HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

October is the time when the Festival Board would normally be securing venues and hiring adjudicators for the upcoming Festival. Of course, due to covid19, none of this is happening as we’ve tabled the Festival until 2022. This is a strange year indeed!

October is also the month we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada. A time to be grateful for all that we have. Are you wondering how we can be thankful during, what seems to be, the second wave of the pandemic which is resulting in new restrictions?

Here are some things to think about…

We live in a great country whose leaders are trying to figure out (although never having done this before) what’s best for our future. It can be confusing and sometimes frustrating but we should be grateful for their hard work and do our best to follow the guidelines.

Take a walk or a drive anywhere and you will see Autumn…one of the most beautiful and colourful seasons of the year. Where else can you see leaves in golds, reds, oranges and yellows. And pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, mums & more…everywhere! As the seasons change, Nature has certainly blessed us with her splendor!

And our friends & family…how do we celebrate and stay safe? Maybe your group is small and you are able to join in the festivities. For those who are unable to gather together, for whatever the reason, maybe a virtual visit is for you. Zoom, Facetime and other sites are wonderful additions to our digital world. Perhaps we opt not to gather now so we can gather later. Whatever works best, enjoy your time together! It is precious.

Don’t lose sight of all these things and always look for more. Our gratitude for the blessings that surround us can get us through these tough times.

May each new day bring you sunshine, peace, love and laughter.

 Greetings!

 So that we can stay in touch, we hope to publish a monthly newsletter here on our new website. Here is the first issue.

 At our recent meeting, the Board of Directors made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Festival. This was not easy, but,  due to the many unknowns involving the pandemic, we felt it was the best choice. No one can predict the future. Will venues be available? Will we be able to hire qualified adjudicators? How many private music studios will be comfortable preparing students for competition? What protocols will be in place for the dance studios? Community and church choirs are still making decisions regarding practices so our Choral Evening is in jeopardy. And then there are the schools…with the “new normal” that is just now being introduced, school choirs/bands and choral speaking are very low or non-existent on the teachers’ priority list. These are all issues we completely understand and why the decision to cancel was made.

And on another "note"...due to social distancing issues and how each Board member is choosing to handle covid19 protocols, it was decided to forgo our Annual General Meeting/dinner, which was to be held later this month. Instead, the Board members have received the printed Annual Report and any discussion regarding the committee reports will take place via email. Safety is our primary concern.

Though we’re apart, we are working together and are looking forward to planning the 2022 Festival. Stay tuned!