June 28, 2019

Happy birth-d’eh to… Canada! Wear your red and white proudly tod’eh and celebr’ehte the good in our n’eh-tion. We’ll be celebr’ehting with a little extra Canada throughout the column! See if you can spot the subtle references throughout.

Not only has the solstice passed, but now that the school year is finished, summer has officially started! Be sure to get out there and check out ehverything Kagawong has to offer!

 

Starting this Wednesd’eh, and every Wednesd’eh through July and August from 10’ehm-3pm, stop by the Kagawong market pavilion for fresh treats, locally-m’ehde crafts, and a bount’eh of other treasures! For vendor opportunit’ehs, call 705 210-9924. 

St. John’s Anglican Church is hosting a giant yard s’ehle, b’ehke sale and BBQ on Saturd’eh July 6th. Head down to the market pavillion from 10-2 to browse for that perfect item and walk off with a cupc’eh-ke in one hand and a roast beef on a bun in the other!

The Libr’ehry board is planning to spruce the place up a bit with a coat of p’ehnt on the walls. Anyone wanting to volunteer a few hours this weekend packing up books, priming, p’ehnting, or unpacking books, drop a line to the (very gr’ehcious) librarian at 282-2944 or billingslibrary@vianet.ca, or just show up Saturd’eh after 1pm, Sund’eh and Mond’eh after 10am.

The f’ehcelift will be done just in time for the libr’ehry board and volunteers to shift their ehttention to the annual book and b’ehke s’ehle on Wednesd’eh July 10th at the Park Centre. Doors are open from 11 ‘ehm to 2pm. Mark it on your calendar!

Also on the libr’ehry’s summer ‘ehgenda is another beach movie! Frid’eh July 19th, br’eh-ve the waters of Mudge B’eh (or st’eh high and dry with us well aw’eh from the shore) while watching The Meg on the libr’ehry’s giant outdoor screen.  

Summerfest is coming! Mark July 19-21 on your summer calendar, and st’eh tuned for more inform’ehtion on the gr’eht events happening that weekend!

Don’t forget that the dog park is open for business 24/7. Sorry, no kitt’ehs allowed. 

Have a gr’eht week and a fabulous Canada D’eh long weekend!

June 21, 2019

Have you sea-n the main beach in town lately? We aren’t shore if it is the summer students or the public works guys getting it into fighting shape, but no squiding, the beach looks fintastic! Our loyal readers will know that Team Fergmeijer is not very sofishticated, and we just can’t hide that we are happy as a clam that the weather is nice enough to start thinking about getting ready to plan for a swim at some point in the future. 

Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day! Be sure to take some time to celebrate, and learn more about the cultural diversity of the First Nations peoples.

In honour of Seniors' Month, Billings is once again looking to celebrate an outstanding senior in our community. Submit your nomination for Senior of the Year, including a brief explanation why you think that person should be the 2019 Billings Township Senior of the Year, by June 26, 2019, at 4:00pm to kmcdonald@billingstwp.ca

The Library board is planning to spruce the place up a bit with a coat of paint on the walls. Anyone wanting to volunteer a few hours over the July long weekend packing up books, priming, painting, or unpacking books, drop a line to the (very gracious) librarian at 282-2944 or billingslibrary@vianet.ca.

The facelift will be done just in time for the library board and volunteers to shift their attention to the annual book and bake sale on Wednesday July 10th at the Park Centre. Mark it on your calendar!

Also on the library’s summer agenda is another beach movie! Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

St. John’s Anglican Church is hosting a giant yard sale, bake sale and bbq on Saturday July 6th. Head down to the farmer’s market from 10-2 to browse for that perfect item and walk off with a cupcake in one hand and a roast beef on a bun in the other!

The summer market is starting up soon! Wednesdays from 10am-3pm in July and August, stop by the Kagawong pavilion for fresh treats, locally-made crafts, and a bounty of other treasures! For vendor opportunities, call 705 210-9924. 

It seems the new council so enjoyed their time in the cabanas earlier this year that they have commissioned more of them. A new blue cabana has popped up near the pavilion - Team Fergmeijer can’t wait to see who will be moving in! We hear booths will be opening up on Canada Day weekend, and will likely be open weekends as well as Wednesdays during the market. 

Got a birthday coming up? Know someone else with a birthday that deserves to be embaras… er… honoured in this column? Send the details our way (Kagawong@live.ca or facebook.com/kagawong1).

The lake is warming up, and summer events in the village are just around the corner! Swim lesson registration is now open: the two sessions are July 2-26, and July 29-August 23, and costs are $30 per swimmer per session, with a $90 family rate for a family with 4 or more swimmers. Fees are payable prior to the start of the sessions at the township office (705 282-2611, x221). 

Summerfest is coming! Mark July 19-21 on your summer calendar, and stay tuned for more information on the great events happening that weekend!

Final words of advice for this week: Keep your friends close, and your anemones closer. Have a great week!

June 14, 2019

Just like the weather, things in Kagawong are really starting to heat up! The warm weather has once again inspired Team Fergmeijer and we have decided we need to get into shape. We settled on taking an aerobics class. We bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. Unfortunately, by the time we got our leotards on, the class was over.

Saturday, June 15, stop by the Park Centre between 5:30pm-7pm for a spaghetti dinner! At $12 for adults, and $8 for kids 12 and under, all proceeds go toward Strawberry Point Christian camp. 

Missing Euchre? Then don’t miss the upcoming euchre tournament Wednesday, June 19 at 7:30pm at the Park Centre! Experienced card sharks and beginner players welcome.

In honour of Seniors' Month, Billings is once again looking to celebrate an outstanding senior in our community. Submit your nomination for Senior of the Year, including a brief explanation why you think that person should be the 2019 Billings Township Senior of the Year, by June 26, 2019, at 4:00pm to kmcdonald@billingstwp.ca

The Library board is planning to spruce the place up a bit with a coat of paint on the walls. Anyone wanting to volunteer a few hours over the July long weekend packing up books, priming, painting, or unpacking books, drop a line to the (terribly stylish) librarian at 282-2944 or billingslibrary@vianet.ca.

The facelift will be done just in time for the library’s annual book and bake sale. Mark Wednesday July 10th on your calendar!

In the wake of some momentous birthdays, we have come to some sobering realizations.

One, you can tell you are getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

Happy 29th birthday to Karlene. Not a Kagawongian, but who are we to ignore the birthday of a magical unicorn like her?

The lake is warming up, and summer events in the village are just around the corner! Swim lesson registration is now open: the two sessions are July 2-26, and July 29-August 23, and costs are $30 per swimmer per session, with a $90 family rate for a family with 4 or more swimmers. Fees are payable prior to the start of the sessions at the township office (705 282-2611, x221). 

Two, the odds are good that it’s not the high definition television that’s the problem. It’s your low definition eyes that are the problem. 

Also starting up soon is the summer market! Wednesdays from 10am-3pm in July and August, stop by the Kagawong pavilion for fresh treats, locally-made crafts, and a bounty of other treasures! For vendor opportunities, call 705 210-9924. 

Summerfest is coming! Mark July 19-21 on your summer calendar, and stay tuned for more information on the great events happening that weekend!

The township is still seeking members for the Community Events committee, Economic Development committee, Go Green committee, and the Parks, Recreation and Wellness committee. Interested? Check out http://www.billingstwp.ca for more information. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, July 10, at 4pm.

Have you wandered about to check out the flower boxes and flower beds around town? The ‘Late Bloomers’ have been hard at work digging, planting and watering all over the town. 

Last, but not least, the older you get the better you get (unless you are a sandwich). Have a great week!

June 7, 2019

A friend recently sat down with us for a serious talk. They feel we may have gone pasta point of no return when it comes to puns. We promised to take their concerns to heart, and thanked them fiori their honesty.

TONIGHT! The folks at St. John’s Anglican church are hosting a homemade lasagna dinner at the Park Centre! Stop in between 5pm-7pm and get a hearty meal (eat in or take out) for $16 ($8 for children under 10).

Happy 29th birthday to a pair of saucy young Kagawongians who will remain anonymous. Enjoy your week!

The Library board is planning to spruce the place up a bit with a coat of paint on the walls. Anyone wanting to volunteer a few hours over the July long weekend packing up books, priming, painting, or unpacking books, drop a line to the (very friendly) librarian at 282-2944 or billingslibrary@vianet.ca.

We were saddened to learn of the passing of long-time summer resident Rev. Jeremy Mahood this week. He was a constant at the beach and marina for a lot of years. Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.  

The MSS e-waste drive wraps up tomorrow, Saturday, June 8! This is a great chance to dispose of your home or organization's electronic clutter for free, organized by the MSS SHARE/Go-Green committee. From 9am-2pm, stop by the high school to drop off items like monitors and televisions, desktop computers, laptops, computer equipment, printers, copiers, telephones, answering machines, cell phones, VCR, DVD players, audio and video devices, speakers, cameras, and more! There will also be a textile and clothing drive, to help you with your spring cleaning goals.

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is open for the season! Check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours, the latest exhibits, and even a live webcam!

Keep an eye on the flower boxes around town as volunteer garden club members, known as the ‘Late Bloomers’ are flexing their green thumbs and sprucing up the neighbourhood. 

Some words of wisdom for the weekend: Don’t let your worries spirali out of control, it will just stress you out and you’ll find yourself feeling down and cannelloni, and maybe even getting angry fusilli reasons. Don’t be alfredo a few challenges. Tackle them with a positive attitude. You’ll find negativity is gnocchi to a happy life. 

Pasta la vista and have a great week!

May 31, 2019

With summer vacation coming up, Team Fergmeijer has been daydreaming of doing some travelling. There are so many places to visit, that pondering them all has sort of taken over our brains. (Don’t worry - there’s Norway this will get too silly; Israeli hard to make puns out of place names.) Seriously though, if you had the opportunity to go to Amsterdam, wooden shoe?

Today is the last day to submit a haiku for possible display in Kagawong this summer. Contact Sharon Alkenbrack or Diane Larocque for more information.

Looking to Havana good time? Next Friday the folks at St. John’s Anglican church are hosting a homemade lasagna dinner at the Park Centre! Stop in between 5pm-7pm and get a hearty meal (eat in or take out) for $16 ($8 for children under 10).

Congratulations go out to Rachel and Pat whose family has grown by one! The adorable bundle of love is called Archie. Team Fergmeijer doesn’t have a weight or length yet, but have it on good authority viewings of the newest addition are possible at the new shop. 

Sadly, the fundraiser concert at the Old Church on the Hill scheduled for June 15 has been postponed. Stay tuned for future dates!

All the rain we’ve had over the last little while has been perfect for getting in a little reading. We stopped into the Billings Public Library to check out what new books and board games have been added lately. The (fabulous) librarian recommended a book on Japanese warriors; it was a bit long, so I asked if she could just samurais it for me. 

Speaking of the library, the board is planning to spruce the place up a bit with a coat of paint on the walls. Anyone wanting to volunteer a few hours over the July long weekend packing up books, priming, painting, or unpacking books, drop a line to the (very friendly) librarian at 282-2944 or billingslibrary@vianet.ca.

We called the cafe this afternoon to Czech in and see what was on the menu. Jean was out of breath when she answered the phone; she said, “Iran all the way from the back room!” It turns out today’s special was Turkey, and that the Greece was already in the pan heating. Let me tell you, we made a point to Russia home as soon as we were able to Finnish our work. If we hadn’t been able Togo to dinner at our favourite cafe, we were Ghana be mad! Of course, Riverside is also open now, so we wouldn’t have gone Hungary.

The annual blackfly doubles tournament that was originally scheduled for May 18 has been rescheduled for this Saturday, June 1. Hosted by the Manitoulin Tennis Club in M’Chigeeng (who are celebrating the GRAND OPENING of the newly-painted courts at the high school), this recreational tournament is open to players of all abilities. Saturday, June 1, from 10:00am - 12:30pm (rain date: Sunday, June 2). Contact Chris at 705 968-0404 for more information or check out Manitoulin Tennis Club on Facebook.

Question for our loyal readers: what do you know about Australia? Is the architecture there Koala-ty? A few years ago we went to Pisa and to be honest, I think the guidebook was a bit lenient in it’s descriptions of the buildings. 

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is also now open for the season! Check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours, the latest exhibits, and even a live webcam!

Keep an eye on the flower boxes around town as volunteer garden club members, known as  the ‘Late Bloomers’ are flexing their green thumbs and sprucing up the neighbourhood. 

Uh oh. Looking back over the column, it’s clear we’ve managed to Sudan it again. We feel a bit Laosy about it, but at least we didn’t take our friend up on his offer. He wanted Tibet us that we couldn’t get through a column without puns.Our regular readers won’t be terribly shocked or Nepalled at how this one turned out. Have a great week!

May 24, 2019

With all the wildlife out and about lately, Team Fergmeijer was inspired to watch some nature television. We just watched a documentary about beavers the other night. It was the best dam show we’ve ever seen!

Did you miss our Haiku-and-Slogan special last week? It may not have come through in the printing, so be sure to check out Team Fergmeijer’s blog for the post in all its poetic glory! Visit https://teamfergmeijer.blogspot.com for a complete archive of our silliness.

Inspired by the haiku and slogan contests, here is a fusion of both, submitted to us by HappyCheekyCherrySweetiePie17:

A place to call home;

Ev’ryone loves Billings! And,

No freshwater sharks.

Have a haiku YOU would like to submit for possible display in Kagawong this summer? Contact Sharon Alkenbrack or Diane Larocque, or send your submission(s) to Billings Economic Development, Box 150 Kagawong, ON, P0P 1J0. Submissions have to be received by May 31st. 

Have you heard? The Old Church on the Hill (formerly St. Paul’s) has a brand new stage! Come check it out Saturday, June 15 at the first of the summer’s concerts. A number of local favourites will be performing, as well as a new voice or two - you won’t want to miss it! Proceeds from the show will go toward restoring the venue as a community performance space.

It’s trade fair time! In order to properly refer to the trade fair, Team Fergmeijer had to brush up on our vocabulary skills. We weren’t sure if the trade fair was ‘semi-annual’ ‘biannual’ or ‘biennial’. After exhaustive research, it would appear that no one really agrees which word would work best (figures), so we just picked the one we like best (typical). Therefore, we can confidently say we are very much looking forward to the biennial trade fair being held in NEMI this weekend.

Happy birthday to everybody’s favourite Zumba maven, Casey B who is strutting, swaying, and salsa-ing her way to her 29th birthday this weekend.  

Like the flowers that bloom in the spring, many Kagawong businesses have blossomed this week and are now open for the season! Take a stroll through the village and say hello to all the friendly faces ready to show you their latest creations and arrivals.

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is also now open for the season! Check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours, the latest exhibits, and even a live webcam!

Keep an eye on the flower boxes around town as volunteer garden club members, known as  the ‘Late Bloomers’ are flexing their green thumbs and sprucing up the neighbourhood. 

After supper last night, Team Fergmeijer was asked if we could clear the table. We needed a running start, but we did it! Have a great week!

May 17, 2019

In honour of the EDC’s haiku contest, we present to you Team Fergmeijer’s Kagawong column, the all haiku edition (with some slogan ideas for the re-branding committee thrown in for variety)!

Billings EDC

Has a new haiku contest.

Here is the first one!

Whatever you’re into, get into Billings.

Walkers for water,

Raised two grand for clean water,

And made us all proud.

Happiness is Billings-shaped.

Want to play tennis?

The Black Fly tourney is Sat.

Everyone welcome!

Four out of five dentists recommend Billings.

Who needs a stop light

When we have 15 workers

Holding new stop signs?

Billings keeps going, and going, and going…

Have a birthday soon?

Tell us, and we’ll celebrate

Your twenty-ninth year.

Got Billings?

Businesses moving

Means more opportunities

For wellness and art.

Easy, breezy, beautiful, Billings.

Come out for euchre

At the monthly tournament

At the Park Centre.

Billings. It’s what’s for dinner.

Kagawongians!

Check out local businesses

Trade fair fun ahead!

Billings. Because you’re worth it.

Haikus make us smile;

Thank you for indulging us.

Until next time, friends.