April 28, 2017

In current events, the last power outage of April is this Sunday from 7:30am to 11:30am. Having the Hydro go down can be difficult for some people, but remember that it could be worse. There could be zombies.

Eco-conscious Kagawongians came together last weekend to celebrate Earth Day. Together with the Billings Go Green Advisory Committee and the Recreation Committee the town had a dash of spring cleaning, a pinch of sweet desserts, and heaping serving of informative and entertaining guest speakers. Thanks to everyone who took part in this important annual event. Guest speaker Arik Theijsmeijer was quoted as saying “The desserts were sweet and the people even sweeter!”

Join the Manitoulin Community Choir on Saturday (April 29) as they celebrate Canada 150 with a concert of Canadian music. Performance starts at 7:30pm at the Park Centre: $10 per person or $20 for a family.

Earlier that day (April 29), join 4elements' for a Pipe Ceremony, BBQ Potluck and Art facilitated discussion to kick off the process for collaboratively designing one of the sculptures on the Billings Art and Heritage Trail. The Pipe ceremony is at 2pm, and the BBQ Potluck is at 4pm at the Kagawong public beach (or, under the pavilion if raining). For more information contact: Mira Jones @ 705-282-0444 OR Sarah King Gold @ 705-507-2340.

Tomorrow night is also movie night at the library where they will be showing Table 19, starring Anna Kendrick. Show starts at 7pm and admission is free as always! Check out the Facebook page for more information and trailers.

Dust off your dancing shoes and come on out to the Spring Wing Ding on May 6! Bring your swing and be the king of the fling! 8pm until midnight at the Park Centre. Tickets: $15 per person; all funds raised go to support the Angel Bus.

We don’t seem to have any birthdays to announce this week, but if you have a friend or family member you would like to embarrass… uh… honour, with a mention in this column, send us a name and date via email.

Euchre continues Wednesday nights at the Park Centre. Last week’s results were:  First Place - Bev & Sally; Second Place (tie) - Muriel & Lil and Patricia & Laura; Fourth Place - Mike & Susan; Low Score - Graham & Sheila: Most Loners - Mike & Susan; Special Prize - Patricia.

All these power outages have raised all sorts of questions for Team Fergmeijer. Questions like, if we plant a light bulb in the back garden, will we grow a power plant? Do fluorescent lights hum because they can’t remember the lyrics? If two lights like each other, do they go out together? Can you really trust an electrician with no eyebrows? That’s enough for one week; these puns are enough to make your head hertz.

April 21, 2017

It’s an insomniac’s favourite time of year - smelt season! It makes staying up into the wee hours of the morning as productive as possible. Plus, you get a great snack out of the deal. Maybe it should be called insom-nom-nom-ia.

We hope you managed to survive the first two planned power-outages of April. But wait - there’s more!  Reminder that there is still one more to go on April 30th from 7:30am to 11:30am. Fill your kettles and buckets, and settle in for a nice, quiet Sunday morning.

The annual Easter Egg hunt last weekend was a smashing success with about 50 younguns showing up to seek and destroy as many chocolate treats as possible. The rec committee did a bang-up job hiding the eggs and rangling the 3 different age groups, making sure no one went home empty handed. Despite the slightly dampish weather, the Easter bunny made an appearance, chattiing and taking pictures with children. Only some of the children looked horrified, so most of those pictures will be keepers for the family photo albums.

Happy early birthday to Team Fergmeijer’s favourite cook (after our respective mothers, of course) - Jean W! Jean makes 29 look almost as good as her chocolate croissants. Long time summer resident Marilyn P will be turning 29 along with Jean next week. We’re not sure we want to do the math that makes her a grandmother at 29, though.

It’s finally here - the green social event of the year! Celebrate Earth Day with the Billings Go Green Advisory Committee and the Recreation Committee tomorrow (Saturday) with a little spring cleaning, and dessert social! Meet at 10am at the Park Centre to join in a community clean up (if you know of an area that could use a little TLC, contact a Go Green committee member), and then come back again for 1pm for a series of featured talks by local experts Arik Theijsmeijer, Maureen Strickland, and Emily Cormier. Did we mention there will be desserts? See you there!

Keep swinging into spring with the first event of the Fibre Arts Festival on the 23rd: a mixed media paint social. Check out Daffodil Fibre Arts Festival Facebook page for more info.

Coming up at the end of April, join the Manitoulin Community Choir as they celebrate Canada 150 with a concert of Canadian music Saturday, April 29 at 7:30pm at the Park Centre. $10 per person or $20 for a family. Alternatively, for the price of a small donation, get a behind-the-scenes look at the choir’s final rehearsal Tuesday, April 25th at 7pm, also at the Park Centre.

Also on next Saturday night (April 29) is Movie Night at the Billings Library! The showing of Table 19 starts at 7pm with free admission as always. Check out the Facebook page for more information and trailers.

And if that’s not enough to kick spring into high gear, dust off your dancing shoes and come on out to the Spring Wing Ding on May 6! It’s a thing! Come be the king of the fling, and bring your swing. 8pm until midnight at the Park Centre. Tickets: $15 per person; all funds raised go to support the Angel Bus.

Speaking of dancing, did you know that swing is a golf club’s favourite type of music? Have a great week!

April 14, 2017

Quick on the heels of the arrival of the Sandhill Cranes, the smelts are now back as well. Grab your buckets and hip waders! But remember, especially at 3am, safety first near the rushing river! We were hoping to lure you in for a reel good laugh with fishing puns, but thought we cod do better.

The first planned power outage this month was so successful, Hydro One has planned two more! The power will be out on Tuesday, April 18th from 2am to 6am (be sure to have a contingency plan for your alarm clocks!) and again on Sunday, April 30th from 7:30am to 11:30am.

There is a lot of discussion going on about the proposed use of the herbicide Garlon by Hydro. The Council is willing to revisit the issue of spraying within Billings. Any petition or email should be received by Wednesday, April 12th in order to be included in the meeting package as "Information.” Drop off your comments at the town office or use the contact information on the township website. Council can then discuss it at the April 18 meeting. They are willing to hear all sides--anyone's opinion and reasoning is welcome!

Spring has most definitely sprung here in Billings Township, with events on every single weekend for the next little while:

The annual Easter Egg hunt is on April 15th, starting at 10am at the Park Centre. There will be different zones for different age groups to ensure everyone has a fabulous time. The deer have left their own “treats” along the trail, but don’t be fooled! If it’s not wrapped in foil, it’s not chocolate.

The next library movie night is this Saturday, April 15: the Academy-award winning La La Land! Show starts at 7pm with free admission as always. Check out the Facebook page for more information and trailers.

Be sure to mark the weekend of April 22-23 on your calendar! Start the weekend with an Earth Day dessert social on the 22nd, brought to you by the Billings Township Go Green Advisory Committee and the Recreation Committee. Meet at 10am at the Park Centre to join in a community clean up (if you know of an area that could use a little TLC, contact a Go Green committee member), and then come back again for 1pm for a series of featured talks by local experts Arik Theijsmeijer, Maureen Strickland, and Emily Cormier. Did we mention there will be desserts?

Keep swinging into spring with the first event of the Fibre Arts Festival on the 23rd: a mixed media paint social. Check out Daffodil Fibre Arts Festival Facebook page for more info.

Coming up at the end of April, join the Manitoulin Community Choir as they celebrate Canada 150 with a concert of Canadian music Saturday, April 29 at 7:30pm at the Park Centre. $10 per person or $20 for a family. Alternatively, for the price of a small donation, get a behind-the-scenes look at the choir’s final rehearsal Tuesday, April 25th at 7pm, also at the Park Centre.

Linda F is back from an extended stay in Sudbury. Plenty of downtime ensured she made several honey-do lists and got all her gardens planned.

Sorry we told those bad fish jokes at the beginning of the column. We’re feeling a little gill-ty. If you can think of better fish puns, let minnow.

April 7, 2017

‘Tis the season - we’ve been doing some spring cleaning and found a box of old clothes and things from when we were teenagers. We don’t want to brag or anything, but we still fit into the earrings we wore in high school.

It must be spring, because the community sign at the main corner is up again! Keep an eye out as you drive by to stay up-to-date on the goings-on in the township. The first event on the sign is one of Team Fergmeijer’s favourites: the Easter egg hunt! The annual hunt is on April 15th starting at 10am at the Park Centre. There will be different zones for different age groups to ensure everyone has a fabulous time. And remember, if it doesn’t have colourful foil on it, IT’S NOT CHOCOLATE.

The next library movie night is Saturday, April 15: the Academy-award winning La La Land! Show starts at 7pm with free admission as always. Check out the Facebook page for more information and trailers.

Last weekend, Mimi O’Bonsawin and her band played to a very appreciative crowd as she added Kagawong to her album release tour. This was Mimi’s second concert in Kagawong and we can only hope it won’t be her last.

The first planned power outage this month was so successful, Hydro One has planned two more! The power will be out on Tuesday, April 18th from 2am to 6am (be sure to have a contingency plan for your alarm clocks!) and again on Sunday, April 30th from 7:30am to 11:30am.

Hydro One has announced it intends to use Garlon spray along certain areas of Billings township to minimize the growth of plants and trees that otherwise have to be kept clear of powerlines manually. Landowners can contact Hydro One to opt-out of any spraying on land adjacent to their property by calling 1-888-664-9376.

Be sure to mark the weekend of April 22-23 on your calendar! Start the weekend with an Earth Day celebration on the 22nd, brought to you by the Billings Township Go Green Advisory Committee and the Recreation Committee. Follow that up with the first event of the Fibre Arts Festival on the 23rd: a mixed media paint social. We’ll post more details as they become available, or check out Daffodil Fibre Arts Festival Facebook page.

Municipal councillor Sharon A is celebrating her 29th birthday this weekend. I hope the town office put birthday cake on the agenda of the next meeting!

Spring is an excellent reminder that we were supposed to get in shape before spring. No, seriously, our noses have done more running this spring than we have. Have a great week!