by Robin Burridge
MANITOULIN—The second annual Taste of Manitoulin (TOM) will once again highlight the Island’s local culinary talents and rich cultural and historical background next Friday, June 8 through June 17.
The festival will highlight a different area/community each day, but will be celebrated Island-wide throughout the week.
TOM will kick off with the Gore Bay farmers’ market on the waterfront from 9 am to 1 pm. Island Fish and Chips in South Baymouth will be offering a dinner special on their famous fish and chips dinner. Timberlane Rustic Lodges will once again be hosting its annual pig roast from 4 to 7 pm and the Burns Wharf Theatre will be performing The Gondoliers from 7:30 to 9:30 pm in Manitowaning.
Saturday, June 9 will focus on Little Current, Andeck Omni Kaning and Sheguiandah. The day will begin with the Northeast Town farmers’ market in downtown Little Current starting at 9 am.
Audeck Omni Kaning will be holding a Native art display and traditional foods fair at the community centre from 1 pm until 4 pm, followed by another 7:30 pm performance of The Gondoliers back in Manitowaning at The Burns Wharf Theatre.
Also on Saturday, there will be an artisan display and all-day café at the Gore Bay arena from 10 am until 4 pm and again on Sunday from 12 to 4 pm.
The featured community on Sunday, June 10 will be Wikwemikong. In addition to the restaurants and cultural attractions open in Wikwemikong, other Island businesses will also be offering up entertainment and workshops.
The Big Lake Schoolhouse on Highway 542 will be offering a ‘Big Lake Tasty Big Breakfast’ from 8 am until 2 pm on Sunday.
There will be a reading of the book ‘Manitoulin Morsels’ at the Gore Bay Museum, as well as the opening of a photography exhibit featuring the work of Jon Butler and Douglas Biechan from 1 pm to 4 pm.
The Gondoliers will also be performed in Manitowaning at 1:30 pm.
Concluding the day at 2 pm will be a guided tour and tasting of wild edibles at Gordon’s Park.
Manitowaning, South Baymouth and Tehkummah will be the highlighted TOM communities on Monday, June 11.
Starting at 9 am, the Wigwam Gift Shoppe and Motel in South Baymouth will open its doors to offer a wide array of features for TOM goers.
Also in South Baymouth, the Little Schoolhouse and Museum will be featuring a community cookbook display, offering beverages and snacks, a guided nature trail walk, a heritage display of Tehkummah Township and a floral arrangement from Charlene Hyytiainen from 2-3 pm.
The Buckhorn Motel will be holding an open house from 10 am until 4 pm, featuring Native American handmade crafts.
The Tehkummah Hall market will be open from 10 am to 4 pm and will also host a luncheon from 11 am until 2 pm.
Georgie’s Boutique in South Baymouth will be holding its grand opening from 10 am to 4 pm at the Huron Motor Lodge Chalet Gift Shop.
Also on Monday will be a workshop at JD Gardens in Tehkummah on growing basil and making herbal products.
On Monday evening, the De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group will be opening its community garden to the public at 6 pm, serving a dinner of soup and fresh bread from 6:30 until 7:30 pm and screening ‘Elders Gone AWOL’ from 7:30 pm until 9 pm.
On Tuesday, June 12 the Little Current Business Improvement Area will once again host its “Famous Stone Soup” dinner downtown, with entrainment by Doug Hore and friends and square dancing with the Hawberry Hoedowners.
Tuesday evening, The Island Pantry in Gore Bay will host a vegetarian cooking workshop from 7 until 9 pm.
On Wednesday, June 13, Providence Bay and Spring Bay will be the featured TOM communities.
Ice Lake Gardens will host Basils with Bella the Clown from 11 am to 2 pm on Wednesday, while the Whitechurch Gallery will be open featuring its Triple Vision art show from 11 am until 5 pm.
Maja Mielonen will be holding a workshop at her shop and garden in Mindemoya on Pioneer Potions: A Key to Good Health and Happiness, starting at 2:30 pm on June 13.
As well on Wednesday, The Auberge Inn Hostel in Providence Bay will host ‘King Corn,’ a thought-provoking movie about food from 6:45 until 9 pm.
TOM communities for Thursday, June 14 will be Kagawong and M’Chigeeng.
The Ojibwe Cultural Foundation will be open with an art display and local snacks all day, while the Great Spirit Circle Trail (GSCT) will host a workshop from 10 am until 12:30 pm titled ‘The Keepers of the Land,’ explaining how individuals can eliminate their trace on Mother Earth. Also at the GSCT there will be bannock making, storytelling and a tour of its gardens from 2 to 4 pm.
From 10 am until 5 pm on Wednesday, Manitoulin Chocolate Works in Kagawong will be hosting a sample and learning session.
On Friday, June 15, it’s Gore Bay, Gordon and Barrie Island and Evansville Day, and Burt Farms on Ice Lake will be offering a sample of their new hotdogs with an open house from 9 am to 6 pm.
The Bayfield Restaurant in Evansville will be open from 10 am to 9 pm, with entertainment later in the evening.
Meeker’s Aquaculture in Evansville will also be open for site visits on Friday, from 10 am until 2 pm.
There will be a meet-and-greet of local authors at the Gore Bay Museum from 1 to 4 pm.
Friday will also mark the 10th anniversary celebration of the Misery Bay Provincial Park. From 2 until 5 pm the Friend of Misery Bay Provincial Park will offer an open house and guided walks, in addition to a lunch provided by the Burpee-Mills Golden Age Club.
On Saturday, June 16, Mindemoya, Big Lake and Sandfield will be the featured communities, with Mindemoya Missionary Church holding a breakfast from 8-11 am and the Mindemoya market open at the arena from 9 am until 12:30 pm.
Jack’s Agricultural Museum will be holding an open house and game day from 10 am to 4 pm, featuring the Manitoulin Board Game with creator Marion Seabrook. There will be a fish fry at Little Current’s Holy Trinity Anglican Church from 10 am until 4 pm, also on Saturday.
The Pioneer Museum in Mindemoya will be holding museum tours from 2 until 4 pm on Saturday, a rhubarb sale, as well as a pie iron demonstration.
Wikwemikong will hold its annual traditional South Bay powwow on June 16 and 17.
TOM will conclude on Sunday, June 17 with Meldrum Bay, Cockburn Island, Sheshegwaning and Zhiibaahaasing as the highlighted communities.
Breakfast will be held at the STOP 540 Restaurant in Silver Water from 7 am until 11 am.
Also on Sunday, the Meldrum Bay Community Hall will host a lunch buffet form 11 am until 1 pm.
Meldrum Bay will be holding its Spring Fair at the Meldrum Bay Marina and Campground from 11 am until 4 pm, featuring over 35 exhibitors, local food, art, crafts and live music.
The Lafarge quarry will be offering tours at 1 pm and 3 pm in Meldrum Bay.
The day will conclude with dinner at the Meldrum Bay Inn from 5 pm to 8 pm.
“We are so excited to once again be holding this phenomenal event,” said event co-organizer Lois Keller. “There are so many things to see and do this year; it is really going to be a wonderful array of all the culture and culinary delights that Manitoulin has to offer.”
For a complete list of events, information and directions, visit www.tasteofmanitoulin.ca or pick up your copy of this year’s TOM passport books available throughout Manitoulin at various Island businesses and tourist booths next week.
