By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
Here we are in early November and I’m wondering “what ever happened to Oktoberfest”?
When I was in University, Oktoberfest was hugely popular.
As I remember it, it was a big deal to score tickets to one of the big Oktoberfest events in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, known for its Bavarian roots and large German population.
I have never been a consumer of alcohol, but the way everyone spoke of the experience, it sounded like a ton of fun and the music, fantastic.
Perhaps the events are still going strong, and I just don’t hear about them because it was just a major drinking event for University students?
The last time I was in Disney World, we ate in the German pavilion at Epcot, and it was an absolute blast.
The music was top-notch (as in everything Disney presents) and highly entertaining.
If that’s what Oktoberfest in Kitchener-Waterloo was like, I missed out.
Dan White, Joni Yazbeck, Gavin Warren, and Bill Hainer have been crisscrossing Lambton and Kent Counties dressed in their Lederhosen playing some good ol’ Oktoberfest music, but where were the big parties?
With October now behind us, in less than a week we’ll pause and remember.
I’ve mentioned before that while I’ve played the Last Post for the Legion for 40 years now, as simple as the piece is, it’s the most difficult thing I play.
It’s difficult because I’m musically naked, and it’s an emotional piece to play.
Please join us at the Cenotaph.
Lest We Forget.
After November 11th, however, I’m all about Christmas!
The only things I don’t enjoy about Christmas are Wal Mart and No Frills on December the 24th.
It may seem early but WNIC, “Detroit’s Christmas Station,” will be going to all Christmas music any day now.
I just love everything about the season, and as sick as it may sound, I even enjoy just wandering around in a mall as the Christmas music plays and people scurry around looking for the perfect gifts.
This past weekend I made my annual sojourn to Frankenmuth to fire up my Christmas spirit by wandering Bronner’s, “The World’s Largest Christmas Store.”
A unique aspect of the Christmas season is that it’s the only time of the year that I might be found in front of a television screen.
Generally speaking, I don’t watch television because I’m always busy doing something else, but I find the time to watch as many Christmas programs as I can, most of which are actually on DVD.
Like most, we own copies of all the classic animated Christmas specials, but lately I’ve taken to finding DVDs of old Christmas specials by artists such as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Red Skelton and so on.
I will guess that most of us older folk really miss those Christmas variety shows as the talent was off the charts.
But there are many classic live action movies that I continue to watch every year as well.
Home Alone, The Grinch, Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause series, It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, A Christmas Story, The Polar Express, and so on are all movies that never lose their appeal to me.
But I’ve always reserved my warmest feelings for sitting in a theatre watching the latest Christmas movie release where I get to settle in with my popcorn and Coke.
I’m not talking about just any movie released in the Christmas season, however, but a Christmas-themed movie.
I was doing some digging this week to see if there are any new theatrical release Christmas movies coming up and after a drought of several years, I’m in luck!
And I’m not referring to another sappy Hallmark Movie.
Early November will see the release of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” based upon the children’s novel written by Barbara Robinson in 1972.
In being transparent, I have not read the book, however I was in a meeting last week when completely unrelated to the upcoming movie, someone said that “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is a great story.
I’ve watched the trailer, and I’m in!
I’m hoping that the movie is good enough to join my list of classics that must be watched every year.
As I write this, however, it’s 75 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and I should be out putting up my Christmas lights!
In changing topics, I attended a meeting two weeks ago with Mayor Darrin Canniff and representatives of the Arts Council and the Wallaceburg Museum.
I realize that it’s a tired topic for some, but we are attempting to get answers regarding the unavailability of the Jeanne Gordon Theatre.
We don’t seek answers as to why the theatre is unavailable for use but merely seek answers regarding “what it will take to get the theatre open again and available for use for things other than a mere meeting”?
We came away from the meeting buoyed by the mayor’s support for our quest and seeming willingness to help.
Our arts community is in dire need of a facility that can host artistic events, and this is the only stage in Wallaceburg aside from schools.
Once we have answers, we’ll certainly share them, and likely seek your assistance in some way.
In doing work anywhere, there is so much red tape nowadays that it’s difficult to get things done in any kind of a cost-effective manner.
Volunteer work, however, can save many, many dollars, IF it’s permitted.
I recall my son’s playing soccer behind A.A. Wright Public School.
The field was full of potentially ankle-twisting holes and the goal areas were full of stones that no goaltender of any age would be wise to leap into.
I called the Board office about the possibility of me buying a load of dirt (at my expense), bringing a shovel and a bag of grass seed so I could fill holes, make the playing surface safer, and make the goaltenders area useable.
In short, I wasn’t allowed to do that because I was not a “Board-approved vendor.”
Does anyone recall the incredible work Matt Miletic did in finding volunteers and donors of supplies to renovate Sydenham District Hospital before it was allowed to deteriorate to ruin?
That may very well be what we need to do to get the Jeanne Gordon Theatre up and running again, so stay tuned.
We need answers first.
