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Townsman, 1991-02, Page 30Mc Country Music Heritage promoted in Wingham The heritage of Doc Cruickshank that made Wingham a centre for country music through his radio station CKNX and the famous CKNX Travelling Barn Dance may be revived by a new Wingham group promoting Prime Time Music. In February 50 interested people attended a meeting in Wingham to listen to a proposal that would see Wingham's Town Hall turned into a concert hall for country and western performances this summer. James A. Currie, chairman of Crossover Productions which is planning the concerts, said he was pleased with the turnout. "We are looking to extend our team," he told those present. "Just give us a bit of your time and talent." Mr. Currie sees the concerts as a way of bringing back the old CKNX Barn Dance. The group will present nine performances showcasing amateur and semi-professional talent with one headliner at each concert. The shows will take place back to back on Sunday afternoons and evenings. Ambitious plans call for renova- tions to the Wingham Town Hall auditorium including installing air conditioning. Long range plans call for a Barn Dance Hall of Fame and Archives as well as the idea of family jamborees in the park. Huron celebrates sesquicentennial with art shows 1991 is the 150th anniversary of Huron County and two of the county's biggest cultural facilities have teamed up for a display of county folk art as part of the sesquicentennial celebrations. Huron County Museum of Goder- ich and Blyth Festival's Art Gallery 28 TOWNSMAN/FEBRUARY-MARCH 1991 are co-operating to present various aspects of demonstrating the skills of ordinary artists of the county. Folk art, in its broadest sense, is one -of -a -kind craft including any- thing from carvings, whirlygigs, gates, canes, decoys, embroidery, metal work, quilts and weather- vanes to furniture, signs, paintings, toys. The Museum will present "Heri- tage Folk Art" drawn from its collection and community contribu- tions from June 14 to July 25. Among the displays will be the handcrafted models of museum founder Herbert Neill. The models. put in motion by a crank turned by museum visitors, showed how pio- neers carried on various tasks and often feature hand -carved figures of men and women. The museum is also looking for handcrafted folk art from people in the county and anyone wishing to loan a piece is asked to call Claus Breede, museum director at 524-2686 before March 28. The Festival Art Gallery will draw its exhibit from many of the remarkable artists still practicing their craft. Among those featured will be Stuart Taylor of The Nile in Colborne Township, a gifted man whose blacksmithing, tool making and wood carvings will be on display. Also featured will be the wood carvings of Bud Oke and Barry Cleave's paintings of poultry breeds. The Festival too is looking for additional work and anyone interested can call Bev Walker, 523-9403 before March 28. A unique addition to the celebra- tion is a "Driving Tour of Folk Treasures in Huron County" which will focus on permanent folk art that can't be moved to either of the indoor shows. Featured in the driving tour will be the likes of the well-known Laithwaite statues at Apple Park, just outside Goderich, painstakingly fashioned from motar and fieldstone by George Laithwaite in the 1930s. A' brochure highlight- ing dozens of folk art sites in the county will be published in June. John Rutledge, a Goderich architect is co-ordinating the tour and is looking for suggestions of sites to visit in the county. Stratford sailors invent game What do avid sailors do in the winter when they can't be sailing? For three Stratford sailing couples the answer is to create a board game about sailing. Lee and Sharon Chute, Dave and Doris Sherwood and Tom and Connie Orr unveiled their game in February. "Anchors Aweigh" is a game promoting safe sailing. "If just one child can learn something that will help with boat- ing safety, then it's been worth- while," Mr. Chute said. The couples met at the Chutes' home more than two years ago to first come up with the idea of a board game that would promote boating safety while still being fun to play. The object of the game is for the two to six players to successfully guide their vessels to given destina- tions on the gameboard, then make their way safely back to their home harbour. The players can move forward by correctly answering questions taken from 192 cards. Along the way hazards, marked by red dots, must be avoided. The questions were taken from pamphlets published by the Cana- dian Power and Sail Squadrons and the Canadian and U.S. Coast- guards. Mr. Chute said representa- tives of those organizations played prototypes of the game and their enthusiasm helped the group keep going when they were considering quitting. "They lifted us right back up again. We wanted to do it and do it right to promote safe boating." Just to put a little fun into the game for the inventors, three of the destinations are named after the couples: Sherwood Bluffs, Isle of Orr and Big Chute Channel. Anyone interested in purchasing the game, which sells for $32.90 plus tax, can Fax 271-7626 for an order form.