Gravenhurst Carnival Success, A Nostalgic Treat

THE TRUE HALLMARKS OF TRADITION RESPECTED - THE NOSTALGIA OF SKOKIE, THE MUSKOKA OTTER

IT WAS SNOWY, WITH A BRISK WIND, AND ELECTRIC GUITARS, AND OH YES, IT WAS AN UPTOWN GRAVENHURST EVENT

GRAVENHURST, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CONNECTION TO IT, IS THE TRADITIONAL GATEWAY TO MUSKOKA. IT IS THE FIRST MAJOR TOWN YOU ARRIVE AT, COMING NORTH. IT IS THE LAST MUSKOKA TOWN YOU VISIT, HEADING SOUTH. IF YOU LIVE IN GRAVENHURST, WELL, YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO GO NORTH OR SOUTH, BECAUSE LIFE'S PRETTY GOOD RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

THERE ARE DOZENS OF HISTORICAL RELEVANCES TO THIS FIRST (OR LAST) MUSKOKA TOWN, (DEPENDING ON THE DIRECTION YOU'RE TRAVELING) AND MANY SIGNIFICANT CANADIANS WHO, AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, HAVE CALLED THIS PICTURESQUE LITTLE BURG THEIR HOMETOWN. WE HAD DON HARRON BEFORE HE WAS CHARLIE FARQUHARSON. TONIGHT GRAVENHURST WAS FAMOUS FOR ANOTHER REASON. FOR SEVERAL HOURS, ON ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NIGHTS OF THIS ENTIRE WINTER, THERE WASN'T A COMPLAINT, AN ARGUMENT, A CRITICISM, OR A HIGH STICK (ON THE BALL HOCKEY PAD). THE TOWN THAT HAS HAD A RATHER ROUGH YEAR, WITH QUITE A NUMBER OF NEWS EVENTS, FROM FIRES TO ECONOMIC WOES, NEEDED THIS NIGHT OF UNRESERVED, UNFETTERED FRIVOLITY. IT WAS A HEALING NIGHT, YOU MIGHT SAY, AND WE ALL FOUND GOOD COMPANY WITH AN OLD OTTER, NAMED SKOKIE, AND A RADIO MOOSE…..AND AN EVENT KNOWN AS THE GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL.

THE SNOW WAS ABUNDANT AND THE WIDE HAD A BITE TO IT, AND SOME TOES WERE GETTING NUMB, BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT BY LOOKING AT THIS CROWD OF MUSKOKA MERRY-MAKERS. THIS LAST FRIDAY, OF FEBRUARY, 2012, WAS JUST TOO LIGHT-HEARTED AND FUN TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WHATSOEVER, WITH EVEN THE SLIGHTEST NEGATIVE THOUGHT. TONIGHT IT WAS ABOUT THE FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, KITH AND KIN, FAMILIES….OH SO MANY FAMILIES, THE BABIES IN ARMS, THE TODDLERS ON THE TEAR, SNOWBALLS IN THE AIR. THIS WAS WHAT A HOMETOWN SHOULD BE DOING AT A TIME LIKE THIS. IT WAS LIKE A DALE DURNAN PAINTING COME TO LIFE…….AS IT IS HER WORK, AS A LOCAL ARTIST, THAT WOULD HAVE REPRESENTED THIS SCENE BEST. FOLKS PUTTING DIFFERENCES ASIDE TO ENJOY ENJOY A COMMUNITY FETE. A IT WAS FANTASTIC TO SEE SO MANY BUNDLED-UP "SKOKIE-LOVING" CITIZENS, OUT IN THE WINTER STORM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OPENING CEREMONIES, OF THE ANNUAL WINTER CARNIVAL, IN THE ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE OF THE OPERA HOUSE SQUARE.

ALL THE NEGATIVITY OF THE PAST YEAR JUST BLEW AWAY, INTO THE SPIRALS OF DASHING SNOW, AND IT WAS TIME TO CELEBRATE THE GOOD GRACES WE DO POSSESS…..LIKE THE STALWART VOLUNTEERS WHO STAFF THE CARNIVAL COMMITTEE FOR OUR BENEFIT. TONIGHT, HOPEFULLY, THE CITIZENS EXPRESSED THEIR CONGRATULATIONS HEARTILY ENOUGH, AND SINCERE THANKS TO ALL THOSE VOLUNTEERS, AND MUNICIPAL SUPPORT STAFF, AND COUNCILLORS, FOR KEEPING THIS IMPORTANT TOWN AND SOUTH MUSKOKA TRADITION ALIVE.

THE GROUP "PRESSURE POINT," DESPITE THE BLOWING SNOW, WERE ABLE TO PLAY THEIR "SKOKIE SONG,"AND A FEW MORE, FOR THE ENTHUSIASTIC WINTER-WRAPPED AUDIENCE, TO GET THE CELEBRATIONS UNDERWAY. AT THE TIME OF THE PERFORMANCE, BY THE WAY, THE YOU-TUBE MUSIC VIDEO HAD ENJOYED 1,300 HITS, OVER THREE WEEKS ONLINE. THE SONG, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW, WAS DONATED TO THE CARNIVAL COMMITTEE, AS A THANK-YOU FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO KEEP THE WINTER CARNIVAL PROGRAM GOING. OF COURSE THIS OLD ROADIE WAS PROUD. TWO OF THE BAND-MEMBERS ARE MY SONS, ROBERT AND ANDREW. THE LEAD SINGER WAS DANI O'CONNOR AND GUITARIST, AARON BINDER. BACK UP PERFORMERS WERE SINGER JON O'CONNOR AND ROB ALMOND. THEY GOT A LITTLE SNOWY AND COLD BUT IT JUST DIDN'T MATTER. THE SHOW HAD TO GO ON.

WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE TO FIND MUSKOKA MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, NORM MILLER, AND GRAVENHURST MAYOR PAISLEY DONALDSON, ON STAGE, SINGING ALONG WITH THE "SKOKIE SONG." TALK ABOUT ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE. THIS WAS THE HUMANIST SIDE OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT WE DON'T OFTEN SEE. AND GUESS WHO MADE THE SCARVES THEY WERE PROUDLY WEARING? MY DEAR WIFE SUZANNE, WHO STARTED KNITTING THE SCARVES IN LATE DECEMBER. SHE GETS A FEW WEEKS OFF, BEFORE SHE HAS TO START FILLING NEXT YEAR'S ORDER OF SKOKIE-WEAR. I HAVE TO DON EAR PLUGS BECAUSE THE TAPPING OF KNITTING NEEDLES, SOUNDS TOO MUCH LIKE A DRIPPING TAP. YOU'D THINK THAT AFTER A QUARTER CENTURY OF THE SAME "TICKY TACKY" SOUND, I'D BE USED TO IT. AYE, SHE COMPLAINS ABOUT MY TAPPING AT THE KEYBOARD, SO WE'RE EVEN. SHE LIKES TO KNIT, AND I LIKE TO WRITE STORIES ABOUT HER KNITTING, AND THE GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL, OF COURSE, WHICH IS WHAT THIS COLUMN IS ABOUT……..A HECK OF A BIG THANK YOU TO A HOME TOWN, FOR COMING TOGETHER, TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR A GOOD OLD FASHIONED PARTY…..WHERE EVERYBODY IS INVITED. EVEN THE OLD GROUCHES LIKE ME. I NEVER GET INVITED TO PARTIES. EXCEPT THIS ONE!

IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS, AFTER WE PUT OUT A REQUEST FOR WINTER CARNIVAL MEMORABILIA, (BACK TO THE ORIGINAL THREE TOWN CARNIVAL IN 1971), WE HAVE HAD MANY FOLKS DROPPING OFF SKOKIE ITEMS, AT THE BOYS'S MUSIC SHOP, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, RANGING FROM TOQUES AND ORIGINAL SCARVES, TO BUTTONS AND PINS, WHICH THE BAND WAS WEARING FOR TONIGHT'S PERFORMANCE. WE PLAN TO KEEP COLLECTING THE MATERIAL, AND POSSIBLY NEXT YEAR, THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, WILL ASK US TO SET UP A LITTLE DISPLAY OF CARNIVAL NOSTALGIA AT THE OPERA HOUSE. WE CURRIES ARE EXHIBITIONISTS. GRANDSTANDERS. BUT WE MEAN WELL!

JUST A SHORT NOTE TODAY ABOUT NOSTALGIA COLLECTING, AND FUTURE BLOGS IN PRODUCTION

I'VE BEEN WRITING RECENTLY ABOUT NOSTALGIA COLLECTING, AS THE TRENDY, BABY BOOMER, "FEEL-GOOD" STUFF, OF THIS NEW CENTURY. IT'S NOT LIKE IT NEEDED A NEW CENTURY TO BE POPULAR, BECAUSE I WAS SELLING OODLES OF NOSTALGIA, WHEN WE HAD OUR BRACEBRIDGE SHOP, BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S. I DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE WHAT OUR BOYS HAVE NOW, IN THE WAY OF VINTAGE VINYL, BUT I DID SELL A LOT BACK THEN DESPITE HAVING LESS STOCK, AND FEWER PLACES TO BUY THEM. A LOT OF PEOPLE BACK THEN, AT AROUND THE TIME CD'S STARTED POPPING UP, WERE JUST HAULING LOADED BOXES OF RECORDS TO THE LANDFILL SITE, AND DUMPING THEM INTO THE METAL BINS, WITH NARY A THOUGHT WHAT COLLECTOR'S MIGHT PAY FOR THEIR JUNK. BILLIONS OF RECORDS DIED THIS WAY. MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WERE LOST. BUT, AS SUPPLY AND DEMAND WORKS ITS MAGIC, IN THE COLLECTIBLE TRADE, THE FACT THAT SO MANY RECORDS WERE THROWN OUT, MEANS THE AVAILABILITY HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY DIMINISHED OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES. THERE ARE SHORTAGES OF ARTISTS, WHOSE WORK JUST HAPPENS TO BE HOT AT THE MOMENT. THIS CHANGES FAST, AND SO DOES PROFIT AND LOSS. ALL I KNOW, IS THAT I WAS ONCE, THE CHAP STANDING WITH A BOX OF RECORDS AT THAT SAME DUMPSITE….AND I'VE LIVED WITH REGRET EVER SINCE. IT WAS BEFORE I GOT MARRIED AND I WAS LIVING LIKE A VAGABOND, SO SPACE WAS TIGHT…..IN THAT SUITCASE OF MINE.

I CAN REMEMBER SAYING THIS TO ONE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN, WHO WAS IN THE MIDST OF TOSSING STUFFED BOXES AND OVER-FLOWING BAGS OF VINTAGE VINYL INTO THE GARBAGE. IT WASN'T THAT HE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME, WHEN I SAID THEY COULD BE WORTH A LOT OF MONEY ONE DAY. HE JUST LOOKED AT ME, BACK AT HIS TRUNK, AND SAID, "SON, I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG." SO HE HANDED ME THE BAG HE HAD IN HIS HAND, AND OFFERED THE REST OF THEM TO ME. I KNEW WHAT HE MEANT, AND HE WAS RIGHT. IT HAS TAKEN QUITE A FEW YEARS TO REACH THIS MINOR PINNACLE…….OF MORE TO COME. I GAVE THOSE RECORDS, GENEROUSLY OFFERED TO ME, TO ANDREW AND ROBERT, WHO PLAYED THEM OVER AND OVER AND OVER, THROUGHOUT THEIR TEENAGE YEARS.

THEIR MOTHER GAVE THEM ALL THE 45'S SHE USED TO GET, FROM THE JUKE BOX, THAT WAS A MAINSTAY IN THE FAMILY MARINA AND SNACK BAR, IN WINDERMERE, BACK IN THE LATE 1960'S AND EARLY 70'S. WHEN THE GENTLEMAN, A MR. ARNEY, WOULD COME INTO THE SKIPPER TO CHANGE THE RECORDS OVER, FOR THE NEW HITS OF THE MONTH, HE WOULD GIVE SUZANNE THE ONES THAT WERE OUT-DATED. SHE BUILT-UP HUNDREDS OF RECORDS THIS WAY, AND THEY ALL BECAME THE BOYS' COLLECTION. NOSTALGIA WAS INTRODUCED TO THEM BEFORE THEY HAD A CLUE WHAT THAT MEANT. THEY CAME TO UNDERSTAND NOSTALGIA THROUGH MUSIC. I THINK IT WAS THE BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE THEY COULD HAVE ASKED FOR. THEN, OF COURSE, CAME THE POISON. MAYBE THAT WORD IS TOO HARSH. BUT IT WAS THE RIGHT TURN AT THE CROSSROADS, BECAUSE THEY HAD ENTERED INTO FREE MARKET ENTERPRISE. THE RECORDS THEY LOVED, WERE ALSO ITEMS WORTH CONSIDERABLE MONEY. THEY HAD TO OWN RECORD PRICE GUIDES, AND THEN THE BOOKS ON THE BANDS, THEY HAD BEEN LISTENING TO, FOR SO VERY LONG. NOSTALGIA OFFERED THE FULL CIRCLE OF LEARNING FOR TWO LADS WHO HAD NEVER BEEN THRILLED ABOUT GOING TO SCHOOL. THEY WENT FOR THE SOCIAL INTERACTION, AND THE CHANCE TO PLAY IN THE SCHOOL BAND. THE CLASSROOM, OF PREFERENCE, WAS THE ANTIQUE ROAD TRIP, REPEATED MORE THAN A THOUSAND TIMES, ALL OVER GOD'S HALF ACRE. AND BY GOLLY, IT'S IMPACTED IN A POSITIVE AND SUBSTANTIAL WAY. IT'S THE REASON THEY PICKED UP GUITARS. TO PLAY ALONG WITH THEIR VINTAGE VINYL. COLLECTING IS A CRAZY, CRAZY ACTIVITY, NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED. BUT IT HAS A MAGIC TO IT, THAT IS HARD TO DEFINE….BUT EASY TO ENJOY. KIND OF THE PETER FONDA, DENNIS HOPPER "EASY RIDER" THING. AN OPEN ROAD AND MONEY TO BLOW…….ON NOSTALGIA.

WHEN I WAS WATCHING OUR LADS THIS EVENING, PERFORMING IN THE PERFECT POSTCARD SCENE, OF BEDAZZLING WINTER SNOW, SCARF-WRAPPED SPECTATORS, WITH THE OPERA HOUSE ARCHITECTURE AS BACKGROUND, IT WAS PRETTY HARD NOT TO THINK BACK TO THE WAY IT ALL BEGAN……WITH THE INNOCENT IMMERSION IN NOSTALGIA, MUSIC, AND A RESPECT FOR HISTORY. IT WAS ALL TOGETHER IN THE WORDS OF THE SONG…..THE TRIBUTE TO "SKOKIE," THE MASCOT "OTTER," FIRST INTRODUCED IN JANUARY 1971, THE FIRST YEAR OF THE THREE-TOWN MUSKOKA WINTER CARNIVAL. AS A TRIBUTE TO THOSE EARLY YEARS, AND THANKS TO THEIR FRIEND FRED SCHULZ, THEY WERE ABLE TO DON SOME OF THE ORIGINAL CARNIVAL BUTTONS, SHOWING THEIR RESPECT FOR ALL THE WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEES OF THE PAST. SUZANNE BEGAN KNITTING TRADEMARK ORANGE "SKOKIE" SCARVES IN LATE DECEMBER, FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE BAND. SHE WAS EXCITED TO HAVE KNITTED ENOUGH, BY LATE LAST EVENING, TO BE ABLE TO GIVE FOUR MORE SCARVES TO THE VISITING DIGNITARIES, AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS, ATTENDING THE OPENING CEREMONIES. SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD BRING A WARM NOSTALGIA BACK TO THIS WINTER EVENT. SEE WHAT NOSTALGIA CAN DO TO YOU. SHE'S GOT SKOKIE SCARF ORDERS ALREADY, FOR THE 2013 CARNIVAL WEEKEND. THAT'S NOT QUITE HOW SHE INTENDED IT TO BE, WHEN SHE THOUGHT IT WORTHWHILE TO RE-MAKE THE TRADITIONAL SCARVES. OF THE FIRST WINTER CARNIVAL YEARS. ALL I CAN SAY, IS THAT SHE LOVES TO KNIT. WHAT AN INTERESTING YEAR IT WILL BE……VERY, VERY ORANGE.

THIS OLD GRAVENHURST GROUCH FELT LIKE A KID TONIGHT. A HAPPY KID. SEEING AS VERY FEW THINGS, THESE DAYS, MAKE ME FEEL YOUTHFUL, HECK, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A LOT MORE OF THESE ETERNAL-YOUTH WINTER FETES. THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME. CAN I COME NEXT YEAR?