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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-07-06, Page 35NI MI MI II II The Village Barber Welcome to Blyth Campvention Dana Weber Owner/Operator vi I lag ebarber@ hotmail.com Mon. & Tues. 9-2; Wed., Thurs. & Fri. 9-5, Sat. 8-1 412 Queen St., Blyth No appointments 519-523-9555 WELCOME CAMPERS ELLIOTT NIXON INSURANCE BROKERS INC. Established 1910 405 Queen Street, Blyth 519-523-4481 The Municipality of Central Huron extends a very warm welcome to all participants of the 2006 Campvention in Blyth. Please ask your organizers for your copy of the Central Huron promotional CD or contact the municipal office, 23 Albert Street, Clinton. Phone 519-482-3997 444 Site ff_own, ai code, ticki pleased to. welcome eantpuention, 206 Of course we're unique; our Town Square is an octagon. With historic Huron County Courthouse and a beautiful park at its centre, Goderich radiates with all the features and amenities that make it Canada's Prettiest Town. From our three beautiful beaches to the variety of inns, shops, fine dining, museums, heritage architecture, fishing and amazing sunsets, Goderich is certain to pique the interest of your whole family. Visit us soon. GODERiCH CANADA'S PRETTIEST TOWN For information on Canada's Prettiest Town, please contact: Tourism Goderich 1 800 280 7637 or visit our website at: www.goderich.ca PAGE A-6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2006 Blyth Festival Art Gallery celebrates 31st season As the Blyth Festival Art Gallery celebrates its 31st season in 2006 in the Bainton Gallery at Blyth Memorial Hall, long-time members can only marvel at how far things have come. Back in that first season, the art was displayed on makeshift panels in the basement of the hall, which also served as lobby for the theatre upstairs. Today the Bainton Gallery provides the largest public art gallery space in the county. The story of the gallery began with a simple knock on the appropriate door. Blyth-area artists Ron and Bev Walker were there at the beginning and moved with the gallery as it grew. Back in 1975 the Blyth Festival had barely been formed when festival founding artistic director James Roy approached the Walkers one spring day. "He just knocked on our door and said, 'You want to start a gallery?' " Ron Walker recalled years later. Based on that request, the first exhibit was prepared for showing in the basement of Memorial Hall in 1975. The Walkers remembered that first show, which displayed local artists as well as the works of Attraction After an old tree was cut down at the Lions Park it was eventually transformed into a work of art. Toronto friends. 'We sent someone into the street with a bottle of wine, offering drinks, to get people to come inside," they laughed. The gallery had many homes over the next few years until 1990 when the gallery moved to its permanent home in the newly- constructed connecting link between the administration offices and Memorial Hall. It was rededicated as The Bainton Gallery the following year. Still today a visit to the gallery is made simple since it is right beside the Memorial Hall box office. The first exhibit of the season, which will be on view during Campvention, features the work of Cathy Van Raay-Myers of Chatham. Van Raay-Myers creates large abstracts in mixed media, in this case collage and charcoal. The exhibition is in two parts. The first features works using a progress from chaos to control, created by layers of geometric figures. The" second part - of the exhibition is a visual commentary on the layers of information that she experienced when government officials stepped in to deal with an infestation of emerald ash borer in trees near her home. The variety of food produced in Huron County is stunning and visitors can conveniently shop for fresh local products at farmers markets in the county. For several years now, Blyth-area shoppers have had their own farmers' market close at hand — the Saturday afternoon market in downtown Blyth, conveniently located just a half-block from Memorial Hall, home of the Blyth Festival. A one-day experimental market in 2003 proved a big success and vendors and shoppers alike asked if the market would become a regular attraction. The market became a summer-long feature beginning in 2004 featuring local fruit and vegetable growers (one an Old Order Mennonite), a vendor of maple syrup, honey and pork products, another offering woolen products and lamb, and others who come and go. The market has found a regular clientele among local residents seeking the freshest of goods, as well as members of the Festival's acting and production company who like the opportunity to ,meet the people who produce their food. Hundreds of people attending matinee performances at the Festival add to the bustle of the market, offering vendors a wider pool of potential customers. Market hours, from 1-4:30 p.m. are designed to add extra pleasure for theatregoers visiting Blyth. The grandaddy of farmers Van Raay-Myers has a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Windsor. The exhibition continues until July 19. Later in the summer, the second exhibition offers something completely different in the ceramic figures of Zsu Zsa Monostory. Monostory came to Canada from Hungary as a research biologist Her first ceramic pieces were actually of interesting insects. Today she sculpts figures, up to a half-metre in height, that have an almost cartoon-like quality mindful of harlequin figures or Commedia Dell'Arte with a hint of the oriental. The figures often seem to be in conversation with each other. Other pieces in the exhibition include decorative plates or bowls. The show opens July 21 with a reception at 6 p.m. and continues until Aug. 9. An exhibition by Elora-area artist Tim Merton is the final gallery showing of the summer. Called "At First Light" the large, realistic landscapes in oil show Merton's fascination with the play of light in wooded areas near his home. Merton is a scenery painter kept busy in the television and film markets in the county is the Goderich market, held every Saturday from late May to early October on the Courthouse Square, in Goderich. The square was originally designated as a market square when the town was laid out back in 1827 but today's market has only been around a little more than a decade. If you want to visit this market it's best to go before noon. Though it's officially open until 1 p.m. by noon many of the vendors are sold out and are packing up to go home (after all they started out very, very early). industries. His work was seen by the gallery committee during the Elora- area studio tour last year. The exhibition opens with a reception at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11 and continues until Sept. 7. Farmers Market in Blyth, Sat.