June 29, 2018

We decided to get some community feedback on our use of puns in our column. We spoke with one member of the village (who asked to remain anonymous). When asked how he felt about the jokes, he claimed, “I love puns, yo. That’s how eye roll!”

Happy Canada Day! Sunday July 1st, meet at the market pavilion at 1pm to celebrate nature, art, heritage with the Billings Connection Trail. Refreshments will be provided. In case of rain, the event will move to the Park Centre.

Team Fergmeijer just started reading a book on the history of glue. We can’t seem to put it down! Speaking of books…  Billings Library is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! The library will be sprucing up the joint with some new furnishings and art in the building. On July 11th, at the annual book and bake sale, buy your lunch and get a free slice of anniversary cake!

Have you got a great idea for a name for the former St. Paul’s on the Hill as it is reimagined into an entertainment centre? Drop a note to the town office.

Congrats to the Kagawong Krushers who had a fine showing at the first Mindemoya Youth Ball Tournament on the weekend. Thanks to coaches Paulie, Chad, and Mike the kids learned a lot about baseball and about sportsmanship.

Manitoulin Tennis Club is pausing for a few weeks while the courts at MSS get repainted. Any students looking for volunteer hours can contact Chris at 705-968-0404.

We’ve been a bit low on birthdays lately, but this week we have the mother of all birthdays coming up - Canada Day! Enjoy your long weekend, but remember, just because we have free health care doesn’t mean you get to be reckless with the fireworks.

July is just around the corner and so many fun things are on the horizon. The first week of July, wash off the spring mud at the Rec Committee’s annual car wash, and then show off your shine at the Anglican church yard sale and barbeque. July 20th and 21st make sure to clear your schedule, because Summerfest will keep the whole family hoppin’. Friday night, are you brave enough to watch the movie Jaws while drifting on a floaty in Mudge Bay? Saturday, take part in all the amazing activities around town and then take in some music with Flathead Ford when they rock the dock.

Manitoulin Family Resources now presents Early Learning playgroups throughout the year at the Park Centre! Families with children aged 0-6 are invited to stop in July 9, July 23, August 6 and August 20, from 9am-11:30am, for songs, stories, snacks, and learning through play. Contact 368-3400, ext. 1, for more information.

We don’t have a clever intro to this one; it’s pretty cool all by itself: Kagawong was featured on tv last week! If you didn’t catch it at the time, check it out on the Kagawong Facebook page.

Team Fergmeijer would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the graduates this June. We hope your future is bright and that you don’t trip on your gown on the way across the stage!

Have a great week!

June 22, 2018

Happy Solstice! Just 7 more days until the kids are free for summer vacation! For those who, like us, love a countdown, there’s also just 108 days until Thanksgiving, 131 days until Hallowe’en, and only 186 days until Christmas!

Team Fergmeijer spent a good 90 minutes testing out the new playground equipment at the main beach this week. It was all about quality control of course, but the crowd of 6 year olds waiting for their turn really seemed to lack appreciation for our efforts.

Have you got a great idea for a name for the former St. Paul’s on the Hill as it is reimagined into an entertainment centre? Drop a note to the town office. Don’t forget, we’ve already suggested Churchy McChurchface. With this new multi-purpose venue available, we expect to see an augmented number of sharp musicians coming to town!

You can’t call us a lyre when we tell you we have had to scale back our puns in the last few columns. We believe it’s our forte, but over-use of puns seems to get us into treble with some of our faithful readers who tend to send us notes telling us we are out of tune with the modern reader. We love to reed our fan mail, but some of you do tend to harp on about our love of puns.  It’s a bit insulting - we don’t write to you telling you how to conduct your business. Team Fergmeijer has been doing this for a while now, and we feel like we have managed to guitar act together at this point. Whew! This has become a bit of a rant. Apologies, we didn’t mean to harmony one’s feelings. Here’s hoping these jokes don’t fall flat this week.

Manitoulin Tennis Club is pausing for a few weeks while the courts at MSS get repainted.

What does a thesaurus eat for breakfast? A synonym roll! Speaking of books…  Billings Library is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! The library will be sprucing up the joint with some new furnishings and art in the building. On July 11th, at the annual book and bake sale, buy your lunch and get a free slice of anniversary cake! And keep your eyes open over the next several weeks for the new ‘branch’ of the library that will be opening.

Manitoulin Family Resources now presents Early Learning playgroups throughout the year at the Park Centre! Families with children aged 0-6 are invited to stop in June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6 and August 20, from 9am-11:30am, for songs, stories, snacks, and learning through play. Contact 368-3400, ext. 1, for more information.

July is just around the corner and so many fun things are on the horizon. The first week of July, wash off the spring mud at the Rec Committee’s annual car wash, and then show off your shine at the Anglican church yard sale and barbeque. July 20th and 21st make sure to clear your schedule, because Summerfest will keep the whole family hoppin’. Friday night, watch a movie on the beach (or in the water) on a huge 200” screen! Saturday, take part in all the amazing activities around town and then take in some music with Flathead Ford when they rock the dock.

Have a great week!

June 15, 2018

The weather has warmed up again in Billings. It’s so hot: farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice so they don’t lay hard-boiled eggs … cows are giving evaporated milk…. hot water now comes out of both taps. On the upside, our neighbour’s pink flamingos have melted on their lawn.

With the warm weather has come a population boom. According to the latest Team Fergmeijer census, the population of Kagawong has exploded to 439,187,367,922,600 with the addition of forest caterpillars.

Good thing St. Paul’s is fundraising for upgrades - local musicians nearly blew the roof off the historic church last Saturday night! Thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting the transition of St. Paul’s into a multi-use performance space. The township is considering changing the name of the building now that it has a new life. Contribute your suggestions directly to the township, but also share them with us! Sadly, we’ve been informed that Churchy McChurch Face is not going to make their top 10 options, but stay tuned for more great events in this venue!

The Island Singers are teaming up with the Stratford Concert Choir this Saturday (June 16), for a performance not to be missed! Come by to hear over 60 singers perform the choral classic, Faure’s Requiem, as well as other sacred/secular works. Tickets are $15 per adult or $30 per family; the concert starts at 7pm at the Mindemoya Missionary Church.

Manitoulin Family Resources now presents Early Learning playgroups throughout the year at the Park Centre! Families with children aged 0-6 are invited to stop in June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6 and August 20, from 9am-11:30am, for songs, stories, snacks, and learning through play. Contact 368-3400, ext. 1, for more information.

There will be a graveside service for Jacqui Gordon Saturday, June 16 at 11am at the Kagawong Cemetery, with lunch to follow at the Park Centre. All welcome.

Happy 29th Birthday to Karlene, who celebrated with class on Thursday! Let’s be honest - everything she does is with class.

Another sign that summer is just around the corner - registration for swimming lessons in Kagawong is now open! There will be a session running weekdays in July, and a second session running weekdays in August. Cost to register is just $30 per session, with discounts available for large families. Contact the town office to register by June 29.

For those of you who like to plan ahead, here are a couple of dates to mark on your calendar for the next few months:

Kagawong farmers’ market Wednesdays starting in July.

July 11th - library book and bake sale

July 20th & 21st - Kagawong Summerfest

August 3rd Mimi O’Bonsawin is back!

Euchre continues through the spring. Last week’s winners were: High Score: Susan Arbour; Most Loners: Mike Arbour; Low Score: Doris Tustian; Door Prize: Kal Merrilees.

L.Z. from Evansville, who prefers to remain anonymous, wants to remind you of the e-waste collection happening at the high school on Saturday from 9am to 2pm.

It might be hot outside, but just think, only 16 more weeks until we start complaining about how cold it’s getting. Have a great week!  

June 8, 2018

Our column is chock full of goings-on this week, so we’ll have to keep our jokes short and sweet. Just like Team Fergmeijer.

TOMORROW! Saturday, June 9 at 7:30pm, join local musicians Peter Gordon, Willa Wilson, Doug Alkenbrack, Matt Maranger, Jamie Ward, Patrick Therrien, and Kagawong Folk Roots for the first annual fundraising concert for St. Paul’s. Tickets ($15) are available at the door, or in advance at Main Street Café. Come out to St. Paul’s on the Hill for a great evening of music, in memory of Don Bainbridge.

This Sunday (June 10), stop by the Park Centre from 2-4pm for a come-and-go tea to celebrate Diane Fraser being awarded Senior of the Year! Speeches will begin at 2:30pm

Another sign that summer is just around the corner - registration for swimming lessons in Kagawong is now open! There will be a session running weekdays in July, and a second session running weekdays in August. Cost to register is just $30 per session, with discounts available for large families. Contact the town office to register by June 29.

There will be a graveside service for Jacqui Gordon Saturday, June 16 at 11am at the Kagawong Cemetery, with lunch to follow at the Park Centre. All welcome.

Manitoulin Family Resources now presents Early Learning playgroups throughout the year at the Park Centre! Families with children aged 0-6 are invited to stop in June 11 and June 25, from 9am-11:30am, for songs, stories, snacks, and learning through play. Contact 368-3400, ext. 1, for more information.

The S.H.A.R.E. and Go Green student groups at Manitoulin Secondary are hosting an electronic waste community collection event June 11-15 from 3-5pm, and Saturday, June 16 from 9am-2pm. Stop by the high school and drop off old electronics, and help keep them out of the landfill! Also accepting textile and used clothing donations for the Ontario Federation of Cerebral Palsy.

Game, set, and match! Join the Manitoulin Tennis Club every Sunday and Wednesday at 6:30pm at the MSS tennis courts! Players of all experience levels welcome, with lessons available upon request. Contact Chris for more information, at 705-968-0404.

For those of you who like to plan ahead, here are a couple of dates to mark on your calendar for the next few months:

Kagawong farmers’ market runs every Wednesday in the pavillion, starting in July.

July 11th is the library’s annual book and bake sale. (The library is always accepting donations of gently used books, and baking donations can be dropped off on the day of the sale by 10am)

July 20th weekend is Kagawong Summerfest & the first annual Team Fergmeijer Try-athlon.

August 3rd sees the return of the fabulous Mimi O’Bonsawin.

We’ll have more details on all of these in future columns. If you have an event you would like to see here in our trusty column, drop us a line (kagawong@live.ca).

Euchre continues through the spring. Last week’s winners were: high score - Doris Tustian; most loners - Lil Boyd; low score - Kal Merrilees; door prize - Doris Tustian.

We have just enough room for another short and sweet joke: What’s a foot long and slippery? A slipper.

Have a great week!

June 1, 2018

With all this nice summer weather, Team Fergmeijer took advantage of the Sunday power outage to head outside and play catch. At one point, we wondered why the ball was getting bigger. And then it hit us.

Feeling hungry? Stop by the Park Centre tonight for a homemade lasagna dinner, complete with homemade pie for dessert! Tickets are $16 per person, or $8 for children under 10, and takeout is available. All proceeds go to St. John’s Anglican Church.

Next weekend, Saturday, June 9 at 7:30pm, join local musicians Peter Gordon, Willa Wilson, Doug Alkenbrack, Matt Maranger, Jamie Ward, Patrick Therrien, and Kagawong Folk Roots for the first annual fundraising concert for St. Paul’s. Tickets ($15) are available at the door, or in advance at Main Street Café. Come out to St. Paul’s on the Hill for a great evening of music, in memory of Don Bainbridge.

Game, set, and match! Join the Manitoulin Tennis Club every Sunday and Wednesday at 6:30pm at the MSS tennis courts! Players of all experience levels welcome, with lessons available upon request. Contact Chris for more information, at 705-968-0404.

Don’t forget to vote on Thursday, June 7! Check out https://www.elections.on.ca/en.html for information on voting hours and advance poll locations.

Happy 29th to two of the best lookin’ gals in Billings!

For those of you who like to plan ahead, here are a couple of dates to mark on your calendar for the next few months:

Kagawong farmers’ market runs every Wednesday in the pavillion, starting in July.

July 11th is the library’s annual book and bake sale. (The library is always accepting donations of gently used books)

July 20th weekend is Kagawong Summerfest & the first annual Team Fergmeijer Try-athlon.

August 3rd sees the return of the fabulous Mimi O’Bonsawin.

We’ll have more details on all of these in future columns. If you have an event you would like to see here in our trusty column, drop us a line (kagawong@live.ca).

Euchre continues through the spring. Last week’s winners were: Ladies High Score - Sheila Fogal (Donated Winnings); Mens High Score - Lil Boyd; Ladies Loners - Lily Third; Mens Loners - Elva Lloyd; Low Score - Doris Tustian; Door Prize - Phyllis Cacciotti.

You know us - we’re a soccer for a pun, but we want to get serious for a minute and pass along some sage advice. For those looking for a relationship: never date a tennis player. Love means nothing to them. For those already in a relationship, be careful to make time for each other. My neighbour is a golfer and her husband feels her hobby is driving a wedge between the two of them.

Have a great week!