marching back towards the public that would have been kept back a respectable distance with a nice fancy felt rope. The BTTB could then have stopped just down from the node – played a few pieces and then someone would declare the pier officially opened.
Instead we are going to get one dreary official opening and then another yes you can go on the pier – now you can’t and then later you can go out again.
Enough to make you dizzy. However, when you eventually get out there – it is something.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 5, 2013 They didn’t say very much but they at least said something. It would have been nice if the public relations agency that ran the Kraft Canada Game Goes ON contest had communicated with the various hockey clubs around the country on how the processing of the prize money was going.
 This red button got clicked thousands of time by minor hockey associations across the country. Minor hockey associations across the country used two days in April to corral every person they could find to click on that red button on a web site and rack up votes for different levels of prize money. It was quite a public relations feat – that kind of went sour when it took so long for the prize money to actually get to the clubs.
Burlington`s minor hockey association entered the contest and ended up one of the five Ontario Regional winners. When the prize money didn’t show up Our Burlington started asking questions.
 John McNeil put together the team that took on the Games Goes on Challenge that won BLOMHA a $20,000 prize. Here is what we got from Sherri-Lyn Brown, with the public relations company that ran the contest: “Please see the response below from Joanna Milroy, Senior Consumer Promotions Manager, Kraft Canada.”
Kraft said: “Thank you for your inquiry. Each of the winning communities can expect to receive their prize money in the month of June. We look forward to seeing the impact that these funds will have on the Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association.”
Each of the prize-winning clubs want to say thank you for what they won – they will probably do so a little less enthusiastically. Pity.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON June 5, 2013. There was a man named Beverly Baxter. Those of you who recognize the name will know your Canadian history well.
Baxter wrote a column in Macleans magazine from London and gave us a perspective on foreign affairs that wasn’t available anywhere else.
Baxter wrote during and after the Second World War and brought Canada essential reportage, trenchant opinion and vivid portraits of his associates, prominent among them Winston Churchill, Lord Beaverbrook and Anthony Eden.
Baxter was born in Canada, served in WW I and stayed in the UK where he worked as a writer and then as an editor of a number of very influential newspapers. He left the newspaper business and ran for public office and served in the British house of Commons for more than many years. He is said to have won his seat in the 1959 British election without ever giving a speech.
 A view of the way Canada outgrew its Imperial Heritage. Neville Thompson, distinguished author and venerated scholar of modern British history, wrote a fascinating chronicle of a statesman and columnist at the heart of global political process through three decades, highly influential and closely read by Canadians everywhere.
Thomson will be at the Burlington Public Library along with the fine folks from A Different Drummer Books, partnering to bring you a significant literary event.
Baxter’s reporting and commentary gave Canadians the information they needed to form their own opinions at a time when most of our information came from the United States or Great Britain. It was Baxter who gave us those foundational tools to develop our own viewpoints.
Examining the stirring columns that appeared weekly in Maclean’s for nearly twenty-five years, Dr. Thompson charts the times, the events, the careers of the leaders and Baxter’s impact upon them in a vivid, discerning and compelling account.
Canadian thought and opinion was shaped by Baxter in a way that isn’t fully appreciated.
Thomson, in his, Canada and the End of the Imperial Dream: Beverley Baxter’s Reports from London through War and Peace, 1936-1960, should prove to be a very entertaining speaker.
Tickets are $10, available at the bookstore and at the third floor Information Desk at the Library. To reserve seats please contact us at (905) 639 0925 or diffdrum@mac.com.gaging Ideas Monday, June 17 7pm
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 4, 2013. The Board of The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is pleased to announce the election of four Directors at its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. The election returns the Board to its full complement of thirteen directors. Joining the Board are Donald Baxter, Michael Southon, Barry Simmons and Arthur Salzer.
Don Baxter has spent several years in Economic Development positions, including Burlington Economic Development Corporation from 2002 to 2008. Baxter brings experience in business management positions and board governance to the board. He is involved in the development of the Roseland Community Organization as well.
Baxter, who was executive director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation where he picked up the tag of Burlington Booster moved on to Mohawk College where he served as the executive director of corporate training and partnerships.
 It was built on time and on budget; they hired an accomplished Executive Director then the wheels got loose and things didn’t run smoothly and the blame game began costing the Centre its Executive Director. Before joining the BEDC, Baxter was a founding partner of consulting firm Economic Growth Solutions Inc., doing education, tourism, economic development strategy and downtown work for municipalities, provincial ministries, colleges and school boards and private clients. He also served as executive director of economic development for Metro Toronto.
Baxter is a registered professional planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, Economic Developers Council of Ontario, Economic Development Association of Canada, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, and the International Economic Development Association.
He also worked in the consulting and municipal planning fields, and was seconded to be Research Director for a Federal/Provincial Task Force on the Supply and Price of Serviced Land in Canada. He then became Commissioner of Planning and Development in a Toronto municipality responsible for planning, building and economic development activities. For 11 years, Don was Executive Director of Economic Development for Metro Toronto, including economic development responsibilities as diverse as hosting the G7 summit, establishing the GTAA, international bids, and developing the National Trade Centre. He has degrees from the University of Guelph and Queen’s University.
Give them an Oil thigh Don and show them how it’s done
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. June 2, 2013. A Mother – daughter pair at a book launch – each with their own title: certainly a first for Burlington.
The Different Drummer; always doing something different has two authors at the bookstore June 9th – at 2:00
 Sylvia McNicoll, nationally renowned educator, activist for literacy and prolific author of fiction for young people, including the Silver Birch Award winning Bringing Up Beauty, introduces her compelling and timely new novel Dying to Go Viral.
 Jennifer Filipowicz, artist and journalist, is Sylvia’s daughter. Jennifer presents her first novel, a work of science fiction, Wardroids.
Sylvia and Jennifer share a gift for hearty, imaginative storytelling and are rousing company. A wonderful afternoon is in store. Admission is free, everybody is welcome. Refreshments will be served.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. May 31, 2013. Things have never been really smooth between the Sound of Music people and city hall; there is always something those two are squabbling about. If it isn’t parking spaces for the SOM people then they differ over who is going to pay for what – this year that what are the fireworks. The city feels they are doing the SOM people a big favour by allowing the fireworks to be done on the brand new pier – saving SOM the cost of getting a barge.
SOM is getting the feeling they are being hustled by the city and that there event is being used to draw crowds for the opening of the pier.
Mayor Rick Golding did say the city was going to horn in on the Sound of Music to open the pier – maybe the Mayor thought the music festival is what would draw the crowds for the two opening events that are going to take place. With a lot of noise and fireworks (no balloons we are advised) the public might get moved into an oooh and awe mood and forget just how much, what was for a time, called the “mistake on the lake”
At this point, weeks before the opening of the pier and the kickoff of the Sound of Music, which begins with a parade the city and the SOM people are differing over the actual parade route.
 Sound of Music volunteers marking locations for vendor booths – 800 people volunteer to make this happen. The SOM people had hoped the event would come into the core via James Street and swing south along Brant to Lakeshore and proceed west along Lakeshore and then have the Burlington Teen Tour Band part of the parade make a u-turn and get back to Brant Street and swing south into Spencer Smith Park and out onto the pier.
That idea, much to the dismay we are told of the SOM people, has not gotten any traction and so the parade will now come into the core via James Street and go north on Brant and end at Caroline.
The Burlington Downtown Business Association is apparently miffed as well – there members were hoping for something more dramatic.
Maybe the city didn’t want SOM going out on the pier until it was officially opened and before our MP Mike Wallace gets to tell the folks who elected him just how much he has done for them. And he has done a lot.
Is this just another squabble between the city and the Sound of Music? One would think that an organization that drives millions into the local economy would have a stronger working relationship with the city. Is it the city that is being difficult or is it the SOM management that doesn’t know how to manage?
There are hundreds of volunteers who make SOM happen. One would think that the management skills needed to make that work would be more than capable of getting along with city hall. Are they both not on the same page.
Something to look into in the future.
The Sound of Music was an event started by the city more than 30 years ago. In 1998 city hall realized they couldn’t manage a task of this magnitude and spun it off in 1998 to a newly incorporated community group that was called the Sound of Music Festival Inc. It was as bit of a grind in the early years but they have grown the business and today the event is one of the top ranked things to take in.
It is Canada’s Largest Free Music Festival. More than 200,000 people enjoy the biggest annual gathering of music by the lake and enjoy free concerts spanning all genres.
 A bit dated perhaps – but still a great group – something for the parents? The Festival Kick-off is on Friday June 7th, on Burlington Hyundai Community Stage including performers Honeymoon Suite (honeymoonsuite.com) and The Spoons (thespoons.ca).
Opening night, Thursday June 13th, on Festival Stage, features Toronto natives Down With Webster (facebook.com/downwithwebster).
Friday evening at OLG Stage boasts Jully Black (jullyblack.com), and Big Wreck (bigwreckmusic.com) at Festival Stage. Danny Fernandes (dannyfernandes.com) is co-headlining with Alyssa Reid (alyssareid.com) on Burlington Hyundai Stage.
 Burlington’s own – The Spoons – they were part of the opening of the Performing Arts Centre. Nice to see them back in town. Saturday afternoon, on Festival Stage, are illScarlett (illscarlett.com) and USS (ussmusic.com), followed in the evening by LIGHTS (music.iamlights.com). It’s Country all day long over on OLG stage, in the afternoon is Small Town Pistols (smalltownpistolsfans.com), the evening line-up features Doc Walker (docwalker.ca). Sharon & Bram are taking the stage Saturday afternoon at Burlington Hyundai Stage and see Royal Wood (royalwood.ca) downtown at Cogeco Stage.
Sunday’s performers include Platinum Blonde (platinumblonde.com),April Wine(aprilwine.ca) and 54-40 (5440.com) on Festival stage. Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace (rainemaida.net) will be on OLG Stage.
 By Staff
Burlington, ON. May 29, 2013. The Burlington Art Centre announces the appointment of Denis Longchamps as Director of Programs. Longchamps replaces George Wale, who is retiring from the position after 27 years of exemplary service to the BAC during which time he built an outstanding ceramics collection.
Longchamps comes to Burlington after serving as Manager of Exhibitions and Publications at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He brings a passion for his curatorial work, which bridges both contemporary art and craft practices.
Longchamps created the Craft Journal (craftjournal.ca), which he edits and publishes semi-annually.
Longchamps studied Art History at York University before moving to Concordia in Montreal, where he received a Masters and PhD in Art History.
 Denis Longchamps – new director of programming for the Burlington Art Centre brings years of experience to the new appointment. Good Luck Mr. Longchamps. Longchamps will oversee the BAC’s Programs department, including the planning and implementation of 20 exhibitions and related receptions and artists’ talks; 200 studio courses for adults and children every year; the Permanent Collection, which now numbers over 2,000 contemporary Canadian ceramic artworks; and guild-related programs with seven juried exhibitions each year. The role also involves mentorship and professional development programs and special projects.
“Denis’ proven experience in exhibitions, education and collections will be a great addition to the BAC’s Program team,” says Ian Ross, Executive Director of the BAC. “His strong connections in the art scene will build on the BAC’s solid foundation to increase its profile in Burlington, the Halton region and across Canada.”
That experience may become very useful to Burlington and the evolution of the Art Centre as the city looks at its cultural assets and thinks forward about how to best manage them and get full value for what we have.
There has been more than one conversation about re-locating the Art Centre from its site on Lakeshore Road to a possible new structure in the downtown core. Some at city hall believe that the value of the land the Art Centre sits on could be realized if it were sold and used to develop additional condominium housing – the site is certainly well suited to that.
The $6 million the property is said to be worth would go a long way to building a structure that could house a truly superb Art Centre.
Denis Longchamps may be part of a very significant change to the arts community in this city.
At a recent council committee meeting earlier this week General Manager, Budget and Corporate Affairs Kim Phillips advised that the cultural plan expected in June will not be ready – then – it has been pushed back to the fall.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. May 26, 2013. It was a sod turning that didn’t see as much as a blade of grass get anywhere near a shovel.
The event was held so that people from Ashland, the Burlington corporation that came forward and offered to lease a patch of their property for a buck a year to the Freeman people, could be officially recognized. That generous offer was what saved the station.
So there was going to be a sod turning event. Then – well the problems crept in. It just wasn’t possible to get the equipment the Freeman Station people wanted on site to clear away some brush and prepare the spot the station is going to be moved to in time for the Thursday morning event which had a kind of soft country get together about it.
It was to be a photo-op, but not one of those that really didn’t have much of a purpose, other than getting someone’s picture in the paper.
 Jane McKenna, MPP for Burlington; John Mello, a Friend of Freeman Station; Joe Cerilli Maintenance and Engineering Team Leader Ashland Canada; John Naughton: Director, NA Operations Ashland, Director, Global Process Technology & Quality; Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster; Scott Thomson, Plant Manager Ashland Canada; Mayor Rick Goldring; Brian Aasgaard; James Smith, president Friends of Freeman Station; Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward The Ashland people and the two city council members who fought to keep the saving of the Freeman station from a wrecking ball had to be in the picture – they were. The Mayor was there as well and he is supposed to be at these functions but, truth be told the city was not able to come up with a solution for the station under his leadership and Goldring was one of those prepared to see it lost.
 The shovels can be used to dig out the foundation for the Freeman Station; they certainly weren’t used for a sod turning event. Burlington’s MPP, Jane McKenna was there – goodness knows why, other than to have her picture taken. Our MP Mike Wallace wasn’t there – which was unfortunate. Wallace has a passion for history and comes through every time there is a project with an historical angle. He got federal Stimulus funding for the project and when the city got to the point where they couldn’t find a way to spend that funding Wallace juggled things and got the city permission to spend the money on another project. Kudos to Mike for this one.
Councillors Meed Ward and Lancaster were where they were supposed to be – front and centre because it was their combined tireless efforts that the event last Thursday even took place.
Getting the pictures taken with the station jacked up on steel beams ready for transfer to the new site just yards away was a happy occasion but there was a tinge of regret – one of the people who worked tirelessly on the project was not with her peers. Jane Irwin had passed away earlier in the year and the community was to gather later in the day at the Performing Arts Centre to celebrate her life’s work and have a chance to meet her three children and tell Jane stories to each other.
They filled the Community Studio in the afternoon and listened to music, heard the friends speak of the Jane they knew; the stalwart, short woman who just could not be stopped. She just never quit until the day her heart gave out.
Her husband Richard spoke of “the love of my life” and told the audience of more than 225 people of the experiences and frustrations that were Jane’s life. Few knew that she once worked as a proof reader for a medical publication; there wasn’t a person in the room who didn’t smile knowingly, to use Richard’s word, how “persnickety” she was about language.
Jane completed her doctorate at Cambridge University where the writings of George Elliott were her focus. One of the bigger disappointments in her life was that she did not get the opportunity to do some substantial academic work. She did teach at Trent University. Burlington was the beneficiary of a sharp mind, a strong voice and the courage of her convictions. At her very last public presentation Jane took city council to task for not providing adequate facilities for people who needed to be able to sit while they delegated to their local government. That is just who she was.
Jane is part of the community memory now.
 By Walter Byj
BURLINGTON, ON May 20, 2013. The official opening was a bust – snow in May – but the second Sunday opening of the Centro Farmers Market took place on a cool, sunny morning. Located on the small compact private parking lot at the rear of Centro Garden, the market slowly came to life as the 10 vendors set up shop and customers strolled in.
This is the second year for this market. The first worked through all the problems that something new runs up against. Last year closed with one of the most adventurous “restaurant” events in this city. They got rained out last year – hopefully Barry Imber, Impresario of this event, will pull together another Chef’s ShootOut.
 The place is meant to be social, a place where you take the time to sit and talk with people and look over the organically gown produce that follows the seasons. When Russell Gibbs shows up with his honey – it will be gone in a couple of hours – always sells out. Kathy, who was a customer last year when the market was open on Friday’s, was back eager to patronize the local vendors who grow organic. This is one of our goals said Barry Imber, who along with his wife Leslie, is the driving force behind this market. A downtown Burlington resident, Imber wanted not only a market that stressed locally grown organic food, but also a location that would become a gathering place that brought people into the core. Imber stressed that “this market is based on a voluntary spirit where the vendors do not have to pay for their booths and where no public money is required. Being a relatively small market allowed both vendors and customers to create friendships among themselves and who looked forward to reacquainting on a regular basis.”
Nearby Andrea was slowly sipping her coffee, just purchased from the Tamp Coffee Company that had set up a small booth. A first time visitor, she was drawn by the fact that this market offered locally grown organic food and was enjoying the atmosphere and vowed to become a regular customer.
 Best espresso in town – great way to start a Sunday morning at the Centro Farmer’s Market Tamp, by the way brews one of the best Espresso’s you will ever find in this city. And when Russell Gibbs shows up with his limited supply of honey – get to the market early – he always sells out.
I approached the vendor from Baba Link Farms, Pat Kozowyk, who mentioned that her booth offerings would change week to week as the various fruits and vegetables came to fruition. A certified organic farmer, she promised that her small 10 acre farm would supply a large variety of offerings over the summer. Nearby, chef Damian Wills of Farm to Table Meats, was offering frozen organic meats such as chicken, beef, pork and bison. Damian has established a relationship with a number of farmers in the Waterloo area and represents their product s at the market.
Vandenbroek Farms, The Wandering Locavore , Terra Teas and Days of Harvest were other vendors selling their unique product.
I left at around 10:30 am when there was a steady turnover. Many seemed to be from the immediate area, others arrived from other parts of Burlington. Shoppers such as Darlene emphasized that the organic aspects of the produce was her main draw. But I noticed that there is a bit more than that. This was a social, friendly meeting place. People were taking their time. It is the kind of place where the kids are welcome.
Will this atmosphere continue throughout the summer? That remains to be seen; I for one will pop down later on in the year to observe if and how this market continues to develop.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON May 15, 2013. John Mello is the kind of guy who stands around a lot. He is usually thinking five or six steps ahead of the people he is involved with. He’s a railroad guy – didn’t actually work on a railroad – he just likes trains. Not the model railway trains guys build in the basements and then wear a funny hat and walk around with an oil can in their hands. Mello talks about BIG trains, preferably steam engines.
 Sitting on some “cribbing” with a sign badly in need of several coats of paint, the Freeman Station gets ready for its big move. That ability to talk about big trains comes from his 44 years of experience in the railway business where he started as a “train order operator”. Long before cell phones – back in the days when it was a telegraph operator sending messages in Morse code engineers would be given their instructions written out on small pieces of paper called flimsies that were attached to a hoop and passed up to the engineer as the train slowed down. Mello goes back “that far” – lots of history in the man.
 The Freeman Five – with John Mellow in the center listening to city council make a decision. This isn’t a group Council was going to say no to easily. Mello is one of the group that is refurbishing the Freeman Station. It has been a long haul, a very long haul and they are nowhere near where they want to be but there are glimmers of hope and small, even if faltering steps, taken that move the ball up the field.
While there are pounds of paper, documents, permits and who knows what else, Mello leaves all that messy stuff – and it is messy, to others. He has his eye on the bigger picture.
The next step is to get the station off the really shaky set of blocks it is sitting on and onto sturdy steel beams so that it can be at least moved to its new site – which is less than 100 yards away.
The structure sits on what they call “cribbing” – been there since 2005 and Mello says” it’s still pretty solid”. Mello explains with the ease of a truck driver who can move one of those eighteen wheelers through downtown traffic just how it is all going to happen.
 This beam, one of four that will be used, is being shoved under the station. Once it is in place it will be jacked up and take the weight of the station – 100 tons. Then dolly wheels will be attached to the beams and it will be slowly moved from where it has sat since 2005 and to its new home – 100 yards away. There it will be refurbished and restored and then it will be ready for transfer where it truly belongs – on Lakeshore Road next to the old railway line. In the fullness of time all that will happen. The steel beams are being slid underneath the building where they are levelled and shifted to make sure they are right underneath beams in the building that can carry the weight of the building. Then the beams are jacked up high enough for the person overseeing the restoration of the building can get underneath and do some of the work that has to be done before the building is actually moved.
When everything is ready for the actual move a couple of sets of “dolly’s” – wheels that are together are attached to the beams and the building gets rolled forward and through the fire station parking lot on Fairview and then back into its resting place on the Ashland property where the serious restoration work will begin.
“They’re going to drive forward from over there” said Mello pointing to the station and then “pull the truck right up to the curb here and slowly back it in and then lower it to the ground” explains Mello.
And he knows exactly where that here is going to be. “The end of the station will be here” he says as he point to a spot in an open field with hydro towers and a patch of sumac trees that will have to come out. The trees are very young – easily replaced with something more substantial. The other end of the station will be close to that tree over there” he adds.
 John Mello points out where one end of the Freeman Station will rest. The other end will be at about where the tall tree is in the background. Sod turning will take place May 23rd. “A roadway will come in through here and curve around to the front of the building where there will be parking for a couple of cars”, adds Mello.
When will all this happen? In the fullness of time is the best Mello can say – he’s not the type to be rushed.
He does hope that the public turns out to watch the actual move. The structure weighs 100 tons – “they made them good in those days” explains Mello. “They had wood we don’t have today.
Mello is looking over the horizon at the bigger picture. The lot of land the Friends of Freeman have is quite large – there will be quite a bit of landscaping to be done and that too will be done in the fullness of time. Maybe there is some railway track and a couple of engines in the station’s future? Maybe an original steam engine and a diesel as well. Mello worked for GO transit for a number of years and he’s the kind of guy who makes friends he can call on.
Fundraising, an ongoing task for the Friends, is currently focused on selling the equivalent of railway ties that will hold imaginary track. One railway tie moves the station six inches. They’ve sold a couple of hundred of the things so far. For $20 you can move the station six inches.
Sod turning on the site is to take place May 23rd, in the forenoon. All the people who managed to put up or secure funds for the moving and refurbishing the station will be out along with the politicians. It’s not much more than a photo-op – all part of the process when you work with city hall.
 It was Councillors Blair Lancaster, on the right and Marianne Meed Ward that kept the Freeman station idea alive while citizens like Freeman Station president James Smith, second from left and John Mellow in the middle, pulled together a citizens group that will restore and refurbish the structure. That Thursday will be a very full day for the friends of Freeman Station – in the afternoon they gather to celebrate the life of Jane Irwin, one of the biggest advocates for saving the station. The sod turning ceremony, a real high for the people who got the station to this point, which is a long way from the day the city ran an advertisement asking if anyone wanted to take the thing off our hands. There were no takers.
 Train order operators used hoops like this to pass messages to trains as they passed slowly through a station. John Mello was one of the people who wrote out the instructions on what were then called “flimsies”. “We used carbon paper in those days – does anyone even know what that stuff is today” wonders Mello. Councillors Marianne Meed Ward and Blair Lancaster were the two members of council who were not prepared to let the station fade from the pages of the city’s history. They kept the issue before council while citizens formed a group and got themselves organized.
When the day is done on the 23rd people will return to their homes with fond memories of Jane Irwin and the knowledge that turning the sod for new Freeman station home was a good thing to get done.
John Mello will slip down to the basement of his Burlington home and look through his railway memorabilia collection and let his mind slip back to when he reached up to engineers with that hoop holding the instructions telling them where they were to go and what they would face in terms of oncoming rail traffic. That’s the way they did it in those days.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. May 13, 2013 What might turn out to be a sunny Sunday afternoon is also a chance to spend a bit of time soaking up the sounds of what “bookmeister” Ian Elliott, over at the Different Drummer calls, “ marvelous, captivating music of many eras in a sublime performance”.
 Frances Cohen, Paul Burnip and Shiori Kobayashi of Grenadilla Winds
Grenadilla Winds–the brilliant, nationally renowned clarinettists Frances Cohen, Shiori Kobayashi and Paul Burnip–render their generous program in exquisite style, Sunday, May 26 3pm, at a Different Drummer Books, 513 Locust Street
GRENADILLA WINDS present THE VIRTUOSIC CLARINET
Refreshments, and a chance to meet the performers, are offered right after the performance. Tickets are $15, $10 for students.
To reserve seats, please contact us at (905) 639 0925 or diffdrum@mac.com.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON May 3, 2013 INCITE, A Single Moms Support Group, a non-profit organization, based out of Burlington, that raises up single moms and their children in our community by offering support, encouragement, guidance, direction and opportunities for empowerment.
Mother’s Day is quite a bit different when there is just the one parent in the house which leaves the Mother’s Day thinking in the hands of the kids.
INCITE is holding an event on Sunday May 12 at the Burlington Baptist Church, 2225 New St, Downtown Burlington from 12:30-4 pm. Tickets are $10 and includes lunch, bevies, dessert, pampering for the Moms, children make a Mother’s Day gift, a family photo, live music, silent auction, vendors, 50/50 draw, door prizes and more!
Pass this one around to those you think might be interested.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. May 3, 2013 We are not hearing very much from the folks over at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. They advertised for people interested in serving on the Board – the closing date for that was March 15th. The Board has not said how many seats they need to fill.
We have heard of at least one very qualified individual who has served the city with distinction in the past. Our understanding is that the initial interview has yet to take place but when it does the applicant intends to interview the Board as much as be interviewed for a Board seat.
 In the world of show business they are called “dark night” – those occasions when there is nothing going on in the building. The Performing Arts Centre has too many of these. Sometime later this month the Brenda Heatherington, the Executive Director who has given notice to her Board that she will leave her position in July, will announce the fall line-up – which we understand is pretty strong.
No word from the Board on how they intend to search for her replacement. There is some buzz in the community that it should be someone from within the community, which could be a mistake.
The position to be filled needs considerable clarification before it is advertised.  Does BPAC want an artistic director? Does it want an administrator who has a sense of what the community wants in the way of entertainment? Doe it want someone who puts on the type of programming that is profitable or does it want someone who is going to grow the appetite and interest level of the community for performing arts?
Burlington has next to no experience in growing the appetite for performing arts. Heatherington brought a strong reputation for being able to build an audience but “appears” to have lacked the business acumen the Board felt was needed. Finding someone who can develop audiences and find the kind of entertaining talent to do that and get them to this city at a reasonable cost and then also have the business smarts to keep the revenue line where everyone would like it to be is no small task. There are very few of those available in this country. Should we find one – that person will probably be able to walk on water as well.
There are some tough days ahead for the Performing Arts Centre as it builds a board of directors that can make the decisions that have to be made and learn more about public responsibility and transparency.
Getting a beefed up Board in place is the first critical step and then creating a search team to find the new Executive Director follows. In the meantime someone has to run the place on a day-to-day basis. We are going to see another whopper of a deficit next year.
Burlingtonians can be understanding and tolerant but they insist on being informed. Hopefully there will be at least one champion on the revitalized board that will insist on telling the people paying for the place what is going on.
Your city council has two of its members on the Board. Mayor Goldring and Councillor Craven have been close to mute when it comes to informing the other council members in public as to what is going on. They are failing to do their jobs .
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