 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON December 18, 2012 The internet is changing us. It permeates nearly every aspect of our conscious lives. It is altering not only the way we think, but the way we perceive the world: past, present, future and dream-time too. Cumulatively, this is both a good and a bad thing.
But now is not the time to digress on a strident polemic ‘pro’ or ‘con’. Rather, in the short term, (and since you’re here anyway), consider these viral internet Christmas ‘treats’. To be sure, none would have the success they have had without our perpetual ‘clicks’ or ‘hits’. — Ho Ho. Surf’s up. (Remember to adjust your audio as you skip the adverts … )
 Author Margaret Lindsay Holton spent hour upon hour finding the gems that are set out below. I’m not sure why she included those terrible chipmunks in her selection but there are others that are superb. Enjoy Christmas Lights: GANGNAM style. 2 million hits, and counting. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)
Amazing Grace: Christmas Lights. Another festive folly at 23 million hits.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: an adapted Pachabel’s Canon. Visuals include a few cheesy velvet paintings, but hey, who cares, it has near 4 million hits.
Again, Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Nutcracker Suite (like you’ve NEVER seen or heard it.) Not as well known, but still pretty impressive at 250,000+ hits and climbing.
‘Santa Baby’ by The Good Lovelies (audio only) from Kingston Ontario. Obscure, with 4,000 hits, but delightful just to listen to their lovely harmonies.
Chipmunks Christmas: Jingle Bell Rock (audio only.) Ok, ok, it’s a stationary cartoon, but it’s still had 3 million hits. (Clearly many miss these delightful little animated high-pitched rascals…. )
 The internet certainly lets you get all the Ho!, Ho! Ho! you could ever want. Is there more? Christmas Carols by the Westminster Abbey Choir. Lovely choral arrangement with 118,000 hits. Not much of a visual, but again, this majestic music does impress, even on the web.
‘O Holy Night’ by Carrie Underwood. Guaranteed to send shivers down your spine, with the added bonus of sing-a-long script (… pity about the ‘devine/divine’ typos though.) The poor script and visual design may explain the surprisingly meager 124,000 hits.
A ten minute cosy wood-crackling fire with 2.5 million hits. (Time now for you to supply the Hot Rum Toddies or spiked egg nog.)
 Let us not give Santa all the credit for the Season. There was someone amongst us long before the sales people invented Santa Claus. There is a real reason for the Season Why all this ‘feel-good’ webby Christmas fuss? Well, seriously, there was this child born approximately 2012 years ago. The Story of Jesus Christ: Full Length Movie (2 hours). With a paltry 214 hits.
Draw your own conclusions …
Merry Christmas One and All.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON December 16, 2012 The event doesn’t take place until January but you need to reserve your space BEFORE Christmas – and the event has nothing to do with the Season. But the event will be of great interest to many parents.
The opportunity comes from the Halton Red Cross’ Youth Action Council. Peter Hodgson, Chair, Halton Area Branch Council, Canadian Red Cross asks: “If you are a young person, are related to a young person, was once a young person, wish you are a young person or once saw a young person” , then this invitation is for you! Sign up now and join us on January 12th. And spread the word to your friends and family.
 Red Cross Halton Youth Action council presentation. “Many of us have either been directly or indirectly affected by bullying:, said Hodgson. The Canadian Red Cross RespectED Program aims to prevent abuse, bullying, violence and sexual exploitation.
We are the Canadian Red Cross Halton Youth Action Council. We support RespectED and we would like to invite you to our event to raise funds for this program. How can YOU help? Come to our Movie Matinee!
The movie: Ice Age: Continental Drift, which will be shown at the Silvercity Oakville Cinemas; 3531 Wyecroft Road, Oakville, Ontario – Saturday January 12, 2012 – 9 am – 12 pm
If you’re interested please email Andrew.little@redross.ca to confirm attendance, or for more information
This is a Youth inspired and organized initiative. Please support us, as we support RespectED, which supports us all.
So here is what this is about. The kids came up with the idea; they chose a movie that is popular, a little out of the ordinary, certainly not one of those action packed – how many people got killed? – films that are box office smashes. Instead the kids picked an exceptionally well done animated film about something interesting, highly entertaining and at the same times reflects on just where are we going with global warming and how did the continents get formed anyway?
If you’ve got a kid in the house that has gained the capacity to be thoughtful about others – let that young person meet with other young people who hold similar interests.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON December 11, 2012 The United Way keeps coming up with ways to raise the $7.1 million they need to meet the needs of those who can’t get by on what they earn. For some it is that simple – they can’t afford to live.
While the poor struggle or those experiencing a difficult time struggle most of the rest of us are out there spending; buying Christmas gifts and getting ready for that time of year merchants depend on to meet their revenue targets.
Many of us will be at the Burlington Mall this weekend buying something for someone else. We might be getting a special gift for someone we seldom see and would like to make it just that much nicer. Wrapping up a gift real fancy takes time – so get someone else to do it for you.
On Thursday, the 13th, local celebrities will be at the Burlington Mall wrapping gifts for you. They smile at you, you smile back at them. You might even ask for an autograph if you’re so inclined.
When the gift is wrapped someone will ask you for some money, you give it to them it goes to the United Way and they give it to someone else.
Pretty simple business model.
So there you are – you can be part of a process that distributes the wealth and at the same time give a gift that will make someone happy.
At the Burlington Mall on Thursday the 13th of December from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – not all at the same time, but certainly during the day the following “celebrities” will be on hand to wrap your gift.
Burlington Mall
• Local media celebrities confirmed to date:
o Connie Smith, Always Good News
o Melissa Forsyth, KX 94.7 fm
o Sunni Genesco, K-Lite fm
o Lesley Stewart, CH Morning Live
o Hamilton Tiger-Cat Player(s)
o Annette Hamm, CH Morning Live
o Nicola Jones, CH Morning Live
o Nick Dixon, CHC News
o Shawn Cowan, CHCH News
o Linda Rourke, Cable 14
o Kate Lane, Cable 14
o Diana Matheson, Olympic Bronze Medalist
Thursday the 13th of December from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – keep it in mind.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON December 8, 2012 You will have missed the event this year but you will not want to miss it next year when Ireland House, part of the Museums Burlington operation puts on their Taste of Christmas Past event.
The event was as close to sold out as you are going to get and when those who were at Ireland House last Friday evening tell their friends, Barb Teatero, Executive Director of the Museum’s operation, is going to want to schedule the event for at least two evenings next year.
 All the food was made on the premises using recipes from the period of time the Ireland Farm house was built. It was an evening to sample different Christmas foods as you strolled from room to room. There was not only food but period beverages as well. The Figgy Pudding was delightful and you are not going to get to taste Parsnip Soup this good anywhere in this city.
Later in the week we will publish the recipes; the smarter restaurants in town will be snapping those up.
As soon as you entered the 1840”s farm house you were served a glass of wine and then guided to either the Interpretive Room where Michelle Gatien told you more than you ever wanted to know about a Christmas Dinner.
When you got to the farm house you were treated to Cayenne Cheese Crackers, Sugar cookies, Hot Rum Toddies and Mince Tarts. Scones with a carrot jam that was very interesting.
There was sherry, brandy, Festive Wassail and Mulled Cider. The place was packed yet it was still relatively easy to get around.
 A group of young people played Christmas Carols in the basement kitchen; one couple used the occasion to dance to the music, it was that kind of an evening. All the food items were from recipes researched by Brianne Crites, Brant Museum curatorial assistant and from the period during which Ireland House was built. Several of the recipes came from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management 1861.
 The gowns were absolutely gorgeous; the music on a period instrument was very different and pleasant as well. The singing was as good as it gets. There were several youths in the basement kitchen playing their violins as well as a superb group upstairs, the Pearls of Time who sang and played period instruments. The two woman, Judy Morphet and Susan Snelley, will be at the Different Drummer Bookstore on December 16th – 3:00 pm. Call the bookstore to reserve a ticket.
 Father Christmas was on the farm house porch inviting guests to reach into his gift bag. The Tasting event is the best thing Ireland House has done this year. The staff have every reason to be extremely pleased with how well it went.
This is going to be a “premium event” next year.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON December 6, 2012 There is only one William Shatner! He will be live on Stage at Hamilton Place this Saturday. Two presentations; one at 2:00 pm and one at 8:00 pm. If you`re a true, true fan you might want to do both.
 If you’re a United Way supporter there is $10 off the ticket price for you. Shatner is supporting the United Way with this event.
He`s one of a kind, a funny man with a stage presence you don`t see all that often any more.
While the United Way has passed the 50% level – that second half is seldom easy. This is the time of year we are all in spending mode – think UW as you dole out those dollars.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON December 5, 2012 The city has plans to help you keep your kids active, engaged and entertained this winter break with camps and programs for children and teens.
The programs run from December 27, 2012 to Jan. 4, 2013.
There are many activities to choose from:
 If we get some snow – the kids just might be able to enjoy a Canadian winter – before Christmas? Holiday Drop-In Family Gym – Drop by the gym and enjoy active time with your child
Festive Fun – Four days of seasonal crafts, songs and activities for your preschooler to enjoy
Holiday Mini Blast – Let your child use their imagination – games, crafts and much more!
Holiday Junior Blast Daily swimming, gym time, outdoor activities, crafts and more
 No snow? There are always swimming pools. Check out the available programs and register for a spot. Holiday Junior Blast – Special guests, daily swimming, active gym time and more
Holiday Outdoor Opportunity Blast – Creative and fun program for teens with disabilities – special guests, daily swimming, active gym time and much more
Extended Care Holiday Blast – Extended Care is available for all Tansley Woods Holiday Blast programs
Youth, eight to 16 years, old looking for programs offered in the city can choose between:
Holiday Tripper Blast – Trips every day: laser tag, movies, rock climbing and an indoor water park
Home Alone – Prepares children to stay home alone or with a sibling for a short period of time
Babysitters’ Training – Youth will be trained in childcare, child development, safety, their rights and responsibilities and more
To register, call 905-335-3131 or visit www.burlington.ca/recexpress.
The full list of the City of Burlington’s activities during the Winter Break.
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON December 6, 2012 When we were young, my father built-up a landscaped train set on a ping pong table in the basement for my brother and me (and him) to play with. We tinkered away at it for several years: adding scenes, rail cars, quaint little buildings and funny little critters (my speciality!). There is something intoxicating about crafting miniature anything that suits all imaginations.
Unhappily, all came to a rather untimely end when one exuberant younger member of our family decided to pull out all the wires from the switching box when no-one was looking. These were ceremoniously given to dad with an enthusiastic ‘Choo! Goo! Choo!’ Dad never did get around to re-wiring the set, and that was that. Nonetheless, I have always had a fond attraction for the intricacy and sophistication of ‘toy’ model trains. It is an enthusiasm shared by many, included most of those of the Burlington Model Railway Club.
 “Our intent is to create the illusion of a REAL train, not a TOY one!” huffed one gray-haired veteran of the Burlington Model Railway Club. These dedicated elders, in conjunction with the Central Ontario Garden Railway Association
And the RBG, have invited Paul Busse, principal ‘tinkerer’ of Applied Imagination
from Alexandria Kentucky, to their annual Model Train exhibit at the Royal Botantical Gardens. In opposition to their more conventional exacting efforts, there is nothing very ‘real’ about Paul’s ‘toy’ trains. Rather, his fanciful sets appeal to all ages. In a word, they delight.
In recent years, Paul Busse has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,but that has not stopped his son and a crew of 15 crafting up another of his signature ‘mechanical botanicals’ train-scapes for the RBG. Imaginative landscapes and iconic provincial buildings have been built using an exotic array of native and non-native flora. This ‘Canadian’ set took 2500 hours to assemble using 7 tons of cedar slab, 3000 pounds of rock and 250 feet of 45 mm-wide track. Hand-hewn cedar, sliced berries, carved-out walnuts, peeled birch bark and hand-sculpted wooden bears adorn the site. Pungent narcissus and ruby red poinsettias punctuate the topography. Altogether, this Holiday set is a festive feast for the eyes, ears and nose.
 Detail of miniature throne made from sliced walnut husks and seed pods. Now up and running, you will find whimsical interpretations of the Parliament Buildings, a Saskatchewan grain elevator, Haida Gwaii totems, crafty igloos, the Canadian National Railway HQ, and some very fanciful interiors, like an illuminated ‘bee depot’ inside a honey comb, (with a wacky walnut husk throne and a mysterious miniature sword placed on that wacky throne…)
 CN Tower presides over all.
A majestic CN tower presides over it all. Below, an assortment of colourful G-trains swoosh continuously around the loops, tunnels and covered bridges.
This is Applied Imaginations’ first border crossing into Canada and, to be sure, it is an elaborate extravaganza To my mind, it is conceptually similar to Cirque de Soleil’s ‘over the top’ gymnastic inventions. Busse sure has taken ‘model TOY trains’ to a whole new level.
- Busse’s Railway Station. Will Freeman Station tart up as nicely?
Judging by the all age enthusiasts in attendance over the past weekend, the Freeman Station in Burlington, once restored, will easily become a solid Burlington attraction. It may not be a miniature, but it does embody the history of real trains rolling through the region. Busse’s Railway Station could well act as inspiration for the Friends of Freeman Station.
As a sidebar, it seems a pity that the Friends of Freeman Station, the RBG and the Burlington Model Railway Club didn’t coordinate a simple fund-raising effort to compliment the restoration of Freeman Station, a citizen-led initiative. ‘Tis the Season to Give and all that. It would have been a natural fit.
For those who are interested in supporting that restoration, go to the Friends website: Better yet, join the Friends of Freeman Station at their Annual General meeting 6:30pm, Thurs. Dec. 6, City Hall, Council Chambers. The meeting will feature: election of board members; progress updates on preserving the Freeman Station; and presentations from FOFS leadership.
And do go see Paul Busse’s marvelous ‘Choo! Choo!’ set at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Take in the simple joy and wonder of it all. Exhibit runs until January 6th, 2013. Entry fee: $12.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and a community activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions, which are her own, that she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks. All photographs are by MLH unless otherwise indicated.
____
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON December 5, 2012 The smell of the tree sitting in the room all lit up and decorated; you know its close to Christmas when you walk in the room. The small ornate bouquet or Christmas wreath set out is also a large part of the Christmas season. Who makes these wreaths and bouquets? And where do people learn to make them?
 Making Christmas bouquets at Ireland House.  Looks just about right and is going to look beautiful on a table or above a fireplace. Christmas bouquets made during a class at Ireland House. Lots of wreathes available at the garden centers but those small, almost delicate bouquets that get set out on a table are an art in themselves and last week a group of woman met at the Ireland House interpretative room and were taught how to make the bouquets. Elizabeth Crozier taught a small group of woman how to make a bouquet that includes silver Christmas candles. You will have missed the course this year but they do it every year – make a not for late November of next year.
Wreathes and bouquets are a small part of the season. Christmas cards are much more common; sent and received by almost everyone. They come in the mail; sometimes neighbours and friends drop them off and we use them to decorate our homes over the holidays. Christmas cards.
 Laura Robinson, acclaimed stamping expert will be at the Joseph Brant Museum. Perhaps in your household the children make up cards of their own. Laura Robinson, a nationally acclaimed stamping expert will be at the Discovery Room of the Joseph Brant Museum for a two hour stamping class that will have you creating six designer quality holiday cards while learning how easy and fun rubberstamping is. Bring tradition back into the holidays and give something handmade for those close to you. Everything is supplied, all you need to bring is your sense of humour and holiday spirit How were Christmas cards made When? December 9TH – 1pm – 3:30 pm
There is a fee of $25which includes all the material you will need to make six special cards. Refreshments will be served and a tour of the museum will be included. PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CALL (905) 332-9888 or 634-3556
The first Christmas cards were illustrated by John Callcott Horsley in London on the 1st of May 1843. The picture, of a family with a small child drinking wine together, proved controversial, but the idea was shrewd. Two batches totaling 2,050 cards were printed and sold that year for a shilling each and an industry was born.
Early English cards rarely showed winter or religious themes, instead favoring flowers, fairies and other fanciful designs that reminded the recipient of the approach of spring. Humorous and sentimental images of children and animals were popular, as were increasingly elaborate shapes, decorations and materials. In 1875 Louis Prang became the first printer to offer cards in America, though the popularity of his cards led to cheap imitations that eventually drove him from the market. The advent of the postcard spelled the end for elaborate Victorian-style cards, but by the 1920s, cards with envelopes had returned.
The production of Christmas cards was, throughout the 20th century, a profitable business for many stationery manufacturers, with the design of cards continually evolving with changing tastes and printing techniques. The World Wars brought cards with patriotic themes. Idiosyncratic “studio cards” with cartoon illustrations and sometimes risqué humor caught on in the 1950s.
Nostalgic, sentimental, and religious images have continued in popularity, and, in the 21st century, reproductions of Victorian and Edwardian cards are easy to obtain.
The estimated number of cards received by American households dropped from 29 in 1987 to 20 in 2004. Despite the decline, 1.9 billion cards were sent in the U.S. in 2005 alone. In the UK, Christmas cards account for almost half of the volume of greeting card sales, with over 668.9 million Christmas cards sold in the 2008 festive period.
“Official” Christmas cards began with Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The British royal family’s cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year. In 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card. The cards usually depict White House scenes as rendered by prominent American artists. The number of recipients has snowballed over the decades, from just 2,000 in 1961 to 1.4 million in 2005.
Christmas cards have been avidly collected for years . Queen Mary amassed a large collection that is now housed in the British Museum. The University College of London’s Slade School of Fine Art houses a collection of handmade Christmas Cards from alumni such as Paula Rego and Richard Hamilton and are displayed at events over the Christmas season, when members of the public can make their own Christmas cards in the Strang Print Room.
Specimens from the “golden age” of printing (1840s–1890s) are especially prized and bring in large sums at auctions. In December 2005, one of Horsley’s original cards sold for nearly £9,000. Collectors may focus on particular images like Santa Claus, poets, or printing techniques.
The Christmas card that holds the world record as the most expensive ever sold was a card produced in 1843 by J. C. Horsley and commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole. The card, one of the world’s first, was sold in 2001 by UK auctioneers Henry Aldridge to an anonymous bidder for a record breaking £22,250.
And that is far more than you ever wanted to know about Christmas cards. If you want to enjoy an afternoon learning a new craft – try this event.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON December 4, 2012 If you’ve ever wondered what meditation is; what a Yoga class is really like but you don’t want to join anything – you just want to sit in and see if there is something there for you – then an event this Saturday, December 8 from 3-5 pm at the Brant Hills Community Centre may be of interest.
If you do go – what are you in for?
 Here is what is on the agenda:
There will be a talk by two academics on the Restorative Effects of Sahaja Meditation techniques. There will be testimonials, some guided mediation, live music and Indian Kuchipudi dance
The group putting on the event has been doing this for more than seven years in Burlington.
Their Sahaja meditation classes take place Wednesday evenings at Brant Hills.
The event this Saturday will be tied into an event taking place in Paris, France.
Mediation and Yoga are different, millions swear by it, but it isn’t for everybody – it’s a matter of personal taste and the way you feel life should be lived. If you’re curious – give it a try.
More on the agenda:
A video introduction to Self-Realization & R/Evolution (video)
Experience Spontaneous Meditation & ‘Yoga State’ on Live Indian Drum Music (Ahilan)
Kuchipudi Dance Performance (Hema)
Chakra Workshop & Joyful Indian Music Performance
Practitioners of meditation will talk about the benefits.
You get a chance to find your “Yogi Buddy”.
The event is free – these people are serious and committed about what they do.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON December 3, 2012 The weather certainly wasn’t promising. It has rained much of the morning but the people that make parades happen were determined and they apparently knew something most weren’t certain about – and that was that there wasn’t going to be any rain on the 2012 Santa Claus parade. And except for a drop or two – there was no rain.
 The trick was to find a place where all the chairs could be set up and have a clear line of sight. This family was working it out.  Burlington is just at the half way point with the United Way donations – short close to $1 million. Need to up our game. The crowds were much smaller and except for a couple of snow men in the parade and a fat little snow man on the Sound of Music float blow bits of snow into the air, there were no signs of winter either.
 Burlington Transit put their most festive bus into the parade. The language doesn’t matter – the message is still the same.  While the weather wasn’t great most people put up with it – these guys weren’t happy though – they were wet and they wanted to go home. Burlingtonians are a hardy lot and they were out on the street, wrapped in blankets with plastic rain slickers at the ready and an umbrella just in case there was a down pour.
The parade started at the Burlington Mall, worked its way down Guelph Line to New Street then west along to Brant and north to Caroline. Then home for hot chocolate.
 They fill the street and they are Magnificent to look at – Burlington’s Teen Tour Band  The Toronto Maple Leafs put their traveling dressing room into the parade. For those who were around in 1967 – the float had some meaning.  The Salvation Army is there for the good times and during the hard times. The parade was one of the Good Times.  The M M Robinson high school band, good form, great discipline and a habit of rushing a crowd.  Miss Magnolia danced up a storm every step of the way.  The wind was getting the best of this Christmas clown but he held on.
 - Not a snow flake in the air to keep Mr. Snowman company.
 They were young, they were energetic and they were all over the street – having a great time.  Saxophones added to the sound – it was jingle bells all the way!  You would want a glove on that right hand – the metal would be cold but the music was just fine.  McMaster University’s band wasn’t taking any chances – they all were plastic slickers. They’ve been through this kind of thing before.  We sometimes lose sight of what the Season is about. Did parents watching the floats pass by use the opportunity to spread the message?  Notre Dame Secondary Catholic school’s Fighting Irish were out in force with a festive look.
 - The Ho Ho Ho man himself. The commercial reason for the season.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON December 1, 2012 Well it took them long enough. The guy has been playing his instruments for more than 20 years; he’s played the Sound of Music a couple of times back in the 90’s – but better late than never.
Andy Griffiths is going to play the Queen’s Head Thursday December 6; 8 to midnight.
 Local musician to play the Queen’s Head Thursday night. Griffiths earns his bread and butter as an architectural designer – the fun for him is strumming his guitar and singing away – and just ‘havin’ a good time.
Griffith’s has lived in Burlington for more than 20 years, been playing music seriously for 20 years as well. Has done gigs all over the place but never got to do the Queen’s Head in Burlington, which is about as core as you can get in Burlington.
The music will be fine – and while you’re there order up a mess of sweet potato fries; they’re as good as you’re ever going to get.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON November 29, 2012 When Brenda Heatherington took on the task of leading the artistic side of the Performing Arts Centre the city knew they were getting a woman who knew how to create an audience; that they were getting a woman who knew how to find the talent that would grow an audience in the city.
 Brenda Heatherington, chatting up a Performing Arts centre supporter. They didn’t tell Heatherington that she would also have to juggle the financial side as well and make it work within a budget that was just short of what she felt she needed. The theatre is days away from the anniversary of its first production. Royal Oak appeared on December 9th and Denise Walker, the theater’s bag lady at the time, was the first Burlingtonians to step out on the stage and talk to an audience that had bought tickets – but I digress.
Sometime ago Heatherington sought out Melody Johnson who was at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, and booked her for an afternoon show at the Performing Arts centre. The date happened to be on the same day as the Santa Claus parade, but Melody Johnson didn’t see that as a problem. “Maybe I will draw more people than the parade” she said in her ‘always optimistic’ manner.
Burlington will get a chance to know this growing actress who writes and directs and comes out of the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto where she has done some excellent work.
Johnson will be performing Miss Caledonia, a one woman story about her Mother who was raised on a farm and wanted to become an entertainer. The one woman play is about the day dreams and the fantasies that young people have as they think about getting away from home and growing up and becoming something great.
 Melody Johnson, on stage during a Miss Caledonia performance. She appears in Burlington December 2nd. There is a wonderful scene that has Peggy, the name given to the Mother character, in a milk truck driving into the city. For anyone with any “Farm” experience you would see the reality of farm life in that scene. There weren’t regular bus service and often the milk truck was the best transportation service available. Peggy had decided, in her mind, that she could “magnetize: the milk truck driver and – well you have to see the play to fully appreciate the scene.
There is another where Peggy, gazing at the picture of Bing Crosby on her bedroom wall, slips into her fantasy world. If the name Bing Crosby doesn’t kindle an old memory then this play may not be for you but for those people who lived in rural setting, understood what it meant to “muck-out” stalls and know what the scent of new mown hay really is – this could be a production you would thoroughly enjoy.
It’s the kind of thing Heatherington brings to Burlington to build an audience and develop an appreciation for performing arts the city hasn’t been able to do without a fully functional building.
The trick is to put good productions on the stage, keep the people in the box office on the stage and let city council feel all warm and snugly as the enterprise grows. Heatherington might want to look into bringing a production of “I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can” to the city. She might think of playing the lead role.
Heatherington could go up against Jill Clayburgh any day of the week.
 Melody Johnson, does the one woman play Miss Caledonia, the true story of her Mother’s fantasy life as she did everything she could to get off the family farm. Miss Caledonia is completing its first season at the Tarragon in Toronto; the Burlington production will be the last show for 2012 after which the show goes on the road. Johnson, who was raised in Brantford said Burlington is a place she always drove through on her way to Brantford. “I don’t think I’ve ever really been there before”, she said.
Richard Ouzounian, a Toronto theatre critic delights in Melody Johnson’s giggle, which he maintains one of the happiest sounds in Canadian theatre, “caressing the ear even as it reveals characters so unhinged they perch halfway between Stephen King and Steve Martin with the spirit of Elaine May hovering just overhead”.
When this city has enough people who fully understand was Ouzounian, was saying Heatherington will have succeeded hugely – the task ahead is to keep the Performing Arts Centre alive and open until that day.
Miss Caledonia – at the Performing Arts Centre. Box office
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON November 26, 2012 That stuff about Christmas starting the day after Halloween is a little too rushed for me. I like to ease into Christmas reasonable early in December and like it when the store and supermarkets ease me into the Christmas Season.
While driving home earlier this week the wife burst into the house and said “you aren’t going to believe this but there is a house down the street that already has their Christmas tree up. I looked on my way out later and sure enough – there it was – a white plastic one to boot.
Christmas has a sense of season about it but that Christmas Spirit isn’t something we control nor is it something we can decide has to appear when we want it. Like all things spiritual – we are on the receiving end – it arrives when it is supposed to arrive.
Jill Harrington a wacky, wired, single Mother run the Christmas For Seniors event. It’s an organization that keeps in touch with different seniors groups across the city and asks them what they would like for Christmas. These are people who are a bit on the being alone side; their family isn’t in the area, the spouses may no longer be with them. They have fond memories of Christmas past and don’t want for all that much.
Harrington collects the names and what they would like and then places tags on Christmas trees that are put up in stores, office buildings – wherever she can get a tree she can put tags on.
 A typical Children of Christmas Past tree set up in more than 30location in Burlington with trees also set up in Alberta and Nova Scotia. People see the tree, see the tags, look at what is being asked for and if they feel the gift is something they can give they buy the gift, get it to Harrington who then delivers it to the senior.
Yes, it is labour intensive and Harrington does the work while holding down a full time job and raising a delightful ten year old boy who is still on the shy side.
Harrington handles it all by multitasking. During one of our conversations Harrington appears to be talking to someone other than me – “not too much chocolate in the coffee please” which had nothing to do with the conversation we were having.
Harrington had sent me a note telling me of a huge surprise she got.
She had said to her seniors: “Wish with a big heart – what would you like, what do you need?”
To her surprise there were six requests for chairs that have the capacity to lift a person from the chair to a standing position. They are called “reclining lift chairs”.
Harrington had no idea where she was going to find the money to pay for these gift requests but she knew that if she did raise the money she would have to get some help delivering the chairs. They aren’t the kind of thing you tuck under your arm as you ring a doorbell to deliver a gift.
Harrington knows everyone you need to know to operate in Burlington. She got herself in front of the Bulldogs coach at the Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association and asked if they could lend her someone with a truck to deliver the chairs – assuming she could raise the money to buy them.
 In no particular order Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association coaches and staff with Burlington’s Mayor. Sheila Ramage, Kelly Meikle, Tim Wilson, Doug Rogers, Perry Lake, Scott Wright, Mike Milford and Rusty Reingruber. The coaches put up the funds to pay for the reclining lift chairs and said they would handle the delivery as well. The coaches listened politely and told Harrington they would get back to her. That was the best she could do, she thanked them for their time and moved on to the next challenge. In less than ten minutes she got a text on her smart phone BLOMHA:
Hi Jill,
The Bulldogs are going to purchase the 6 chairs you require for your Seniors. I pitched it to the group of Coaches and all 25 Bulldogs Teams are going to chip in and buy these chairs ($600 each) Congratulations!!!!!! Great cause.
Tim Wilson, a BLOMHA coach
BLOMHA would pay for all six chairs – and yes they would arrange for the delivery as well. The association is paying for two of the six with the coaches paying for the other four.
The Christmas Spirit had arrived a little earlier than Harrington expected and so did the tears that just flooded down her face.
The Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey association was formed in 1951 by members of the Burlington Central Lions Club and the Optimist Club of Burlington, making it one of the oldest, longest serving youth organizations in our city. Members of both clubs were once actively involved in the operation of the organization. BLOMHA is governed by Hockey Canada, Ontario Hockey Federation and Alliance Hockey.
They are a not for profit, non-share corporation and volunteer based organization with 2,250 players registered making them the largest minor hockey association in our city. Their aims and objectives are to foster, promote and teach amateur hockey within the City of Burlington and to provide the maximum opportunity for all eligible individuals to participate regardless of their ability.
There are close to 500 volunteers registered to assist in the running of the program, which includes the operation of about 135 teams. All coaches, team trainers and other volunteers are fully qualified, accredited and insured, in keeping with the guidelines issued by governing bodies of minor hockey in Canada.
 Cups. trophies, plaques and pictures – all the signs of hockey players as they move from one level to another; from one tournament to the next. BLOMHA’s 25 coaches take several thousand players through the training and the physical development every year. A key goal of BLOMHA is to provide programs that develop each player’s full potential, subject to talent, ability and enjoyment of the game. Hockey is a competitive game therefore we are organized into three progressively competitive levels. BLOMHA is the only minor hockey association in Burlington that offers a complete range of programs available to all players regardless of ability.
Harrington was grateful that BLOHMA came through and with “thank you’s” galore done, she adjusted to the great news and the extraordinary act of kindness and moved on to collecting the gift requests and making up the tags that would go on Christmas trees and then actually getting the tags to the trees they are going to go on.
It gets a little hectic for Harrington but the work is made so much easier when she gets a response like the one she got from the Bulldogs.
Christmas for Seniors is in its thirteenth year of operation. It grows year after year. Last year there were 3,230 requests; Harrington expects that to go to more than 4000 in 2012 .
There are 30 trees in Burlington locations.
Harrington does the work with no form of remuneration, she doesn’t even get gas money. Everything that comes in is donated and it goes out the door to a senior who might not otherwise get a Christmas gift.
The names of people asking for a gift are collected by people who work in retirement homes, nursing homes, long term care facilities and people who work one on one with seniors.
 Jill Harrington, Executive Director of the Christmas for Seniors charity works with her son Noah sorting tags that will be placed on Christmas trees where people can choose a gift they would like to give Each location is given a spread sheet file that Harrington sends them. The names and the gift they would like are entered on the spread sheets which are then aggregated to create a master list which Harrington then uses to create the tags that get placed on Christmas trees. People pick up a tag, purchase and wrap the gift and then deliver it to Harrington’s home. “There is a box on the porch – it’s the greatest honour system you can imagine. Elves come by several times a day and put the gift inside the box” adds Harrington. “I call them elves”.
The gifts are stored at Harrington’s house until the day before Christmas. “We used to deliver them on Christmas Day but there were just too many to get done in the one day so now they are delivered a day or so before Christmas and handed out Christmas day.
Harrington has what she calls “elves” – these are people that arrange for the collection of the gift. “There are a couple of dozen people who have a key to my house; the just come in put the gifts in a pile and we sort and get them ready for delivery.
A little unorganized? Labour intensive? Could a more efficient system be created? Probably; but right now Harrington is focused on getting the labels out on the trees and then getting the gifts back to her house and delivered to their Christmas Day destinations.
The request for the reclining lift chairs was a little on the “high” side. “It was totally unexpected” said Harrington but once I had the request I thought ‘what the heck’. Let me ask someone and see where it gets me.”
Could be if that’s the way you choose to see it. Harrington asked the seniors: what would you ‘wish’ for?
How plugged up does her house get? Well her son does have to give up a part of his room when Christmas is just a week or so away but they manage to find the space they need. “At some point” Harrington admits, “we are going to have to change the way we run this charity”. She is organized as a non profit but doesn’t have charitable status. “I don’t need it right now”, says Harrington.
If you want to help out – send Harrington an email. Visit the web site
The program is growing beyond Burlington . There are trees set up in Nova Scotia and Alberta. Not easy to administrate all that from Burlington and Harrington realizes it is time to move from her dining room table to an office and secure the funding to allow her to develop it into a national program. “We are going to have more seniors to care for – not fewer” explains Harrington and there will be many of them who don’t have family to both care for them and remember them.
 The poster identifies a tree that will have tags identifying a charity for Children of Christmas Past. Harrington has both compassion for seniors and empathy for their plight. She is currently working on a book on “elder abuse” and assuring that older people can live their lives with dignity. Once that has been turned over to her publisher’s Jill Harrington is going to become a regular columnist for Our Burlington and will write about seniors for seniors. Should be interesting.
This project has been a grind for Jill Harrington; 13 years of running around every day for the last quarter of every year and putting in five to six hours every night, usually with the help of her son Noah and an hour or so more once he is tucked into bed.
“You know” commented Harrington, after a talk about where this project can go, should go in the future, “in all the years I’ve been doing this – no one has asked me what I want for Christmas”. Telling isn’t it.
The gift from the hockey coaches though was gift enough for Jill Harrington.
 By Staff
Perhaps in your household the children make up cards of their own. Laura Robinson, a nationally
 Laura Robinson, a additionally acclaimed stamping teacher will be in Burlington in the Discovery Room of the Joseph Brant Museum acclaimed stamping expert will be at the Discovery Room of the Joseph Brant Museum for a two hour stamping class that will have you creating six designer quality holiday cards while learning how easy and fun rubber-stamping is. Bring tradition back into the holidays and give something handmade for those close to you. Everything is supplied, all you need to bring is your sense of humour and holiday spirit DECEMBER 9TH – 1pm – 3:30 pm
There is a fee of $25which includes all the material you will need to make six special cards. Refreshments will be served and a tour of the museum will be included. PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CALL (905) 332-9888 or 634-3556
The first Christmas cards were illustrated by John Callcott Horsley in London on the 1st of May 1843. The picture, of a family with a small child drinking wine together, proved controversial, but the idea was shrewd. Two batches totaling 2,050 cards were printed and sold that year for a shilling each and an industry was born.
 Children and evergreen trees were often the focus of a card. Some of these became collector’s items. Early English cards rarely showed winter or religious themes, instead favoring flowers, fairies and other fanciful designs that reminded the recipient of the approach of spring. Humorous and sentimental images of children and animals were popular, as were increasingly elaborate shapes, decorations and materials. In 1875 Louis Prang became the first printer to offer cards in America, though the popularity of his cards led to cheap imitations that eventually drove him from the market. The advent of the postcard spelled the end for elaborate Victorian-style cards, but by the 1920s, cards with envelopes had returned.
 An example of a more complex stamped card – the possibilities for a message that is uniquely you, are close to endless. The production of Christmas cards was, throughout the 20th century, a profitable business for many stationery manufacturers, with the design of cards continually evolving with changing tastes and printing techniques. The World Wars brought cards with patriotic themes. Idiosyncratic “studio cards” with cartoon illustrations and sometimes risqué humor caught on in the 1950s.
Nostalgic, sentimental, and religious images have continued in popularity, and, in the 21st century, reproductions of Victorian and Edwardian cards are easy to obtain.
 Stamped cards can be simple, complex and very detailed. You get to use your imagination and send the Christmas message you want to send. The estimated number of cards received by American households dropped from 29 in 1987 to 20 in 2004. Despite the decline, 1.9 billion cards were sent in the U.S. in 2005 alone. In the UK, Christmas cards account for almost half of the volume of greeting card sales, with over 668.9 million Christmas cards sold in the 2008 festive period.
“Official” Christmas cards began with Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The British royal family’s cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year. In 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card. The cards usually depict White House scenes as rendered by prominent American artists. The number of recipients has snowballed over the decades, from just 2,000 in 1961 to 1.4 million in 2005.
 Santa hasn’t always been a part of Christmas cards but when he was the pictures were often bright and cheerful – but not always. Christmas cards have been avidly collected. Queen Mary amassed a large collection that is now housed in the British Museum. The University College of London’s Slade School of Fine Art houses a collection of handmade Christmas Cards from alumni such as Paula Rego and Richard Hamilton and are displayed at events over the Christmas season, when members of the public can make their own Christmas cards in the Strang Print Room.
 An example of a smile and direct stamped Christmas card. Specimens from the “golden age” of printing (1840s–1890s) are especially prized and bring in large sums at auctions. In December 2005, one of Horsley’s original cards sold for nearly £9,000. Collectors may focus on particular images like Santa Claus, poets, or printing techniques.
The Christmas card that holds the world record as the most expensive ever sold was a card produced in 1843 by J. C. Horsley and commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole. The card, one of the world’s first, was sold in 2001 by UK auctioneers Henry Aldridge to an anonymous bidder for a record breaking £22,250.
And that is far more than you ever wanted to know about Christmas cards. If you want to enjoy an afternoon learning a new craft – try this event.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON November 23, 2012 It started with two good friends telling another friend about a trailer for a movie called “Miss Representation.” The outcome was a group of woman doing something they had never done before – Committing to spreading the word about an issue they believed to be paramount for our society in 2012.
 One of the, if not THE most important films to be shown in Burlington this year. So they did spread the word to a few friends but in their hearts wanted to do something more. Their belief was “when we come together we realize we all share similar thoughts, experiences, concerns, and hopes – and we do this through sharing stories. Our intention is to create the environment where people as daughters, sons, friends, wives, partners, fathers, husbands, aunts, uncles, cousins (you get the drift) will come together, watch the the movie that trailer introduced us to and then in conversation after the film, take ownership of an issue that is systemically hurting our youth (female and male) and all of us as adults. It’s how women and girls are portrayed and perceived in the media and how this imagery is then taken and owned in society.
Lisa Bloom in THINK framed it well when she said: Twenty-five percent of young American women would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize.
The movie is not distributed commercially; the distributors didn’t apparently think there was enough money in it. Groups of people rent the movie on a DVD ($750 for the thing) and then take it to a theatre where it is shown to as many people as they can get into the room.
That movie, Miss Representation, is being shown at the Performing Arts Centre this Thursday.
The film won an award at the Sundance Film Festival and has been critically acclaimed almost everywhere.
If you’ve any doubt as the whether or not this is for you – click on to the trailer. Short two minutes version or the longer eight minutes version.
If you can remember Dr. Helen Caldicott and her “If you love this planet” speech you know how a single event can change the way people see a public issue. Miss Representation is one of those events. For the sake of your daughters, your sons – and yourself – see this film. Thursday at the Performing Arts Centre. Call 905-681-6000
Online
 REVISED November 27, 2012
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON November 26, 2012 There has been a whiff of winter; there was a sprinkling of snow and there are Christmas decorations on many if not most of the houses on my street.
Christmas is the marketing event of the year for the commercial sector and a time for families to gather and be families. It is also the celebration of the most significant event on the Christian calendar.
The kids are out of school and parents will be looking for places to take them and things to do. Ireland House, one of the well run parts of Museums Burlington, runs interesting events that have a uniqueness one doesn’t see within the commercial sector.
 Food prepared and served the way it was at Ireland House – a long time ago. December 7th there is a very quaint and close to intimate Christmas food sampling event at Ireland House. If you’re looking to keep your holiday spirit intact throughout the busy month of December, this is a very festive evening.
 Period music, period costumes during an Ireland House Christmas food sampling. A licensed event, with traditional Christmas food samplings and beverage tastings from the Ireland family will be offered inside the historic Ireland House.
During the three hour experience you will sample a range of foods such as Figgy pudding, potato croquettes, cayenne cheese wafers, Jubilees and parsnip and apple soup and also festive beverages such as mulled wine, hot toddies and traditional wassail, all prepared using historic Ireland House recipes. This isn’t a intimate sit down dinner but rather an occasion to stroll from table to table to table sampling different foods. The intimate part is the candlelight setting and the music.
There will be musical entertainment, a “Chef of Christmas Past” giving presentations at set intervals, Christmas Fire Cracker making, and a take-away.
You will dine by candle light with a roaring fire and end enjoy live entertainment by Pearls of Time—costumed historic performers.
This is designed to be a fun, celebratory evening; an occasion to sample various holiday foods made from historic recipes aided by festive beverages – mulled wine, hot toddies and traditional wassail! There will be heritage musicians, special presentations, holiday activities and a take-away.
 An Ireland House Christmas food sampling, held in a quaint, almost intimate setting and enjoyed under candle lights. Tickets available in advance: $20/person (there are only 125 tickets available!) Not recommended for children under the age of 12. Friday December 7th, 6 to 9 pm.
For further information on these holiday events, please contact: Sylvia Hentz, Special Events Programmer: 905-332-9888 – hentzs@burlington.ca Ireland House is located at – 2168 Guelph Line, Burlington, ON L7P 5A8
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON November 22, 2012 Earlier this year I wrote about the BusinessInBurlington MeetUp organized by social media entrepreneur James Burchill. Since that time I’ve been intrigued by the continued proliferation of other Meetup groups in the area. There’s a group now for just about every interest imaginable: books, games, movies, health, pets, meditation, drumming, careers and even odd-ball hobbies. Seek and ye shall find.
 Not quite a WANTED poster at the Post Office but a good representation of the kind of people who show up at meetings of the Burlington in Business MeetUp. Attendance roared up to 300 plus – which is pretty close to the capacity of the Beaver and the Bullfrog pub at the Waterfront Hotel. For those unsure of what ‘MeetUp’ is all about: the idea was started by two New York City techie entrepreneurs, Scott Heiferman and Brendan McGovern. The attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, was pivotal to the formation of their ‘meet-in-person’ concept. Meetup co-founder Scott Heiferman says that the manner in which people came together in the aftermath of that traumatic event inspired him to use the internet to make it easier for people to connect with strangers in their community. These young gents launched their ‘interactive’ website in New York in 2001. Now, eleven years later, there are over 11 million registered Meetup users and over 110,000 groups world-wide. In Burlington and the Region of Halton, there are reputed to be over 513 groups. Personally, I found about 40 Meetups catering to a diversity of interests in the area.
 Meetups are all about people and the way they choose to spend their time. In this montage photographer Margaret Lindsay Holton has caught the feel of a Burlington in Business MeetUp organized by James Burchill. It’s easy to start a specific Meetup forum, (a monthly fee of less then $30 gets your group up and running), and easy too to join any other Meetup group for free. Add your personal tastes and preferences during sign up, then off you go. At all times the option to attend any Meetup is entirely voluntary. The point of all this ‘meeting up’ is to find friends and/or associates who share your interests, and then, basically, enjoy yourselves. One of the perks of this kind of ‘focused’ meeting is that a lot of preliminary ‘social sorting’ doesn’t have to occur. All attending know that all attending are there for the same reason, whatever that might be.
A sample of Burlington and regional Meetup groups follows. Once on the group page of any Meetup group, click on the Home Page to find an overview of what that group offers.
FTDTW or ‘Friends to Do Things With’ is a relatively new addition to the Meetup community having formed in January of this year. Yet obviously they’ve hit a nerve, because 87 events later, they now have over 500 members, 30 years of age and up. What do they do? Meet at bars, clubs, the Ribfest, restaurants, movie theatres and cafes.
Sassy Bookworms have been around a bit longer, and have a very loyal following. Started in July 2010, with now over 200 members. Sassy Bookworm Meetups usually occur in members’ residences and are limited to 30 or so sassy bookworms per event. They get together to discuss a new title by a different author once per month. (You’re going to love their Marilyn Monroe-with-a-book logo!)
The Burlington Photography Meetup Group was founded in April, 2010, and now has just under 200 members. Designed for both amateur and professional photographers, the Meetups are social photographic outings in the region.
Looking for alternate cuisine ideas? Try vegetarian with a friendly vegan groups – The Burloak-Vegetarian Meetup Group or Danielle Roche’s inspired Eat Local Burlington group.
 Details Happy Veggie Heads As Eat Local Meetup organizer Danielle says, “After reading the ‘100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating’, I am inspired to eat more organic foods grown within 250 km of Burlington. It has been an amazing experience visiting farms, markets and meeting other local food enthusiasts.” Since August 2010, over 240 locavores have signed up with this Burlington-based Meetup group. There have been over 120 ‘local’ foodie events organized by Danielle. Now that’s commitment!
Interested in Salsa dancing? You’d be surprised the number of Meetup groups within a 250 km radius who have, or are preparing, Salsa dance events. Check out the very popular 400 plus members of the Llamas Meetup group of Mississauga: or, in Oakville, the smaller group – Salsa Night/Noche de Salsa – Don’t want to dance, but want to drum? The 500 strong Burlington-based Naked Beat Drum Meetup hosts frequent events.
Tin ear, no twinkle toes? Never fear. The Halton-Peel Social Group (over 400 members) is hosting a ‘big screen’ event of The 100th Grey Cup – between the Toronto Argonauts & the Calgary Stampeders at Philthy McNasty’s (Oakville location) on Sunday from 4 to 10 pm. A small $2 cover with RSVP is requested. Bar, big screen, beer, passionate fans: what more could you want?
 Too much noise ? Ok. Try ‘urban buddism’, or meditation, with the Centre for Compassion and Wisdom, founded in October, 2011. This group now has 57 members located in Burlington: Don’t like that group? Try Burlington Meditation: OR, join the Quick Brown Fox Meetup group on Novermber 24th at the Appleby United Church on Spruce Ave for a workshop on ‘How to write a Page-Turner’ Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo. His proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published. The workshop runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fee: $44 paid in advance or $48 at the door.
 If over 50, single, and just want to ‘mingle’ for a bit, try the very popular 500 member strong Singles Mosaic – Founded in 2009 by social director, Diona Szcerbak, she too charges a small cover fee for organizing these socials-for-active-seniors events. Small price to pay, really, to make new old friends.
One of Burlington’s newest Meetup groups, Mommy Connections, just started up on November 1st, 2012. There are only four members. Hard to know whether they’ll be a success or not, because unlike many of the other Meetup groups that charge, if at all, a small ‘admin/entrance’ fee, this group is hoping to have new mums fork out $120 for an 8 week class.
Contrasting that group with the explosive growth in popularity of the Burlington’s ‘League of Extraordinary Ladies’ – (founded in January 2012, with now over 140 members), it would seem that Mommy Connections is off to a rocky start.
Still, that’s the fun of these Meetups. Some ‘click’, while others don’t. Like-minded gravitate towards like-minded. It’s up to YOU how engaged you want to be.
 A member of the League of Extraordinary Ladies A lot of the success of a Meetup group comes down to the personality, passion and administrative attention of the principal organizer. Jessica Dennis of ‘Extraordinary Ladies’ is passionate about “bringing women together for the benefit of gathering ideas, bridging business cultures and changing lives! This group is intended for women from all walks of life.”
Whatever your passion or interest, you’ll find like-minded people on Meetup.com.
Still not sure? Consider this ‘what’s it like’ video.
Some Meetup groups can become victims of their own success. The Business In Burlington (BiB) Meetup frequently has a waiting list now for its monthly get-togethers at the Beaver & Bulldog on the Lakeshore. On average, 120 people get together monthly. Very popular with the small business, IT and entrepreneurial crowd, BiBers are working this social network to ‘get connected’ and ‘get ahead’. So, if you are interested, be sure to RSVP your attendance early.
One additional small note: once you do ‘join’ Meetup, make sure you set your ‘group alerts’ for once a week, or once a month depending, again, on your level of interest, otherwise, you will be bombarded by incoming Meetup mail. This has been a growing problem with the Business in Burlington group. With well over 700 members and an active ‘on-line’ forum, email is frequently clogged with their updates and self-promoting announcements. Still, all said and done, it remains an interesting bunch determined to make their Burlington a better place to live, work and play.
James, the BiB organizer, is such an accomplished enabler, perhaps he could mesh a few other local Meetup groups in the region to generate a ‘living picture’ of the DREAM that is Burlington for Mayor Goldring? There certainly seems a proliferation of paid consultants and INSPIRE events coming from City Hall that are working very hard to determine what Burlington is and should be all about. Maybe it would just be easier (and cheaper) if City hosted a monthly ‘Meetup’ at City Hall.
Sign up with Meetup here.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and a community activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions, which are her own, that she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks. All photographs are by MLH unless otherwise indicated.
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
BURLINGTON, ON November 12, 2012 There is something very grounding about crafting clay into ceramics. Shaped by human hands for over 14,000 years, clay is one of the oldest naturally-occurring building materials we have to create, like stone or wood. When mixed with water, clay develops a plasticity that hardens in shape when dry. When fired in a kiln, permanent physical and chemical changes occur to create a ‘ceramic’. Different types of clay, when used with different minerals and firing conditions, create different types of ceramics such as stoneware, earthenware, or porcelain.
 Attendance during the first hour of a pottery show in Dundas, Ontario – the bi-annual Potters Guild of Hamilton and Region. MLH photo. As humans, we have long distinguished ourselves by preferring to eat our food from a decorative dish, plate, bowl, mug or tea cup. It defines us culturally and, more often then not, socially. As most know, not all soup bowls are created equal …
 Film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ famed Oliver Twist clay crock contrasted with high-end 19th century Sevres and Meissen porcelain from Europe. Photos by MLH During the 1800s, much of the world’s finest porcelain tableware came from Germany, France and England. Companies such as Meissen and Rosenthal in Germany, and Havilland and Sevres in France, became world famous for beautiful ornate designs, while the Staffordshire region of England produced such legendary companies as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Spode and Minton. The great porcelain manufacturers of the era marked their products with the company’s name, initials or trademark symbols. Today, individual potters from the Potter’s Guild of Hamilton and Region continue this time-honored tradition. Look for their marks or signatures on the bottom of their wares.
 Signature or mark of maker on the bottom of clay bowls. Photo credit MLH North American pottery, first developed by the indigenous coastal people, occurred around 3000 BC. Pots, or vessels, were made using the ‘coil’ method. Strands of clay were coiled one on top of each other then smoothed over to create a seamless bowl shape. Designs were imprinted into the clay using sticks, shells or twisted cording. To date, no evidence has been found of a ‘thrown’ bowl in pre-contact native North American cultures. It seems they never used – or developed – a potter’s wheel.
 Potter’s wheel – Photo courtesy Potter’s Guild of Hamilton. The mostly highly priced base clay for all ceramics is ‘kaolin’. A large deposit exists in the Moose River basin in Northeastern Ontario, but we, as a people, have never mined it. Instead, we, in Ontario, import most of our clay, for decorative and utilitarian purposes, from the States, or Alberta. Interestingly, a unique shale-derived clay well-suited for ceramic production was once found in abundance in both Hamilton and Burlington, but it has long since been depleted, lost to rapid urbanization. Somewhat ironically, potters and ceramicists in the region are now forced to use imported clay mixtures to make ‘local’ pots.
 Burlingtonian potters Barbara Taylor & Kia Eichenbaum show their wares in Dundas. Photos by MLH Over the past weekend, the Potter’s Guild of Hamilton & Region held their unequivocally fantastic bi-annual three day Sale featuring over 100 local potters, (including Burlingtonians Barbara Taylor and Kia Eichenbaum and recently transplanted Dale Marks , at the Lions Memorial Community Centre on Market Street in Dundas, Ontario. An extra-ordinary diversity of shapes, covered in a variety of slips, mottled glazes and highlighted with colourful and pleasing configurations satisfied the aesthetic palettes of all enthusiasts. I have gone to this event for over four years now, and every year I am super impressed by the abundance of product. I highly recommend this sale as a ‘regional sojourn’. Mark your calendars for next years Spring Sale.
A little closer to home, it is well known that the Burlington Art Centre boasts “the largest collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics in the world”. Their collection contains more then 1800 artworks, with over 400 Canadian artists represented. Unlike the utilitarian (and beautifully crafted) eating earthen and stoneware featured at the Dundas show, the BAC collection explores the more abstract artistic possibilities of clay. Illustrative examples from their decades-old Fire & Ice Exhibition can still be seen on the Virtual Museum of Canada website:
The Burlington Art Centre holds its annual Soup Bowl Event, in the Rotary Shoreline Room at 1333 Lakeshore Blvd, Burlington, from November 15th to November 18th. Reserve your seat early for this very popular event. (BAC members pay $35, non-members pay $45). Enjoy a hearty soup and salad, and then take home your locally-crafted soup bowl – made from a mixture of clays from elsewhere.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and a community activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions, which are her own, that she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks. All photographs are by MLH unless otherwise indicated.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON November 10, 2012 They were doing more of that vision thing. They were doing it in the Shoreline Room of the Arts Centre. There were more than 150 people in the room – it was basically packed, with 140 of them citizens taking part in an exercise that was intended to help in the shaping of the city’s downtown core, which many feel is a bit of a mess and at times a disappointment – not THE place you go to for services and supplies.
But our situation is, according to the people who are doing the surveying, not all that bad. Pretty good in some categories, very good in others.
 Shoreline Room of the Art Centre was packed; close to 150 people participated. Did we manage to move the ball up the field? The event was nicely structured. City hall is getting very good at coming up with ways to involve people. Much more use is being made of large maps that people can work over as they gather around tables and trade comments and opinions.
This event ran just a little on the long side. People were beginning to drift out of the room and there wasn’t a solid wrap up – but there was a lot of input and if city staff can capture that input, interpret it and then work it into the plans they develop – the evening will have been time very well spent.
So what did we learn? The evening began with those necessary(?) introductions. Councillor Sharman wasn’t seen in the room and Councillor Dennison slipped in late in the game. Downtown isn’t Councillor Taylor’s turf.
Defining and then creating a vibrant downtown core is a joint venture between the private sector that takes the risks and city hall that comes up with rules, zoning and regulations that make things possible and a public that buys into what is in place and shows up with their wallets and purses and spends.
 This was a Workshop and people at the tables were certainly active. The session lasted a little too long and there wasn’t time to hear all the table summaries. There are some locations that are close to outstandingly successful. The Works, a high end hamburger joint where four people can spend more than $100 on burgers is very popular – don’t expect to always get a table right away – there are lineups – often. As marketers the people at The Works have figured it out – everything was free the first day they opened. Talk about getting the public’s attention. The folks over at the Village Square have had to put what they had on the selling block because the ability and the desire to really aggressively market that location just isn’t in them anymore. The property is for sale – some say it has actually been sold. The public record doesn’t show a change in the owners of the property.
La Costa did a name change and is now Celli’s Osteria which means authentic food sourced from the local countryside. Melodia is open on the corner of Locust and Elgin, the Prime Rib moved from Brant to Elgin several months ago but has yet to open their doors. So there is some health in the core.
 These could have been tables with family members gathered playing a game of cards – most had a friendly, relaxed mood to them. The meeting was a review of the Strategic Action Plan which Jody Wellings, Planning and Building department, said the committee had delivered on. As a committee they met 14 times and got 520 people to take part in the survey they had done.
As part of the research work done by Urban Metrics for the city, a measurement was taken of all the retail space in the downtown core. Here is what we learned from the 140+ people who participated in the Workshop.
They reported that there was 1.1 million square feet of retail space in the core (which oddly enough was never defined during the meeting) and that 81,000 people lived in the area.
 Notes taken, views exchanged – city planning staff now have to go through all the data and figure out what the public has said. Is there an end result? At some point Burlington will have the vibrant downtown is wants. There are 130,000 square feet of office space in the core. While delivering the data the researcher added that there are companies that would kill for the kind of downtown Burlington has. That view doesn’t quite square with comments made by Sheila Botting. National leader on real estate and financial services for Deloitte, who told a Council Workshop that while the core is appealing the cost of providing parking is prohibitive – business prefers the Burloak area where parking is less expensive. Transit in Burlington doesn’t appear to be an option for the management and executive crowd.
However, people believe there is significant opportunity for smaller boutique operations in the core – problem there is no one defines “boutique” and we have yet to see one choose Burlington.
 Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward had her daughter Miranda, a grade 9 student, shadowing her all day. The workshop was the end of a 12 hour day. The young lady does not have a campaign manager.  Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster was there but didn’t appear to be an active participant. Here she talks with Scott Wallace, proprietor of Burlington Taxi who has an interesting report going to council committee this week. In general boutiques are seen as small groups – that can reach 75 people, who are professionals: architects, law firms, researchers that prefer a quieter community but need very quick access to downtown Toronto. Burlington does have the access to the “big smoke” – it’s just not that fast to get to. An hour on a plugged expressway isn’t the way professionals want to spend their time.
The researchers described our core as stable with commercial space increasing; that would be marginal increase at best.
The commercial space vacancy rate is 11.2% of the existing space which is a little on the high side. We aren’t in trouble but the sector isn’t exactly vibrant.
 Each of the tables was assigned a subject to discuss. Had the people at this table gone shopping. The researcher said that 70% of the people who shop in the trade area live south of the QEW, 20% are from outside the community – which leaves 10% that come from north of the QEW – the folks in the Orchard and the new Alton community aren’t coming downtown as much as the merchants would like them to.
Why do people come downtown? Because they have to; because they live downtown or they work downtown or they have an appointment. 13% of the people who come downtown do so to shop while 9% come downtown to dine.
29% come once a week; 47% drive to the core, 40% walk; 8% use transit and 4% use their bikes.
Asked what downtown should be – the answers from the survey were: festivals, entertainment, meeting people and the place they take visitors.
What kind of retail services did those surveyed want to see? A first run movie theatre; a small supermarket, a hardware store and more restaurants with more in the way of clothing and accessory retailers was on those wish lists.
The Burlington Downtown Business Association (BDBA) has been trying for some time to get a supermarket to open up in the core – Brian Deane, Executive Director of the BDBA, hasn’t been able to land one of them yet. Parking is the biggest problem and because the supermarkets know we all have to eat – we will go to where they are – they don’t have to come to where we are. There will come a time, when the core will have people who will not want to or be able to drive to the supermarkets, and supply will follow the demand. That day hasn’t arrived yet.
The advice the researchers offered was that we need to leverage the assets we have, (most of the retailers don’t know how to do that) and communicating has to be well done. Many of the smaller merchants don’t particularly want to communicate to a wider market; they have their core clientele and they do very well with that – why go to a lot of additional effort at some cost and not be certain they are going to see a return.
The surveys did note an interest in a Farmer’s Market in the core – and the city had one for several months in the summer. It struggled. The one time there was a crowd was during the Chef’s Shootout which could have been a boffo event had it not rained. Even with the poor weather, with a dozen or so umbrellas set up to keep the water off people as they watched two well rated chef’s do their thing with the most rudimentary equipment.
The number of people who showed up for the event suggests Burlington Tourism wants to look at this – it was a good idea that just needed some time and more in the way of promotion – hopefully Barry Imber won’t give up the ghost on the idea – it is well worth doing for at least one more season.
Our Burlington was the only media in the city to continuously follow and promote the event.
The researchers thought public funds and resources were needed to draw in private investment. Those are your tax dollars they’re talking about. Back in 1985 the city permitted a “landmark” structure to be built on the edge of the lake – there is still nothing on the site. The city back then did it’s part – the private sector sat on what they were given and let it improve in value but gave nothing back to the city. Late this year we might see a shovel in the ground to start the building of an eight story structure – they currently have approval to build up to seven storeys – they’re asking the Committee of Adjustment to allow an additional floor.
There are cranes on the horizon in Burlington, there is activity, that tipping point however doesn’t appear to have been reached. Last Christmas season there were major restaurants and retailers on lower Brant who had nothing in the way of seasonal decoration on their locations.
The audience was told to not compromise the vision and expect false starts – does the pier fall into that category? While on the pier – construction progress does take place – albeit at close to a snail’s pace. But what are we going to end up with? A place we take people to and talk about how long it took to get built and how much it actually cost us?
It will be a magnificent structure and it will change the look of the city but will it end up like Ben Johnson, a magnificent athlete who destroyed his reputation by taking drugs; does the pier have too much negative history that we may not be able to live down?
There is certainly a challenge to leverage that asset when it finally opens and communicate the story. Do we have the people with the skill sets needed to do that communication?
We were told to measure performance and then empower the decision makers – that would assume there are enough qualified decision makers in town. It is a challenge. There are some exceptionally good people who work for the city – are there enough of them?
 At some point all the data and all the public input gets placed in front of Burlington’s Planner, Bruce Krushelnicki – who will issue a report and city council will make decisions. Creating the downtown the city wants and needs has not been an easy process for Burlington. The province has a growth plan which calls for 15,000 new jobs in the region by 2031. Burlington is going to limp towards its part of that objective; we just aren’t creating the job opportunities; our commercial assessment for 2012 will be less than it was for 2011 – not a good sign. Once the Economic Development Corporation shakes itself out we will begin to see a change but that could be as much as a year away.
The province wants there to be a “mobility hub” in Burlington, which will centre on the Fairview GO station that is undergoing an upgrade. The site immediately south of the GO station, west of Wal-Mart on the north side of Fairview, is to be developed and have at least four towers. Efforts are being made to have some of that space set aside for commercial use.
With the theory and some of the potential set out for the Workshop audience, the researchers then began an interactive process with the audience. Participants were given hand help devices the size of a package of playing cards, and told to make their choices to questions that appeared on the large screen at the front of the room.
A question would appear on the screen, participants would be given 30 seconds to make a choice – and the results would appear on the screen instantly. It is a remarkable opinion survey tool the city has used in the past. Very effective.
How many of you live in the downtown core:
Of the 130 responses – 2/3rds say they lived in the downtown core.
How many owned a business? 20% of the 133 responses
How many of you think the core has a lot going for it? Most saw the core in a positive light.
What are the top three things you like about the downtown core?
The waterfront, the restaurants, the places to walk. 137 responses
Things that need the most attention?
Neighbourhood shops; better places to live, more entertainment locales. – 133 responses.
What would you like to see added? You can add your views to the city’s on line survey.
https://urbanmetrics.fluidsurveys.com/s/burlingtonsurvey/
 One of the prime places to just enjoy the city is on the north side of Lakeshore looking out over ther lake. This could be a social spot in almost any one of the prime tourist destinations in Europe or North America – but it is right here in Burlington. More entertainment destinations, restaurants and cafés, retail stores and parks. That last one, parks was odd; Burlington has the equivalent of 333 football fields in public park space. Central Park has to be one of the largest in any city of comparable size.
The audience was told that all the data collected will be up on the city’s web site. Most of the questions are shown but the responses aren’t there at least not as of Saturday afternoon.
The Downtown vision team will be going over the data and determining what to do next. That means more meetings. Ugh!
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON November 5, 2012 The Council Chamber was close to filled with dozens of young women in sports sweats, many wearing medals that clinked together as they walked. Were they there to delegate to Council? All of them? That would be unusual. They were polite and when Mayor Goldring announced why they were there they trooped to the podium and gathered while the Mayor explained.
 Burlington Bayhawks Under 14 girls soccer team, pose for the camera after being recognized by city council for an outstanding season This was the 50th anniversary of the Burlington Youth Soccer Club and the two groups; the U14 and the U16 Burlington Bayhawks soccer teams were there to be recognized for an outstanding year on the soccer field. They won at every level they played at.
 Burlington Bayhawks wearing their “bling” and waiting to be called to the podium. During the presentation, the members of each team were given a pin with the city crest on it – they were photographed and told they didn’t have to stay for the rest of the Council meeting – they left immediately – these kids know a dull show when they see one.
The club has done very well with its program. Five of the women who played on Canada’s Olympic Soccer team came out of the Burlington program; probably more from Burlington than any other club in Canada. A record for which they have every right to be very proud.
The Burlington Bayhawks Girls Under 16 came out on top in the Ontario Youth Soccer West Division; the Ontario Youth Soccer level; the Ontario Cup, the National Cup and added to that five first places in competitions that took place in the United States.
The team record for the season was 45 wins; 3 ties and 1 loss.
 Burlington Bayhawks – girls under 16 soccer team took every level they played at during the season. The Burlington Bayhawks Under 14 Girls did just as well. They triumphed at the National Cup level, the Ontario Youth level and the Ontario Cup level.
Their season record was 27 wins, 4 ties and five losses with 115 goals earned and 31 against. These 14 year olds will move on to the U16 level where they will be a very competitive team.
With five, 2012 soccer Olympians coming out of the Burlington club – Canadians are likely to see our teams in the finals much more often. We may just begin to see a winning streak we have not seen for some time.
Mayor Goldring suggested that the teams’ success was a direct result of the “pep” talk he and Councillor Sharman gave the two teams before they left to compete in Vaughan and Prince Edward Island. Watching those girls stride to the podium to be congratulated, left little doubt in the minds of all that they didn’t need much in the way of “pep” talks to win. These girls were champions!
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