Introducing Susan Lowe

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 8, 2009.)

By Paula Boon

Susan Lowe loves to help people succeed.

That’s why the president of the Muskoka Literacy Council (MLC) thrived in her career as a special education teacher and why she gravitated toward the literacy council when she and her husband Michael moved to Huntsville in 2002.

Lowe says the most wonderful part of both jobs is seeing people begin to feel good about themselves when they meet with success. “Relationship forming is most important,” she says. “If you have a trusting relationship, you can conquer mountains together.”

She gives the example of a favourite former Grade 6 student. “He was a nightmare on the schoolyard, a real hood. I loved him,” she says. “We had an amazing rapport. He was bright as a dollar, but it wasn’t coming out.”

Three years later, while waiting in line at a fast food restaurant, Lowe heard a booming voice calling her name, and there he was, thanking her for getting him the help he had needed. “I just about wept,” she says. “His goal was to be a truck driver. Every time I see a truck go by I think of him. I hope he made it.”

Lowe has formed those same strong relationships at the literacy council. “Each person comes in with an individual goal,” she says. “We’re not teaching a program, we’re teaching individuals.”

Born in England, just after the war, to a Canadian father and British mother, Lowe’s family moved to Huntsville in 1957, when she was 11. She met her husband Michael, whose family has a long history in Dwight, at Huntsville High School. However, the two didn’t begin dating until they reconnected in Toronto after she had attended Ottawa Teachers’ College.

The couple married in 1968 and had two children, Wendy and Jason. “Being their mom is the most important thing I have ever done,” Lowe says. She took 17 years away from teaching to be there for her family.

When Michael was ready to retire, the Huntsville area was a natural choice. Soon after arriving, Lowe responded to a newspaper advertisement for MLC volunteer tutors. Shortly thereafter, she was assigned the role of assessor because of her background. By 2003, she was on the board, and in 2005 she became president. That was a difficult time for the literacy council, which was in need of restructuring.

“The first huge change was to add computer classes,” she says. “That removed the stigma associated with coming to the literacy council.”

Now, courses are also being created that are specific to the education and skills required for jobs in different sectors. Last August, the MLC co-located with the Employment Resource Centre at 64 King William Street. “It’s seamless. It’s working beautifully,” she says. “More people are being served by both agencies as a result.”

Besides her day-to-day duties at the literacy council, Lowe’s biggest jobs as president have been running annual fundraisers the golf tournament and the Muskoka Novel Marathon, which takes place this year from July 17 to 20.

She has kept busy outside of work, too. For example, Lowe is an art aficionado and owned Gallery in the Woods in Dwight from 2002 to 2006. “I featured the works of 64 artists, 95 per cent of them local,” she says. “The whole premise was for people who travelled here to take back original local art to remind them of where they’d been.”

Lowe also organized Art Among the Pines, an annual event, in Dwight from 2003 to 2006, with help from her husband and children. She is also a member of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts board.

When asked about the future, Lowe says she plans to continue her volunteer work, but the recent death of her younger sister has reminded her of the importance of stopping to smell the roses and watch the birds. “Wendy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October and died Jan. 7,” she says. “My sister lived a very balanced life. I need to take lessons from her.”

Thanks to Doris Villemaire for suggesting that Susan be profiled.

May Marché 2009 will be better than ever

(The following Trumpeter column originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 1, 2009.)

By Myke Malone,
Huntsville Festival of the Arts director

I can hardly believe we are in the process of planning our ninth annual May Marché.

How time has flown and how much the marché has grown since the first one, nine years ago, when we booked the members’ lounge at the Hidden Valley ski clubhouse. We had three wine companies, one brewery and eight local restaurants offering samplings of their products. We sold 200 tickets and it was a sell-out. Wow, we were pretty impressed!

The following year, we expanded into both rooms at the ski club and hosted a sold-out crowd of 300 people. By year four, due to the growth, we moved the marché to Deerhurst Resort, where we hosted three breweries, 10 vineyards and more than a dozen local restaurateurs. After two years in the Peninsula Ballroom at Deerhurst, we had outgrown the room’s capacity of 450 people. It was time to expand yet again, and we spilled out into the rotunda and grand hallway.

For the past three years, we have been hosting a crowd of 600 people, every ticket sold way before the night of the event. Last year, the marché featured four breweries, 17 vineyards, and 15 local restaurateurs.

While we can no longer grow bigger, we continually strive to add more features to the marché. My co-chair, Ross Kirwin, and I are always looking for something new to spice up the event. We’ve even had cars, jet skis and ATVs on the auction table. We have pulled a few new ideas out of the marché hat for this year as well.

MAN WITH A PLAN: Myke Malone is one of the key organizers of the May 22 fund-raising event, hosted annually to benefit the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and its many endeavors.

Once again, we are fortunate to have Polar Bear Diamonds returning as our event sponsor, and they have generously donated a diamond pendant valued at $5,000 that will be raffled off. Deerhurst executive chef, Rory Golden, will again create a spectacular ice carving at the martini bar and supply a cornucopia of incredible desserts. Golden will be joined by other area chefs, all of whom are donating their time and great products for a good cause.

The evening will again be hosted by Deerhurst Resort, and it takes place on Friday, May 22, from 7 to 10 p.m. Our ticket price will remain the same, at $50, if purchased before April 24. After April 24, tickets will be $60 (if there are any left by that time).

Buy early or you may have to resort to placing an advertisement in the Forester, as one individual did last year. He offered to pay a premium price for anyone willing to part with two tickets.

The Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA) is a registered charity and your support, over the years, has enabled the festival to not only underwrite some incredible performances by some of Canada’s rising artists, but also to support many local arts initiatives such as a scholarship program, theatre funding for Huntsville High School, public school projects and artists’ workshops.

Last year, the HFA was the proud recipient of the Huntsville Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence award for Best Community Organization. The festival is proud of its work in our community and I am proud to not only co-chair the May Marché for the ninth year, but also to be a director of the festival board for my 10th season.

Thank you for your continued support of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and I look forward to seeing you at the marché.

Marché tickets are available at Robinson’s Independent Grocer, Treasures and Trophies on Main Street, at the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce office, or through our website www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca. Check out our exciting 2009 summer lineup or look for more stories on our blog at www.trumpeterhfa.blogspot.com.

Ruth Cassie, Carlos del Junco to play at next Muskoka Song Night at the Hideaway Pub

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on April 1, 2009.)

By Gillian Brunette

Award-winning harmonica player Carlos del Junco and singer/pianist Ruth Cassie are the featured performers at the Hideaway Pub on April 7 beginning at 8 p.m.

The two will join Muskoka singer/songwriter Linda McLean, host of Muskoka Song Night, an eclectic music showcase held on the first Tuesday of every month. The 18-month series of song nights and music clinics is being sponsored, in part, by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts.

Named harmonica player of the year seven times out of the Canadian Maple Blues Award’s 11-year history, del Junco plays the harmonica like nobody else in the world. Born in Havana, Cuba, del Junco is a pioneer of the 10-hole diatonic harmonica. The music played by this harmonica maestro transcends all categorization, fusing his respect for tradition with a fresh, innovative and truly modern approach. Get ready to forget all you thought you knew about the harmonica. Del Junco presents a no-holds-barred display of fun and melodic virtuosity.

Huntsville native Ruth Cassie now divides her time between country and city. With her ethereal voice and piano-plunking hands, she has just returned home from Canadian and European tours with Hawksley Workman. Cassie’s songs and live performances garner comparisons to musicians such as CocoRosie, Regina Spektor, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos and Serena Ryder.

The evening will also include good eats from Lorraine Morin of Soul Sista’s and fair trade organic coffee courtesy of Muskoka Roastery.

Tickets for Muskoka Song Night are $10 (or $100 for the series of 12 concerts) and available at the door, which opens at 7 p.m. Seating is limited.

For more information, contact Linda McLean via e-mail (info@lindamclean.com) or visit her website: www.lindamclean.com.

Light, sound and action behind scenes of Oz

(The following article originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on March 11, 2009.)

By Gillian Brunette

As the large community production of The Wizard of Oz enters into its final weeks of rehearsals, much depends upon the talents of the backstage crew.

Just as the actors have to learn their parts, so too do those who work behind the scenes. The costumiers, light and sound technicians, set design, construction and props people play vital roles in ensuring that everything comes together as it should when the curtain opens.

At the production’s outset one of the most important group of people are those who design and build the stage sets. For Wizard, the role of set designer belongs to Helena Renwick. Renwick spent many years as front of house manager, both in Toronto and at the Algonquin Theatre, but wanted to express her creative side through the making and designing of sets.

SCENING IS BELIEVING: Helena Renwick, set designer for The Wizard of Oz, shows one of her many sketches for a scene in the show. Thanks to a whole host of volunteers, the designs will be transformed into built structures and convincing images on stage.

“I spent three years at Ryerson University studying theatre production and learned much from that program, not just house management, but all aspects of lighting, sound and costuming that have been most useful in many areas of my life,” said Renwick, who also has a degree in visual arts from the University of Toronto.

Renwick created the sets for the Christmas production of A Gift to Last, directed by Derek Shelly, and prior to that designed and painted the underwater world of Atlantis for the Muskoka Dance Academy’s production of The Little Mermaid.

Last year, her involvement in the musical Annie allowed her to soar to new heights in the scale of the sets. “The skyline of New York City, some 18 feet high, was the most fun I have had with paint and a step ladder in a long time,” she laughed.

The designs for the Oz set have had Renwick thinking outside the box.

“She was the person I wanted to create the look of Oz and the Emerald City. We had similar ideas about keeping the set minimal and using the effect of lighting as sets,” said director Gregg Evans.

So, rather than using large, cumbersome sets, Renwick designed the sets with the use of lights and projections onto the syc, which is a large cloth the width and height of the stage (upstage) upon which lights can be projected to create an illusion of space.

“I always felt the syc has never been used to its full potential,” said Renwick. “By utilizing a variety of lights and capturing the different effects each light can produce, the resulting images will be very special indeed.”

Renwick will be working closely with lighting director James Solecki to obtain the desired illusions. Taking the designs from the page and turning them into physical shapes fell to the construction crew working under the watchful eye of Ross Kirwin. A Rotarian, Kirwin brought a number of fellow members onside, just one of several areas where the Rotary Clubs of Huntsville has combined its talents with the North Muskoka Players and the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, who are producing the show.

When the curtain finally opens on April 16, prepare to be amazed by the talented cast on stage and the players in the orchestra pit — of which Neil Barlow is the director and Jillian McDougall the music director — but also spare a thought for the people behind the scenes. Just a few of them include Suzanne Riverin, assistant artistic director, Jay Osborne, stage manager, Don McCormick, sound cues, Chris Boon, sound, Zelda Dwyer assistant stage manager, Lisa Thomas, props, Nicole Pantaleo, costumes, and Carol Rhodes, make-up, all ably assisted by a whole host of volunteers.

The Wizard of Oz plays for nine performances. Tickets are $80 for a family of four, $25 for adults and $20 for youth under 18, and are on sale now at the Algonquin Theatre box office on Main Street, by dialling 789-4975, or online at www.algonquintheatre.ca

Sponsorship vital to success of the festival

(The following Trumpeter column originally appeared in The Huntsville Forester on March 4, 2009.)

By Bruce Gowan,
Huntsville Festival of the Arts director

The quality and quantity of the events presented by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts (HFA) is dependant upon the generous support of many organizations and individuals. With the festival’s 17th season approaching, we would like to express our gratitude to current and past sponsors and patrons for its success to date.

The gate receipts for performances do not always cover the costs. Thus, the sponsors’ contributions often allow us to bring special talents to Huntsville for the enjoyment of all.

Another unique attribute of the festival is that all net proceeds are reinvested into the community. Ongoing projects include scholarships for area youth, artistic support for area schools and organizations, and subsidized performances and cultural events throughout the vicinity.

The support of sponsors is vital to the number of educational and cultural events that can be presented, as well as the number of scholarships the festival can provide.

We encourage all members of the community to help the festival by supporting our sponsors. Sponsors are acknowledged in our brochures and at festival shows, and we ask area residents to reward this contribution by patronizing the businesses that help bring excitement and education to our community.

Bruce Gowan, HFA director [Photo by Jon Snelson.]

Sponsorship can be given/recognized in several forms, including direct main-stage performance of a specific artist or group; these sponsors are acknowledged specifically at the related performance(s) as well as in our published literature. The Patrons Program is a general support mechanism for our summer program and participants are acknowledged in published brochures and programs. Individual donors are acknowledged in performance programs.

The HFA recognizes its sponsors with passes to performances, as well as the well-deserved public acknowledgements. The festival is always looking for new sponsors to help maintain and expand our programs. Potential new sponsors should contact HFA general manager Rob Saunders at 788-2787, or by e-mail to info@huntsvillefestival.on.ca, for details on how you can assist our community.

Last summer, the festival’s board of directors had the opportunity to acknowledge the exceptional contribution of several individuals for their hard work, encouragement and support of the festival of the arts since its inception. Recently, one of these individuals, Susan Alberghini, passed away in Toronto. Susan was one of the HFA’s co-founders and an ardent supporter. We will dearly miss her, but her legacy to our community has been clearly established and will carry on through our future successes.