Family Day & MidWinter Milling - theHumm February 2019

By Miss Mills

February 18 is Family Day in Ontario, and there are many affordable (and free!) activities to enjoy close to home. In Almonte, Pakenham and area, you can enjoy free public skating, explore local history, have fun outdoors, eat pancakes or catch a screening of a free family-friendly movie. Mississippi Mills offers something for everyone in your family! Here’s the scoop:

The Mississippi Mills Recreation and Culture department is hosting a movie screening at the Almonte Old Town Hall (14 Bridge Street in Almonte) at 11am. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be available for sale.

There will be free public skating at both the Almonte arena (182 Bridge Street, from 1–3pm) and the Pakenham arena (112 MacFarland Street, from 3–5pm). Thanks to Tim Hortons for sponsoring these great skates!

Visit the Mill of Kintail (2854 Concession 8) and enjoy cross-country skiing, hiking or snowshoeing along their beautiful trails (bring your own equipment). The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority is celebrating the day by waiving the admission/vehicle fee.

Learn about local history at the North Lanark Regional Museum (647 River Road in Appleton). Museum hours are 10am to 4pm, and admission is by donation. The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (3 Rosamond St. E. in Almonte) is offering free admission that day, so come learn about the “Fabric of a Small Town” (their permanent exhibit of industrial textile machines) and see works by artists Anne Kelly and Heather Dubreuil in the STITCHED: A Homecoming exhibit that runs from January 19 to March 23.

Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush is offering a fun-filled Family Day. They are open from 8am to 3pm, and will have special activities (like horse-drawn sleigh rides!) between 10am and 2pm. Bring your own equipment and enjoy snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and sliding. Explore historical displays and enjoy live music. Bring your appetite for all things maple, including pancakes, taffy and cotton candy.

Mighty Mount Pakenham is open from 9am to 5pm for skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing (rentals are available), and from 11am to 5pm for snow tubing. First-timer lesson packages and private lessons are also available by advance reservation. Find out more at mountpakenham.com .

So come on out and enjoy some quality family time close to home this Family Day. For more information, contact the Mississippi Mills Recreation and Culture Department at 256–1077, or Tiffany MacLaren, Community Economic & Cultural Coordinator, at tmaclaren@mississippimills.ca .

Mid-Winter Milling

After milling about Mississippi Mills on Family Day, you’ll definitely want to return for Almonte’s popular Mid-Winter Milling event. On Saturday, February 23 from 10am to 5pm, you can wander up and down Mill Street (and adjacent Bridge Street), visiting all of the charming and funky shops and eateries, and partaking in some spiritual and self-awareness sessions with area practitioners. You can indulge in Reiki or Tasseography (Turkish coffee reading, in this case), visit with an astrologer or an intuitive empath, have your Tarot or Angel cards read, and much more.

All sessions must be booked that day, so it’s a good idea to plan to arrive right around 10am for the best selection. And if you have some time in between sessions, shopping and dining, you can express your creative side too! Drop in and make a beautiful bowl at the Almonte Potters Guild ($20, 95 Bridge St.), and it will be glazed and fired for you to pick up at a later date. “Make and take” a mala bracelet at Kentfield Kids ($25, 65 Mill St.). Visit Almonte Antiques & Collectibles for their special Cabin Fever sale, or take a break and drop in for coffee, cake and a storewide sale as part of That’s The Spirit’s 9th Anniversary Celebration (42 Mill Street).

Find details on the back page of this issue, and for more information about participating shops and practitioners, please visit midwintermilling.com or find them on Facebook.

And the Award Goes to… Don Wiles! - theHumm February 2019

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

theHumm is celebrating this awards season by commending Almonte’s beloved and esteemed Don Wiles for his interest in his community and the contributions he continues to make that enrich its cultural and intellectual life.

Journalists should never miss a chance to invite a nonagenarian to share their most treasured piece of advice. Soon to be 94, Dr. Wiles was momentarily surprised at my invitation, and then counseled, “Be interested.” He is a persuasive example of the wis......

Family Day & MidWinter Milling - theHumm February 2019