I hope everyone had a wonderful Mariposa weekend! The lineup was great, the weather mostly cooperated, and I certainly saw lots of friends and Orillians out there enjoying the festival.
Having the main stage dedicated and renamed the Lightfoot Stage certainly was a beautiful ending to a lovely weekend. Save the date now for July 5 to 7, 2024. And for goodness sake, get your tickets early, for next year. They usually go on sale sometime in December and are at their cheapest then.
This weekend, festival season continues in Orillia with the Orillia Scottish Festival. This year is the festival’s 45th anniversary and there is a great day and weekend of all things Scottish to celebrate this.
Tudhope Park is the scene of the all-day Scottish Festival on Saturday, due to ongoing construction in and around Couchiching Park. Accessible shuttle buses are running from the Orillia Recreation Centre all day Saturday.
Friday night, the festival kicks off with a Ceilidh with the Strange Potatoes at the Orillia Legion Branch 34. There will be a special performance by the Orillia Pipes and Drums featuring special guest, Jonathan Fleming, 50/50 tickets and a light meal towards the end of the evening. For tickets to this 45th anniversary kick off, click here. Everything gets underway at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday mornings, if you show your festival button you will receive a discount on breakfast at the Trailside Café at the Orillia Legion.
Saturday, all-day events at Tudhope Park begin at 9:30 a.m. when the vendor, food, and community markets open. The children’s village also opens at that time, and all of these run until 6 p.m. At noon, the pub tent opens and the parade through Tudhope Park gets underway at 12:30 p.m. from the parking lot.
Opening ceremonies with a massed band performance with the Rama Police Ceremonial Drum start at 1 p.m. sharp, and from then on, there is continuous entertainment at the various stages located throughout the park, featuring Scottish Country dancers, pipe and drum bands, individual musicians, and lots more. It is going to be a wonderful day of celebrating all things Scottish, down at Tudhope Park.
There is also a stage at the Orillia Legion, at 2 p.m., featuring the 48th Highlanders Military Band.
At 3 p.m. at Tudhope Park, there is a chance to try your hand or simply observe others playing all kinds of games, including Tug O’ War, Welly Toss, “Caber” toss and Beer Stein competitions between Orillia OPP and Orillia Fire Department. Then enjoy the closing ceremonies at 5 p.m. at Tudhope Park.
Sunday at 10 a.m., come dressed in your finest Scottish regalia for a Sunday service at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and then go down to the Orillia Legion for a closing Sunday Celeidh from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring a Pipe and Drums of Canada performance, and live music by Guelph Celtic.
Sounds like a lovely weekend of events, and admission to most (except for the Friday night) is the price of a festival button. Enjoy!
Cloud Gallery is adding two new artists to its roster, and to celebrate, there is a Meet the Artist event, complete with butter tarts and warm beverages, at the Gallery Saturday (July 15) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Holly Dyrland and Angela Lane are the new artists, and you can meet Lane this Saturday.
These new collections offer two new unique perspectives on Canadian landscapes. Lane will also be answering any questions collectors or artists may have about her unique encaustic art style.
"We are very excited about the addition of two new artists to the gallery roster.” said Blake Fletcher, co-founder of Cloud Gallery. “To celebrate, we’re hosting a kick off event with Angela Lane. Her work with the encaustic medium and Holly’s beautiful prairie landscapes will add new diversity to our growing collection."
Cloud Gallery is located inside Creative Nomad Studios at 23 Mississaga St. W. in downtown Orillia.
This weekend, a little further afield, the Muskoka Arts and Crafts Summer Show is happening in Annie Williams Park in Bracebridge. This is a very large, very fine, juried arts and crafts show and a great place to buy presents or something amazing and unique for yourself. There are over 180 juried artisans on site as well as food, drinks, contests, music, kids’ activities and more.
The show runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, entry fees are reasonable and it’s a fun day out in Muskoka. For tickets and more information, click here.
Coming up? Well-known Roots musician Rick Fines is performing at the Coulson Concerts series on July 30 at 2 p.m. For tickets, click here.
The final instalment of the Seven Grandfather Teachings, featuring four artists including locals Paul Shilling and Xavier Fernandes, is taking place at Creative Nomad Studios on July 29 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. This final teaching is 'wisdom', and you will be able to see all of the other works the artists have produced, on the other six teachings, at this event as well. Admission is free and there will be refreshments and a cash bar. Come and learn and be amazed.
On Saturday, July 22 in downtown Orillia, there will be a street event called Merchants and Makers. Peter Street will be closed to traffic as well as most of downtown, and there will be artist vendors and artists painting on the street as well. Come check it out!
Live music at Couchiching Craft Brewery this week includes Rob Watts on Thursday night, Catfish Gumbo Friday night, Cam Galloway Saturday night, and the Will Davis/Chris Robinson Jazz Duo Sunday afternoon. Lots of other live music around town as well.
Have a great summer week, and if you have arts news, send it to [email protected] by Tuesday at noon to be included.
