The Citizen, 2013-08-01, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 1, 2013
Volume 29 No. 31
SPORTS - Pg. 8Belmore Stingers winBrussels tournament FESTIVAL - Pg. 19 Young Company returnsto stage Aug. 7-11FALLFAIR- Pg. 2Brussels Ambassadorcompetition Aug. 10Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Streetfest a success despite poor weather
14/19 Campaign hopes to change Blyth landscape
The shirt says it all...
North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent, right, came out on the wrong end
of a fundraiser for the Blyth BIA on Saturday during the
organization’s inaugural Streetfest. The event included plenty of
music, entertainment for the kids and vendors. The main event, of
course, was the afternoon’s Kiss a Pig finale, which featured Blyth
Festival interim Artistic Director Peter Smith kissing the pig’s
“north” end, while Vincent earned a date with the “business”
end of the pig. BBIA Chair Rick Elliott, left, lucked out and held
the pig for Smith and Vincent. For more pictures from the event,
see page 11 and visit The Citizen’s website at
www.northhuron.on.ca for a full gallery and videos capturing
the day’s events. (Denny Scott photo)
The great mystery of the 14/19
campaign was finally unveiled on
Sunday, July 28 and the plan is an
ambitious one.
Surrounded by members of the
Royal Canadian Blyth Legion
Branch 420 and the Blyth Legion
Ladies Auxiliary, members of the
Blyth community and volunteers at
Blyth Memorial Community Hall,
Campaign 14/19 Committee Chair
and Blyth Festival Interim Artistic
Director Peter Smith, announced a
three-phase project to create a
cultural hub in Blyth akin to that in
Banff, Alberta.
Launched on July 28, the same
day that the cornerstone of Blyth
Memorial Hall was laid nearly 100
years ago and the day that World
War I commenced, the project is
steeped in history while at the same
time looking decades into the future.
The 14/19 (2014-2019) project is a
five-year project which includes, in
its three phases, renovations to the
upper and lower halls of Blyth
Memorial Hall, repurposing of the
hall’s courtyard, a plan to create a
school of art and design within the
former Blyth Public School building
with studios and a 150-seat multi-
purpose cutting edge theatre and
establish a sustainable fund to run
the school.
Smith explained that the plans to
renovate the building will be
finalized in the near future, after
reports regarding the status of the
building are received, but that
everything from painting, to the
By Denny Scott
The first annual Blyth Business
Improvement Area (BIA) Blyth
Streetfest, the sequel in spirit to the 2012
Blyth Buskerfest, was a great success
according to organizer Lorna Fraser,
despite some inclement weather.
The event, which ran on Saturday, July
27 from noon until 5 p.m., featured local
entertainers as well as a Farmers’
Market-style midway with treats, baked
goods and fresh vegetables for sale as
well as games for younger members of
the audience and a stage with
entertainment all afternoon. County
Road 4 was closed from King Street to
Drummond Street to accommodate all
the activities.
“I think it went really well,” Fraser
said in an interview with The Citizen on
Monday. “People on the street are still
talking about how great it was.”
Fraser said that the entertainment,
including magician Dickie Bird, emcee
and comedian Country Clem and the
Kiss A Pig competition were appreciated
and well attended.
“They all did very well,” she said.
While numbers aren’t in for the silent
auction or any of the vendors, it was
announced that the Kiss a Pig program,
which included Blyth Festival Interim
Artistic Director Peter Smith, North
Huron Reeve Neil Vincent and BIA
Chair Rick Elliott, raised more than
$500 for the BIA.
As far as attendance goes, the rain
didn’t dampen the spirits of people who
wanted to be there according to Fraser
who said she guesses that, at some
points, there were 100 people wandering
throughout the event.
The response she has received from
the vendors involved has also been
positive.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has said that,
despite the weather, they had a good day
and had good numbers,” she said. “I
didn’t speak to anyone who thought their
booth didn’t do well.”
It’s time to get involved.
7.28.13
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Continued on page 16
By Denny Scott
The Citizen