Events | Pelee Island Heritage Centre

22nd Annual Springsong Weekend– A Celebration of Birds and Birding

May 12-14, 2023 – In person!!

Springsong Weekend will be LIVE and IN PERSON again!!!!! I look forward to welcoming you back as well as meeting new guests!!

THIS EVENT IS A MAJOR FUNDRAISER FOR THE HERITAGE CENTRE THUS TICKETS WILL BE NON REFUNDABLE UNLESS GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS PREVENT THE EVENT FROM HAPPENING. SHOULD YOU CANCEL YOU WILL RECEIVE A CHARITABLE TAX RECEIPT FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE TICKET.

Thank you!

Sincerely, Kim

A MAJOR fundraising in support of the Pelee Island Heritage Centre

Springsong Weekend – Traditionally held on Mother’s Day Weekend. It is a weekend of celebration involving books and birds. This event was started seventeen years ago as a fundraiser for The Heritage Centre with the help of Pelee Island Bird Observatory and Margaret Atwood. There is a 24 hour green “bird race” competing for the coveted Botham Cup. Margaret Atwood continues the tradition of bringing award winning authors to our island where they are introduced by her at our traditionally sold out banquet.

GUEST AUTHOR – RANDY BOYAGODA 2023

Soharn Randy Boyagoda (born 1976) is a Canadian writer, intellectual and critic known for his novels Governor of the Northern Province (2006), Beggar’s Feast (2011), Original Prin (2018), and Dante’s Indiana (2021). He is also the author of a biography of Richard John Neuhaus (2015). He is the past principal and vice-president of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, where he held the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts and Letters. He is currently the Vice-Dean, Undergraduate, of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto. Boyagoda is also a professor in the University of Toronto’s English Department, and currently chairs the PEN Canada Advisory Board. He served as President of PEN Canada from 2015-2017.

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CELEBRITY BIRDER – IAN DAVIDSON 2023

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PAST AUTHORS

Author Celebrity Birder

2002 Margaret Atwood Kevin Seymour

2003 Farley Mowat Unveiling Stone Road Plaque

2004 Alistair MacLeod Orlando Garrido & Arturo Kirkconnell (Cuba)

2005 Jane Urquhart Bill Lishman

2006 Alice Munro Peter Matthiessen

2007 David Suzuki Fred Bodsworth

2008 Vincent Lamb Bridget Strutchbury

2009 Joseph Boyden Mystery Birder

2010 Brian Brett Robert & Birgit Freybe Bateman

2011 Nino Ricci Trevor Herriot

2012 Wayne Grady & Ian Davidson Merilyn Simonds

2013 Elizabeth Hay TBA

2014 Linden MacIntyre TBA

2015 Lawrence Hill Trevor Herriot

2016 Miriam Toews Graeme Gibson the Younger

2017 Michael Crummey Wayne Grady

2018 Madeleine Thien Sean Dooley

2019 Steve Burrows Danny Catt

2020 Lorna Crozier Trevor Herriot

2021 Louise Penny David Lindo

2022 Lorna Crozier David Lindo

2023 Randy Boyagoda Ian Davidson

peleeislandhc@gmail.com

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

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Botham Cup Bird Race

– Take part in the 24 hour “green” bird race and rally for the coveted Botham Cup. The official gong is sounded at the Heritage Centre, Friday at noon. Your team will have 24 hours to spot as many of the 314 species of birds that visit our island. Finish the day at Springsong Banquet where Margaret Atwood will give out the famous rubber chicken awards!

2022 RESULTS

GREEN TEAMS

NC C-Birds 9 – Jill Crosthwaite, Mhairi McFarlane, Shkuhnodin Shognosh-Myers
84 species WINNERS OF THE BOTHAM CUP

2. The Urban Canadians – David Lindo, Wayne Grady, Steve Burrows, Danny Catt

83 species

3. PIBO’ Evan Sinclair – 80 species

NON GREEN TEAMS

Tied for first place with 91 species sighted: Waterloo Warblers and Doctor’s Without Birders

A TOTAL OF 159 SPECIES WERE SPOTTED!!! WELL DONE!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL TEAMS AND THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE BOTHAM CUP BIRD RACE!!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED AND TO ALL PARTICIPATING TEAMS!!!

$20 per team, max 4 members

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UPCOMING EVENTS FOR 2022 – *******PLEASE NOTE THAT EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN APRIL HAVE BEEN POSTPONED*****

NATURE ON PELEE ISLAND –THE SECRET IS OUT!

A group of islanders has been working to break the secret ! With the help of a Gosling Foundation grant, ‎a program of nature events was developed. In March we had a Salamander night walk to see the unique to Canada Small Mouth and Blue Spotted complex salamanders returning to their breeding ponds and hear about ongoing research. The Pelee Island Bird Observatory will soon begin monitoring spring migration, visitors welcome. Every month through to December is packed with events, see the full program here: PELEE BUZZ.

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CANCELLED

8TH ANNUAL

ISLAND UNPLUGGED MUSIC FESTIVAL

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

The 8^th Annual Island Unplugged Music Festival on Pelee Island that was originally planned for 2022 has been cancelled. Our festival relies heavily on ticket sales, tourism industry partners, food and beverage sponsors, as well as provincial and federal funding to come to life every year. In these uncertain times, the board unanimously agrees that it would be prudent to cancel the 2022 event at this time.

We have considered the safety of our artists, vendors, volunteers, and festival goers, the best interest of the island, and finally the financial health of our organization while coming to this decision. We hope that by making this tough decision now, we will be able to return in 2023.

As CoVid19 continues to have a profound impact on our artists, we humbly ask that you continue to support artists by buying their music. Watch our facebook page for regular artist links with some of our favourite music to purchase.

We also ask that you support our sponsors where you can. These local businesses have given year over year to support this event. Please do your part to #supportlocal.

We wish all of you peace and good health.

Stay safe, festies!

Love from the island…

Cathy, Kim & Amanda

www.theislandunplugged.org

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11th Annual Chili Cookoff – Saturday, August 13,2023 @ Pelee Island Wine Pavilion

2022 CHILI COOKOFF JUDGE’S RESULTS ARE:

1ST PLACE – Chili on the Rocks – Jerome & Denise Noel

2nd PLACE – Chili Chili Bang Bang – Dave Conflitti & Clark Brockman

3rd PLACE – Willy Nilly Northend Chili – Mike & Laura Gramm, Nicholas Resendes

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

CHILL OUT – Wolfgang Moritz – 5th YEAR IN A ROW!!!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PARTICIPATING TEAMS!!!!

Chili Cookoff – Now in the 10TH year, it is a great community gathering where teams compete for great prizes the Official Chili Cup and the People’s Choice Award. A great fundraiser for the Heritage Centre; it is drawing competitors from outside our country making the Pelee Island Southernmost Chili Cookoff a truly international event. To sign up as a contestant please contact the Heritage Centre at 519-724-2291.

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13th Annual Heritage Weekend – Friday, September 8 & 9, 2023

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Heritage Weekend 2019

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13th Annual Harvest Dinner – Saturday, September 16, 2023

Join us at the Pelee Island Wine Pavilion for a scrumptious end of the season banquet! And don’t forget – Island Pie for dessert! Tickets are limited and are non-refundable. In the event that you cannot attend, please contact the Heritage Centre and every effort will be made to re-sell your ticket. Our last Harvest Dinner was a sold out event so save the date as this will no doubt be a very memorable evening!

Harvest Dinner Poster 2022