Friday, 29 July 2016

Lots to see and do locally: check out www.tourismoxford.ca

Streetfest in Woodstock, Larry Gatlin at the Walters Theatre, and a look back at First World War at Ingersoll museum

Cowapolooza in Woodstock is also just around the corner

By Mark Schadenberg
So Cowapolooza is in Woodstock on Aug 12 and 13, including a free concert in Southside Park on the Saturday night by Canadian superstar Colin James.
What can you possibly do in Oxford County between now and then?
Lots !

WOODSTOCK MUSEUM
The Woodstock Museum just opened its sports exhibit to recognize the Woodstock Sports Wall of Fame. I attended the opening reception on July 28 and was certainly impressed with the displays as the focus was on athletes, teams and venues. It’s been 20 years exactly since the Southwood twin-pad arenas at the community complex on Finkle replaced the Perry Street Arena on Perry Street.
A terrific cross-section of local sports are all part of the attention-grabbing displays. Woodstock has many legends in sports – baseball’s Tip O’Neill, fastball’s Brian Paton and Bob McKinnon, badminton’s Penny Parkes, former track star Catherine Bond-Mills, and world champion power lifter Russell Gerber.

WALTERS FAMILY
If you like country music, the Walters Family farm is the place to visit near Bright.
Grande Olde Opry star Larry Gatlin makes an appearance at the Walters Family (dinner and) show on both August 5 and 6.
The Gatlin brothers are superstars in country music lore.
Check out the Walters family website to see the scoop on upcoming tribute acts to Conway Twitty, Neil Diamond and Frankie Valli. One Canadian country/pop singer I like (Keep in mind my top choices are always ELO, ELP, Moody Blues, Alan Parsons and yes even Yes, and on the CanCon side how about Klaatu), is Jim Witter of All My Life fame, and he’ll be at the Walters barn from Sept. 15-17 with his library, but mostly a tribute act to piano performers such as Billy Joel, Elton John and Barry Manilow.   
For a map, check out their website as the Walters Family (519 463-5559) dinner and stage can be found northeast of Innerkip. If you drive east on County Rd 29 from Innerkip towards Drumbo you will certainly see the signs before the 401. From the 401, your exit is west at the Drumbo/Innerkip (Exit 250) cloverleaf.
 


STREETFEST
Summer Streetfest in Woodstock is the today moniker for Sidewalk Sale days in the BIA Downtown area from August 4 – 7, which will include the Canadian chart topping The Spoons on Friday, Aug. 5.
The Friday bill is jam packed with different stages on Dundas Street as Blind Dog Joe, Yeager and Soul Tripper are all one of the three stages at various times.
I have many 80’s songs on my Ipod, and The Spoons were known for Arias And Symphonies, Romantic Traffic, Nova Heart and Old Emotions, but do you also recall Smiling In Winter.
The ‘new wave’ band The Spoons – I discover from cheating by looking at Wikipedia – are from Burlington.
On Thursday, Crystal Shawanda, Sarah Smith, David Leask, The Roadies, and Tim Tyler are plugged on the BIA posters. Leask has an interesting bio as he is from Scotland originally and his music includes Celtic influences.
On Saturday, it’s the blues with Jack DeKeyser as the main performer, while others on a slate of blues / rock include catl, Geoff Masse, the Stanley Brown Blues Band, and also Stevie T.
Streetfest is a great destination for shopping, especially for families thinking about ‘Back To School’ sales. Summer Streetfest is also about fun for children with a mini midway, candy floss and popcorn, a climbing wall, bouncy castles, stilt walkers, and the adult enjoyment of buskers and musicians.
On Sunday, Aug. 7 (9 a.m. – 3 p.m.) is the Streetfest Cruise as Dundas Street remains closed and becomes a giant car show of vintage vehicles, muscle cars, and even a few trucks and motorcycles from the past. 




INGERSOLL CHEESE MUSEUM
Oxford County museums have combined forces to create a touring exhibit to recognize the war efforts of the county during the First World War (1914 up to November 11, 1918) and the display is called: Patriotism and Production.
The exhibit continues at the Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum on Harris Street until Sept. 6.
Woodstock Museum National Historic Site was instrumental in creating the displays which are essentially on tour through Annandale House in Tillsonburg, along with smaller museums in Princeton, Norwich, Tavistock and other stops.
It’s been 100 years since Canada was involved in World War I, and artifacts can now be viewed to bring you back in time to an era of manufacturing and business locally quite different than you would encounter today. The war effort was exactly that: an effort by Canadian in battle in places like Passchendaele and the efforts in factories at home.
This exhibit is the 3rd of 5 planned to commemorate the so-called Great War in a series called Oxford Remembers. If your timing is great, you can chat with curator Scott Gillies while you’re there and look also at the museum’s on-going exhibits which includes the Ingersoll sports hall of fame and the community’s rich history in agriculture




LINKS:


Loving Oxford County; Living In Oxford County
Promoting My Hometown & Why You Should Live in Oxford
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

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