Your environmentally friendly community newspaperDecember 13, 2015 Volume 10, Issue 8

orleansonline.ca• Local news •

• Minor sports •

• Community links •

• Business Directory •

• Weather forecast •

• Arts directory •

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calendar •

EastenderThe

Ottawa city council passedthe 2016 budget on Thursday,which among other things,includes a 2.12 per cent taxincrease for urban propertyowners. That equates to anextra $72 for the average homeworth $375,300.

The figure includes an extra$11 per household for policeservices and $17 for transitservices. It does not include asix per cent increase in thewater and sewer rate which isbilled separately, or a 2.5 percent increase in OC Transpofares.

Among the spending increas-es contained in the budget is a1.5 per cent increase in fundingfor social service agencies;$40,000 per ward for trafficcalming measures; an addition-al $50,000 for low-incomefamilies seeking access torecreation programs; and $3.5million to upgrade recreationcentres, develop new splashpads and install new play struc-tures.

In order to balance thebudget while limiting the taxincrease to two per cent, thecity needs to implement $37million in savings.

By Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

Melissa Donato checks out this year’s Magical Village at

Place d’Orléans with her son Frankie, 6. Fred Sherwin/Photo CLICK HERE TO CON’T p6>

City council

approves 2.12%

tax increase

1.5% increase not enough say social service agencies

Ottawa’s social service agen-cies are having a difficult timekeeping up with rising demandscombined with changes inprovincial funding and minimalfinancial support from the city.

In the past four years the cityhas increased funding levels forsocial service agencies by 1.5,2.0, 2.0 and 1.5 per cent whiledemand has gone up by 30 percent over the same period.

The Orléans-CumberlandCommunity Resource Centre,which operates a food bank andprovides counseling for familiesand individuals in personal andfinancial crisis, has seen an 11per cent increase in demandsince Jan. 1.

The 1.5 per cent fundingincrease contained in the 2016budget passed earlier this weekby city council is little morethan a drop in the bucket andwill barely cover a modestsalary increase for the Centre’sdedicated staff.

The continued failure of thecity to maintain funding levelson par with demand means thecity’s community resource cen-tres are increasingly dependenton the generosity of the commu-nities they serve..

The frustrating part is thatthe city has benefitted from theuploading of tens of millions ofdollars in social service costsby the provincial governmentover the past eight years andhas failed to reinvest any of

those savings back into socialservices.

Thus far, provincial upload-ing is saving the city about $65million a year. By 2018, whenthe uploading measures arefully implemented, the city willbe saving $79 million a year.Only a small percentage of thosesavings have been reinvested insocial services, mostly in socialhousing, while the balance hasbeen folded into general rev-enue.

That in itself wouldn’t be sobad if the province, havinguploaded the costs, providedadequate funding increases ontheir end to keep up with thedemand on the ground. But it,too, has failed in it’s capacitywhich brings the issue back

around to the city.The funding issue is espe-

cially critical in light of the fed-eral government’s commitmentto accept 25,000 Syrian refugeesby the end of February.

With over 1,500 refugeesexpected to be resettled in Ottawa,the demand on social services,including child care services,will inevitably increase.

The city is hoping the federalgovernment will provide spe-cial funding to the municipali-ties to help cover the additionalcosts, but if it doesn’t, the bur-den will likely fall on the socialservice agencies themselveswhich will have to make do asbest they can unless the city canfree up some money from else-where in the budget..

By Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

Sunday, Dec. 13 page 2

Community briefsConvent Glen E.S. collects

200 soles for 200 soulsORLÉANS – A shoe drive started by a Grade 5 student at

Convent Glen Elementary School has resulted in the

donation of more than 200 pairs of new and gently-used

shoes that will soon be heading to recipients in under-

developed countries around the world. Skyler Begin, 10,

thought of the campaign after hearing about the

Soles4Souls initiative that distributes shoes to Third World

countries, either to children who are prevented from

attending school without shoes, or adults who are unable

to work because they can’t them.

Latest OC Transpo changes

to take effect on Dec. 20 ORLÉANS – OC Transpo users should prepare for the

latest service changes to many commonly used routes that

will come into effect on Dec. 20. Hurdman Station will no

longer be served by Routes 95, 114, 192, 401, or 602, but

new Route 104 will maintain connections from the east

end. East end morning rush hour routes will be shortened

to end downtown at Bay St. instead of LeBreton Station,

except Route 27. Route 101 peak period service to and

from Orléans will be replaced by new Route 103, which

bypasses Hurdman Station in both directions and St.

Laurent Station eastbound. New Route 104 offers a direct

connection between Orléans, Hurdman, Billings Bridge

and Carleton University, seven days a week, with 24-hour

service between Hurdman and Blair stations. East end

afternoon rush hour routes, except Routes 24 and 231, will

bypass Blair Station for a faster trip.

Tickets now on sale for

annual pantomime showORLEANS — Tickets are now on sale for theEast End Theatre company’s annual Christmas panto-mime production. This year the theatre company ispresenting the panto “Rumpelstiltskin” on Dec. 17, 18and 19 at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Tickets are $17.50for adults; $12.50 for students and $54 for a family offour (2 adults, 2 students). “Rumpelstiltskin” is the latestin a series of Christmas pantos put on by the East EndTheatre company which stays true to the traditionalEnglish panto genre with villains, music and racy jokeslaced with double entendre. In past years, the East EndTheatre pantomime production has been extremely popular and in most cases has sold out. You can purchaseyour tickets in advance at the Shenkman Arts Centre boxoffice or by visiting www.shenkmanarts.ca.

Budget fails to receiveunanimous consent

The savings were found byeliminating 50 full-time equivalentpositions, reducing the advertisingbudget, and cutting back in winteroperations, overtime and consult-ing services.

A number of recreation fees willalso be going up in 2016. Publicskating fees will go up between5% and 13%, and swimming feeswill see an increase of between 6%and 21%. Ice rental fees will alsobe going up. For instance, thehourly rate for minor hockeyteams will increase 5.6% from$144.04 to $152.13.

Although the budget was passed,it did not receive unanimous con-sent. Five of the 24 councillorsvoted against it, mostly because ofwhat wasn't in the budget.

Diane Deans felt the budgetfails to provide adequate fundingfor the city’s social service agen-cies. She introduced a motion tocommit a further $250,000 fromthe city’s one-time and unforeseenreserve fund and then replenishthe account by eliminating threeadditional staff positions, but themotion was defeated 15-8.

Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. TobiNussbaum wanted to freeze OCTranspo fares and cover the costby increasing the transit levy onthe tax bill, but his motion alsowent down in flames, losing on a17-6 vote.

Both motions were criticized beMayor Jim Watson and severalcouncillors including CumberlandCoun. Stephen Blais who took issuewith the dissenting councillors forcomplaining about the prices with-out putting forward alternatives.

“The money just doesn’t appearfrom the sky,” Blais said. “Thosewho want the process to changeneed to change themselves.”

Deans and Nussbaum werejoined in voting against the budgetby Rick Chiarelli, Jeff Leiper andCatherine McKenney. All four eastend councillors voted with themajority.

Watson said the city is being asgenerous as it can be in light of thecurrent economic situation andfinancial pressures.

The capital budget includesfunding for a number of east endprojects...

- $18.6 million to extend BrianCoburn Blvd. from Mer BleueRoad to Navan Road

- $5.5 million to add a full-service community centre to theFrançois Dupuis Recreation Centrein Avalon

- $5.2 million for a new fire sta-tion south of Innes Road;

- $750,000 for a district skate-park, also south of Innes Road;

- $320,000 to complete theplayground at the new MiracleLeague of Ottawa baseball dia-mond in Notre-Dame-des-Champ;

- $280,000 has been set asidefor the design work for the futureexpansion of the Blackburn Arena;

- and $210,000 towards theconstruction of Park 18B inCardinal Creek.

Continued from page 1

Quality childcare at affordable pricesIf your child is between 2 and 5 years of age and you’re looking for a group setting

with stimulating activities and caring, qualified staff, call Karen today at 824-1330.

Subsidized full- and part-time and half-day spaces available. To find out more

click on this ad with the hand tool or visit: www.orleansonline.ca/AZDaycare

A-Z Daycare l 1145 St. Pierre St., Orléans l 613-824-1330

Besides a 2.12% tax increase

the 2016 budget also includes

transit fare and other user fee

increases. File photo

Sunday, Dec. 13 page 3

Since first launching her practice in2001, Orléans chiropractor Dr. NathalieBeauchamp has been a tireless champion ofher profession and the importance of main-taining a healthy lifestyle in achieving one'soverall wellness.

A former competitive natural bodybuilder, Dr. Beauchamp has long believedthat regular exercise and proper nutrition canhelp prevent the severity of musculoskeletalproblems and speed up recuperation.

As part of the process of constantlylooking to improve her practice and in turnthe health of her patients recently launchedher latest venture – the Santé Chiropracticand Wellness Centre.

At the heart of “creating wellness” isbeing able to properly balance the three keydimensions of personal health – the physical(staying fit), the bio-chemical (your diet) andthe psychological (having a proper attitude).

At certain times in an individual’s life theywill experience a range of different stressesin one, two or even all three dimensions. The

key to maintaining wellness is to be aware ofhow each dimension is being impacted and tomake adjustments in the other areas to main-tain a proper balance. In order to movetoward total wellness, all three dimensionsmust be addressed at the same time.

But before you can proceed down theroad to personal wellness and vitality, it isimportant to properly assess where you areat now.

All of Dr. Beauchamp’s patients undergoa Creating Wellness Assessment whichmeasures body composition, cardiovascu-lar health, lung capacity, multi-modalitystress response and strength and then com-pares the data to information provided byway of a questionnaire designed to assessthe three dimensions of personal wellness.

The end result is a Wellness Quotientwhich becomes that person’s wellnessbaseline. The next step is to develop a per-sonal wellness program in consultationwith Dr. Beauchamp that is customized tomeet their specific needs.

In the journey to personal wellness, Dr.Beauchamp is not only a health care

provider butshe is also amentor. Sheb e l i e v e sdeeply thatcreating well-ness is the bestand mosteffective wayto preventingillness.

If you aresick and tiredof feeling sickand tired, you should seriously considercalling the Santé Chiropractic and WellnessCentre for an assessment.

The sooner you start down the road topersonal wellness and vitality the better –not only for yourself, but for those aroundyou. And remember – every journey, fromthe simplest to the most difficult, beginswith a small step.

You can set up an appointment by call-ing 613-837-2883, or you can also visit theirwebsite at www.santechiropractic.com.

By Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

Taking the first important step towards personal wellness

There was a time not so long ago, beforeLED lights, artificial trees and e-mail, whenpeople used to hang garlands made out ofpopcorn and paper on trees cut down in thebush and transported home by horse-drawnsleigh. A time when Christmas was a lotsimpler than it is today.

You can take take a trip back in time andget a taste of that bygone era by visiting theVintage Village of lights at the CumberlandHeritage Village Museum in CumberlandVillage.

Every building on the museum grounds isilluminated by thousands of strings of whitelights, along with the trees, shrubs andfences, offering a magical feel to the nightair. At the centre of it all is a giant sleighbeing pulled by eight, 20-feet tall reindeer

Several of the buildings are open witheach one offering a look back in time at howChristmas was celebrated in the 20s and30s. Step into the church and listen to tradi-tional French Canadian folk music whilewatching a master of the wooden spoonsand the jig doll.

Kids can also make traditional Christmascrafts in the old school house, or in theMason Lodge where they can visit withSanta and learn the history of Christmas tra-ditions like Christmas cards, tree decora-tions, and letters to Santa.

In the Faubert House you can see akitchen as it looked in the 1930s with all the“modern” appliances and decorate a ginger-bread man.

And when your feet get sore and you gettired of walking, you can enjoy a horse-

drawn wagon ride and then cap your visitoff with a cup of hot chocolate.

More than 1,800 people visited theVintage Village of Lights on the weekend,including more than 1,000 people onSunday alone.

The Village will remain open for onemore weekend before Santa has to headback to the North Pole to prepare for the bigday. The museum hours this Friday,Saturday and Sunday is 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Regular museum admission applies: $7

for adults, and $5 for students and seniors.There is also a special family rate of $18that includes two adults and any childrenunder 18.

The Cumberland Heritage VillageMuseum is located at 2940 Old MontrealRoad just east of Cumberland Village.

From Orléans take Hwy. 174 east pastTrim Road to Cameron Street. Turn right onCameron Street and then left on OldMontreal Road. The museum is two kilo-metres down on the right.

Vintage Village of Lights, a journey back to a bygone eraBy Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

Visitors to the Vintage Village of Lights take a picture of the old fire hall at the

Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. Fred Sherwin/Photos

Dr. Beauchamp

Local business

Sunday, Dec. 13 page 4

TheEastender

Fred SherwinEditor & Publisher

To submit a letter to the editor toThe Eastender e-mail the-eastender@orleansonline.ca.

Letters should be limited to 250words.

The Eastender reserves the right to edit correspondence for length witha commitment to maintaining theintegrity and spirit of the content.

Mayor Watson has once againkept his promise to limit the taxincrease to two per cent and all isright with world, accept that infra-structure maintenance and renewal isstill underfunded, as are the city’ssocial service agencies which take ofthe must vulnerableus.

I’ll deal with theinfrastructure issuefirst. The city cur-rently has a $300-$400 million fund-ing deficit when itcomes to properlymaintaining our roads, sidewalks,bridges etc.

In 2007, the council of the daypassed a two per cent infrastructuresurcharge as part of the 2008 budget.It was a forward-thinking initiativethat would have generated $20 mil-lion a year to be spent on maintain-ing the city’s aging infrastructuremuch in the same vein as the pay-as-you-go policies adopted by theformer municipalities of Nepeanand Gloucester.

But then two things happened. First, the federal government and

the provinces created the Infrastruc-ture Stimulus Fund in 2009 whichprovided the City of Ottawa with$354 million for a variety of proj-ects. The only problem is that only$95 million was spent on infrastruc-ture renewal, while the balance wasspent on growth related projects.

Worse still, the city’s share of theprogram was funded through a com-bination of drawing from its shrink-ing reserves and debt financing.

Then the same forward-thinkingcouncil that passed the infrastructuresurcharge, made the most short-sighted decision they had made sinceamalgamation by getting rid of it.

They did so, under the impres-sion that the Infrastructure StimulusFund would solve all their problemsand close the infrastructure mainte-nance deficit. It might have also hadsomething to do with the fact thatthey were heading into an election

year and wanted to limit the taxincrease to 3.7 per cent.

Either way, the decision was ahuge mistake.

The only way to properly tacklethe infrastructure renewal deficitwithout borrowing ourselves into

oblivion, is to reinstatethe surcharge.

If they were pass a1.5 per cent surchargein each of the nextthree years, it wouldgenerate $90 million ayear by 2019, or about$4 million a year for

each of the city’s 23 wards.That kind of money would go a

long way to fixing the city’s crum-bling roads and sidewalks. But unfor-tunately, it will never happen. And itwon’t happen because most of thecouncillors can’t see past the nextelection and would rather deplete thereserves and borrow the money thantry and defend a tax increase, nomatter how badly it’s needed.

As for this city’s social serviceagencies, they’ve been grosslyunderfunded for the past 10 plusyears. In the past four years they’vereceived increases of 1.5, 1.5, 2.0and 2.0 per cent, while demand forservices has increased by 30 percent. In the past year alone, theOrléans-Cumberland CommunityResource Centre has seen demandincrease by 11 per cent.

Despite the double digit increasesin demand, city council has voted tocut the annual funding increase from2.0 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

What makes the lack of supportexponentially more infuriating is thefact that the city has benefitted fromthe provincial uploading of socialservice costs for the past sevenyears to the tune of tens of millionsof dollars, but has yet to reinvestthose savings back into social serv-ices in any substantial way. Instead,the savings have been used to aug-ment other areas of the budget andartificially maintain a politicallymotivated tax target.

City budget fails to address

infrastructure, social services

RacismThe threat of terrorism has unleashed the worst in

some people and exposed that racism is alive and wellin America.

There is no emotion more repugnant, or more quicklysows the seeds of social discourse; than racism whichthrives in the presence of ignorance and fear.

But fear is no excuse for racism. You can be fearfulof terror attacks within your borders without singlingout an entire religion, or race, as the cause of your fear.

And in the case of the rising tide of fear and racismtowards Muslims, it is largely unfounded. First of all,ISIS has killed more Muslims than any other group.They are a Salafi jihadist militant movement whosemembers adhere to a wahhabi, or fundamentalist, doc-trine of Sunni Islam.

Most of the Syrian refugees who are seeking asylumin the west are victims of ISIS and would rather fleetheir homeland and seek asylum and ab uncertain futurein a country they no nothing about than subject them-selves and their children to the extremely fundamental-ist doctrine of ISIS.

This point can’t be stressed enough. They are notterrorists, they are the victims of terrorism. How hard isthat to grasp? Lumping them in with the same peoplewho have killed their loved ones, driven them fromtheir homes and destroyed their lives is so wrong itsunconscionable.

Besides that, Americans are far more likely to be thevictims of homegrown terrorists, or gun-toting wackos,than some lone wolf ISIS sympathizer. Of the top 10mass killings in the United States this year, nine werecommitted by American citizens that happened to bewhite and middle class.

Of the 67 mass shootings that have so far occurredfor which the perpetrators were identified, only twowere committed by members of the Muslim faith, andonly one, being the recent mass shooting in SanBernardino, was committed by ISIS sympathizers.

By painting all Muslims with the same terroristbrush, Donald Trump is stoking the latent racism inAmerican society that has the potential to ignite into afirestorm. The only saving grace is that 60 per cent ofAmericans aren’t buying what the self-professed mastersalesmen is hawking.

But getting back to my original premise: you can beworried about the threat of ISIS sponsored terrorism;you can be horrified and angered by the atrocitiesthey’ve committed; you can even be concerned aboutwhether or not the Liberal government is adequatelyvetting the arrivals; but none of it justifies alienating ordiscriminating against an entire religion.

So far in Canada, we have embraced the betterangels of our nature by embracing the Syrian refugees,and in doing so we are a shining example of acceptanceand tolerance to the rest of the world, and our Americanneighbours to the south in particular.

– Fred Sherwin, editor

Fred Sherwin

View

Point

www.orleansonline.ca

Sunday, Dec. 13 page 5

Local sports

The Cumberland Jr. Grads Minor Atom‘B’ team is amassing quite a collection ofchampionship banners this season and it’snot even Christmas yet.

The Jr. Grads recently added theMuskrat Major Atom A tournament cham-pionship to their list of accomplishmentsthat also includes the Whitby Edge AgainCup championship, the Toronto WolverinesMinor Atom A championship, and a silvermedal in the Capital Volunteer Cup tourna-ment.

They are also leading their division inthe Ottawa B Minor Hockey League at themidway point of the season.

Head coach Stephen George credits theteam’s success on the Cumberland Jr.Grad’s renewed focus on skills develop-ment. The team is on the ice five days aweek, with at least one session a week con-centrated on specific skills. The Jr. Gradshave also benefitted from the CumberlandJr. Bandits AAA spring hockey programthat starts at pre-novice and goes up tomajor bantam.

Several of the players on George’s teamhave spent three years in the Bandits AAAprogram.

“It’s a major commitment but it’s pay-ing off,” says George. “Everyone has real-ly bought into the program and the kidshave worked very hard.”

The team was a perfect 5-0 in the

Muskrat tournament despite playing up alevel, outscoring their opponents 18-5,including a 2-0 win over the RenfrewTimberwolves in the final.

Their only tournament loss was in thefinal of the Capital Volunteer Cup, wherethey were bested 2-1 in double overtimeby the Oakville Rangers.

Much of the team’s success is due toplayers like Zachary Brunet who is tiedfor second in league for scoring with 13

goals and 12 assists in 14 games. MichaelXenos and Benjamin Cormier a gialsrealso in the top six in scoring. In fact, theJr. Grads lead the league in scoring with70 goals in 15 games. They also have thesecond best goals against, allowing just21 goals over the same period.

Goalies Cole King and Lucas Brennerhave five regular season shutouts betweenthem, and King leads the league in goalsagainst average with a GAA of 0.71.

Cumberland Jr. Grads minor atom RepB team on a rollBy Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

The Cumberland Jr. Grads Minor Atom B team has won three of the four tour-

naments they’ve been in this year and sit alone in first place in the OBMHL.

After several disappointing seasons andearly playoff exits, the St. Matthew Tigerssenior boys basketball team maybe readyto compete for the city championship forthe first time in four years.

The Tigers have gotten off to a 3-0 startwith wins over Hillcrest, De La Salle andMerivale and sit atop the East Divisionstandings in a three-way tie with theImmaculata Saints and the Ashbury Colts.

In their game against the MerivaleMarauders on Wednesday, the Tigers com-bined an aggressive defence with crisp ballmovement and superior outside shooting topull off a convincing 77-65 win.

After a close first quarter, the Tigersmanaged to take a five point lead by half-time with six different players contributingon the scoresheet.led by Josh McGrathwho had 15 points in the first half alone.

The Tigers took control of the gamewith a 10-1 run to start the third quarter.

The Marauders managed to narrow theTigers’ lead to six points with a 8-0 run oftheir own, before Shandon Ashitei dropped

a three point bomb to put the Tigers backup by 11 points – a lead they managed tomaintain through the remainder of thegame.

McGrath ended the game with a teamhigh 21 points, while Shandon Ashitei con-tributed 16 points, including four three-point baskets, and his brother Quinton added15 points. Caleb Dagenais also scored in thedouble digits with 11 points.

After the game first year head coachMac Wakefield said the Tigers are begin-ning to gel together as a team.

“This game especially, we played as ateam,” said Wakefield who was a memberof the squad that won the 2012 champion-ship. “Everybody is contributing. Every-body is playing team defence. This whatwe have to do if we want to compete forthe championship.”

The Tigers will play in a tournament thisweekend before taking an extended hiatusduring the holidays. Their next regular sea-son game isn’t until Jan. 11 when they takeon Immaculata in their first big test of theseason. Whoever wins will become theearly championship favourites.

St. Matt Tigers off to solid start to hoops seasonBy Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

St. Matthew’s Shandon Ashitei cuts to

the basket for two of his 16 points

against the Merivale Marauders. Fred

Sherwin/Photo

Sunday, Dec. 13 page 6

Community calendarSATURDAY, DEC. 12

BREAKFAST AT THEORLEANS LEGIONevery Saturday 8:30 a.m.to 11 a.m. at 800 TaylorCreek Dr. Start your daywith a hearty breakfast,served by friendly volun-teers. This is a fund rais-ing event for the Legion.Help your local Legion -help your community.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12

HOLIDAY OPENHOUSE at MPPMarie-France Lalonde’sConstituency Officefrom 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at250 Centrum Blvd Unit206. Please bring a non-perishable food item forthe local food bank.RSVP: 613-834-8679.

THURSDAY, DEC. 17

FRIDAY, DEC. 18

SATURDAY, DEC. 19

EAST END THEATREpresents a traditionalpantomime performanceof “Rumpelstiltskin” in

the Richcraft Theatre atthe Shenkman ArtsCentre. Curtain time allthree nights is 7:30 p.m.A special matinee per-formance will be held onSaturday at 1:30 p.m.Tickets $17.50 for adults;$12.50 for students and$54 for a famliy of fouravailable atwww.shenkmanarts.ca.

SATURDAY, DEC. 19

BREAKFAST AT THEORLEANS LEGIONevery Saturday 8:30 to11 a.m., 800 TaylorCreek Dr. Start your daywith a hearty breakfast,served by friendly volunteers. This is afundraising event for theLegion.

SUNDAY, DEC. 20

BLUE CHRISTMAS:A CONTEMPORARYSERVICE OF HOLYCOMMUNION forthose wishing to escapethe busy-ness of the season at St. Mary the

Virgin Anglican Church,2750 Navan Rd. (twominutes south of theBlackburn Bypass) Time3 p.m. Visit www.stmarysblackburn.ca for moreinformation.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTSWALK through down-town Ottawa followedby a meal or refresh-ments. Free registrationat 4.45 p.m. at OttawaCity Hall, 110 LaurierAve. Parking is availablefor just $3. Your choiceof 5K or 10K map walksstarting between 5 p.m.and 6 p.m. Visit ourwebsite http://ottawa-voyageurs. wikidot.com.

GENERAL NOTICES

THE RAG & BONESPUPPET THEATRE presents its holiday pro-duction of “The LastPolar Bears” from Dec. 8to Dec. 13 at theShenkman Arts Centre.“The Last Polar Bears”is a funny, moving story

of a grandfather’sunlikely trip to the Arcticwith his opinionateddog, Roo. It features acting, puppets, livemusic and film footageof famous CanadianArctic expeditions andadorable arctic animals.Tickets are $10 each, or4 for $32.

VINTAGE VILLAGEOF LIGHTS at theCumberland HeritageVillage Museum inCumberland Village.Visitors to the museumcan take a horse drawnwagon ride, decorategingerbread ment, maketraditional Christmasdecorations and visitwith the big man him-self. The VintageVillage of Lights isopen on every Friday,Saturday and Sundayfrom 3 p.m. to7 p.m. until Dec. 20.Admission is $7 foradults and $5 for seniorsand students. Families

(2 adults and any children under 18) $18.Children 5 and underare free.

MAGICAL VILLAGEpresented by theGloucester North LionsClub on the second floorof Place d’Orléans shop-ping centre next to thefood court. In lieu ofadmission, a donationwill be gratefully accepted. Proceeds fromthe Magical Village willsplit between theGloucester EmergencyFood Cupboard, theOrléans-CumberlandCommunity ResourceCentre, Camp Bantingand the Gloucester NorthLions Club Legacy Fund.

Artscetera

Coro Vivo gives triumphant performance of Handel’s Messiah

It’s been nearly a decade since theBlackburn Chorus celebrated the 250thbirthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartwith a superlative performance of theAustrian composer’s Requiem in DominionChalmers Church.

At the time and in the years since, it’sstood at the top of my list of all-timefavourite choral performances. That spaceis now shared by Coro Vivo’s powerfullymoving performance of Handel’s Messiahat the Shenkman Arts Centre on Saturday.

To perform the Messiah you need threekey ingredients – a superb chorus, a talent-ed orchestra and outstanding soloists.Saturday night’s performance had all three,not to mention an exceptional venue.

I’ve been hoping and wishing that CoroVivo would hold a concert in the HaroldShenkman Hall ever since the ShenkmanArts Centre opened in 2009. On Saturday,my wish was granted and the result wastruly magical. Hallelujah!

Ottawa’s Virtuosi Orchestra providedthe musical accompaniment, while sopranoJoan Fearnley, mezzo-soprano ArminéKassabian, tenor Jeffery Boyd were theinvited soloists.

For anyone who is unfamiliar withHandel’s Messiah it is the composition withthe “Hallelujah” chorus.

The English-language oratorio was com-posed by George Frideric Handel in 1741using a scriptural text compiled by CharlesJennens from the King James Bible.

The composition covers the story ofChrist from Biblical prophecy to his ascen-dancy into Heaven in three parts. Part Ibegins with the prophecies of Isaiah andMalachi on the coming of the Messiah andmoves to the annunciation to the shepherdsand Christ’s healing and redemption.

In Part II, Handel concentrates on thePassion and ends with the “Hallelujah”chorus, while Part III covers the resurrec-tion of the dead and Christ’s glorification inHeaven.

Part I allows each of the soloists to trulyshine, starting with the tenor, moving to themezzo-soprano, and finishing with thesoprano.

All three of the soloists featured in theCoro Vivo concert were amazing. I wasespecially impressed by soprano JoanFearnley and her recital of the three move-ments making up “The annunciation to theshepherds”, and the 52nd movement, “Thefinal conquest of sin”.

But the highlight of any performance ofHandel's Messiah is the “Hallelujah” cho-rus and Coro Vivo didn't disappoint.

At close to 90 uninterrupted minutes inlength, the Messiah is a rather ambitiousproject for any chorus to tackle and Coro

Vivo did a superb job from the opening lineof the fourth movement to the final“Amen."

Needless to say, it was a real treat andsomewhat of an honour to have been pres-ent for Coro Vivo’s maiden performance atthe Shenkman Arts Centre. Here’s hopingthey make a speedy return.

By Fred Sherwin

The Eastender

Coro Vivo performed Handel’s Messiah

at the Shenkman Arts Centre last

Saturday under the direction of Antonio

Llaca. Fred Sherwin/Photo