Village Squire, 1980-08, Page 39UPDATE
CRAFTS BOOM IN HURON
The crafts boom still seems to be alive
and well in Huron County. Recently a new
business venture, a store called Frills and
Fancies, opened at 12 Isaac Street, Clinton,
to sell handcrafted goods made by local
people.
The three owners, Karen Lehnen, Ruth
Gates and Genny Russo, had little diffi-
culty in stocking their shop, although the
business venture was in the planning only
one month before the store opened.
Area hobbyists and craftsmen known to
the co-owners were originally contacted
and asked for work, but Ruth Gates said
now craftspeople "are coming to us."
The goods in the store include weaving,
oil paintings, wooden toys, dried flower
arrangements and ceramic pieces.
The co-owners are operating the shop as
a hobby, as well as a business. Genny
Russo's family is now grown, so the store
offers her a new interest. Karen is a nurse,
and Ruth a secretary who enjoys craft
work herself, and the store offers the ladies
something different from their usual
careers.
NEWCOMERS AT STRATFORD
Two newcomers to the acting company of
the Stratford Festival Theatre will make
their debuts in Shakespeare's Henry VI,
which opens August 13 at the Festival's
Third Stage.
The two, Luce Guilbeault and Booth
Savage, will be members of the company
for the play which was adapted by Pam
Brighton.
Montreal -born Luce Guilbeault is an
actress and director for both theatre and
film. Her theatre experience is extensive,
and she has worked with CBC television
and radio.
Booth Savage has created major roles in
a variety of contemporary plays by Cana-
dian authors. His theatre company credits
include work with Theatre Passe Muraille,
Toronto Free Theatre and the Centaur
Theatre.
Henry VI is Miss Brighton's second
production for Stratford. The other was the
highly praised Barren/Yerma of last
season.
Stephen Russell will play the role of
Henry VI.
A NEW CHOIR
The formation of a new choir, to be
known as the Blyth Festival Singers, is
underway in Huron County. The com-
munity choir. being formed in Huron
County, will begin rehearsals in September.
The singers will be under the direction of
Mr. Laurie Rowbotham of Listowel. Mr.
Rowbotham has a degree in Choral Music
from the University of Waterloo, and is
presently the director of music at Listowel
High School.
Mr. Rowbotham recently made a tour of
Ontario with the high school choir, which is
nationally known, and performed at the
National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The choir
also sings with the London Symphony
Orchestra.
The choir's repertoire has been designed
to appeal to all age groups and tastes, from
renaissance madrigals to Newfoundland
folk songs and classical pieces.
Pianist JoAnne King of Brussels, will
accompany the choir. The group hopes to
plan three or four concerts this winter.
BIG GIFT TO HISTORY CENTRE
The London History Centre project, to
develop a centre focusing on the growth
and development of the city, celebrating its
125th anniversary this year, has been given
a boost with a S200,000 donation from
Colonel Tom Lawson.
In recognition of the gift, the new
historical museum, located on Western
Road in the north of the city, will be called
The Lawson Museum and London History
Centre.
The centre, originally called Grosvenor
Lodge, was acquired by the London Library
Board from the University of Western
Ontario in 1977. Architecturally, the beaut-
iful lodge is one of London's finest old
country mansions, and an outstanding
example of Tudor Gothic style. The home
was built by architect Samuel Peters for his
wife Anne. It was designated as an
architecturally significant building under
the Ontario Heritage Act.
The renovation and restoration of the
home will start this year, with completion
in the first half of 1981.
NEW COLLECTION AT
LONDON GALLERY
Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Moore of London
recently donated 454 works of art to the
Ontario Heritage Foundation. The collect-
ion will be permanently housed at the
London Regional Art Gallery.
A catalogue of the collection, known as
the Moore Gift, not only reads like a
"Who's who of Canadian Art," but the
works also have a healthy international
representation.
In making the donation Mr. Moore,
Chairman of the Board of John Labatt Ltd.,
London, noted he hoped the public would
be able to share the pleasure he and his
family have enjoyed from the collection, as
well as to show the appreciation to the
community "which has been good to us
and our family for the past five gener-
ations."
The collection was started 35 years ago
and initially involved buying one painting a
year.
The works of members of the Painters
Eleven, a group synonymous with
abstract expressionism in Canada, will be
on display at the London Regional Art
Gallery until August 24.
The group includes many familiar names:
Harold Town, Jack Bush, Jock Macdonald
and William Ronald. These artists led the
way in the experimental investigations in
the sixties.
The group, which was together from
1953 to 1960, was formed primarily as a
vehicle for exhibiting.
The collection on display represents a
record of the radical abstractionists in
action.
Visit
Art in the Park
Stratford
Enjoy watching artists at
work as they display and
sell their work.
Saturday, Sunday
and Wednesdays
during summer
Open
June 21 to August 31
Plus holidays July 1
and August 4.
Closed
July 12 & 13.
LAKESIDE DRIVE,
STRATFORD
VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1980 PG. 33