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• Editorials • Homecoming • Obituaries • Sports
The
THIS WEEK
Citizen
Huron County’s most trusted independent news source
Friday, August 5, 2022
$1.50 GST included
Volume 38 No. 31
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0
Brussels 150th Homecoming unites community By Denny Scott The Citizen
Let’s light it up Over the weekend, the Brussels 150th Homecoming celebration took over the village, attracting people from all over Huron County and beyond, with some making their first trip back to the village in decades for the celebration. Its jam-packed five-day schedule was enjoyed by all, young and old, earning rave reviews
from those involved in the organization of the event and those who attended. One of the most well-attended spectator events was Sunday morning’s soap box derby, which saw young people race one another with bragging rights at stake. For four pages of pictures from the event, see page 9. (John Stephenson photo)
The Village of Brussels marked its 150th anniversary homecoming over the weekend with five days of special events starting Thursday night and stretching through to Monday’s Civic Holiday. The event is being called a success both by organizers and the community, and that’s thanks to significant effort being put forward by organizers and volunteers, according to Homecoming Committee Co-Chair Dan Fritz. Fritz, who was also an advisor for the bar sub-committee, said that everything went well throughout the weekend, and that there were no major concerns. “Everything I’ve heard on the weekend has been really positive,” he said. “People are saying there was something for everyone, and [people were] especially happy about the events for the kids and the seniors. People really enjoyed themselves from what I’m hearing.” There were minor challenges to overcome, he said, but everything seemed to go according to plan. “The group we had worked well, and with the volunteers we had, most things went as expected,” he said. Because of the volunteers, Fritz said the event went smoothly and was actually less stressful than it could have been. “It was really stressful for twoand-a-half years with COVID-19, but the last two months of planning ended up being more stressful than the weekend itself,” he said. “I think things went really well.” Fritz went on to say the homecoming wouldn’t have been what it was without the volunteer Continued on page 2
Festival cancels ‘The Waltz’ run due to lost time By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Blyth Festival has cancelled the entire run of its third show, Marie Beath Badian’s The Waltz, which was set to open next weekend at the Festival’s Harvest Stage. “Caught in Ontario’s seventh wave, with COVID-19 spreading in the company, the Blyth Festival was twice forced to delay the beginning of rehearsals, and after sober reflection, we are now at the point where there is no longer a conceivable way to thoroughly, or appropriately, rehearse the show and so we have cancelled the show outright,” reads a press release from the Festival issued on Tuesday morning. The release states that an emergency meeting of the Festival’s
board of directors was called, at which the decision was made. It goes on to state that the board was faced with a decision between taking a financial loss and compromising the Festival’s artistic integrity and the board made the decision to not compromise the Festival’s artistic integrity. In an interview with The Citizen, Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt said the decision was terribly difficult and heartwrenching, but that it was the right thing to do. He said he and playwright Marie Beath Badian have been working together at the Festival on and off for more than 20 years now. The community’s relationship with Badian is an important, longstanding one, he said, adding that the Festival audience is very invested in Badian’s work, which is
why it was so important to give the play all the support it needed, something the Festival was unable to do after losing that rehearsal time. Garratt said the group was only together for a day or two during a two-week period due to COVID-19 infections and it started to become clear to those involved that time was running out on the production. He said there was a chance that the team could have pushed through,
but that would involve making no changes to the play and having just a few days of rehearsal and that’s only if nothing else were to go wrong. Soon enough, he said, they knew they had to cancel the show. Garratt said he hopes the Festival can produce the play at a later date, but that the time was just not right at the time, for a variety of reasons. He said the Festival had upgraded its rehearsal hall equipment in an effort to combat the spread of
COVID-19, including two new U.V. machines, proper ventilation, maskwearing and bi-weekly testing. Still, the virus was able to derail the production, Garratt said. The release said that box office staff are currently working on getting in touch with those who had purchased tickets to the show. The production of John Ware Reimagined is set to move ahead with preview performances slated to begin on Sept. 1.
Reeve Trevor Seip and newcomer Ranko Markeljevic of Belgrave in search of the township’s top political position. The nomination period opened in May and will close on Friday, Aug. 19 ahead of the Oct. 24 election.
Also in North Huron, Incumbent East Wawanosh Councillors Anita van Hittersum and Chris Palmer have both filed. Newcomer Kelly Tiffin of Belgrave has also filed paperwork in hopes of becoming Continued on page 2
Three-way reeve race in NH By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen
There will now be a three-way race for the title of North Huron Reeve, with incumbent Bernie Bailey joining current Deputy-