"Come and enjoy the hospitality of a community where 6 000 warm-hearted residents live and where 89% of that population is Francophone. Located in the heart of Ontario, Hearst lives its French heritage to the fullest. In 2006, Hearst was officially named the “Moose Capital” of Canada."
"by Pamela O’Neill /Staff Reporter
The annual Norseman Floatplane Community Festival, which took place this past weekend, is something Red Lakers get the pleasure to experience every year and we all know exactly what to expect: tents for family entertainment during the day and partying at night, Norseman planes and rides, a street full of booths, and hundreds of people from all walks of life and various ages out to have fun.
So what made this festival different from previous ones? A couple additions to the 2008 schedule included a Guitar Hero Contest sponsored by Video Plus and the highly anticipated International Air Rally arrival and reception, both of which were a smashing success. (See full story on the 8th Inter-national Air Rally for details.) And something unique to us all that everyone was able to enjoy, a weekend full of pleasant weather.
Of course the festival wouldn’t have been the same without the customary Norseman Fly-By, Water Bomber Display, Car Show, fireworks that light up the sky, or the Mixed Slo-Pitch Tournament, as these are always crowd stoppers and pleasers.
Making a comeback from 2007 was the Soap Box Derby sponsored by North American Lumber, and after a year off, hypnotist Michael Leach’s return was a great way to start off the weekend on Friday evening.
As always, music could be heard both day and night throughout the streets. This year’s musical lineup included a mixture of both local and out-of-town talent such as The Service, RLMPS African Drum Choir, Small Rooms, Devon Slobozian, Jim McCann, Shyanne Hovorka, Papa Smurf, I Kill My Shadow, Jamshack, Prep Boy, Rahill, and Country Gospel...."
"Kevin Anderson
Wednesday July 30, 2008
Back to main page — The weather didn’t cooperate and while it showed in the attendance Community Development Officer Chantal Rody said all things considered, this past weekend’s Lumberjack Heritage Festival was a success.
Early estimates put the attendance for the weekend’s festivities at approximately 5,000 people. No final numbers were available as of press time.
“The numbers weren’t as high as we were expecting but I believe the weather played a big part in that,” she commented. “The good news is the people who did come stayed for everything, which was nice to hear.”
Ms Rody said festival goers appeared especially pleased with the concerts, both Friday’s local line-up featuring Les Dead Ducks, The Dinosaurs and the Barrelhouse Blues Band and Saturday’s Rik Emmett performance.
“They all put on great performances,” she commented. “The local bands showed that there is a tremendous amount of talent in the area and Rik Emmett put on a great rock show that people really seem to have enjoyed.”
In addition to the much-heralded concerts, the festival featured the West Coast Lumberjack Show and a number of competitions."
By PETER BURKOWSKI
Friday, August 8, 2008
" Youths and adults alike gathered for an evening of music and fun Thursday at the second annual Superior Youth Festival.
By 5:30 p.m., 100 people had already arrived at the Marina Park festival stage for the 5 1/2-hour event.
“We‘re really excited about the range of bands that we have,” said Youth Zone director Jaclyn Moneypenny. “It‘s going to be a good night.”
The festival‘s free concert featured headlining act Ten Second Epic from Edmonton, as well as local bands Twist of Fate, Empire Lies, Brett Cizmar and Z3, Exit West, Without the Glory and AVS.
X‘s For Eyes was also on the roster, but was replaced at the last minute by Vega.
“(Vega) have a girl in the band – so it‘s nice to at least get one girl out,” joked Moneypenny.
The concert opened with Brett Cizmar and Z3, a band put together less than a month ago. This was their first public performance together.
“I think (the set) went great actually – almost as good as we could have hoped,” said Cizmar.
He and his bandmates agreed that the new festival stage was no small part of their success.
“I love the venue . . . it makes me feel professional,” said Cizmar.
The Superior Youth Festival was presented by Youth Zone and the City of Thunder Bay in association with The Chronicle-Journal. "
3 cheers for the lake
By PETER BURKOWSKI
Monday, July 21, 2008
Ecological awareness joined up with summer fun on Sunday at the first Lake Superior Day to be celebrated at Marina Park.
Held on the third Sunday in July, Lake Superior Day is celebrated in communities in Canada and the U.S. which lie on the lake‘s coastline.
The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of environmental threats to the lake, and to encourage the public to take action to protect and restore it.
Sunday‘s celebration in Thunder Bay was sponsored by the city, EcoSuperior, the Zero Waste Action Team and the Lake Superior Binational Forum.
About 100 people attended.
“The event‘s gone really well – especially for a first time,” said EcoSuperior program co-ordinator Karen Copeland.
In addition to kite flying, live music, kayaking and tours of a coast guard rescue vessel, the celebration featured information kiosks about the threats to Lake Superior, and what can be done to overcome them.
“Even though (Superior) is the cleanest of the Great Lakes, it still runs into trouble with pollution, invasive species and overconsumption,” said Copeland.
Lake Superior Binational Forum Canadian chairman Glen Dale agreed, but added that locally, things are starting to improve.
“One (area of concern) has been Thunder Bay harbour, and it‘s in a very progressive cleanup stage,” said Dale. “Millions of dollars from government and industry funds have gone into cleaning up the lake.”
The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority also celebrated Lake Superior Day with a picnic at Silver Harbour.
Copyright © Monday, July 21, 2008 All material contained herein is copyrighted by
The Chronicle Journal, a division of Continental Newspapers Canada Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
"In early 1994, the Town of Geraldton received notice that MacLeod Provincial Park would be closing. A citizens group was formed to find a way to keep the Park from being decommissioned and turned over to private ownership.
Subsequently, the Town of Geraldton entered into an agreement with the Province of Ontario to operate the Park under municipal management. Later that year, in a determined effort to preserve this beautiful natural resource and a way of life valued by so many residents, a small group of Park campers proposed the idea of a fund-raising musical event to be held in MacLeod Provincial Park. Any profits from the event would go towards the park’s operations. In 1995, the first Jamboree was born..."
Saturday: Bon Journey, Prairie Oyster, Honeymoon Suite
Sunday: Negus, Helix, April Wine
