Dear Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Manitoulin West Recorder and many Manitoulin Islanders and businesses that supported the International Lace Camp during their 25th anniversary week, held in July. Every July, over 40 lace-makers arrive in Gore Bay (some with their families) and spend the week making lace, using techniques that are hundreds of years old and patterns that come from many different countries. We love using bobbins, threads and pillows in the craft of creating lace and enjoy teaching each other and visitors how to do it.
Making lace is a great hobby for those days when outdoor activities are limited by bad weather. We thank all the Islanders who came to our reception during Lace Camp.
We enjoyed the music of Paul Best and Ian Kirk and raised $500 for the Angel Bus to honour Ina Fedsin, one of the founding members. We are grateful to the United and Anglican churches in town for their support, but (there’s always a but), I feel that this event is still ‘flying under the radar’ of most West End Islanders.
There are sometimes comments made that Islanders don’t have easy access to a wide variety of museum-quality exhibits. The museums we do have do an excellent job of mounting cultural exhibitions during the year and Lace Camp adds to that with a superior quality of lace from around the world and lace makers actually making lace every day. I would encourage everyone to mark their calendars for the 2019 lace week: July 8 to 12.
Lauren MacDonald
Elizabeth Bay
