Art and music workshops in the Dooryard

The Dooryard Arts Festival will feature a wide variety of free and low-cost workshops for everyone to experience throughout this year's festival.

The River Valley Arts Alliance (RiVA) and the Dooryard Steering Committee are offering workshops which include hand drumming to mixed media art projects.

The workshops being offered as part of the 4th Annual Dooryard Arts Festival are as follows:

Ukulele for Everyone

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Thursday, August 9th 2 pm (ages 6-12), 3:30 pm (ages 13 and over)	Picaroons Mainstage, King St	10 people per session/$5 per participant

Emily Clark will be teaching beginner ukulele workshops for all ages. Bring your own ukulele or use one of the ukuleles provided for an hour-long session where you will learn to tune a ukulele and play the four most common chords. Music will be provided for students to keep. 

Songwriters Workshop 

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Thursday, August 9th and Friday, August 10th 5 pm to 6:30 pm	Boardwalk Gazebo, King St.	15 people per session (ages 15 and over)/$5 per participant

Beginners and established songwriters are invited to participate in this workshop taught by Charlotte Cornfield. This workshop has two parts and will emphasize conceptual collection, following the idea and flow, allowing a melody and musical phrasing grow out of ideas, and achieving a balance between spontaneity and editing. 

African/Cuban Drumming

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Saturday, August 11th 1 pm	Corner of Main and Queen St.	Open (ages 10 and over and adults welcome)/$5 per participant

Keith Mullins will be teaching participants how to play percussive rhythms from West Africa and Cuba. He also invites students to show off their skills later Saturday night at his performance. Some drums will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their own if possible. 

Mixed Media with Maps

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Wednesday, August 8th 3 pm to 4:30 pm	Boardwalk Gazebo, King St.	10 people (ages 15 and over)/$5 per participant

Michael McEwing will teach participants how to create non-objective or abstract works of art using a variety of mixed media techniques. Maps will be used to help create ideas and will serve as a collage material in final images. Materials will be provided. 

Mixed Media Sculpture

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Thursday, August 9th 3 pm to 4:30 pm	Boardwalk Gazebo, King St.	10 people (ages 10 and over)/$5 per participant

In this workshop, unexpected and everyday objects and materials will be manipulated and creating three-dimensional sculptures. Materials will be provided. 

Abstract Drawing

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Friday, August 10th 3 pm to 4:30 pm	Boardwalk Gazebo, King St.	10 people (ages 15 and over)/$5 per participant

Adam Schriver will be teaching this workshop, which will focus on a fun technique of drawing and the idea of abstraction. Participants will be taught how to layer drawings with a technique similar to painting. The true capabilities of an eraser will also be taught, and participants will find that use of an eraser will help to add a softer quality to work. Materials will be provided. 

T-shirt Painting

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Saturday, August 11th 9 am to 3 pm	Queen Street Marketplace	Drop in (all ages welcome)/Free (optional cost of Dooryard shirt)

Paint some of your own t-shirts or purchase a Dooryard t-shirt to paint at the t-shirt painting table, which will be set up at the Queen Street Marketplace on Saturday. All materials will be provided. 

Potato Printmaking 

(sponsored by Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery)

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Saturday, August 11th 9 am to 3 pm	Queen Street Marketplace	Drop in (all ages welcome)/Free

Basic printmaking techniques will be taught at this workshop, along with how to make art from potatoes. Be creative and test your potato stamps on your festival shirts. Materials will be provided. 

Too Many Cooks

When	Where	Capacity/Cost
Saturday, August 11th 11 am to 4 pm	Picaroons Mainstage, King St.	Drop in (all ages welcome)/Free

The Too Many Cooks workshop has been a Dooryard festival favorite for four years. Come leave your mark on the large blank canvasses set up at the Picaroons Mainstage on Saturday. Music will be played all afternoon. Materials will be provided. 

Dooryard number four begins today

WOODSTOCK- The fourth annual Dooryard Arts Festival will begin in the Shiretown on Wednesday, August 8th (today).

Organized by the River Valley Arts Alliance (RiVA), the Dooryard festival is bigger and better in its fourth year.

A variety of veteran performers and artists are returning to New Brunswick's First Town this week, along with several who are making their first Dooryard appearances.

The vacant lot at the corner of Main and Queen Streets will finally be put to good use as a concert will be held there once every night.

The Cedric Noel Motherhood will be performing on the lot at 7 pm tonight. There will be no admission.

Three performers will also be providing entertainment at the Picaroons Mainstage on King Street on Wednesday evening. Tracy & The Hurtin Hearts, featuring Debec native Tracy Anderson, will be performing at 8:30 pm, along with Charlotte Cornfield and Rose Cousins.

The Dooryard Film Festival will return to the festival in 2012. It will take place at 7 pm at the Connell House tonight. There is no admission fee, but a cash bar is available.

The Best Western hotel will be hosting an event during the festival tomorrow night and Friday night at 6 pm, but the circumstances of the event were unavailable at posting time.

Starr Bishop and The Mountains & The Trees will be performing at the stage on the corner of Main and Queen Street Thursday night at 7 pm. There is no admission for any concerts at this location.

St. Luke's Anglican Church will play host to Gianna Lauren, the Paper Beat Scissors and Snailhouse at 7 pm tomorrow night. Admission is $15, with advance tickets being accepted only.

The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers and Gypsophilia will play at the Picaroons Mainstage on King Street at 9 pm Thursday night. Admission is $12 at the gate.

WiseCracker will be performing at Dooly's in downtown Woodstock at 11 pm tomorrow night as well, with an admission charge of $2. Admission is free with a mainstage bracelet.

On Friday, August 10th, Ingrid Gatin and Acres and Acres will be playing at the stage at the corner of Main and Queen Street beginning at 7 pm. There will be no admission.

ClassicART Ensemble and Derrick Paul Miller will entertain at St. Gertrude's Catholic Church at 7 pm on Friday night as well. Admission is $20.

Nick Everett & Everybody, The Paint Movement and Cadence Weapon will play at the Picaroons Mainstage on King Street at 9 pm on Friday night. Admission is $15.

The Beaters will be playing at Dooly's at 11 pm on Friday night, and admission is only $2.

The popular Queen Street Marketplace will be returning for the 2012 festival on Saturday, August 11th. The open-air market, which runs from 9 am to 3 pm, will feature dozens of artists, food vendors and live music. 

Queen Street Marketplace of 2011

Keith Mullins will be the final performer at the stage on the corner of Queen Street at 7 pm on Saturday night.

Julia Feltham, Carly Maicher and Julie Doiron will play at St. Luke's Anglican Church on Saturday night at 7 pm. Admission is $15, with advance tickets being accepted only.

Lonesome Jim, Chris Kirby & The Marquee will be performing at the Picaroons Mainstage at 9 pm on Saturday night, along with Perth-Andover native Matt Andersen. Admission is $25.

Also playing at the Picaroons Mainstage on Saturday night are The Mountain & The Trees, Kendra Gale, Jacklyn Reinhart Band, Tumba Sound and Transatlantic Zodiac Ensemble at 11 pm.

Facedown will help round out the 2012 Dooryard Arts Festival at 11 pm at Dooly's. Admission is $2.

A complete list of workshops and other things Dooryard will be posted in an upcoming post on The Shiretown Blogger. 

Popular rides return to Woodstock Old Home Week, along with a few new ones

The Scrambler

The Freak Out

Brothers Noah and Andrew Pike wait patiently to ride one of
the rides at the Campbell Amusements midway, a regular part
of Woodstock's Old Home Week celebrations.

The Musik Express, a new ride at Woodstock Old Home Week

Another new ride at Old Home Week

The bumper cars are a popular ride at the annual fair

The Zipper

One could see for miles at the top of the ferris wheel

The Bumble Bee Bop

The Columbus was also a new ride at the fair

The Berry-Go-Round

A variety of prizes could be won at the fairgrounds

Snow cones and slushies were among the treats
sold at the fair

The House of Mirrors

The swings

The Super Slide

Kayden Schriver, daughter of Derek and Sheri Schriver of
Rosedale, slides down the Super Slide with a large speed burst

Scott Dunlop cleans himself up after taking a pie from his fellow
"Fool" Andrew Garnett at the pie auction, a new feature at
Old Home Week

Brent Clark waits to take a pie at the Old Home Week Pie Auction

Shelbe Wasson was the lucky one who threw the pie. Her father,
Peter, bid $25 for the pie in the pie auction

Brent Clark wiping the whipped cream off his face

A variety of animals can be seen every year in the livestock building

Waiting to ride the roller coaster

The CJ 104 prize cruiser was on hand at the fairgrounds regularly

Million-dollar view from the top of the ferris wheel at Woodstock Old Home Week

And the equipment is probably worth half...

Shiretown Field from the top of the ferris wheel

The top of the Carleton Civic Centre (foreground) and the
Connell Park Raceway and Grandstand (background).

The Shiretown Blogger reads third issue of agelessNB

I picked up the third copy of agelessNB a few weeks ago at the Connell House Gift Shop. I read the stories with great interest and thoroughly enjoyed them!

My favorite story was a memoir of Woodstock's Island Park.

I have really enjoyed the stories in this magazine, and recently picked up the first three issues for my grandfather!

By the way, if you missed the first two issues, they are still available at Connell House Gift Shop. 

Former CMH property one step closer to re-zoning

The former site of Woodstock's hospital came one step closer to being re-zoned last week.

Woodstock council approved the first and second reading of the bylaw at the Monday, July 23rd regular council meeting, allowing the former Carleton Memorial Hospital property to advance closer to being re-zoned.

A public hearing is scheduled for August 27th for a bylaw to re-zone the property.

The property must be re-zoned from institutional to commercial to allow for any commercial development.

The Carleton Memorial Hospital, which opened in January 1955, closed its doors in 2007 to make way for the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville.

The hospital and surrounding buildings were demolished in 2009, and the property has remained vacant ever since.

With files from www.cj104.com 

65th Old Home Week bids farewell to the one-cent coin

The fence is up in front of the Carleton Civic Centre in
Woodstock's Connell Park. In a couple of days, this area
will be packed with people waiting their turns to ride the rides
at the fairgrounds, an annual fixture of the Old Home Week
celebrations in the Shiretown.

WOODSTOCK- The 65th Annual Old Home Week festivities in Woodstock are currently underway.

This year's Old Home Week celebrations will bid adieu to the famous one-cent coin, which the Royal Canadian Mint will cease to produce this fall.

"While the penny will soon be no more, we can celebrate what the penny used to buy," Woodstock Mayor Art Slipp stated on the Old Home Week website. "We can all reflect on priceless memories from a lifetime of Old Home Weeks."

"For most of us, Old Home Week has played a special role in the lives of our families."

The 2012 festivities officially began on Friday, July 28th, with the horse pull at the racetrack in Connell Park.

The 25th Annual Tim Hortons Joe McGuire Road Race followed its usual route from the Woodstock town hall to Grafton on Saturday, July 29th.

The annual 4-H Achievement Day also took place on Saturday morning, at the livestock ring in Connell Park.

A yearly fixture at Old Home Week, the parade was held on Sunday, July 29th. The parade followed its usual route on Sunday afternoon from Deakin Drive to the end of the downtown bridge, and those taking in the parade were encouraged to say goodbye to their pennies in style by donating them to the Woodstock Rotary Club. Proceeds from the parade penny drive would be donated to Camp Rotary, a camp for disabled people.

A gospel concert was held Sunday night, with the band "Side Effects" providing entertainment. A free will offering was taken, and the proceeds will be taken to a local charity.

The "Crowning Jewel" of Old Home Week will take place Monday night. The talent portion of the annual Miss New Brunswick pageant will be held at the Carleton Civic Centre on July 30th at 7:30 pm. The remainder of the pageant will take place on Tuesday, July 31st at 7:30 pm at the Carleton Civic Centre.

One of three cards of harness racing will happen on Monday night at 7 pm at the racetrack in Connell Park.

Old Home Week Image

The New Brunswick Premiere Heifer Show will be hosted at 12 pm on Tuesday, July 31st. The show is sponsored by the Carleton Holstein Club.

The hobby show building and commercial exhibits will open at 5 pm on Tuesday, with the fairgrounds opening at 6 pm.

On Wednesday, August 1st, the children's parade will happen at the Carleton Civic Centre. This year's children's parade has a Disney theme.

A new feature at Old Home Week will also be held on Wednesday. A pie auction will begin at 6 pm at the fairgrounds. Pies will be sold to the highest bidder and can be thrown at a boss, co-worker, friend, former friend, or someone you just don't like.

The second card of harness racing will take place on Wednesday at 7 pm at the racetrack.

The East Coast Opry Show will provide the finest in classic country music on Thursday, August 2nd. Entertainers include Jason Shaw, Phil Kennedy, Andrea Weston, Clay Harrison, Rick Collins, Brittany Shaw, Tom Ryan, Kathleen Jones and Kelly Shaw. Tickets for the show, which begins at 7 pm, are $20, and can be purchased at Creative Framing in Upper Woodstock, the Carleton Civic Centre box office and Mark's the Spot in Bath.

The third and final card of harness racing of the 2012 Old Home Week will take place on Friday, August 3rd at 7 pm at the racetrack.

The popular Napa Auto Parts Demolition Derby will bring smoke, dust, and clanging metal to Connell Park on Saturday, August 4th at 2 pm.

2010 Napa Auto Parts Demolition Derby. Old Home Week Image

A fireworks show will bring the 2012 Old Home Week to a close at 10:15 pm on Saturday night.

The following is a price list of Old Home Week events which require an admission fee.

Event	Admission Fee
Miss New Brunswick Talent Show	$7 (all ages)
Miss New Brunswick Pageant	$15 (adults and students) $10 (children 12 and under)
Napa Auto Parts Demolition Derby	$10 (adults) $5 (students) $2 (children)
East Coast Opry Show	$20 (all tickets)
Harness Racing (Mon. and Wed.)	$2 (adults and students) Children 12 and under-free
Harness Racing (Fri.)	$5 (adults) $2 (students) Children 12 and under-free
Fairgrounds (Tues.)	All rides $2 from 6 pm-midnight
Fairgrounds (Wed.)	Bracelet Day-Unlimited rides for $30 from 1 pm-closing time
Fairgrounds (Thurs., Fri., Sat.)	Regular Ride Pricing (see below)

Ride Coupon Pricing:

Single Ride Coupons	$1.50 each
Sheet of 25 Ride Coupons	$33 each
Sheet of 40 Ride Coupons	$38 each (best value-$0.95 each)

Most rides take 3-4 ride coupons. The Freak Out takes 5 ride coupons

With files from www.oldhomeweek.ca