Some random weekend thoughts...

I don't have a lot of brain power this evening, after a very hectic and somewhat stress-filled week, but a quiet Saturday evening with some appropriate music in the background will allow me to offer up a few random thoughts on happenings in Niagara and beyond this weekend.

Earlier today at the Pen Centre, men from all over Niagara came together for a common cause:  to raise funds for the good work done by Gillian's Place, the women's shelter in St. Catharines.  For ten years running, men with a conscience have strapped on high heels in varying degrees of height and literally Walked a Mile in HER Shoes.  Each sought pledges for the walk, raising a lot of money for Gillian's Place over the years.

The first year was held in downtown St. Catharines, leaving Market Square and walking around a city block before returning to the market, trying to avoid pot holes along the way.  After that first year, it was decided to move the event to the somewhat safer and certainly warmer climate of Pen Centre, and the event has grown in size at that location every year.

I don't have a tally on how many walkers we had this year, but I do know those who did walk raised an impressive $60,000 for Gillian's Place today.  That is an investment in a community resource and refuge that is unfortunately still very much needed in this day and age.  We can't eradicate domestic violence elsewhere in the world, but right here at home we can all do our part to show domestic violence can not and will not be tolerated on any level.

My congratulations to all those who participated this year, both as walkers and as volunteers.  It was a great event and it is always wonderful to see the community come together and rally around a very important cause.  Men in heels; not being heels...

I was there today, but didn't walk this year.  The reason for that will be explained in greater detail in my next blog posting this week, but suffice to say I had to be extra careful with my feet this year.

Now, on to an arts event currently underway that is gaining a lot of notice in downtown St. Catharines.  The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre commissioned a production that celebrates the living memory of downtown St. Catharines and the show, entitled The Tale of a Town, opened earlier this week.

The show, staged at the historic Odd Fellows Hall on James Street in downtown St. Catharines, continues throughout the next week until Friday, October 23rd.  Most days have both afternoon and evening performances so it should be relatively easy to find a performance that suits your schedule.

The Tale of a Town is a collaborative effort between nationally-known theatre and media company Fixt Point and our own Suitcase in Point Theatre Company, in order to capture the collective community memory of Canada's Main Streets, one story at a time.  The production was developed during 2011 and 2013 at our own In the Soil Arts Festival.  In 2014, Fixt Point launched a national tour in collaboration with The National Arts Centre and presenting partners across the country.

St. Catharines was the focal point during last spring's In the Soil Festival, as the company set up a small trailer on James Street in order to record audio and video recollections of local residents of downtown St. Catharines.  In all, over 100 interviews with business leaders and community members ranging from Walter Ostanek and Doug Herod to the late Marilyn I. Walker were conducted.

I, too, was amongst those asked to provide some recollections of our downtown, and I happily spent part of a spring Saturday afternoon offering my own memories of our main street.  It was fun and interesting to see the different perspectives on the downtown core offered up during the interviews.

I have not seen The Tale of a Town yet; that will come next Friday evening when neighbours Sandy Middleton and Mark Allaart invite my far better half and I to catch the final show in the run.  I am almost afraid to see what part of my interview they chose to use for the production!

Tickets are only $20 plus hst and are on sale through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office by calling 905-688-0722 or 905-688-5601, ext. 3700.  You can also purchase your tickets in person at Suite No. 1, 101 King Street, downtown St. Catharines.

Tied in with this show, the St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre is supporting the show by providing various historic photographs from its vast collection for use in the production and also for a small photo display during the run of The Tale of the Town.

The Museum will also present its award-winning aMUSE pop-up museum experience featuring artifacts and photographs with a special connection to the stories featured in the production next Saturday evening at 7 at the Mahtay Cafe on St. Paul Street.  This free event is open to the community.

This should be a fun way to reminisce about the so-called "good old days", or if you are new to St. Catharines, find out a little more about the history of our downtown here in the Garden City.

Before I get to the show next Friday of course, we have something else to deal with here in the city as well as across the rest of the country on Monday.  That's election day, and we have the power to shape the future of this country by taking part in the democratic process our parents and grandparents fought many years ago to preserve.

I don't have any great insights on how to vote in the coming election; heck I have even been undecided for much of this very long campaign myself.  But I do know by not voting, you don't contribute.  So get out and cast a ballot for the candidate of your choice.

Don't be complacent and say to yourself your vote doesn't matter or won't change anything.  It has the power to be and do both.  Just consider the many people around the world who don't have that democratic right we tend to take for granted, and just get out and do it.

Monday is an important day.  Please be a responsible citizen of this country and vote in the federal election.

Have a great weekend in the meantime!

October 17th, 2015.