Scarecrow Festival

We, as in the Galloping Goat Gallery, are hosting a Scarecrow festival Saturday September 29th 10 am to 4pm (raindate Sunday the 30th, we are praying for no rain that day!) here on this lawn as a fundraising event for Picton's Regent Theatre. I came up with the idea and took it to the Regent's Board of Directors with big plans and ideas and they jumped right into it! Now we have Picton's Main Street businesses offering support by dressing their windows and making scarecrows that they will auction off with all proceeds going to the Regent.

Along with that we have County Cider donating (alcohol-free) cider and the County Farm Depot donating hotdogs and (hopefully one of out other local businesses will offer condiments and buns!) we'll have drinks available for sale. We are going to also have a "Make Your Own Scarecrow" area that people will come and purchase what amounts to a kit and with the help of some volunteers they will create an original scarecrow for their garden or porch. Thanks to Evans Lumber who has already offered to make and donate all the wood crosses for the scarecrows. I know that someone is donating the pumpkins so we just need some clothes, a few bales of straw and a large ball of twine to tie sleeves and legs closed. Hopefully the other fundraising committee volunteers will find those items for us. If someone is reading this that can offer us some help or items email me!!

I've also been on the phone asking local businesses to make a scarecrow that we can have at the Galloping Goat that day to sell to people that don't want to do the "make your own" version. So far I have only got a few people agreeing to make them but I'm hoping that will get better. It's always tough the first year trying to do these kinds of things. We have big plans to make it an annual event. Wouldn't it be great if it became a really big thing where each fall the entire County has all it's residents sticking fun and funky scarecrows on their lawns! Then the County would be this place to visit in the fall to see the fall colours, buy harvested veggies, do some wine tasting and do a drive to see all the scarecrows! Sort of like those drives I used to go on when I was a kid to see all the Christmas lights at people's houses. Kids love that kind of thing so it will hopefully draw families here after it's too chilly to go to the Sandbanks.

For those that are wondering why the Regent needs money basically it's this gorgeous old original theatre from the 1800's that is run largely by volunteers. There is a crushing debt against the place and the community banded together to save it and keep it open and running and trying to find ways to dig out of the debt and have it support itself from the revenue it brings in. It's been struggling along for years but needs a boost to keep it going. The new general manager that has been hired, Sharon, will be a great infuser of energy and vitality into the Regent. I've met her at the Board meeting and she is full of energy and ideas and best of all, experience in theatre. I think the Regent should make some real head way with Sharon at the wheel.

If you ever visit Picton Ontario you have to make a point of stopping in to see it. All the architectual details are original and the old marquee lights on the front set up a gorgeous view in the evenings. It has been classed as a historical building so it is well worth visiting. The Regent hosts todays movies at very reasonable prices along with live theatre on the stage.

Tim and I went to see the production of Elizabeth Rex and we were both completely enthralled with the play and felt it certainly was up to Stratford festival standards with the costumes, sets and acting skills of the players. There are also live music events and a constant stream of talent through those old doors.

Don't miss the opportunity of visitign the Regent Theatre on you visit to "The County" as it is fondly called (otherwise know as Prince Edward County) and buy a ticket to a show and help support our community's historical icon. Come and see us at the Scarecrow Festival September 29th at 906 County Road 13, right across from the Black River Cheese Factory, just follow the road signs to the cheese and you'll also find the Galloping Goat!

First Harvest

I woke early, as usual these days and decided to get creative
and shoot some pictures as the sun was trying to pull itself up in the sky.
This basket of veggies was from Tim's trip into our garden after dinner last night. You really have to keep an eye on those zucchinis for they explode into mammoth things!

It's amazing how much food we are managing to make for ourselves in our garden! We seem to be doing very well sticking to that 100 mile diet (or as Tim says 160 kms) that everyone is yakking about. It wasn't planned or intentional to do it but it's relatively easy living here.

I went to the big gift and tableware show on Wednesday and that was quite amazing. It was pretty easy to speed past booths that I know won't work for us and our barn. Food, fabrics, smelly soaps and bath bombs are just the thing for the mice to enjoy which we are trying to keep out of the barn. Also all that high end glass, china, chrystal and ceramics don't work in our rustic venue. I did find a couple of new wholesalers which have some fab stuff that I love so hopefully customers will too. A couple of them are Canadian couples building things to sell which is perfect for what we are trying to accomplish. I found 2 different sources for those great birdhouses and outdoor items that use old recycled tin ceiling tiles and barn board and other found objects to make cool things. I ordered from the one place so hopefully I'll be receiving the items by Sept. 1st or at least that was the date they told me they are hoping to have it out to me. My Christmas items that we currently have had in the store for 3 weeks are flying out the doors and my other shipments of the big load of Christmas should be arriving any day! I wish that they would hurry up I can't wait to see what I bought! I know I had some really different things I found and I bought from another vendor at the show a few more Christmas bits that I couldn't resist! They had some really different metal outdoor xmas garden stakes of Santa or Trees, Snowman and an angel. They were metal with paint and some cute sayings and a few cut out stars with sparkle on it. Can't resist a bit of bling!
All this Christmas ornament shopping has got me completely obsessed with figuring out presents for the kids and trying to plan out some kind of budget. This year is going to have to be a bit more crafty and homemade than our usual Christmas. At least with the kids not having any TV channels to watch they have no commercials buzzing in their heads telling them they "Have to have it". I hadn't realized how completely TV jams down the kids throats all this stuff they need, need NEED! After 9 months of no TV but just DVD movies and videos they have no idea what stuff they are missing in their lives! Of course when they get back to school that will probably change rapidly.

I'm not in any rush to hook up a satellite dish or fix the TV aerial and no money for it either so Tim and I tend to watch either one of the 3 stations we do get in somewhat clear or watch a DVD or thanks to my mom, pop in a VHS with some TV program she has taped for us. It's shocking to see how clear our TV can be when you watch a movie after the fuzz of our normal stations!

Well my tea is getting cold and my tummy's rumbling so I better go and grab a quick quiet moment at the river before the monkeys get up and have some meditation time while I can.
Life is good.