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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-06-27, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, June 27, 2013 Volume 29 No. 26 SPORTS - Pg. 8Barons manage just one hitagainst Wingham’s Daw FESTIVAL - Pg. 23‘Farm Show’ actorremembers 1972 originalPETITION- Pg. 7De-amalgamation petitioncirculating in Central HuronPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: ‘Beyond The Farm Show’ opens Festival Walton to host 100th International Plowing Match And the winner is... While representatives of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association said Huron County offered some of the most beautiful potential sites for an International Plowing Match (IPM) they had ever seen, it was the community of Walton on which they settled. The 2017 IPM will take place on Jack Ryan’s farm, while there will be an unprecedented level of co-operation from neighbouring farmers, pictured above, who have all offered their land to make the match a memorable one. Bluevale’s Jacquie Bishop was named the event’s chair and she has already begun working, planning for the match and forming committees. (Shawn Loughlin photo) There is a low rumble in the distance coming in on Highway 4. It’s not moving too fast but has a steady pace as it makes its way to Blyth. This can only mean one thing: the tractor parade is rolling into Blyth! To help celebrate the gala opening of the 2013 Blyth Festival season with Beyond The Farm Show the antique tractor parade and show and shine will be happening again on the main street of Blyth, Friday, June 28 at 5:30 pm. This year we hope to welcome over 20 tractors, some of which will be driven by Festival actors and administrators – including a certain former artistic director, Eric Coates, and his beloved Cockshutt. Last year’s parade was an absolute pleasure for all those out and about in the county and right after the parade at 8 p.m. is the world premiere of Beyond The Farm Show. A tractor parade followed by a play about the farms of Huron County is a perfect evening out. So, pull on your favourite John Deere hat or Massey Ferguson t-shirt and head out on Highway 4 to Blyth to see some real metal masterpieces. After months of research, farm visits and editing, the collective is ready to premiere Beyond The Farm Show this Friday, June 28. Over the course of five months, a team of five actors/writers, a director and an assistant director have ventured out into Huron County to visit local neighbours and friends. Now the collective is ready to tell their story. Over the writing and rehearsal process, the collective visited over 15 farms, a couple of livestock auctions, a yodelling choir practice and had a few tractor driving lessons at McGavin’s Farm Equipment in Walton. Needless to say, they have a field full of stories to harvest. For actor Jamie Robinson, there were “a lot of highlights.” When forced to choose among his experiences, Robinson will always be grateful for, “being so close to farm animals, something [he’s] never done before.” The audience will also have the opportunity to experience a closeness to livestock when they come to see the show. Auditions are being held across the country-side and a few animal/human language barriers are being examined – audiences will be in for a treat! For the original collective of the 1972 Farm Show, they left with a lifetime of experiences and friendships that still resound with them today. Now, we have another group of actors who have had a new world opened up to them and memories that will last a lifetime. Huron County has opened its heart to this group of willing performers and this summer audiences will have the opportunity to see the fruits of their labour. Beyond The Farm Show will be on the Blyth Festival stage from June 28 to Aug. 16 and tickets are on sale at the box office at 1-877-862-5984. Walton will be the host community for the 100th International Plowing Match (IPM) in 2017, the same year Canada will be celebrating its 150th birthday. The match will take place on Jack Ryan’s property, which is located on North Line, just south of Blyth Road. The Ryan site will be complemented by the Ringgenberg family, just west of the Ryans on Canada Company Road. Their property will play host to the event’s “tent city”. There will also be, says Huron Plowmen’s Association President Brian McGavin, unprecedented co- operation from a number of adjacent landowners who have pledged to volunteer their property in any way they can for the success of the match. The announcement was made on Sunday at “A Celebration of Rural Plowing” a special event hosted by the Huron Plowmen’s Association at the Seaforth Agriplex. The event honoured the achievements of national champions Paul Dodds and Kevin Haney, both from Huron East, and served to announce the 2017 IPM site. In addition, the IPM chair was chosen. Jacquie Bishop of Bluevale was named the event’s chair. She said that much like Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb, who was in attendance on Sunday, she could relate to the jubilation of being named chair, but it was short-lived and quickly replaced by the need to get to work. McGavin said Bishop was a strong leader and when the idea of chairing the event came up, she didn’t say no, which, as a salesman, McGavin said, he knows meant there was still a chance. Bishop has been involved with Huron County agriculture for decades and has been a 4-H Club leader as well. As the Walton site was announced, Huron East Deputy- Mayor Joe Steffler told those gathered that it was quite a day for Huron East, both for honouring a pair of national champions and to celebrate as the host of such an important event. “It takes a pretty good municipality to keep up with Huron East,” Steffler said. “Wow, what a day.” Before the announcement was made, Huron County Queen of the Furrow Kayla Bishop, Jacquie’s daughter who made the much- anticipated announcement, said that during the site selection tour, representatives from the Ontario Plowmen’s Association were very impressed with the quality of the sites. “They said they’d never had so By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 13 Aitken sets record Huron County’s track and field phenomenon Lexi Aitken, from the Londesborough area, shocked the track and field community at the Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (OFSAA) championships in Oshawa earlier this month, doing something no one in Canada had ever seen before. Aitken posted a 58.80-second time in the 400-metre hurdles Senior Girls final. Aitken is a 15-year-old Grade 10 student at St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School. Aitken says she was confused at Continued on page 14