NEW YEARS IN GRAVENHURST -

WINTER CARNIVAL NEXT FOR GRAVENHURST - CAN OLD POP, THE IDEAS MAN, CONVINCE MUSICIAN FAMILY, AND TALENTED SINGER….. TO GO SKOKIE!!!

FOR ALL MY YEARS ON THE REPORTING BRIGADE OF THE MUSKOKA PRESS, IT WAS THE MUSKOKA WINTER CARNIVAL THAT MADE A TOUGH CANADIAN WINTER A LOT MORE FUN. COLD. BLOODY COLD, BUT AN ENJOYABLE ALTERNATIVE FROM SLOW NEWS AND SHOVELLING SNOW.

I TOOK SO MANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF SKOKIE, WE WERE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS. WELL, IT'S TRUE, WE DID USE SOME UNFLATTERING NAMES…..LIKE WINTER WEASLE AND SUCH. BUT I'LL TELL YOU, THAT BACK IN THE EARLY YEARS, OF THE 1970'S, THE CARNIVAL WENT ON FOR A FULL WEEK, WITH LOTS OF VENUES AROUND MUSKOKA. I COVERED THE BRACEBRIDGE COMPONENT. IT WAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK FOR THE ORGANIZERS BUT FOLKS SEEMED TO APPRECIATE THE EFFORT EXPENDED. THE WORSE THE WEATHER WAS, THE MORE PARTICIPATION WENT UP. IT WAS A GOOD MID-WINTER BREAK, ESPECIALLY FOR FAMILIES. THE FACT THAT THE CARNIVAL BECAME TOO EXPENSIVE, AND LABOUR INTENSIVE WAS OBVIOUS. INSURANCE FOR THE EVENTS WAS A BIG CONCERN, AND I WAS COVERING AN EVENT, INDOORS, IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHEN ONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED, DURING A WEIGHT-LIFTING COMPETITION. THE LOCK WASN'T SECURELY FASTENED, FOR ONE SIDE OF THE WEIGHTS, IN THE BENCH-PRESS EVENT. WHEN IT WOBBLED, AND THE COMPETITOR LET ONE END DOWN, THE WEIGHTS FELL OFF ONTO THE SPOTTER'S TOES, AND THEN THE BAR CAME UP WITH LIGHTNING SPEED, CATCHING THE BLOKE UNDER THE CHIN. IT HURT. IT SOUNDED LIKE IT HURT. IT'S THE KIND OF OCCURRENCE THAT MAKES TOWNS CRINGE, AND INSURANCE COMPANIES SHARPEN THEIR PENCILS. BUT THE WINTER CARNIVALS THAT ARE MOST SUCCESSFUL, ARE THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN KEPT SMALL AND MANAGEABLE, AND LOOK AFTER THEIR VOLUNTEERS WELL. A HAPPY GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS IS THE GREAT PIVOT TO EVERYTHING THESE DAYS. GRAVENHURST HAS RE-CREATED A GOOD, SMALL, MANAGEABLE EVENT, AND WE LIKE THE POTENTIAL.

I STARTED LAST YEAR, ASKING ANDREW AND ROBERT ABOUT WRITING A SONG FOR THE GRAVENHURST EDITION OF THE REJUVENATED MUSKOKA WINTER CARNIVAL…..IN THE TRADITION OF FINE MUSICIANS LIKE BRAD AND BONNIE VEITCH, WHO WROTE ONE BACK IN THE 1970'S, AND FAMED (STILL CREATING) ORCHESTRA LEADER, COMPOSER, HOWARD CABLE, WHO ONCE LIVED IN MUSKOKA…..AND THOUGHT THE WINTER CARNIVAL, A GOOD SUBJECT FOR A NEAT AND MEMORABLE 45. SO I THOUGHT THAT WITH THEIR SMALL GROUP, "PRESSURE POINT," WITH TALENTED SINGER DANI O'CONNOR, THEY COULD COME UP WITH A MORE UP TO DATE VERSION OF THE SKOKIE ANTHEM, RESPECTING THE NEWLY REFURBISHED EVENT…..AND ITS FUTURE IN THE REGION. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN COMMISSIONED TO DO IT, BUT FEEL IT IS A SUBJECT THAT INTERESTS THEM. DANI O'CONNOR, AND HER GROUP, HAVE BEEN GETTING A HUGE AMOUNT OF AIR TIME ON MOOSE FM, THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON, FOR HER COMPOSITION OF "SOCKS," ABOUT, YOU GUESSED IT, GETTING SOCKS FOR CHRISTMAS. NOW A HALIBURTON "CANOE FM," IS ALSO BEGINNING TO PLAY SOME "PRESSURE POINT" SONGS…..AND WELL……THIS ARMCHAIR MOTIVATOR BELIEVES IT'S TIME TO GIVE THE WINTER WEASLE…..I MEAN SKOKIE, SOME BACKGROUND MUSIC. SOMETHING LIGHT AND LIVELY. DEFINITELY NOT A HUNTING-SKOKIE KIND OF SONG….BUT ONE THAT IS MEMORABLE, AND WILL BRING THAT OLD GNARLY OTTER BACK, YEAR AFTER YEAR. A SONG THE KIDS WILL HUM, AND THE ADULTS WILL FIND APPROPRIATE MOTIVATION FOR BRAVING WIND, SLEET, FREEZING RAIN, SNOW UP TO THE CHIN…..AND ALL THAT OTHER WINTER STUFF, JUST TO PARTICIPATE IN A WINTER FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US……..PANCAKE EATING, LOG SAWING, BED RACING…..YOU NAME IT!

WILL I BE ABLE TO CONVINCE THEM……I'M JUST THE ROADIE AFTER ALL. MAYBE YOU CAN ENCOURAGE THEM. HAVE A CHAT……SHOW THEM AN ARRAY OF TASTEFUL SKOKIE PICTURES, IN PLAYFUL SITUATIONS…..TO INSPIRE THEM. THIS WILL TAKE MORE LOBBYING THAN JUST ONE BLOGGER IN CYBERSPACE.

ROBERT, THIS MORNING, READ OVER MY SHOULDER AS I WAS MAKING THESE NOTES, AND ACTUALLY NODDED HIS HEAD. LAST YEAR, AT THIS TIME, THEY SHOOK THEIR HEADS, LAUGHED IN MY FACE, AND SAID "DAD, LEAVE THE MUSIC BUSINESS TO US." NOT BEING ONE TO BE THWARTED, OR DISCOURAGED BY STALEMATES, I'VE TAKEN UP THE CAUSE ONCE AGAIN…….IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR GRAVENHURST, GOOD FOR THE WINTER CARNIVAL FOLKS, AND IT WOULD DELIGHT GOOD OLD SKOKIE.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHO IS IN THAT SKOKIE SUIT? I HAVE. SOME NOTED NOTABLES TAKE TURNS. A SORT OF CELEBRITY SKOKIE. I'LL REVEAL MORE LATER ON.