MANITOULIN—Most displays have been up since well before Thanksgiving Weekend and the Expositor Office judging crew has travelled Manitoulin Island’s highways and byways to determine which communities are best decked out to reflect the autumn and harvest theme and so qualify as 2014 winners of the paper’s Harvest Glory Days competition.
Some things change, others don’t. New this year is Silver Water where the championship-decking out by homeowners and others wins that community the champion small community honours.
Undefeated in the large community category for 2014 is Manitowaning where, just as in last year’s inaugural event, the town is virtually vibrating with scarecrows, hay bales, corn stalks and lots more.
Silver Water will receive a specially made highway sign attesting to its community spirit as the winner of the 2014 Harvest Glory Days award.
Manitowaning will receive a leaf to affix to the sign won by that proud community last year that will show the world it is a two-year winner.
Last year’s small community winner, Spring Bay, had a good showing again this year and a drive along Highway 542 through the hamlet and along the Perivale Road attests to the fact that this community likes to get all decked out.
M’Chigeeng is very much a spread out community but evidence of this community’s spirit is also very obvious, in particular at public buildings like Immaculate Conception Church, the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and Kenjgewin Teg Educational Institute in addition to homes throughout the community.
Similarly, there is at least one Little Current residence on virtually every street that shows the Harvest Glory Days colours.
Again this year, this friendly inter-community fall theme competition is co-sponsored by Beacon Images of Tehkummah who will be making a new sign for Silver Water and a 2014 leaf to add to Manitowaning’s sign.
The Expositor Office would like to thank Beacon Images for their assistance and all of the people in all of our communities who have decked out their homes, businesses, churches, community signs and more to participate in the event and to spruce up their communities in the process.
Thank you everyone. We’ll do this again in 2015.
Congratulations Silver Water and Manitowaning!
