The Mill Street Messenger

Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month in association with OutSpoke Productions presents SPIN,

a theatrical song-cycle starring The Bicycle as musical instrument, muse and agent of change.

http://bit.ly/SPIN-Video

Written and performed by Evalyn Parry

Featuring Brad Hart playing The Bicycle

Directed by Ruth Madoc-Jones

Production design by Beth Kates

Saturday June 4,  8 PM

Almonte Old Town Hall

14 Bridge Street

Tickets: Advance $20. After May 28th $25.

Call Appleton Gift and Basket 613-256-9377

Written and performed by critically-acclaimed actor, singer and songwriter Evalyn Parry, SPIN recounts a theatrical song-cycle about bikes, women and liberation. Inspired by the incredible true tale of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to ride around the world on a bicycle in 1894, SPIN blends theatre, music and technology in a unique tribute to the bicycle as muse, musical instrument and agent of social change. The bike is “played” by percussionist Brad Hart, creating a captivating and richly textured sonic accompaniment to Parry’s songs and monologues.

Blessed with “an ethereally beautiful singing voice” (NOW Magazine), and called “equally funny and dangerous” by CBC Radio, Parry’s outspoken, personal and political performances are inspired by a powerful vision of social activism. SPIN showcases Parry’s fierce talent as a word-smith, spinning language as deftly as bicycle percussionist Brad Hart spins, plucks and bows the wheels of the bicycle. SPIN is staged by award-winning director Ruth Madoc-Jones with video and production design by acclaimed designer Beth Kates.

Fresh from a sold-out run at Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, SPIN comes to Almonte to celebrate Bicycle Month, in an elegy to the worlds’ most timeless form of transportation.

PRAISE FOR SPIN: “brilliant” Toronto Star

“…this magnetic artist and her winning production team invest the work with such intelligence and playfulness, it’s hard not to be charmed.” NOW Magazine

“..a welcome breath of fresh air….Parry makes something beautiful out of taking life into your own hands…” The Globe & Mail

“the depth Parry gives to the concept of the bicycle through her script is quite staggering…an ingenious mixture of songs, monologues, video projection, and modern technology ” Torontoist

For further information please contact:

Judy Durjancik

613-256-2689

The Easter bunny has gone all mysterious this year and has hidden clues to a secret message in the windows of downtown Almonte businesses. For the fourth annual Eggscade contest on Mill Street, egg hunters will need to find both bunnies and eggs in business windows to figure out a secret message. Thirteen bunnies will provide both a number and an alphabet letter to unlock the hidden message. And just to make things interesting, a bunch of other bunnies will be busy distracting the hunters at the same time.

“Once again, local kids and their families can have fun on Mill Street figuring out the secret,” says Mainstreet Almonte Attraction and Promotion (MAAP) volunteer Jack Elgood. “The winners will be rewarded with sensational spring Easter gift baskets, courtesy of downtown businesses.”

Eggscapade runs from April 7 to 20 this year and egg hunters can pick up a hunt sheet at Blackbird, Mill Street Books, Foodies Fine Foods, Curiosities or Nordic Star. Completed sheets will be entered into a draw for the gift baskets until April 20, and winners will be notified on April 21. The secret will be out and prizes will be presented Easter weekend on Saturday April 23 at noon at the Heritage Court (14 Mill Street) in Almonte.

Local Almonte schools have also received entry sheets for the annual egg colouring contest (for students in kindergarten to Grade 5), which also leads to prizes. These sheets can also be returned to the aforementioned businesses.

Almonte’s fourth annual egg hunt is just another of the many egg-citing ideas dreamed up by the MAAP downtown Almonte promotion team. Hop to it and get to downtown Almonte as fast as you can!

For more information contact:

Jack Elgood (Curiosities) at 613-256-7943

or Stores mentioned above

Join us on Friday November 12th for a fun evening with live music, refreshments, draws and more! Blackbird, Kentfield Kids, and Appleton Gift & Basket are all hosting a Christmas Open House!    Many of the downtown shops  will be open. Blackbird will open their doors at 6pm and the festivities will carry on until 10pm.  Come out and see what is new, we would love to see you!

Guest Blogger: Emily Arbour of Blackbird

Hello friends of Almonte!

I’ve been meaning to high jack this blog for months now but, alas, life gets away from us doesn’t it?

Wow.

Pretty sure it was summer yesterday and already I’m in full on Christmas prep mode here in the shop.

In February of last year, in an effort to create a little after hours buzz downtown, Blackbird introduced Creative Workshops. We invited folks to come and get creative over 3 hour craft sessions during which we’ve made everything from Spring Wreaths and Mini Canvas Art to Glass Pendants and Sock Monkeys. (if you’d like to hear about upcoming classes join our mailing list at www.blackbirdshop.ca)

We’ve had fun.

And in the process of getting our craft on we’ve met a lot of really talented people.

So many in fact that we were inspired to gather them all up, smush them into one room and put on a craft show. We quickly booked a venue and a date and sent out our “Call for Crafters”. After 2 months we had so many responses that we had to call in a jury to help us decide.

And so, Handmade Harvest, our first ever craft show, came to be.

This amazing event will feature a well-rounded selection of everything from jewellery and accessories to body care and paper goods, as well as toys, home fashions, and even edibles. You can check out the full roster of participants at www.handmadeharvest.com.

The admission is free and so is the parking, so come to Almonte on Saturday November 6 and join in the handmade fun.

Plan to arrive early, because there will be goody bags for the first fifty customers.

Handmade Harvest runs from 9am to 5pm at the Old Town Hall (14 Bridge Street).

Plan to stay for the day, and don’t forget to visit the annual Christmas in the Valley Artisan Show taking place just up the street at the Almonte Community Centre. If you include a foray down Mill Street to visit all the terrific shops downtown, you can do all your holiday shopping in one friendly town in one day!

And a note to crafters — a Spring Handmade Harvest show is already in the works. Interested vendors can get more information at www.handmadeharvest.com.

Almonte is no different than any other town in that the downtown area is at a crossroads. Urban sprawl is starting to take hold, and big box stores are moving in. For many small merchants this is a difficult time.

However, efforts are being put in place to revitalize downtown Almonte. This can be done in a variety of ways, but what seems to be happening here is that small, unique shops are opening up, offering up items that you won’t find at your big box retailer.

As well, Almonte hosts a variety of festivals and special events throughout the year in its downtown core. Efforts are also being made to beautify this area with flowers, and the Riverwalk is simply amazing!

It is going to take time, but we think that downtown Almonte has the potential to have a bright future. If you have visited recently, please take the time to complete our visitor survey. Your input is taken seriously and we welcome your feedback!

The Night Is Young is an evening-long celebration of arts and music that will take place in downtown Almonte on Friday, August 13. Because it is a fundraiser for The Young Awards Foundation, there will be plenty of arts, music and youth!

The evening will get off to a classy start with a classical concert by The Arden Trio, from 7 to 8:30PM at the Almonte Old Town Hall. Doors will open at 6:30 to allow the audience time to mingle and enjoy delicious appetizers prepared by Foodies Fine Foods. At 8:30, concert-goers will spill out onto Mill Street (which will be closed to vehicular traffic), and be entertained by a variety of young performers. Shops, galleries and restaurants in the downtown area will stay open late.

Thank you to our main sponsor, Reliable Heating & Cooling for helping to make this event possible!

Mona Lisa Schulz Is returning to Almonte on March 19th, 20th, 21st,  2010.

This course provides an overview of how to access your intuition, a form of intelligence that is an innate part of your mind and body. By applying insights about the Brain and Medical Intuition (the connections between emotional states and physical illness) you will learn how to use intuition to help create emotional and physical health. Scientific research has revolutionized our understanding of how emotion, learning, memory, intuition and decision-making is wired in to specific networks in our brain.  At the same time,  a rapidly growing body of medical literature is documenting the physical effects of emotions on the body. For optimal health,  we need a basic understanding of which specific emotional patterns can set the stage for physical illness. We also need to understand how intuition comes to us through moodiness, depression, anxiety, panic, anger,  irritability, distractibility, forgetfulness, dreams, clairvoyance and clairaudience, and physical symptoms in our body. At the end of the course, participants will have an understanding of how to access intuition through their unique brain and body. Participants will learn how to best work with their own and their patient’s intuitive brain-body style to enhance awareness and healing in both a personal and professional setting.

The cost is $850 including lunches for inquires and to register:
contact Lilly at lillywhiteangels@sympatico.ca
http://www.lillywhite.ca
613-256-0216
Space is limited, Please Register by January 30th, 2010

Easter Egg Mania in Almonte
Almonte’s annual tribute to the Easter Bunny, now in its third year, has some added features this year. The Bunny’s friends who run businesses downtown will introduce a new kids colouring component during the March break, prior to the usual Eggscapade contest on Mill Street.  Eggscapade will hop off to a great start during the March break as Bunny-approved colouring kits, including templates and instructions, hit local Mississippi Mills school.  Beginning March 28th, Almonte’s now annual Eggscapade contest starts downtown as kids are encouraged to find the dozen special easter eggs hidden in Mill Street business windows. Egg hunters can pick up an egg hunt sheet at Blackbird, The Miller’s Tale, Foodies, Curiosities or Nordic Star.

Completed responses will be entered into a draw for several family gift baskets lovingly packaged by downtown Almonte businesses. The Easter celebration culminates with a draw, based on the winning entries, on Saturday April 3rd at 2.00 p.m. in the vestibule between Kentfield Kids and Appleton Gift & Basket on Mill Street.
Almonte’s third annual egg hunt is just another of the many egg-citing ideas dreamed up by the MAAP downtown Almonte promotion team. Hop on down to Almonte ? March 28th to April 3rd ?and see what you can find.
For more information contact:
Jack Elgood (Curiosities) at 613-256-7943
or Stores mentioned above