UPCOMING EVENTS FOR 2020
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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19th Annual Springsong – A Celebration of Birds and Birding – May 8-10, 2020
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.
We are thrilled to announce our guest author for Springsong Banquet 2020 –
LORNA CROZIER
was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. As a child growing up in a prairie community where the local heroes were hockey players and curlers, she “never once thought of being a writer.” After university, Lorna went on to teach high school English and work as a guidance counsellor. During these years, Lorna published her first poem in Grain magazine, a publication that turned her life toward writing. Her first collection Inside in the Sky was published in 1976. Since then, she has authored 16 books of poetry, including The Garden Going on Without Us, Angels of Flesh, Angels of Silence, Inventing the Hawk (winner of the 1992 Governor General’s Award), Everything Arrives at the Light, Apocrypha of Light, What the Living Won’t Let Go, Whetstone, The Blue Hour of the Day: Selected Poems, Small Mechanics, The Book of Marvels: A Compendium of Everyday Things, The Wrong Cat and What the Soul Doesn’t Want. She has also published a memoir, Small Beneath the Sky, and three children’s book, Lots of Kisses, So Many Babies, and More Than Balloons. In 2015, she collaborated with world-renowned photographer Ian McAllister on The Wild in You: Voices from the Forest and the Sea. Whether Lorna is writing about angels, aging, or Louis Armstrong’s trout sandwich, she continues to engage readers and writers across Canada and the world with her grace, wisdom and wit. She is, as Margaret Laurence wrote, “a poet to be grateful for.”
Since the beginning of her writing career, Lorna has been known for her inspired teaching and mentoring of other poets. Now a professor emeritus at the University of Victoria, she conducts poetry workshops across the country, particularly at Wintergreen and Naramata, and has taught at the Banff Centre.
Beyond making poems, Lorna has also edited two non-fiction collections – Desire in Seven Voices and Addiction: Notes from the Belly of the Beast. Together with her husband and fellow poet Patrick Lane, she edited the 1994 landmark collection Breathing Fire: Canada’s New Poets; in 2004, they co-edited Breathing Fire 2, once again introducing over thirty new writers to the Canadian literary world. She also compiled and edited Best Canadian Poets, 2010.
Her poems continue to be widely anthologized, appearing in 15 Canadian Poets and 20th Century Poetry and Poetics. Her work has been translated into several languages. A Spanish edition of her poetry, La Perspectiva del Gato was published in Mexico City. She has read around the world in every continent except Antaractica and she is the official travelling poet of the award-winning magazine Toque and Canoe. An Officer of the Order of Canada, her numerous awards include five honourary doctorates and a Governor-General’s Award for Poetry. In 2005 she gave a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II.
Her reputation as a generous and inspiring artist extends from her passion for the craft of poetry to her teaching and through to her involvement in various social and environmental causes. A frequent guest on CBC radio, she hosted a special edition on poverty on “The Current.”
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 Strutsbury
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
peleeislandhc@gmail.com
PLEASE NOTE ALL TICKETS ARE NON REFUNDABLE!
PLEASE NOTE: THE BANQUET IS NOW SOLD OUT!!
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO THE ABOVE EMAIL ADDRESS TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST.
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 311 species of birds that visit our island. Finish the day at Springsong Banquet where Margaret Atwood will give out the famous rubber chicken awards!
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Empty Nesters (Anne Bell & Jerry DeMarco) 124 species WINNERS OF THE BOTHAM CUP
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NC C-Birds(Jill Crossthwaite, Mhairi McFarlane, Noor Cheema) 102 species
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Guelph Gliders(Stan Kozak, Leanne Johns, John Ambrose) 99 species
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Pelee Island Bird Brigade(Paul Jones, Jodie Van Dieen, Peter Simpson) 121 species
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Harried Coots(Judith King and Vivianne Hebert) 102 species
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No Egrets Emily Sinclair, Ian Sinclair, Paul Hevenor, Josh Hevenor 78 species
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED AND TO ALL PARTICIPATING TEAMS!!!
| $20 per team, max 4 members |
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PLEASE JOIN US IN JUNE FOR OUR “PREVIEW CONCERT” IN SUPPORT OF THE ISLAND UNPLUGGED MUSIC FESTIVAL – LOCATION TBD.
THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED IN 2019 AND LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING ALL AGAIN!!!! PERFORMER AND DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED IN SPRING!
7TH ANNUAL
ISLAND UNPLUGGED MUSIC FESTIVAL
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14 & SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED, VOLUNTEERED, PURCHASED TICKETS, OUR VENDORS,
OUR SUPPLIERS AND OUR SPONSORS
WE COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!!!!!!!
TICKET/CAMPGROUND SITE SALES AVAILABLE NOW
FESTIVAL WEEKEND IS HELD AT EAST PARK CAMPGROUND
A LICENSED EVENT
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10th Annual Chili Cookoff – Sunday, August 16,2020 @ Pelee Island Wine Pavilion
2019 CHILI COOKOFF JUDGE’S RESULTS ARE:
1ST PLACE – Chili Chili Bang Bang – Dave & Clark 2nd PLACE – Spicy Steingart’s – Josh and Shirley 3rd PLACE – Chili Vanilli – Mel & Mugsy
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
CHILL OUT – Wolfgang Moritz – 4th 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.
Official Rules and Regulations2019
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13th Annual Heritage Weekend – Friday, September 11 & 12, 2020
TO BE ANNOUNCED
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12th Annual Harvest Dinner – Saturday, September 19, 2020
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 is part of the new Pelee Fall Flight Weekend – an event from the new PELEE BUZZ!!!
