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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2016-08-03, Page 88 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, August 3, 2016 Fact or fiction, truth or lies, literature or smut; who decides what we can or cannot read? In 1978, a group of puri- tanical thinkers who called themselves "Renaissance Canada" successfully con- vinced the Huron County School Board to put three books on its list for banning, and finally voted to forbid any student at one of the five high schools in the county from reading Margaret Lau- rence's iconic, Governor General's Award-win- ning, The Diviners (arguably one of the single most influ- ential Canadian books of the 20th century). At the same time, Alice Munro's Lives of Girls and Women was removed from the Peterbor- ough high school curriculum. This real life flashpoint is the inspiration for If Truth Be Told, a gripping new play by Beverley Cooper receiv- ing its world premiere this summer at the Blyth Festival from July 27 to Sept. 3 in Blyth's Memorial Hall. With If Truth Be Told, Festival favourite Beverley Cooper (Eyes of Heaven, Innocence Lost: A Play About Stephen Truscott, and The Lonely Diner: Al Capone in Euphe- mia Township) has approached this significant moment in our Huron County history with passion, sympathy, and daring. Peg Dunlop is an interna- tionally celebrated writer, with a long list of distin- guished awards, living with her family in Vancouver. Peg is the most famous and suc- cessful writer ever to come out of the small town of Way - ford. In spite of her influen- tial career and accomplish- ments, Peg is no local heroine. Far from being cel- ebrated in her hometown, many of the locals despise her work, and deeply resent her writing, revealingly, about life in Wayford. When Peg unexpectedly moves home, few in the town embrace her return. Unaware of the apparent controversy surrounding Peg, Wayford's eager young high school English teacher assigns one of Peg's books to her Grade 13 class, and invites the writer to come and speak at the school. As news of Peg's return spreads, and details of her book emerge, a group of con- cerned parents, led by a local pastor, endeavour to have her book banned. As the towns- people begin to choose sides, Peg befriends a teenage girl named Jennifer, who comes to learn the difference between telling the truth and telling a good story. Starring as Peg Dunlop is festival favourite Catherine Fitch, most recently seen in the festival's season opener, Our Beautiful Sons: Remembering Matthew Dinning. Also in the cast are J. D. Nicholsen, Rebecca Auer- bach, Meghan Chalmers and Anita La Selva who is making Grand Sparks a success For the second year now, the Grand Sparks activity day camp has taken place during a one-week event at the Edge -of -Walton. The week at camp brings grand- parents and their grandchil- dren together for many of the regular outdoor adven- tures you might expect at summer camp such as canoeing, hiking, biking, and catching frogs. But there are also some unique experiences like a high - ropes challenge course, a giant teeter-totter big enough for a couple dozen people, and a one -of -a -kind obstacle course constructed through a forest. The week is more than just an exciting experience shared by the intergenerational pair, but also a rural health research project investigating moti- vators of exercise. The pro- ject coordinator is Jay McFarlan, one of the research chairs at the Gate- way Centre of Excellence in Rural Health, located in Seaforth. The Gateway Cen- tre was originally created The Seaforth Generals need BILLET FAMILIES Do you have a private room with desk/workspace? Willing to provide meals and snacks? Understand the need for 'team rule enforcement'? We will pay you per month! If interested or would like more info contact General Manager TJ Runhart 519-301-7016 runhart22@hotmail.com because of the health dis- parity between urban and rural areas; Huron County consistently ranks among the worst in the province for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. These health statis- tics could all be improved with a little more physical activity in our daily lives. McFarlan has crunched the numbers from last year's group. He found that the Grand Sparks program can positively influence grand- parents' behaviours towards her Blyth Festival debut. Playwright Beverley Cooper is a writer, actor and teacher. She has written for TV, film and extensively for CBC radio drama, twice being nominated for Writers' Guild of Canada Awards. She has won multiple awards for her work. Over 35 years of directing across Canada, Miles Potter has directed numerous pro- ductions for the Blyth Festi- val, most recently, 2014s hit comedy Stag and Doe, as well as Beverley Cooper's previous hit Innocence Lost: A Play about Steven Truscott. His directing cred- its include productions at the Stratford Festival, The Grand Theatre, The National Arts Centre, Canadian Stage, Mirvish Productions, among many others. He has also been a guest director and teacher at the National Thea- tre School, George Brown College, St. Clair College, Fanshawe College, exercise as well as actually make them more active, even when measured 6 -months after the one- week program. By focusing on building a relationship that includes physical activ- ity rather than focusing only on exercise, the Grand Sparks program creates a social change that makes being physically active the new normal. By changing the culture around physical activity, the program also strives to show the next gen- eration how important it is At a Glance IF TRUTH BE TOLD I July 27 to September 3 Written by Beverley Cooper Directed by Miles Potter TICKETS: $35 preferred I $31 regular I $15 youth I (Pre- views: $26 preferred I $22 regular I $15 youth) BOX OFFICE: 519-523-9300 I Toll Free: 1-877- 862-5984 I Online: www.blythfestival.com Dates of Note July 27 - Preview at 8 p.m. July 28 - Preview at 8 p.m. July 29 - Opening night at 8 p.m. August 18 - An informal question and answer "Talk Back" with cast members follows the 2 p.m. matinee September 3 - Closing performance at 2 p.m. Dalhousie University, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City. The design team for If Truth Be Told: Steve Lucas is designing the set and light- ing, long time festival favour- ite Shawn Kerwin is to be active. But exercise is only half the battle, with proper nutrition being the other half. Each day at Grand Sparks, after their morning of activity, the grandparents and grand- children prepare a healthy, tasty, easy, budget con- scious meal together and hear a short nutrition les- son. This year, the program was partly funded by the Healthy Kids Community Challenge to help promote water as the first -choice beverage in children and designing the costumes, Beth Kates is designing the projections, and Lyon Smith is the sound designer. Crys- tal MacDonell is the stage manager and Christina Cicko is the assistant stage manager. reduce consumption of sugar -sweetened beverages. Although the camp is over for this year, McFarlan is already making plans for July 2017 and perhaps expanding the camp to more than one week, or more than one location. Feedback from previous par- ticipants has been over- whelmingly positive and it appears the program actu- ally works to create a cultural shift in attitudes towards physical activity. Details of the program can be found at Lrivir YOUR ROADMAP TO ALL THINGS AUTO Let's Improve our Local HOSPITAL A gift will make an important difference at life's most crucial time. if we all give a little.. we all get a lot For information to donate contact: Seaforth Community Hospital Foundation 519-527-1650 0 NEWS / *** REVIEWS / What if one company could solve all your business needs? We can connect all the pieces in more ways than ever before. For more information, visit postmedia.com/advertise 1 COMPARISONS/ rp] POSTMEDIA