Eric Bunnell's People: Arts crawl takes another year off
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OK. Now, I’m *really* mad.
Newly fallen prey to the pandemic is this year’s Railway City Arts Crawl.
For a second year, the end-of-February event – initially conceived as a way to escape the dread of winter by getting out of the house and around town to explore – is cancelled.
“We are taking another year off for 2022,” Megan Pickersgill, Railway City Tourism said. “We hope to return in 2023.”
No firm plans, yet, how to replace the weekend showcase of a wide variety of local talents, both artistic and artisanal, along with food and frolic. But a July Mural Festival is in the works “so people still can get an interactive arts fix this year.”
Possibly, there will be another edition of last year’s family friendly Railway City Arts Crawl Scavenger Hunt that sent participants around and about the community to record “pandemically safe” visits to various attractions and compete for prizes.
For Moe McVey, the six-month hunt, which ended Boxing Day, was an opportunity for the retired respiratory therapist to learn about her new hometown. She moved with her partner three years ago to St. Thomas from London after finding the perfect – and affordable – house here.
She said the crawl helped take her mind off the pandemic.
“It was a good thing to do during the pandemic – and to explore St. Thomas, because I’m new here.”
As new missions were announced Saturday mornings, she’d be up, dressed and already to go with Bowie, a nine-year-old miniature poodle she called her teammate.
Moe, an active outdoorsperson whose hobbies include geocaching, said she was driven by her natural curiosity.
“I like to know what’s on the other side – a new trail, where does it go?”
She discovered those trails. And local arts. And the St. Thomas Elevated Park. Even shopping.
“Some of the stores, I wouldn’t normally think of going to.”
Megan said the scavenger hunt was a success.
“Definitely! … There were over 300 teams involved, over 4,200 submissions, 98 total missions featuring over 80 destinations, small businesses, art studios, galleries, museums.”
After submitting those 98 missions. Moe won the hunt’s top – $500 prize in cash and Downtown Dollars.
“Of course,” she replied to the question. “Bowie will share the prize.”
‘Something different to see’
While we wait out the latest lockdown, Railway City Tourism said the St. Thomas Elevated Park, indeed, is a place to check out.
Diane and David Vaughan already are regulars.
“We always walk up there,” she said. “Every time you go up, there’s something different to see.”
On a most recent stroll, they noted the appearance of love locks attached to the railings of the former railway bridge soaring over Kettle Creek in the city’s west end. Just like in Paris on bridges across the Seine, Diane noted.
Lovers profess their undying attraction by locking two locks bearing their initials together, then chucking the keys.
“I’m wondering if it will take off here,” Diane laughs.
Well, the recent tradition isn’t appreciated everywhere. Indeed, authorities have cut love locks off those bridges in Paris because their weight has threatened the historic structures, causing even partial collapse of a parapet on one. (Thanks, always, to Wiki for the info!)
But the elevated park, built to withstand the pounding of huge, 300-ton steam locomotives approaching each other at speed on a double-tracked mainline, is made of sterner stuff.
The attraction currently counts close to a half-dozen love locks and, spokesman Serge Lavoie said, “We don’t encourage them – but we’re not actively discouraging them.”
Indeed, the park is considering construction of some sort of love lock arch – perfect for selfies, don’t you know – this spring.
A greater concern is where the infatuated will chuck those keys. Not into Kettle Creek below, please.
Serge said they could be collected in a strongbox – welded shut to guard against jealous jilted suitors trying to unlock locks? – maybe to be melted into a commemorative plaque.
There you have it!
Icing on the figurative cake
Along with the usual miseries (frozen pipes, frozen cars, etc. and etc.), and a warning from St. Thomas Fire Department to stay off local ice, last week’s frigid temperatures also heralded some good news.
Led by community-builder Doug Tarry Homes, a group of volunteers, with co-sponsors Home Hardware and Impressions Printing, has come together to propose and build a natural ice rink on city-owned property off South Edgware Dr. between W.S. Morrison Catholic and Locke’s Public elementary schools.
“These are community projects that we’d love to see more and more of in our community,” Mayor Joe Preston on Monday told city council, where the initiative received unanimous approval of members.
And, indeed, the group said more rinks are a possibility in future seasons.
With city staff supporting the venture through training and weekly oversight, and with off-duty firefighters flooding the ice, the volunteers will be indemnified under municipal insurance – an important protection for such community-led endeavours, Coun. Steve Peters noted.
Coun. Jim Herbert fondly recalled skating as a youth on a rink at Balaclava St. school, and Coun. Steve noted neighbourhood rinks once were a regular sight.
Coun. Jeff Kohler added a modern-day thought to the undertaking, asking that it be made accessible for sledge hockey and skaters, something that parks and rec director Jeff Bray said is quite doable.
“We have a very good sledge hockey team in town,” Mayor Joe noted.
Logging in
St. Thomas connected 1Password is in the headlines. Uh-gain!
The successful password management service whose cofounders include our town’s David and Sara Teare, has again proven it’s a digital darling by raising a record-setting US$620 million in venture capital.
Thursday’s Globe: “The deal values 1Password … at US$6.8 billion, making it one of Canada’s most highly valued private technology companies and worth more than all but five tech companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange.”
Just last summer, with a valuation then of US$2 billion, privately held 1Password made headlines after for the first time disclosing it had achieved what for successful tech startups is called unicorn status.
In the market
“Coming Soon” announces Aylmer Sales Arena and Farmers Market.
“Exciting news!!,” the business posts to social media. “Now under new ownership and reopening May 2022.”
That’s two years after the longtime market shuttered in May 2020.
Once populated by hundreds of vendors, the market had been in decline in recent years but still was scheduled to open for that year’s season until the pandemic hit.
“COVID-19 accelerated our closing because we would not be allowed to open in these unprecedented times, anyway,” then owner Eddie Lensink was quoted.
No names yet attached to the new venture.
The real news
Well. You’d almost think it was good news when the media reported Thursday morning this week that Premier Doug Ford was expected to announce an easing of pandemic restrictions starting Jan. 31.
But just call my glass half-empty.
Isn’t the real news the likely extension of the lockdown past its initial end on Wednesday next?
Sigh. I hope our local restos and everyone else who has been shuttered for the past two weeks, can hang on just a bit longer.
Stay well!
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