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WDM preparing for a busy fall season with several events

WDM preparing for a busy fall season with several events

The Western Development Museum’s Virtual Coffee Club returns with another great lineup of educational topics, while a volunteer blitz occurs in early September.

The Western Development Museum is gearing up for a busy fall season, from the return of its Virtual Coffee Club gatherings to a volunteer blitz in early September.

Celebrating seniors

The organization is celebrating seniors all September by holding numerous activities to honour older adults in the community. Museum attendees can pick up an activity booklet, participate in a time-hopping scavenger hunt and watch films from the National Film Board (NFB) about seniors and intergenerational learning.

Films from the NFB will be screened on a repeating loop throughout the month in the 100 Years of Saskatchewan History Theatre. Some films include “Granny and Mia,” “With Grandma,” “Ludovic – Visiting Grandpa,” and several Aboriginal-themed films.

Cabinet of curiosities

Meanwhile, the WDM will host a Cabinet of Curiosities workshop on Sunday, Sept. 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. Attendees can learn about the oddities in cabinets and how they spark wonder about the world while making connections to modern-day museums. 

Participants will hear about the importance of everyday objects and their connection to human knowledge and history. They will also learn about what’s involved in artifact collecting, why the WDM collects and how it categorizes, rearranges and classifies objects within the museum. 

Attendees can also study their own “artifacts” and learn how to create a portable museum.

Volunteer recruitment

The WDM is hosting a Volunteer Blitz recruitment day on Saturday, Sept. 17, starting at 2 p.m. Residents are encouraged to become volunteers and share their knowledge and experience in roles such as artifact preservation/restoration, special events and heritage demonstrations, gallery ambassadors, the Steam program and office assistant. 

Benefits of volunteering at the WDM include meeting new people, learning and developing skills, helping keep history alive, receiving free admission to all WDM locations — with volunteer ID, and receiving discounts on full-priced items at WDM gift shops and the Saskatoon Boomtown Café. 

Anyone interested should contact Karla Rasmussen, education/public programs co-ordinator, at 306-693-5989 or email krasmussen@wdm.ca.

Refreshments will be provided after the meeting.

Virtual Coffee Club

The WDM’s Virtual Coffee Club returns with another educational lineup of topics and speakers. The agenda for the fall and early winter includes:

  • Tuesday, Sept. 20: Prairie Co-operation
  • Thursday, Oct. 13: The Great Depression
  • Tuesday, Oct. 25: Spirit and Intent of Treaties 1 Through 7, with guest speaker Dr. Sheldon Krasowski, director of research and archives, Office of the Treaty Commissioner
  • Tuesday, Nov. 15: Wapaha Sk̄a Oyate: Living Our Culture, Sharing our Community at Pion-Era, 1955–69, with guest speaker Dr. Elizabeth Scott, WDM curator
  • Tuesday, Dec. 20: Holiday Traditions

Visit wdm.ca/coffeeclub for more information about these topics and to register; Coffee Club gatherings are held on Zoom.

 

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Wheeling-Ohio County Airport Preparing To Host Pair of Events

Wheeling-Ohio County Airport Preparing To Host Pair of Events

William Piko, 2, a student at the Holy Family Child Care and Development Center, invites the community to attend the upcoming “Touch A Truck” event at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport on Saturday.

The Wheeling-Ohio County Airport is hosting two upcoming events, and the first of them happens Saturday.

The Holy Family Child Care and Development Center is partnering with the Ohio County Commission to present a “Touch a Truck Event,” where children and all motor enthusiasts will get the opportunity to see up close a wide range of large vehicles – including a semi-truck, a helicopter and emergency vehicles.

The event happens from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the airport.

Then on Sept. 24, the Ohio County Commission is sponsoring a “Wings Over Wheeling” vintage aircraft and vehicle event, and aircraft from World War II and the Vietnam War will be on display. Gates at the airport will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day.

Both events are free to the community.

Terra Crews, executive director at the Holy Family Child Care and Development Center, said the school had organized similar “Touch The Truck” event gatherings in the past.

“When I took over in January, I thought what a great event. We need to bring that back,” Crews said. “We wanted to bring in the community and bring them to the airport. A lot of people don’t know you can visit the airport, and it’s a wonderful place.”

“Touch a Truck” serves as a fundraiser for the Holy Family Child Care Center, which will be serving concessions during the event.

There will be a semi-truck on site, as well as a helicopter, a fire truck, a law enforcement cruiser and Ohio County Sheriff’s Department deputies, Crews said. There will also be bounce houses and games.

Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration will provide a giant sand box for the children, and the Valley Avengers superheroes group have been invited.

It is expected Spiderman will be driving the character bus to the event, according to Crews.

“This is geared toward anyone who loves vehicles,” she continued. “I know we have kids who play with dump trucks. This is a way for them to get to see them in real-life size.”

She credits County Administrator Randy Russell as being “very instrumental” in making the “Touch the Truck” event happen.

Russell, meanwhile, has been busy planning the “Wings Over Wheeling” festivities.

Among the aircraft coming to the airport is a World War II C-47 “Whiskey 7” cargo plant, and a C-123 K Provider “Thunder Pig” that flew during the Vietnam War. There will also be vintage cars and trucks on site, as well as food vendors.

Last year, county commissioners sponsored a 9/11 commemoration ceremony at the airport, and Russell said as many as 500 attended events throughout the afternoon.

“We would love to do more events on a regular basis,” he said. “The idea is to involve the local community in the airport.”


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Mid-South preparing for 4th of July events

Mid-South preparing for 4th of July events

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Germantown will have a Firework Extravaganza on July fourth starting at 5 p.m at the Municipal Park.

The Fireworks show will begin at 9:10 p. m.

There will be live entertainment crafts and food.

There will be a few road closures.

Parts of Exeter Road will close at 2 that afternoon, and parts of Farmington Boulevard and Neshoba Road will close at 5 p.m.

The City of Memphis and Memphis Parks plan to put on the Bluff City’s largest fireworks festival on Sunday, July 3rd.

The free event at Liberty Park will feature food, live music, kids’ games, and of course fireworks to celebrate Independence Day.

Festivities kick off at 5 p. m. with the fireworks show beginning at 9 p. m.

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All Elite Wrestling preparing for debut of live events in Canada

All Elite Wrestling preparing for debut of live events in Canada

There are at least three other Canadian cities Khan is considering for live events: Winnipeg, the home of former AEW world champions Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega; the promoter also organizes the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, making Calgary a natural choice; and Vancouver, where tag-team specialist Kyle O’Reilly is billed from.

“We have a lot of great Canadian wrestlers and I’m excited about the possibility of our live events here because we’ve had great success on TV here,” said Khan, who was an invited speaker at Collision, a tech conference in downtown Toronto that runs until Thursday.

Khan acknowledged that Canada, with its plethora of hockey arenas, is well suited to hosting pro wrestling events. Choosing those specific venues would come down to a handful of key factors.

“Most important thing is quality of the arena for the fans and the wrestlers and the staff, and then followed by the size for the opportunity to create revenue,” said Khan, adding that the logistics of shooting live television would also affect his decision.

All Elite Wrestling was founded in 2019 by Khan and his father Shahid Khan, who are also co-owners of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC of the English Premier League. AEW produces two weekly television programs for Turner networks in the United States, with Dynamite — its flagship show — available in Canada on TSN.

Digital media is at the heart of AEW’s business model, with two shows exclusively on YouTube. Khan said that those properties are helpful for expanding beyond the United States, since YouTube, podcasts, and wrestler vlogs can be accessed worldwide.

“It’s been a huge part of our growth. I don’t think it was possible to launch AEW without the TV deal being originally in place at the time and that wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t had the online experience,” said Khan, who noted he had been involved in online wrestling communities since the mid-1990s.

“The more ways you can make your shows and wrestlers available to fans and create awareness of the product, that’s a good thing. For the hardcore fans, there’s tons of demand for more content than even what we already provide, which is a lot.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2022.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press

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Lancaster’s MacKinnon preparing for heavy events worlds in Moncton

A 28-pound weight for distance event practice throw. Photo on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Maxville, Ont. Todd Hambleton/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network

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MAXVILLE — The tossing of the caber, the hammer throw and all of those other Scottish heavy events are coming up soon.

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Very soon, for Lancaster’s Lee MacKinnon.

The long-time competitor at the Glengarry Highland Games each mid-summer has also been a regular on the world stage, and in 2022 the event comes early, June 17-19 in New Brunswick.

MacKinnon, 59, will compete for the seventh time, at the Masters World Championships, this year part of the Greater Moncton Highland Games and Scottish Festival.

“This is the earliest in the year I’ve ever been,” said MacKinnon, who’s attended previous events in some places that would be considered a bit more exotic than Moncton, including Hafnarfjörður in Iceland, twice in Inverness, Scotland, Stuttgart, Germany, and, well, not-quite glamorous Buffalo, N.Y.

MacKinnon first qualified for the worlds in 2009, and the last time he attended was quite a while ago, in November of 2019, at an event held in Tucson, Ariz.

You only need one guess as to why it’s been so long between competitions, the 2020 masters in Ireland being cancelled, the 2021 games in Moncton postponed a year. With no Highland Games events to attend in Maxville the last two years – or anywhere in Canada for that matter – MacKinnon, like so many of his fellow competitors, is on the comeback trail.

And that trail started at the recently-shuttered Physical Limits gym in Cornwall, where MacKinnon this past winter hit the weights and cardio rooms most mornings.

“Those workouts in the gym will help,” MacKinnon said, looking ahead to the test of strength and technique in Atlantic Canada that’s now just a couple of weeks away.

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When conditions allowed for outdoor training in early May, MacKinnon, a retired school teacher, began his throwing all over the place, including with some local competitors, and at his dad’s farm north of Alexandria, and in Maxville on the infield at the home of what will be the 73rd Glengarry Highland Games, July 29-30.

“All I need is 100 feet of cut grass – nothing I throw is going to go any further than that,” MacKinnon said with a smile.

Twice a week, somewhere in Glengarry, he sets up his wooden trig, and does several dozen throws, for about two hours. One day he sticks to four of the heavy events, the other day MacKinnon focuses on the other four.

He’s a big, strong guy at 230 pounds, but that’s considered undersized in this sport, where some of his competitors weigh as much as 290 pounds – or more. So in a competition where technique is a big part of success, technique is critical for MacKinnon.

“It’s not just about brute strength,” he said. “I have to have the technique down pat.”

His roots in strength sports go back to the late-1980s, and what would be 10 years of powerlifting competitions that included a Canadian bronze medal win in 1994. In 1997, he switched over to Scottish heavy events, which was about the same time that amateurs could compete with the pros at Highland Games meets, and MacKinnon vividly remembers his first competition being in Haliburton, Ont.

MacKinnon enjoyed it, and had success as an amateur, in 2000 in Maxville breaking the sheaf toss world record of 27 feet with a heave that soared 32 feet.

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He’d often compete in a dozen games across North America each year, and when he becoming a dad in 1999, MacKinnon decided to turn pro and slow down a bit on all the travel. That was the plan at least, but that first year he still attended 10 different competitions – “but at least I was bringing home a paycheque,” MacKinnon said.

When MacKinnon turned 40, the master class was being developed, and he’d turn his attention to that category, and ultimately become a world traveller in it. His best result at the worlds came in Buffalo, when he finished fifth out of 10 athletes in his age category.

“I’d love to be on the podium (with a top-three result),” MacKinnon said, but he knows that’ll be a tall order in Moncton, being 59 and in the 55-60 age class.

But MacKinnon plans on staying in the game as long as he can, and has designs on qualifying for the 2023 worlds in the Netherlands, when he’ll be 60.

“I’d like to get to 10 (worlds) – if I can stay (physically) intact,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I guess that eventually it’s not who can throw the farthest, it’s who’s left to throw.”

thambleton@postmedia.com

twitter.com/FreeholderTodd

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UK preparing for Queen’s platinum jubilee with thousands of events

The UK is preparing to celebrate the platinum jubilee weekend in style, with 1,458 public events and 1,775 street parties or private events officially registered to take place from 2 to 5 June.

The celebrations are spread out across the country, with 240 in and around London, 208 around Manchester, 133 near Birmingham, 98 in Scotland – including four in the Orkneys and one on the Isle of Lewis – 21 in Northern Ireland and two in Guernsey.

But the royal family’s platinum jubilee website is calling for more people to get involved. “There are lots of ways you can take part in the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations, whether you are a local authority, school, business, community group, or want to get involved yourself,” said a spokesperson for the site, which is offering a Toolkit To Plan Your Jubilee. It includes free photographs of the queen, children’s games, recipes and a free to download platinum playlist that includes Ed Sheeran, the Spice Girls, Kylie Minogue and Elton John.

“The special extended bank holiday weekend will provide an opportunity for communities and people throughout the United Kingdom to come together to celebrate the historic milestone,” they added.

The country will spend a total of £823m celebrating the bank holiday weekend, spending an average of £83 each on food, drink and union flag-inspired decorations, according to MoneySupermarket.com. That is almost three-quarters more than the £480m that 34% of Britons said they planned to spend celebrating the royal wedding in 2018.

Waitrose has reported sales of Pimm’s are up by more than 260% on last year, while searches for Jubilee are up 176% on their website in the past two weeks. Searches for platinum jubilee food and drink are up 114% and garden party recipe up 59%.

John Lewis has similarly reported that searches for Jubilee on its website are up 55% week on week. While in a sign that street parties are already being organised, it said searches for outdoor chairs increased 33% compared with last month, with searches for bunting up 31%.

A street party to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 at Ashby De La Zouch, Leicestershire.
A street party to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 at Ashby De La Zouch, Leicestershire. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

B&Q said it had sold 100,000 metres of bunting, while Sainsbury’s reported sales of union jack cake stands are up by 2,783% week on week.

The traditionally ironic English sense of humour is on show among the memorabilia available to mark the historic royal event: Mattel has launched a limited-edition Barbie doll inspired by the Queen, several gnomes shaped like the Queen have gone on sale on eBay, as well as mini-sculptures of the Queen inside a snow globe that plays the national anthem – and corgi-shaped salt shakers. Amazon and Etsy are stocking solar-powered bobble heads shaped like the Queen and even a “Pin the Diamond on the Crown” game.

In contrast, the public and private celebrations are largely steeped in tradition – albeit with a few unusual outliers: the South Bank in London will be holding an event to teach children to write punk songs and throwing an LGBTQI+ club night for insurgents with a “seditionary crew of abolitionists, unpardonables and ne’er-do-wells”.

In Bristol, a hippy singer-songwriter called I-Sha-Vii on a self-proclaimed mission to make the people around her happier, will perform.

Mainly, however, the festivities follow more time-honoured patterns: there will be a Make, Bake and Decorate a British Treat Box Fit for a Queen event in Manchester. Locals in Thornhill will cook pizza together. Bedale Community Library is throwing a tea party, while there will be a Picnic at the Pub in Shrewsbury.

There will be a wildflower display and free flower arranging in Beddington, a child’s funfair in West Sussex, readings of royal fairytales by author Sally Pomme Clayton based on her recent book The King with Dirty Feet. In Stoke Poges, there is set to be a Best of British Disco Karaoke.

There will be fireworks as national charities and councils light the UK’s 1,500-plus community and commonwealth beacons – a long-held tradition of celebrating royal jubilees, weddings and coronations stretching from across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories.

The ceremony of lighting the beacons will begin at 9pm on Thursday 2 June when the principal beacon, involving The Tree of Trees – a 21-metre high “tree” constructed of 350 smaller trees) – is lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Members of Girlguiding will light a further 70 beacons up and down the country, while former servicemen and women from Walking with the Wounded have said their lights will shine on top of the highest peaks of each of the four nations in the UK.

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Chamber preparing for summer of events

Library programs, events detailed

FOLLANSBEE — Those looking to get out more this summer are invited to attend monthly events planned by the Follansbee Chamber of Commerce.

May 21 will mark the return of the chamber’s monthly Sidewalk Saturday sales and a series of free concerts at Follansbee Park will begin with the Ron Retzer Trio on May 30.

Held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month, the sidewalk sales involve brick and mortar businesses along Main Street and vendors of an assortment of household items who set up booths outside.

The event was launched a few years ago to bring attention to the assortment of businesses on the street, which includes restaurants, a men’s clothing and shoe store, an antique store, and an appliance and furniture store.

This year chamber members who don’t have buildings on Main have been invited to set up booths along the street as well.

The sidewalk sales are coordinated by Monica Rotellini-Myers, owner of Moe’s on Main, a shop that sells an assortment of locally made items as well as food produced in Amish country.

Rotellini-Myers said those who visit the city that day are encouraged to pick up a card on which the names of participating businesses and vendors are printed. Patrons who ask for each business or vendor to check off his or her name can then turn them in at Moe’s on Main for a chance to win a different gift basket each month.

Rotellini-Myers said there are plans to adopt a different theme for each month as the event proceeds into September.

Chamber President Eric Fithyan said the group’s Monthly Monday Music Madness series of free concerts also will return with a variety of musicians slated to perform from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the last Monday of each month at Follansbee Park.

The first, featuring the Ron Retzer Trio, will coincide with the Memorial Day weekend opening of the park and its swimming pool.

Located behind the Bluewave Center, formerly Follansbee Middle School, the park also includes a playground and walking trail. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets.

The lineup for this year’s concerts includes the Joseph Sisters, a country trio, on June 27; popular dance band Twice as Nice, on July 25; and Pocket Change, who deliver a mix of rock, jazz and rhythm and blues, on Aug. 29.

Fithyan said chamber members have been invited to set up booths with food, information or other items, and some have made plans to offer a simple activity for children.

Following a short winter break, the chamber has been busy this year. Following a job fair in March organized with the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce and West Virginia Northern Community College, the chamber resumed monthly meetings.

Fithyan said the group will continue to meet at noon on the third Wednesday of each month at the Follansbee Community House.

Since stepping into the president’s role earlier this year, Fithyan has added business cards for the chamber with a QR card that will take smartphone users to the chamber’s website with a list of chamber members and hyperlinks to take the user to those businesses’ own websites.

He noted the chamber also uses a Facebook page, established under former president Debbie Puskarich, to announce upcoming events.

“We have new businesses pouring into the chamber, businesses from all over the Ohio Valley,” said Fithyan, who added, “Our focus is on people who want to do business in Follansbee, regardless of whether they have brick and mortar buildings here.”

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)



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Municipality preparing for forecasted weather event 

The Halifax Regional Municipality continues to monitor the weather forecast, with a complex weather system expected to move into the Halifax region tomorrow. 
 
Current forecasts indicate snow beginning early Monday morning across the municipality, with an expected accumulation of 15 cm to 20 cm of snow. Residents can also expect gusty winds of up to 50 km/h to 70 km/h. Motorists and other travellers are advised to take precautions if commuting during the weather event. 
 
Snow clearing
 
Overnight, crews will begin applying de-icing materials to streets and sidewalks in anticipation of the forecasted snowfall, and will remain on standby. 
 
Overnight winter parking ban 
 
The overnight winter parking ban is not in effect after March 31, however, regardless of the status of an overnight winter parking ban, or whether you have received a notification, vehicles can be towed, day or night, at any time of year, if they are interfering with snow-clearing operations, as per Section 139 of the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act
 
Safety 
 
Residents are reminded to never operate a generator, barbecue or any other fuel filled item inside a home or garage. Residents are also urged to stay away from the coastline during any severe weather event due to dangers associated with potential storm surge(s).
 
Stay informed
 

Residents are urged to sign-up for hfxALERT, the municipality’s mass notification system. Subscribers will receive alerts by phone, email or text. Sign up at halifax.ca/hfxalert
 
Residents can also call 311 for updated information on municipal services, or to report issues such as flooding, downed trees or blocked roadways. For emergencies, residents should call 911.
 
Any impacts to municipal services will be communicated. Residents are encouraged to visit halifax.ca/snow or follow @hfxgov on Twitter for updates and information during a weather event.

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Backroads of Appalachia preparing for two upcoming events

Backroads of Appalachia preparing for two upcoming events

HARLAN COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) – Those with Backroads of Appalachia are gearing up for two exciting events in April.

In partnership with Sports Car Club of America, the first is a “hill climb” racing event at Pine Mountain State Resort Park in Bell County.

That event will take place the third weekend of April.

The second is a gravel rally car race in McCreary County. It takes place the fourth weekend of April.

Director Erik Hubbard said these types of events are crucial for economic development.

“This is something that is very cost effective for you and your family to come see and experience. It’s safe, it’s providing something enjoyable,” he said. “The most important thing, you’re helping out our local communities when you come and visit.”

Hubbard said there will be a small transportation fee for the hill climb event. However, the race in McCreary County is free.

For more information, you can go here.

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