Arts & Entertainment

Spread over four days, this year, the festival was from Friday July 29 to Monday August 1. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised at the variety of activities, sights, places to visit and things to do. This was our first visit.
On Saturday July 30, we drove into town and parked at the Arena. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. At the Arena we walked around, seeing the arts and crafts of many gifted crafters. We bought a hand crafted bar of music fashioned in steel. This goes along nicely with our dance slogan – keep the beat, which we have on our carport at home. As some of you know, my wife and I are Ballroom and Latin dance instructors in Norfolk County.
Then we took the free bus shuttle into the heart of the Festival area by the dock. We had lunch at a British pub – chicken and chips and headed out to see the sights. At the pub we met some of our former dance students who owned a boat and had sailed in to enjoy the festival.
We walked across the bridge and along the waterfront. The vendors, the displays and exhibits, the music and marine history, the families, individuals and children, made it look like a family affair. There were activities for all ages, from kids to grandparents. The Ferris Wheel, the choo-choo train, the food court, day and evening cruises, tall ships, a red fire boat and Coast Guard vessel, not to mention many private pleasure boats, were in evidence.
We did a tour of the tall sailing ship, the U.S. Brig Niagara and went below deck. On deck I had never seen so many different types of ropes in many different sizes. Below deck, one got a feel for what it was like to travel on one of these sailing ships as my grandfather did on the S.S. Felisberta when he left Madeira as a child to emigrate to Guyana in the late 19th century.
Below was low and cramped. One had to stoop to walk. This is where folks slept in hammocks to counteract the motion of the ocean and to save space. Many immigrants and slaves in the old days went below but never came back up alive! This is quite different from a luxury cabin on a cruise ship. There were a number of activities on board including "walking the plank" if it turned your crank.
A Farmer's Market, Historical and Marine Museum, Car Show, Birds of Prey Demonstrations, Kite Show, Bike Race, live shows and concerts, and what really would be appealing to us – Swing Jazz on the lawn with the Toronto All Star Big Band. Whatever the activity, be it just a stroll, or a view of the fireworks, summer fun and frolic were evident everywhere.
The highlight of our visit was perhaps the impromptu dance demonstration that my wife and I did on the waterfront to the music of a group from Ecuador called the Imbayakunas. We had heard this group perform once before at the Jazz Festival in the Beaches district in Toronto.
As we stopped to listen, they started playing the haunting tune from the Andes called El Condor Pasa. It was too much to pass up. I put down my shopping, took my wife in my arms, and slipped into the romantic rumba dance. A small crowd soon gathered around. When it was over, pedestrian traffic was blocked and the musicians were applauding us. I applauded them for they played truly inspiring music with those flutes and sounds of nature of the high Andes of South America.
We rushed off but not before one lady grabbed my wife's arm and asked if we were dance instructors. She replied in the affirmative and the lady said. "I thought so. It was beautiful!" That more than made our day.
What a beautiful way to remember Canal Days in Port Colborne. What a beautiful way to remember the summer of 2011. If you ever get a chance to visit Port Colborne in the summer, Canal Days will make it more than worthwhile. If you can't make it, check out the fairs and festivals close to you. You might be pleasantly surprised. These are some of the attractions that make our province and country such a great place to live in.
Come September, the Ferris Wheel will swing idly in the wind, the cool autumn breeze will blow, the choo-choo train will toot no more - the bumper cars parked, the boats docked, the canal silent. Summer sun, summer fun, summer romance, will have all come and gone. Soon the crops will be harvested, the moon dying, and summer friends all but forgotten. If the creeks don't rise and the sun still shines, I'll be talking to you.

August 10, 2011 issue
Arts & Entertainment
Enjoying summer festivities in Port Colborne
Bernard Heydorn	Villages, towns, cities and states across North America have fairs and festivals through the summer. My wife and I recently attended Canal Days, a marine history festival, in Port Colborne, Ontario., on Niagara's South Coast. It was truly an unexpected pleasure. Port Colborne, located on the south shore of Lake Erie by the Welland Canal is a marine community with a rich natural history. The Welland Canal is where water meets road, rail and air. At the height of summer the city opens its heart and soul to visitors in a festival called Canal Days.

A tall ship in Lake Erie at the Canal Days festival, Port Colborne
Spread over four days, this year, the festival was from Friday July 29 to Monday August 1. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised at the variety of activities, sights, places to visit and things to do. This was our first visit. On Saturday July 30, we drove into town and parked at the Arena. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. At the Arena we walked around, seeing the arts and crafts of many gifted crafters. We bought a hand crafted bar of music fashioned in steel. This goes along nicely with our dance slogan – keep the beat, which we have on our carport at home. As some of you know, my wife and I are Ballroom and Latin dance instructors in Norfolk County. Then we took the free bus shuttle into the heart of the Festival area by the dock. We had lunch at a British pub – chicken and chips and headed out to see the sights. At the pub we met some of our former dance students who owned a boat and had sailed in to enjoy the festival. We walked across the bridge and along the waterfront. The vendors, the displays and exhibits, the music and marine history, the families, individuals and children, made it look like a family affair. There were activities for all ages, from kids to grandparents. The Ferris Wheel, the choo-choo train, the food court, day and evening cruises, tall ships, a red fire boat and Coast Guard vessel, not to mention many private pleasure boats, were in evidence. We did a tour of the tall sailing ship, the U.S. Brig Niagara and went below deck. On deck I had never seen so many different types of ropes in many different sizes. Below deck, one got a feel for what it was like to travel on one of these sailing ships as my grandfather did on the S.S. Felisberta when he left Madeira as a child to emigrate to Guyana in the late 19th century. Below was low and cramped. One had to stoop to walk. This is where folks slept in hammocks to counteract the motion of the ocean and to save space. Many immigrants and slaves in the old days went below but never came back up alive! This is quite different from a luxury cabin on a cruise ship. There were a number of activities on board including "walking the plank" if it turned your crank. A Farmer's Market, Historical and Marine Museum, Car Show, Birds of Prey Demonstrations, Kite Show, Bike Race, live shows and concerts, and what really would be appealing to us – Swing Jazz on the lawn with the Toronto All Star Big Band. Whatever the activity, be it just a stroll, or a view of the fireworks, summer fun and frolic were evident everywhere. The highlight of our visit was perhaps the impromptu dance demonstration that my wife and I did on the waterfront to the music of a group from Ecuador called the Imbayakunas. We had heard this group perform once before at the Jazz Festival in the Beaches district in Toronto. As we stopped to listen, they started playing the haunting tune from the Andes called El Condor Pasa. It was too much to pass up. I put down my shopping, took my wife in my arms, and slipped into the romantic rumba dance. A small crowd soon gathered around. When it was over, pedestrian traffic was blocked and the musicians were applauding us. I applauded them for they played truly inspiring music with those flutes and sounds of nature of the high Andes of South America. We rushed off but not before one lady grabbed my wife's arm and asked if we were dance instructors. She replied in the affirmative and the lady said. "I thought so. It was beautiful!" That more than made our day. What a beautiful way to remember Canal Days in Port Colborne. What a beautiful way to remember the summer of 2011. If you ever get a chance to visit Port Colborne in the summer, Canal Days will make it more than worthwhile. If you can't make it, check out the fairs and festivals close to you. You might be pleasantly surprised. These are some of the attractions that make our province and country such a great place to live in. Come September, the Ferris Wheel will swing idly in the wind, the cool autumn breeze will blow, the choo-choo train will toot no more - the bumper cars parked, the boats docked, the canal silent. Summer sun, summer fun, summer romance, will have all come and gone. Soon the crops will be harvested, the moon dying, and summer friends all but forgotten. If the creeks don't rise and the sun still shines, I'll be talking to you.
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