It's all here for you now--the latest news from the Northland from our own Shopper!
It's a busy time for our small town as we prepare for four VERY big events:
1. The A&W Classic Car Cruise Night is on Tuesday, June 20, from 5:00 to 9:00. There will be games, prizes, the cars, of course, and music by a local deejay. They warn us that there are no 'phone orders after 4:30 p.m. that day. That's good as there will be so much traffic that one couldn't get in with a vehicle to pick up an order! This is "a very good thing" as it brings in people with their cars and spectators from several miles away. Some folks drive their classic cars from 60 miles away!
2. The Relay For Life occurs next Friday/Saturday, June 23-24, at the local park. There are ten teams that will be walking and almost ninety cancer survivors that will provide an inspiration for everyone, indicating that we CAN win the battle! The week begins on Wednesday with a Community Dinner from 4:00-6:30 p.m. On Friday the survivors will be honored at an afternoon reception. All day Friday, teams will be setting up their campsites and booths at the park. In the event of rain (as in the past two years), it will be held at a nearby hockey arena. The schedule of events takes up a full page in the paper: 6:00 a Live Auction, 7:00 the Opening Ceremony followed by the Survivors' Victory Lap (led by a bagpiper), 8:45 the Luminary Lighting Ceremony and 9:00 the Caregivers' Circle. From then until midnight there will be plenty of music. The next morning reveille is at 6:15, followed by the final lap and then the Closing Ceremony. We can purchase luminaria for $10. They will line the track and provide the light for the walkers throughout the night. This is also a "very good thing."
3. The Northern Lights Music Festival (see link at the right) kicks off on Friday, June 30th, with a Concert of Laureates. There will be concerts almost every night for two weeks. It will be amazing to see the number of folks who go to every single one of them. The WT's will hand out programs and collect donations at the door. This writer thinks that this year, others will also be asked to help. Our own Mary is kind of the "resident hostess" for the group during their stay at the resort nearby. All of the concerts will be held in our beautiful and acoustically delightful auditorium (more about that in another 'Blog entry). We all look forward to the Festival, not only for the music but also because our local concert pianist, Veda Zuponcic, will be out and about as she directs the camp and performs herself. We also love to see the young people from some pretty fancy places out East and from Europe "tooling" around and enjoying all that our small town has to offer! An especially "good thing."
4. The Fourth of July, Patriotic Days, start on June 30th and go until (DUH!) July 4th. There are Festival Concerts on June 30th and July 1st. July 2: A golf scramble, the 60th celebration at our local American Legion (where we can enjoy some 1946 prices during the "Attitude Adjustment."), the hog roast as part of Freedom Fete, another concert, and a City Band Concert (more about that in another 'Blog entry), outdoor music and entertainment at a local watering hole. July 3: A children's pie-eating contest starts the day. Throughout the day there will be kid's rides and games at the Community Center. The High School jazz band will perform at 12:30. The Patriotic Parade starts at 6:00 p.m. and there will be fireworks starting at 10:00 p.m. (All of those spaghetti feeds and other fund-raising events paid for that!). July 4: There is a run/walk on the beautiful trail system from the ski/golf resort to town, a city band concert at 11:00 a.m., the Children's Patriotic Parade at noon, followed by the Kid's Races on Main Street (remember those fire department fund raisers?). There will be a Student Concert by the Festival folks at 4:00 p.m. Another "very good thing."
We are going to be so busy with all of these "very good things" that we are going to forget the rest of the news from The Shopper for now. We will catch you next week!
Have a great week. Think about what you will be missing if you do not visit us in the next couple of weeks!!!
