HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – Haldimand Museums are back this year with their 18th Annual Car & Truck Show, taking place Sunday June 23, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, at the Selkirk Community Park (17 Kent Street, Selkirk). Admission to the family-friendly event is by donation; a $5.00 entry fee applies to participating vehicles.

The popular gathering  provides a place for vintage and specialty car and truck enthusiasts from around southern Ontario to celebrate their love of all things automotive. “We had an excellent turnout last year with close to 150 vehicles and the show was fun for everyone,” says Wilson MacDonald Memorial School Museum Curator Dana Stavinga. “We are hoping the weather will be cooperative but, if we do have rain, the event will be postponed to the fall.”

While the show features classic cars and trucks, there will be much more to see and do! Visitors and participants can enjoy a silent auction, craft displays, entertainment by DJ Frank Vessero, tasty foods served by Shelly’s Family Dining & Catering Services of Kohler, door prizes for the drivers and a presentation of 25 trophies in a variety of categories at 2:30 pm.

For further information about the Car & Truck Show please contact Dana Stavinga at 905-776-3319.

Haldimand Museums is hosting its first ever Holiday Market supporting local artisans and craftspeople on Thursday November 23 from 2 – 8 p.m. in the Haldimand County Administration Building’s atrium lobby at 53 Thorburn Street South, Cayuga, ON. This family friendly event is free to attend with free parking available in front of the building and next to the Cayuga Memorial Arena.

Enjoy festive decorations, carollers and local handcrafted products and food perfect for holiday gifts. Featured products include glass art, holiday decorations, dog bandanas, raw and roasted hazelnuts, knit and crocheted goods, 100% soy candles, handmade jewellery and handcrafted Canadian wood products.

Be sure to take your photo in front of the County Christmas tree, and stop by the Haldimand Museums table to learn about upcoming programs and workshops, and purchase historical holiday cards.

For additional information about this event, please contact Geneva Gillis at 905-318-5932 x 6613 or museums@haldimandcounty.on.ca.

Haldimand County is pleased to announce that Paddles of the Grand is a finalist for a Tourism Industry Award of Excellence in the category of Innovator of the Year from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO). This award recognizes an organization or individual that created a new, innovative product, policy or service to promote and enhance tourism in their local community, region or the province of Ontario.

Paddles of the Grand developed as an extension of the PATH (Paddle Art Tour Haldimand), a 2021 municipal initiative involving both the Community Development & Partnerships and Economic Development & Tourism Divisions at Haldimand County, with a grant from the Tourism Relief Fund. Earlier this year, Paddles of the Grand was also a finalist for a 2022 Innovator of the Year award from Ontario’s Southwest Tourism Corporation.

“We are so proud of Paddles of the Grand and their continued growth, and are glad they are getting well-deserved credit for their hard work,” says Lidy Romanuk, Manager of Economic Development & Tourism at Haldimand County. “It is an incredible honour to be recognized as a finalist amongst all the tourism experiences in Ontario.”

“What started as a COVID recovery project has grown into an unstoppable community initiative,” says Katrina Schmitz, Manager of Community Development & Partnerships at Haldimand County.  “We are so proud to have been able to partner with paddle art creator Gina McIntee—and many other local artists—on the original PATH project and see how the community’s interest in the paddles has grown and expanded throughout Haldimand County, including in store windows in our communities.”

The Innovator of the Year award winner will be announced at the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario’s conference during the gala awards on October 25, 2023.

Public Art Tour Haldimand expands with Bridging Communities phase

Haldimand County’s popular Public Art Tour Haldimand (PATH) is expanding with a third phase of artwork: Bridging Communities.

Eight artists have been selected through a blind selection process (meaning the review panel did not know the identity of the artists being considered) to recreate their designs on locally-made paddles—with the support and mentoring of PATH Project Coordinator and local artist Gina Wilson-McIntee.

The successful artists include: Laura Ashthorpe (Fisherville), Angela Bonitatibus (Cayuga), Cheyanne Bertrand (Jarvis), Sarah Butcher (Jarvis), Eirlys Evans (Cayuga), Andrea Johnston (Dunnville), Emily Mathewson (Hamilton), and Jessica Vander Vegte (Cayuga).

Bridging Communities began with a community call for artists to submit their creative visions for a design showing the importance of the Grand River and Lake Erie to Haldimand County, including illustrations highlighting the area’s natural landscapes, wildlife and history.

The eight new paddles will be installed along trails and in parks throughout the County in late October; a map showing the locations will be available on the County’s website.

An event to unveil the new paddles will take place in August 2023 (date to be determined in consultation with the artists schedules) and will provide an opportunity for residents and visitors to meet the artists from the PATH project. A special marketplace, featuring the artists’ unique works for purchase, will be part of the event.

To learn more about this event, Bridging Communities or to download the Public Art Tour Haldimand map, visit HaldimandCounty.ca/festivals-events/public-art-tour/.

Haldimand County is pleased to announce that, following two years of consultation with the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO), the Ministry of Transportation (Ontario) and two property owners, the Street Cemetery in Canfield has been fully transferred to the municipality.

The Street Cemetery—which dates back to the 1870s—is historically significant as the resting place of Black settlers and their descendants who came from the U.S. to Canfield through the Underground Railroad. Among the individuals buried in the Cemetery is Carrie Barnes, the niece of famed American abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman. The Cemetery is also associated with one of the first churches established by Black freedom seekers in Canfield—the North Cayuga Baptist Church—which was known for welcoming both Black and white parishioners.

“We are very happy this transfer has now been completed as it allows us to use $100,000 in County funds approved through the 2021 Capital Budget to begin the clean-up of this significant site,” says Ward 2 Councillor John Metcalfe. “We know how incredibly important this Cemetery is to descendants living throughout southwestern Ontario, elsewhere in Canada and in the U.S. We want to make sure it is cared for and protected in keeping with the County’s values of cemetery care and honouring our local history.”

The restoration of the site will take place in two phases: the first is the transfer of the property (now completed) and general site clean-up (now being initiated); the second phase includes the formation of a Community Stakeholder Committee—including descendants of the original families, local heritage groups and resident advocates—to create a longer-term plan for community engagement, designation and preservation of the Cemetery.

“With the completion of the property transfer on Monday, staff immediately visited the site and developed a timeline for the first phase of the restoration work,” says Phil Mete, General Manager of Public Works Operations. “This will include additional survey work, on-site coordination of the anticipated work with the BAO and other authorities having jurisdiction, careful removal of brush and unsafe trees, ground repair, removal of old fencing, and construction of the pathway from Haldimand Road #32 to the site.

“Based on the current condition of the Cemetery and surrounding area, we anticipate this work will take four to six months as it involves securing and coordinating appropriate contractors to complete the majority of this sensitive work.”

Staff will also begin the work of bringing together the Community Stakeholder Committee.

“We know families of the original freedom-seekers and members of the public were hopeful to have the Cemetery site available for a visit on Emancipation Day, which is August 1, however, that will not be possible this year given contractors will be on site and significant safety concerns,” adds Mete.

“However, Heritage Haldimand already had plans in the works for an Emancipation Day get-together for the community on Sunday, July 30 in Canfield. The event will include a presentation by Niagara-based historian Rochelle Bush, who is also a freedom-seeker descendant with family ties to the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman. Details about the event—for which reservations will be required—will be available in the coming weeks.”