As Canadian musical ambassadors, we have had the honour of taking part in multiple worldwide events, such as the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the famous Rose Bowl parade in California, and the 20th anniversary of the twinning of Burlington and Itabashi in Japan. Recently, we had the privilege of participating in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, Ireland.
As members of this band, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to share our love and passion for music with the people of Ireland. Before our departure, we spent many months working as a team to create an end result that would, hopefully, impress the crowds and judges. Preparation included marching practice, fundraising, uniform cleaning, instrument polishing and more.
After a seven-hour flight to London, followed by a two-hour flight to Dublin, we finally arrived at the Emerald Isle full of excitement at getting the chance to enjoy what we had worked so hard to achieve.
Our ten-day adventure included excursions to notable Irish landmarks. In Cobh, we were blown away by the scenic surroundings, including multi-coloured houses, a historical cathedral atop the hill and the exciting Titanic Trail walking tour. We went around the city viewing different memorials and breathing in history and culture. Did you know that Cobh (then known as Queenstown) was the last port of call for the Titanic before embarking on its journey? We were all awestruck by the original dock the passengers had walked across.
At Blarney Castle, we trekked up the narrow spiral staircase to kiss the stone that inspired the “gift of gab.” We don’t know if it was just us, but the bus did seem louder during our castle departure! Our stop in Killarney consisted of a scenic cart ride around the Muckross House property. The Cliffs of Moher were picturesque and breath-taking and, despite the constant weather shift from hail to rain to sun, we were still speechless by the natural beauty—the gift of the gab must have worn off!
As much fun as the sightseeing was, no tour would be complete without plenty of performances. Our first was in Cobh, where we marched along the winding streets to the promenade bordering the sea. There we held a stationary concert. We were inspired to see people putting aside what they were doing, even closing down shops, to come and support us. The mayor of Cobh later personally thanked us for coming.
The next performances in Killarney and Dublin were small but rewarding. In Killarney it was awesome to see the crowd dancing and jumping to the music, and in Dublin we were personally invited to play at the Welcoming of the Bands for the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The next performance was our first competition parade and what a place to debut—the world-renowned Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade. Waiting around in the cold for two hours was quickly forgotten after stepping off and embracing the sea of green, cheering spectators and general festive atmosphere.
Although it was a long parade, nobody cared because we knew we were making lifelong memories. Up against top bands from around the world, we were extremely anxious to hear the results of the competition. All of our worries faded after we received word that we were judged to be the Best Youth Band—the category with the most competitors!
Proud of our accomplishment, we quickly had to turn our attention to our next competition in Limerick. During an opportunity to socialize with fellow bands before stepping off, we discovered a mutual interest in learning about one another. After a slow-moving but well-populated parade route, we reached the awards ceremony. Although we were excited for other bands as they won their awards, we were slightly disappointed we hadn’t heard our name called yet.
We applauded for every award until the last one, when our fellow competitors and enthusiastic spectators cheered for us: We had been named the All Ireland International Band Champions, the top award of the entire competition! We marched out after a celebratory concert and could not remove the smiles plastered on our faces for the rest of the day.
It was a whirlwind tour but one to remember. We were successful not only in competitions but also in representing our hometown and country. When we returned to Canada, local residents and even people who didn’t know us had heard of our accomplishments in Ireland through multiple media reports. We were welcomed home by friends and family with congratulatory hugs.
The memories we made were not just of our successes but also of the considerable pride we gained knowing we were truly Canada’s musical ambassadors.
—by Amy Longley and Emily Di Matteo, Burlington, Ontario
Artist and Dreamer
Through life’s bumps and curves, there is always art
Even before I was old enough to colour inside the lines, I was amazed by what appeared on a blank page or canvas as I sketched whatever images came to mind. Throughout my eclectic working career, I have always tried to keep my creative side alive and consider myself a hobby-type artist.
I had a successful graphic and advertising business for many years. I also worked as an art director in television. During the ’80s, however, my marriage slowly disintegrated and I went bankrupt. I did manage to somehow scrape up enough money to purchase and move onto a 42-foot sailboat called Dreamer II—a fitting name, and not just for the boat.
I think it was my artistic nature that drew me to the idea of living on the water, even though I had never sailed before. I lived at several marinas throughout the years, though my dream at the time was to sail to and live at Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, and get more into painting. I’d been to the islands before and, although it rained most of the time, I camped at the base of Tow Hill and felt a presence there I’ve never felt anywhere else.
I never doubted that I’d be able to learn to sail, but it wasn’t until I crewed aboard a 27-foot sailboat, Dove III, that I truly experienced the sea, and boy did I! My friends Winston Bushnell, George Hone and I sailed the legendary Northwest Passage in a single season. Upon our return, I wrote and illustrated Arctic Odyssey, which was published in 1995, and many years later I self-published the book again as a limited edition.
While living on Dreamer II, I mostly earned a living by lettering signs, but I did paint a few murals and commissioned paintings and even did a stint at the ferry terminal drawing portraits for a couple of summers. The one thing I really enjoyed about living on the boat was not working five days a week with only two days off. With minimal needs, I took five days off!
I eventually sold Dreamer II shortly after getting married in 2007 and moving in with my wife, Sarah, and her two daughters. We both wanted to get back to basics, however, and with dreams of living on a farm, we crammed what little we could into a small trailer and hauled it almost clear across Canada to Fosterville, New Brunswick. Of course, upon arrival I had to build a small studio in the garage to continue my artistic endeavours. I later renovated other rooms in our house and turned the baby barn into a second studio.
Although we have 75 chickens, the farming idea didn’t quite work out as planned. After I hit 70 years of age several years ago, my back and now some of my joints, plagued with arthritis, just won’t allow me to bend over and work as hard as I would like. Having a large garden is like having a full-time job during the spring and summer months.
Sarah has been operating the kitchen at the local Woodstock Farm & Craft Market, plus the little café we opened in the front of our house. Neither of them are real moneymakers, but they help pay the bills. The market is year-round, but our home café is open just in the summer months when people who have cottages on the lakes arrive.
Both being artsy and enjoying other artists’ abilities, Sarah and I started up the Golden Unicorn Arts Festival four years ago. The festival was my idea, but Sarah, being more of a social person than I, quickly embraced it. Between the two of us, we have turned the festival into a seasonal event looked forward to by the artisans who display their art and crafts and the musicians and singers who entertain the public.
The arts festival came into being because I have always enjoyed helping other artists achieve their dreams, either by hiring them when I was in business, buying their creations, o
r, when I used to own my own little gallery years ago, putting on exhibitions for them. The Golden Unicorn idea came from the old logo for my business called Unique Advertising, which stemmed from the fantasy world in my mind and my love of horses after spending ten years as a groom at Exhibition Park in Vancouver.
Since we started the festival, which takes place the second Sunday in August, the number of participants has grown—last year we had 700 people strolling through our place! It’s hard to believe we will celebrate the festival’s fifth anniversary next year, hopefully with a two-day event.
I still paint in my studio, but I have also recently begun a small monthly publication called The Messenger. I don’t make any money at it, but people have told me they look forward to reading it. Sarah writes as well, so it’s something we enjoy together.
When I lived on Dreamer II, my love for the sea and boats were depicted in many of my paintings, but now that I live in a semi-wilderness area, I try and paint the breathtaking landscapes around me, from colourful trees in the fall to the harsh yet dazzling winters. I also paint wildlife and unicorns, of course. Through ups and downs in my life, the urge to paint or write has never left me.
—by Len Sherman, Fosterville, New Brunswick
Our Canada, Our Country, Our Stories
Story CONTRIBUTORS
FAMILY
* * *
Shirley Davidson Bonic, Regina, Saskatchewan (“Tapping the Trees”)
Lynnae Ylioja, Macrorie, Saskatchewan (“The Curling Kettle”)
Brad Nichol, Rosthern, Saskatchewan (“The Debonaire”)
Louise Szabo, Nepean, Ontario (“An Occasion Fit for a Queen”)
Bill L. Knibbs, Medicine Hat, Alberta (“Achieving Their Goal”)
Ed Papazian, Kanata, Ontario (“The Georgetown Boys”)
Adrienne Ulliac, Whitecourt, Alberta (“Family Ties”)
Betty Moore, West Guilford, Ontario (“A-Camping We Will Go”)
Gail M. Murray, Scarborough, Ontario (“Macaroni Sundays”)
Anne Megahy, Toronto, Ontario (“When We Were Young”)
Linda Sweeney, Miramichi, New Brunswick (“Frying Up a Feast”)
Donna McAleer Smith, Bowmanville, Ontario (“Remembering Gram”)
Kim Han, Kanata, Ontario (“Natural Beauty”)
Judi Hannon, Terrace, British Columbia (“Gone Fishing”)
Kenneth Sornberger, Dunsford, Ontario (“Marrying the Farmer’s Daughter”)
Melanie Saulnier, Fredericton, New Brunswick (“What Money Can’t Buy”)
KINDNESS
* * *
Jean E. Hubbard, West Vancouver, British Columbia (“The Wedding Dress”)
Ardith Trudzik, Edmonton, Alberta (“Queen of May”)
Doddi Reid, Palmerston, Ontario (“Water for Africa”)
Eldora Baillie, Fort McMurray, Alberta (“Vanquishing the Fort McMurray ‘Beast’ ”)
Janice Murphy, Hamilton, Ontario (“Born to Help”)
Dale and Allan Bond, Grande Prairie, Alberta (“A Lasting Legacy”)
Susan Debreceni, Toronto, Ontario (“Saving Our Shorelines”)
Jayson Childs, Thunder Bay, Ontario (“Curling for a Cure”)
Wesley Pitts, Hantsport, Nova Scotia (“Helping Blanding’s Turtles”)
Chris Robinson, Cambridge, Ontario (“Volunteer Veterinary Team”)
Lynn Turcotte, Gamètì, Northwest Territories (“Sewing With Pride North of 60”)
Scott Prevost, Elliot Lake, Ontario (“Paddling With Purpose”)
Esther Meerschaut, Harrow, Ontario (“From Milk Bags to Bed Mats”)
Beverlee Brown, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia (“From Rescue to Rescuer”)
Connie Weinberg, Aylesford, Nova Scotia (“Flying High on Knowledge”)
Maureen Littlejohn, Toronto, Ontario (“Making a Difference”)
Anna Levin, Winnipeg, Manitoba (“Northern Manitoba Matters”)
Janette Slack, Cobourg, Ontario (“PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary”)
Brenda Keay, Coldstream, British Columbia (“Lessons Learned in Ethiopia”)
Mike Christiansen, Edmonton, Alberta (“Racing for a Cure”)
Jeremy Bryant, Edmonton, Alberta (“Turning Dining Out Into Helping Out”)
Ward Burr, Forest, Ontario (“Generosity in Motion”)
David Hill-Turner, Nanaimo, British Columbia (“Give Me Shelter”)
John C. Hudspith, Toronto, Ontario (“Moulding Young Minds”)
VALOUR
* * *
As told to Bob Pearson, Strathroy, Ontario (“Battle of Vimy Ridge”)
Marion Fraser, Toronto, Ontario (“Lessons My Father Taught Me”)
Catherine MacKenzie, Fall River, Nova Scotia (“Dodging Death”)
Don Martin Jr., Melbourne, Ontario (“Noble Steeds”)
Lynn Philip Hodgson, Port Perry, Ontario (“Camp X”)
Gordon Baron, Dawson’s Landing, British Columbia (“Legendary Flying Goose”)
Mac Horsburgh, Winnipeg, Manitoba (“Making a Connection”)
Annette Gray, Markerville, Alberta (“Canada’s Dambusters”)
Christine Cameron Emmett, Brighton, Ontario (“The Forgotten Ones”)
Colleen O’Hare, Parry Sound, Ontario (“Canadian Kangaroos”)
Harry Watts, Kitchener, Ontario (“Lone Rider”)
Miriam (Atwood) Thompson, Pugwash, Nova Scotia (“Uncle Wilfred Remembered”)
Irene Martin, Expat Canadian now residing in Skamokawa, Washington (“Accentuate the Positive”)
Leonard “Scotty” Wells, Scarborough, Ontario (“Tales From the Sea”)
Shirley O’Connell, Perth, Ontario (“Izzy’s Story”)
Sgt. Caitlin Yacucha, Winnipeg, Manitoba (“A Letter Home From Afghanistan”)
Allan Cameron, Sylvan Lake, Alberta (“A Tribute to Our Vets on Remembrance Day”)
Steven Doucette, Manotick, Ontario (“A War Vet’s Best Friend”)
Jim Lowther, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (“Vets in Transition”)
MEMORIES
* * *
Ugo DeBiasi, Nanaimo, British Columbia (“Memory-Go-Round”)
Jeanne Emelyanov, Ottawa, Ontario (“Facing Off Against a Blizzard”)
Carman Scherlie, Wembley, Alberta (“The Coldest Day in Canadian History”)
Hilda J. Born, Abbotsford, British Columbia (“The Fabric of Her Life”)
Jim Soul, Erin, Ontario (“My Early Education”)
Gloria Barkley, Coquitlam, British Columbia (“Hockey Night in Hedley”)
Leesha Nikkanen, Newmarket, Ontario (“Ice Dreams”)
Sue Weiss, Bloomingdale, Ontario (“This Old Sugar Shack”)
Cassandra Cardy, Minnedosa, Manitoba (“Summer Dreaming”)
Hector M. Earle, Stoneville, Newfoundland and Labrador (“Larger Than Life”)
Wyman Atkinson, Cottam, Ontario (“A Man Named ‘Apples’ “)
Leanne Smith, Calgary, Alberta (“Cowboys, Flapjacks and Fun!”)
Bernard J. Callaghan, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (“The Saturday Matinee”)
Jennifer DeBruin, Smiths Falls, Ontario (“Going Home to ‘Lost Villages’ ”)
David Hooper, Port Alberni, British Columbia (“The Last Steam Donkey”)
Jo-Anne Sheanh, Sechelt, British Columbia (“A Treasure Reclaimed”)
RJ Goodfellow, St. Albert, Alberta (“Remembering RCAF Station Namao”)
Dianne J. Beaven, Winnipeg, Manitoba (“Sowing the Future”)
ADVENTURE
* * *
Darryl W. Lyons, Sayward, British Columbia (“High Hopes”)
John G. Attridge, Hamilton, Ontario (“My Struggle With the Nahanni”)
Leigh McClurg, Garibaldi Highlands, British Columbia (“Climb Every Mountain”)
Marcia Lee Laycock, Blackfalds, Alberta (“The Yukon Is Gold”)
Joan Prunkl, Edmonton, Alberta (“Life in Igloolik”)
Barbara Leroy, Delta, British Columbia (“Beauty and the Barrens”)
Tyl
er Dixon, Calgary, Alberta (“Searching for Wild Bill”)
Gregory McNeill, Winnipeg, Manitoba (“Epic Winter Race”)
Anne Hagerman, Picton, Ontario (“The Motorcycle Diaries”)
Evelyn Godin, Saint John, New Brunswick (“Grand Manan, New Brunswick”)
Shawn Hamilton, Campbellcroft, Ontario (“The Mystique of Sable Island”)
Jill Yoneda, Victoria, British Columbia (“Swimming Great Bear”)
Julie Birch, Didsbury, Alberta (“Wild About Horses”)
COMMUNITY
* * *
Mary Derksen, Abbotsford, British Columbia (“Canada, Do You Have Room for Us?”)
Gerlind Koesling, Edmonton, Alberta (“Salami and Popsicles”)
Patricia Wilsenach, Fort McMurray, Alberta (“A Fairy Tale of Ice and Magic”)
Surjit Singh Flora, Brampton, Ontario (“Reflections on Canada”)
Mary Lou Beattie, Hudson’s Hope, British Columbia (“Loving Peace River”)
Ruth Morris Schneider, Baddeck, Nova Scotia (“Come From Away”)
Janak Gautam, Edmonton, Alberta (“Journey From Nepal”)
John McCurdy, Hamilton, Ontario (“A Pioneering Black Nurse”)
Barbara Turner, Kelowna, British Columbia (“A Long Tradition of Service”)
Cheyenne Stapley, Linden, Alberta (“The Show Must Go On”)
Valerie Keenan, Winnipeg, Manitoba (“Forging New Friendships”)
Tracey Rice, Grande Prairie, Alberta (“Breaking Boundaries”)
Karen Taylor, Edmonton, Alberta (“Beaver Tails and Bear Paws”)
Dorothy Hannah, Lacolle, Quebec (“Bilingualism at Its Best”)
Waneek Horn Miller, Ottawa, Ontario (“Boot Camp, Indigenous-Style”)
Maxine Noel, Stratford, Ontario (“Heart to Spirit to Hand”)
Our Canada Our Country Our Stories Page 31