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PELEEBUZZ2021_WEB

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20th Annual Springsong – A Celebration of Birds and Birding  –  May 8, Virtually!!

  THE SPRINGSONG/PIBO 2021 ONLINE GALA          SpringSong2021

A Joint fundraising Gala 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.

We are thrilled to announce our guest author for Springsong Banquet 2021 – Louise Penny   

CELEBRITY BIRDER  – DAVID LINDO
“The Urban Birder” naturalist, photographer, birding advocate, and author of How To Be an Urban Birder.

PLUS
Musical Entertainment by

Molly Johnson

Karen Kain

Joshua Hopkins

Trevor Strong of The Arrogant Worms

and the inimitable Rubber Chicken Choir

 

Buy Tickets

Watch for free—or support the Pelee Island Heritage Centre and the Pelee Island Bird Observatory by purchasing a ticket.

Ticket price of $85 includes—

  • Chance to win dozens of fabulous door prizes
  • Free download of The Birdwatchers Banquet: Recipes from Birders and Worders, featuring dishes from the 2020 and 2021 Springsong Gala—and more! (value $15)
  • The warm and fuzzy feeling you get by donating to two great organizations!

Auction

Auction coming soon!

More than 70 items, $100 to $50,000 including:

  • Art by Robert Bateman, Wallace Edwards, and other artists
  • Birding tours on Pelee Island and across Canada
  • Dinner and Conversations with Margaret Atwood
  • Tour of the mighty St. Lawrence with Adventure Canada
  • A week’s stay at a Medieval castle in the Tuscan Hills

Self-Catered Dinner

Menu coming soon!

Recipes for a luscious self-catered meal, including—

  • Drinks Tray
  • Appetizers
  • Bread Basket with Soups and Salads
  • Mains for every taste
  • Dessert!
  • Plus our popular BirdFeed Contest!

Dear Friends & Supporters:

As you may imagine, in this continuing time of COVID19, we at both the Pelee Island Heritage Centre and PIBO have had to cancel our spring fundraising dinners again. In the case of the Heritage Centre, it’s Springsong, and in the case of PIBO, the dinner in Windsor, traditionally held the Wednesday before Springsong. Of course our friends from the USA are still unable to come, as is anyone planning to join us from far away. And we still cannot have large gatherings.So again….here we are…virtually. Last year’s online gala was a great success and much fun was had by all.

This year’s 20th Anniversary Springsong gala will take place on Saturday, May 8th, from 7:00pm to 8.30pm EST, with platform details to be announced.

Paul Vasey will be our Host, as usual, with assists from Kim Gardner and Ron Tiessen from Pelee Island. Margaret Atwood will do her usual introductions, from her kitchen in Toronto (or some other part of the house, depending on bandwidth). She will also conduct The Rubber Chicken Choir, as usual, singing their two hit songs, Old MacDonald Had a Farm and Bye Bye Blackbird. The rubber chickens do the choruses. If you have your own rubber chicken, bring it and sing along! And post a video of yourself on your own Facebook page, to share the joy.

The Green Bird Race and the Conventional Bird Race will take place as usual from Friday, May 7th at 12:00 noon to Saturday May 8th at noon, though not necessarily on Pelee Island – at whatever time zone you are in. Birders from afar will be encouraged to join in. It will be the honour system: go birding in a safe space, and count how many species you can find in the 24 hour period. We’ll have a spot where your results may be posted online, after noon on May 8. Though we can’t bird together physically, at least we will be doing so in spirit.

There will be door prizes, silly and not, for ticket numbers drawn as usual by Kim. There will be a silent auction, available for viewing and bidding both before the event and for a set time afterwards. Site and times of the silent auction will be posted on the PIBO website.

Our honorary writer this year is award-winning author Louise Penny, coming to us from Montreal. Our honorary birder is David Lindo, also known as The Urban Birder. Books will be sold online by Biblioasis, signed by the authors via specially-designed bookplate. There will be an online audience question element, following the gala.

As for the dinner itself, we are creating a multiple-choice menu, with many options: chicken, fish, vegetarian and vegan, with starters, mains, and deserts in each. The recipes will be from our staff, friends, volunteers, and past authors, and the recipes and photos of each item will be posted online a week in advance, so you can cook along at home and eat with us at our virtual table. Merilyn Simonds is coordinating that part of the event.

   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

peleeislandhc@gmail.com

THANK YOU TO ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR ONLINE GALA!! YOUR GENEROSITY WILL HELP FUND THE HERITAGE CENTRE.

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!

2019 RESULTS
GREEN TEAMS
  1. Empty Nesters (Anne Bell & Jerry DeMarco)    124 species    WINNERS OF THE BOTHAM CUP
            – only team to see the Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Peregrine Falcon, Least Sandpiper,    and Blue winged Warbler
  1. NC C-Birds(Jill Crossthwaite, Mhairi McFarlane, Noor Cheema)  102 species
            – highlights – American Kestrel, Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler
  1. Guelph Gliders(Stan Kozak, Leanne Johns, John Ambrose)  99 species
           – only team with Sharp-shinned Hawk, Marsh Wren, Eastern Meadowlark
NON GREEN TEAMS
  1. Pelee Island Bird Brigade(Paul Jones, Jodie Van Dieen, Peter Simpson)  121 species
            – spotted Sora, Caspien Tern, Canvasback, Northern Mockingbird
  1. Harried Coots(Judith King and Vivianne Hebert)        102 species
            – only team to record a Common Merganzer, Greater Yellowlegs, Winter Wren, Tufted Titmouse
  1. No Egrets Emily Sinclair, Ian Sinclair, Paul Hevenor, Josh Hevenor    78 species
A TOTAL OF 156 SPECIES WERE SPOTTED!!! WELL DONE!
Overall: the teams recorded 25 species of Warblers, 6 species of vireo, and 10 species of sparrows.
Highlights of the race were White-winged Dove, Canvasback, Cattle Egret, and Yellow-throated warbler.
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 2021  – *******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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GUITAR1

CANCELLED

7TH ANNUAL

ISLAND UNPLUGGED MUSIC FESTIVAL

 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14 & SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: 

The 7th Annual Island Unplugged Music Festival on Pelee Island that was originally planned for Aug 14 + 15, 2020 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 2020 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 2021.

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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10th Annual Chili Cookoff  –  Sunday, August 16,2020 @ Pelee Island Wine Pavilion

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 10TH ANNUAL CHILI COOKOFF IS CANCELLED THIS SEASON. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING EVENT AND HOPE TO SEE YOU BACK NEXT YEAR!!

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.

Chili Registration Form2019

Official Rules and Regulations2019

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13th Annual Heritage Weekend  – Friday, September 11 & 12, 2020

TO BE ANNOUNCED

Heritage Weekend 2019

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12th Annual Harvest Dinner –  Saturday, September 19, 2020

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 12TH ANNUAL HARVEST DINNER WILL BE CANCELLED THIS YEAR. OUR FUNDRAISING EVENTS ARE CRUCIAL IN HELPING FUND THE HERITAGE CENTRE. PLEASE JOIN US NEXT YEAR FOR THIS WONDERFUL END OF THE SEASON DINNER!!

THANK YOU!!

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!!!