The Citizen, 2016-06-09, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
SPORTS - Pg. 8
Brussels Ball Day raises
thousands for causes
COWBELL - Pg. 10
New Blyth brewery breaks
ground at future site
FooD - Pg. 20
Blyth's Part II Bistro
honoured provincially
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Volume 32 No. 23
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Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, June 9, 2016
d Munro
Festival
a success
Relaxed
While some students decided to try and shield their eyes,
their clothes and, most importantly of all, their cell phones
from the coloured dust thrown up at the start of the Red
Walk fundraiser on June 1, others took the colourful storm
of powder in stride. The event, which is hosted by Central
Huron Secondary School's student council, is a fundraiser for the
council that sees students trek from the Clinton school to Varna if
they contribute. Shrugging off the colourful assault are Anthony
Kipfer, centre, and Scott Chisholm, right, while other students, like
Amy Alcock, left, weren't quite as enthusiastic. (Denny Scott photo)
14/19 to take over Memorial Hall lease
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
The Blyth Arts and Cultural
Initiative 14/19 group could take
over management of Blyth
Community Memorial Hall from the
Township of North Huron for the
next 20 years if council approves a
proposed contract at a future
meeting.
During council's June 6 meeting, a
draft contract was presented to North
Huron Township Council stating that
having 14/19 manage the hall for $1
per year would save approximately
$45,000 annually.
"The lease agreement is for a 20 -
year term, and the building deficit,
currently subsidized by North Huron
ratepayers will be assumed by 14/19
Inc. as part of the lease agreement,"
a report presented by Chief
Administrative Officer Sharon
Chambers and Director of
Recreation and Facilities Pat
Newson stated. "This results in an
estimated savings of $45,000
annually to the township."
The lease will be brought back to
council for its June 20 meeting.
According to the report, the move
has been supported by the Blyth
Centre for the Arts which includes
The Blyth Festival, the Blyth Legion
and the Blyth Legion Ladies
Auxiliary.
The report also states the move
would be a favourable one as 14/19
Inc. "has resources and a business
plan that will grow the marketing
and usage of the facility for current
stakeholders and users, and
potentially new users of the facility."
It also states that there will be a
transition period, after the proposed
renovations that should be
completed by May of next year,
where the township will work with
14/19 Inc. and the building's users,
to make sure the plan succeeds.
14/19 MEMORIAL HALL FUNDS
The fundraising group also
received approval for its funding
agreement with North Huron
Township.
The funding agreement is based on
North Huron contributing $500,000
to the more -than $4.2 million project
while $3.3 million comes through a
grant from the provincial
government. The township is also
waiting on a grant application
through the Canada Cultural Spaces
Fund which could bring $979,907 to
the project. As part of the agreement,
staff will keep council apprised of
any changes to the fund.
TINY HOUSE PROJECT
Blyth Arts and Culture Initiative
Project Director Peter Smith and
Administrator Karen Stewart
requested that council allow staff to
work with them for what they call a
"Tiny House" project.
The project will look at the
viability of building a community of
"Tiny House" structures which are
defined as a 200- to 400 -square foot
house that includes all the
necessities.
"The Blyth Festival struggles
every year trying to find appropriate
Continued on page 14
This year's Alice Munro Festival
of the Short Story will be
remembered as one for the ages,
says committee chair Rick
Sickinger.
The event kicked off on June 2 in
Blyth with a special event featuring
a reading and conversation with
Margaret Atwood, one of Canada's
most successful authors.
Sickinger says that bringing
Atwood to Huron County for the
festival has been such a positive step
for the event that its impact will
resonate for years to come.
"To have an author of that profile
really drew an audience," Sickinger
said, "and it really helps to put the
festival on the map."
Sickinger said it's hard to measure
the number of people he interacted
with over the course of the weekend
who are big names in the literary
world who have now heard of the
Alice Munro Festival and put it on
the same level as Toronto literary
festivals like Word on the Street and
the Toronto Harbourfront Festival.
Sickinger says he feels that having
Munro attached to the festival this
year really helped to draw a talent
like Atwood and with the prestige
involved in hosting Atwood, comes
other esteemed authors eager to get
involved, which is what those
attending the festival over the
weekend saw in Blyth, Wingham
and Goderich.
The feedback that Sickinger and
other members of the committee
received regarding the Atwood event
and events throughout the weekend,
he said, was very positive and it
validated the group's approach,
which was to try and provide a lot of
variety and a little something for
everyone over the weekend.
This year's festival, Sickinger
said, had the largest slate of events
in the festival's history, which likely
attracted more people to the area.
One thing Sickinger said he and
committee members kept hearing
over and over again throughout the
weekend was how impressed people
were with the accessibility of the
authors who were part of the event.
With esteemed authors available
and approachable throughout the
weekend, Sickinger said that while
the festival has grown in recent
years, it has still kept its intimate
feeling, in bringing readers and
authors together in a non-
threatening environment that those
attending really appreciated.
As a result, he said, the festival
not only showcased the great work
being done by Canadian authors, but
helped readers to see just how
"lovely" some of the country's
Continued on page 20