New Brunswick's First Town Christmas celebrations - Friday, November 18th to December 4th

The Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce has taken the opportunity to enhance and increase participation in the Shiretown's annual celebrations of the holiday season.

For the past two decades, the town of Woodstock has acknowledged the Christmas season with a Victorian Christmas theme. Woodstock has a rich Victorian heritage, and a Victorian Christmas has been a great way to celebrate that heritage, along with the most joyful time of year. The celebrations have even adopted a focus of limiting cross-border shopping.

However, as of 2011, the festivities are taking place with a new name. The Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce has changed the name of the celebrations to New Brunswick's First Town Christmas.

The Shiretown Blogger has created a logo for New Brunswick's First Town Christmas. It isn't much, but at least its an attempt. 

Regardless of title, the festivities have had a unique theme every year. For 2011, the theme is "Growing Holiday Memories."

Many of the planned events for New Brunswick's First Town Christmas are similar to the ones held in previous years. Darlene Tapley, office manager of the Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, has gladly sent The Shiretown Blogger a lineup of events of New Brunswick's First Town Christmas.

 Friday, November 18th

Teddy Bear Tea – L.P. Fisher Library – 10 :30 am

This November 13, 2007 Bugle-Observer article shows members of the Red Hat society at the Teddy Bear Tea in years past.

Festival of Lights in Downtown Woodstock

Lighting Ceremony at 7 pm

Town Crier – Hal Williams

Santa Downtown - 7:00- 8:00 pm 

Entertainment provided by Jacksonville Baptist Church Choir at 6:45 pm on the waterfront.

Hot Chocolate provided by Woodstock Wesleyan Church Youth in the town square.

Fireworks – 7:30 pm on the waterfront

This Bugle-Observer clipping shows the fireworks shows from years past.

The Connell House will be serving hot apple cider to all the shoppers with entertainment- 7 pm - 9 pm

Christmas Gathering at Currie's on Houlton Road 7pm

Tree lighting, hot cider and packages of reindeer food, with Frosty the Snowman and Santa.

Tree and figurine lighting at the Carleton Mall – 7 pm

Complimentary hot apple cider and cookies from 7- 8 pm courtesy of Sobeys and the Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce.

Entertainment throughout the evening in the Carleton Mall

J. P Nadeau 7:00 - 8:00 pm

The Men Of Grace Quartet 8:00 - 9:00 pm

J.P. Nadeau 9:00 - 10:00 pm

Santa 8:00- 9:00 pm at the Carleton Mall

Walk Down Memory Lane - Carleton Mall Nov 18^th – Dec 24^th

View Photos from 1856 up through the years of “New Brunswick’s First Town - Woodstock!”

Presented by The Carleton Country Historical Society. 

 Take advantage of Greater Woodstock’s biggest shopping day of the holiday season with great savings throughout! Shop 'Till midnight! Midnight Madness draws in New Brunswick's First Town!

(Enter your name all day for the 5 Midnight Madness Draws!)

You must be present [at a store] to win!

The following retailers are participating in Midnight Madness draws at certain times:

1. 8:30 pm - Hudson's Jewellers 

(Ladies gold Citizen watch valued at $350)

2. 9:30 pm- Currie's Audio Video Unlimited

(iPhone 4 valued at $900)

3. 10:30 pm - Stewart’s Home Hardware

(Rocker recliner, Micro Fiber valued at $1099.99)

4. 11:30 pm – The Source/Home Zone Electronics

5. 11:45 pm - Carleton Mall/Home Zone Electronics

(Sony 46” LCD HDTV)

Other draws throughout Greater Woodstock include;

1. 9:00 pm -12:00 pm - McLellan’s Countrywide Furniture

($800 in Riverside Pub gift certificates) See details in store.

2. 8:00 pm - 12:00 pm – Wal-Mart

($500 in Wal-Mart gift cards) See details in store

Friday, November 18th

Woodstock Farm Market Craft Fair Madness- 4 pm -11 pm

Woodstock High School musical “Fame”- The Woodstock High School Theatre – November 17th, 18th and 19th and a matinee on Saturday, November 19th at 2 pm. 

Mitten tree for charity at Carleton Mall from November 18^th- December 23^rd (hats, mittens, scarves)

Saturday, November 19th

Woodstock Farm Market Craft Fair - 8 am - 4 pm 

Monday, November 21st

Christmas Spirit Box Campaign Begins- Fill a Christmas Spirit Box or give a $75 donation so one can be filled for you . (If you are giving a donation make your cheque payable to Volunteer Family Services. If you need a box call the Volunteer Family Services at 328-4417 or the Chamber of Commerce at 325-9049. 

Friday, November 25th

Sixteen-Hour Dash for Deals – 6:00 am -10:00 pm “Great Savings” at many participating retailers throughout Woodstock! 

(Stay tuned for a list of participating retailers on The Shiretown Blogger)

Perley the Magician - 5:30 pm at Carleton Mall.

Wake Up Santa - 6 pm at Carleton Mall  

Saturday, November 26th

Carleton County Historical Society presents the Victorian Christmas Concert at the Old Carleton County Court House in Upper Woodstock at 7 pm.

Old Carleton County Court House in August 2010. (Taken by Nathan DeLong)

Bugle-Observer article of Saint James United Church hand bell choir performing at the Victorian Christmas concert in years past.

Photos with Santa at Carleton Mall from November 26^th –December 23rd for only $2.99!

Sunday, November 27th

Ecumencial lessons and carols at Saint James United Church of Canada at 7 pm.

Monday, November 28th

Turkey Challenge! Call Volunteer Family Services at 328-4417 and join in the turkey challenge from 6 am - 6 pm! 

Friday, December 2nd

Evening Santa Claus Parade 6:30 pm. Line up on Deakin Drive 5:30 pm.

This year's parade theme is “New Brunswick’s First Town Christmas - Growing Holiday Memories”

Bring food items to be collected along the parade route by the Cubs and Scouts.

Treats from Santa behind Stewarts Home Hardware sponsored by Sobeys!

Saturday, December 3rd
Breakfast with Santa - 9:00 am -10:30 am at Woodstock Farm Market.

Enjoy Christmas Carols and stories! Bring your Letter to Santa!

Festival of Trees sponsored by Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Carleton-York at the Carleton Civic Centre from 2 pm to 9 pm. 

Pet photos with Santa at Shur Gain Feeds & Needs 10 am - 2 pm. Cost is by donation, with proceeds going to the Carleton County Animal Shelter.

Sunday, December 4th

Torch Light Parade at Woodstock Knights of Columbus Hall at 6 pm.

Proceeding from the town square to St Gertrude’s Roman Catholic Church for lighting of manger scene, carol singing and Refreshments.

Festival of Trees at the Carleton Civic Centre Community Room from 1 pm - 5 pm

Friday, December 9th -Friday, December 16th

Christmas Spirit Box Campaign Pick-Up Days  - If you need another box, call the

Volunteer Family Services at 328-4417.

Note: The Shiretown Blogger would like to thank Darlene Tapley for submitting this schedule of events.

Ten things kids love to do with a set of blocks

The Shiretown Blogger is always looking for story ideas, and is glad to consider posting any that you, the readers, send along.

Most of these ideas come in via my email bag. Paul Taylor stumbled across The Shiretown Blogger a few months ago, and recently emailed me to provide feedback about the blog. In his message, he also included a link to an article he recently was involved in publishing online, called "10 Things Kids Love to Do with Blocks."

The article taught me a lot about the development of the younger ones. The following is a link to the article:

http://www.babysittingjobs.com/blog/10-things-kids-love-to-do-with-a-set-of-blocks/

Thank you very much Paul for your feedback and for sharing the link! Interesting story! 

The Shiretown Blogger lends a helping hand creating another blog

Woodstock resident and WHS Thunder hockey supporter Wade McLellan recently approached The Shiretown Blogger about helping to create a blog about the WHS Thunder hockey teams. The Shiretown Blogger was glad to lend a hand and is a co-administrator of the blog. 

The WHS Thunder blog.

The Shiretown Blogger has a link on the WHS Thunder blog because The Shiretown Blogger helped to start the blog, and is happy to help promote the WHS Thunder and post game results.

The WHS Thunder blog can be viewed by visiting www.whsthunderhockey.blogspot.com . 

The Shiretown Blogger has a promoter

The Shiretown Blogger was recently looking through the blog's stats and checking out traffic for the blog and how they access the blog (e.g., a search engine like Google, another website, etc.) I saw that some traffic on The Shiretown Blogger is from a website with the URL address: http://www.nbblogers.blogspot.com/.

I followed the link, and discovered that the site the link belongs to is the New Brunswick Bloggers Hub. The New Brunswick Bloggers Hub is a blog dedicated to other blogs based in the province of New Brunswick.

The New Brunswick Bloggers Hub header. The blog claims to be the only New Brunswick blog hub. I haven't seen any others out there, so looks like they're right! 

Of course, I am very curious, so I scrolled down through their list of recent blogs and their most recent posts. Sure enough, there was the last post by The Shiretown Blogger--a recap of the Slammers games over the weekend.

This link on the New Brunswick Bloggers Hub leads to a post on The Shiretown Blogger about the Slammers games over the weekend.

Any other New Brunswick bloggers who don't see their blogs featured on the site are encouraged to contact the blog's owner via email to have their blog featured in the blog's list of most recent blogs and their most recent posts. A badge was also available on the site for New Brunswick bloggers to display on their blogs to show their membership. The Shiretown Blogger will do just that.

The Shiretown Blogger would like to thank the owner of the New Brunswick Bloggers Hub (whoever that may be) for their work in promoting the blog and other bloggers. Your dedication to the New Brunswick blogging world is much appreciated. 

Woodstock Slammers gain three more victories

The Remembrance Day long weekend was an eventful but positive one for the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL).

On Friday, November 11th, the Slammers topped the Dieppe Commandos by eight points, with a final score of 10-2. Nick Huard of the home side opened the scoring on the power play at 6:24 in period one on Remembrance Day. Bradley Greene netted two goals in the second and third periods, while Robert Visca scored three goals in the same periods.

On Saturday, November 12th, the Slammers visited Miramichi, defeating the Timberwolves 2-1 in regulation. After a scoreless first period, Evan Carmody and Robert Visca each put the rubber between the pipes in period two. Miramichi's only goal was scored by Alex Scully at 4:14.

On Sunday, November 13th, the Slammers paid Dieppe a visit. Any attempts at revenge on the part of the Commandos for the large victory on Friday night were to no avail, and the Slammers beat the Commandos 5-4 in a shootout. Similar to Saturday's contest, the first period against Dieppe remained scoreless. Nine seconds into period two, Danny Chiasson netted the first goal of the game for the Commandos. Travis Fernley of the Slammers netted the rubber at 9:58, scoring the first goal for Woodstock.

The only goal in the third period was netted by Dieppe forward Joel Blanchard one minute and five seconds into the period. Blanchard's goal brought the contest to a 4-4 tie. A period of sudden death OT failed to declare a victor, resulting in a shootout. The Slammers used the shootout, which consisted of twelve shots, to their advantage. Seven of twelve shots were goals, and five of them were in favour of the Woodstock side.

The Woodstock Slammers' next home game is scheduled for Friday, November 18th, 2011 at 7:30 pm at the Carleton Civic Centre.

With files from www.slammershockey.ca and www.themhl.ca. 

The Shiretown Blogger vists the oldest indoor arena in the province

Fredericton, New Brunswick is much more than the province's capital city. In fact, the city is home to the oldest indoor arena in New Brunswick.

The York Arena, located on Barker Street on the north side of Fredericton, was built in 1947, making it the first indoor arena in the province, and the oldest indoor arena in the province that is still in continuous use.

City of Fredericton Image

In its heyday, fans would pack the York Arena for many hockey games and even boxing events. Bulletin boards covered with black and white photos from days gone by line the walls of the hallway which serves as the arena's entrance. 

Some of them include photos of Willie O'Ree, who was born and raised in Fredericton and is a product of Fredericton's minor hockey system. In 1958, he became the first black hockey player to play in the National Hockey League. O'Ree is still going strong in his seventies, as he now works for the NHL's development program. A beautiful new arena complex which was built around 2008 now stands on Fredericton's north side, and bears Willie O'Ree's name.

Photos of Willie O'Ree (left), who has roots in Fredericton and was the first black player in the NHL, are on display at the York Arena.

Other products of Fredericton's minor hockey program who would play in the NHL are Danny Grant and the late Buster Harvey. They both played in the York Arena at one time or another, and black and white photos of both Grant and Harvey hang proudly on the bulletin board in the York Arena.

Danny Grant, left, and Buster Harvey's photos on display.

In recent years, as Fredericton has become home to more modern arena complexes, use of the York Arena has declined. Currently, an arena named after Grant and Harvey is under construction in the Kimble Drive area on the south side of the city. The York Arena was slated for closure, and the large, new Grant-Harvey complex would replace the 64-year-old York Arena. Many have lobbied to save the York Arena, and Fredericton city council recently decided to keep the doors open at the York Arena for up to another five years, on condition that it continues to remain viable. What will happen at the end of the next half decade remains to be seen.

Evidently, the City of Fredericton has made great effort and spent a large sum of money to keep the York Arena well-maintained. My previous expectation was that the arena's interior would reflect the age of the structure, but I was amazed when I darkened the doors of the York Arena. The moment I opened the door, the smell that came upon me was that of an old arena. The facility was a beautiful one, unlike many arenas of similar age and design. The majority of the floors were clean, and the walls did not show any scars from black pucks being shot at them—a sign that the rule of no shooting of any objects in the hallways is a well-enforced rule. After the rink's maintenance employees finished flooding the ice before my brother's hockey game, I was sure to tell them that they were doing a good job keeping their facilities clean and in tip-top shape. It speaks volumes when an arena that is over six decades old is kept cleaner than the sixteen-year-old civic centre which serves the greater Woodstock area.

Many kids actually enjoy playing in old arenas similar to the York Arena. The scoreboard which hangs just over the entrance is low enough to walk under, and the bleachers are wooden, unlike the hard plastic chairs which dominate many modern facilities. Boxes hung every so often on the steel posts at the top of the bleachers. When I took a closer look, I discovered that they were coin-operated heater systems. One dollar could buy cold spectators fifteen minutes of heat from three overhead heaters. Arenas with little to no heat and wooden bleachers are testaments of the hockey that many grew up with, and the older arenas are the way hockey still should be.  

The scoreboard at the York Arena is so low you can almost stand under it.

The machines which take coins from chilly spectators wanting to warm up.

The sign says it all. Chilly spectators wanting to warm up can insert one dollar into the machine and receive heat from three heaters for a 15-minute duration.

A vintage photo of York Arena hangs in the hallway above the other old photos.

The York Arena was not just home to hockey events in its heyday, but boxing events too.

The ceiling in the York Arena is somewhat low, but I've seen lower.

A Zamboni ice resurfacing machine floods the ice following a hockey game at the York Arena.

Remembrance Day in Woodstock - November 11, 2011

The 2011 Remembrance Day ceremony at the Woodstock cenotaph was a nice, well-attended service. The size of the crowd demonstrated that remembering the veterans is still considered a priority by many.

The Shiretown Blogger gave Remembrance Day a lot of coverage because it does not seem to be given enough attention. Some Canadian provinces still do not acknowledge it as a statutory holiday, despite the fact that many brave individuals fought and sacrificed their lives so those governments could have the freedom to acknowledge November 11th as a state holiday.

Nonetheless, the rain stopped in time for the ceremony, which was good. The cenotaph ceremony should still be attended, rain or shine. Our war veterans endured much worse conditions.

The Woodstock Fire Department. In the dark suit is Woodstock Fire Chief Ricky Nicholson, and Deputy Chief Harold McLellan next to him (with the beard).

The Woodstock Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps 318 marching.