MINDEMOYA – The students at Central Manitoulin Public School (CMPS) were very disappointed when they could not participate in the school’s fall fair parade this year due to rain. For over 100 years, the fair has delighted residents, teachers and students and to not have a parade was very disappointing.
The students were excited, however, when they learned that there would be a parade after all, complete with dancing and a fall feast afterwards. And what a parade it was!
There were students on decorated bikes, horses for the first time in a long while and students carrying banners. The parade was led, as always by a police officer and a volunteer firefighter. Community Services Officer (CSO) Constable Marie Ford started things off with Perry Keller manning the large fire engine, right behind the OPP cruiser.
The parade left the school, turned on to King Street and then to Forest Street that led the students and teachers back to the CMPS gazebo area for square dancing. Teacher Ann-Marie Scott teaches music and dance and she first led the teachers in line dancing. And what better band for boot scootin’ dancing than The Islanders, those venerable gentlemen who have entertained Islanders all over the Manitoulin for many years.
Then it was time to get everyone square dancing. The music reminded one of the famous YouTube square dance video Hillbilly Hare with Bugs Bunny singing “Trout, trout, pretty little trout,” and it got the kids doing do-si-does and the two-step.
Also part of the event was a barbecue with sausages and hot dogs from the Burt Farm and stone soup using vegetables such as corn, carrots and potatoes that the children and teachers brought in. Stone soup is based on a European folk tale. The earliest version was recorded in 1720 in France and other versions were found in England and the United States. The soup is made by a poor person starting with a stone in the pot and then all manner of vegetables and beef are added by others. It is all about sharing. There are several versions of this tale, but the meaning is the same. By sharing the ingredients, the soup will be very good. This was to celebrate World Food Day (WFD) and was an eating healthy initiative to reduce climate change by eating local.
WFD is a call for action dedicated to tackling global hunger across the world. It is marked every year on October 16th to recognize the founding of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nation in 1945. The event this year is a call for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone. It also calls on everyone to start thinking about what they eat. One hundred and fifty countries participate.
This CMPS event was outstanding and teachers Ellen Ferguson and Cori Davey and the students are to be commended for their hard work and enthusiasm.
