MANITOULIN – Thanksgiving Weekend is upon us and so is the time to announce the winners of the best decorated Manitoulin Island communities in The Expositor’s annual Harvest Glory Days friendly inter-community competition.
This year there is a change. Sort of.
Since the inception of this fall event six years ago, Manitowaning has owned the “Large Community” decorating honours as there has been tremendous community buy-in there.
This year, once again, Manitowaning will have another leaf to add to its community spirit sign (that the prize The Expositor Office gives to winning communities.)
This year, however, the honour will be shared with Gore Bay.
The “Gateway to Western Manitoulin” also did an excellent job this year, in particular the downtown where business people (and others) outdid one another to create large displays of scarecrow art, in every imaginable pose.
Overall community buy-in in Gore Bay also increased this year as a drive around the residential area of the town will demonstrate. So Manitowaning and Gore Bay are, this year, deemed to be tied for first place so a new sign has been commissioned and will be delivered to Gore Bay to install.
Congratulations to Manitowaning for excellent cross-town decorating and to Gore Bay for meeting the challenge.
In the medium-size community category, Sheguiandah has, for the second year, outdone itself with displays at every civic address post, the enormous one at the fish viewing platform on Bass Creek, Linda Burnett’s home at the Highway 6 Townline Road intersection, the Howland Seniors’ Hall, the churches, the museum and at Batman’s Mill and numerous others.
Congratulations Sheguiandah. The Expositor Office has ordered a 2019 “winners” leaf for your roadside Harvest Glory Days sign.
In the small communities category, Silver Water has once again convinced virtually everyone in the hamlet to decorate seasonally in the Harvest Glory Days theme for the competition and so a 2019 leaf will be coming to this community for their sign. (They are also multi-time winners.)
Thank you to everyone who decorated in every community and at many farm gates as well.
In the medium-sized community category, two-time winner Providence Bay must be acknowledged as the runner up to Sheguiandah.
For a list of the addresses, by community, of people who decorated and registered with the paper, please see Page 22. There is a map to help find these places on the same page along with some representative photos.
But there are so many more decorated homes and businesses all around Manitoulin so please enjoy them.
Happy Thanksgiving.
