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2 Friday, July 20, 2018 brooklintowncrier.com "Some of my plays peter out, and some pan out." - J.M. Barrie (creator of Peter Pan) Stratford, Ontario, is a charming little town of about 32,000. During the annual Stratford Festival, the population balloons as hotels, motels and BnBs are jammed. In 2015, the web site Workopolis named Stratford one of the 10 best places to live in Canada. Brooklin, Ontario, is also a charming place, though neither a town nor city in its own right. Its population is also around 32,000 and growing as new housing developments spurt. There are, however, no hotels, motels, or BnBs and nothing really to attract someone to stay a few days unless visiting family. Brooklinites love the community and would likely crow they'd live nowhere else. There are a few local events, like the annual Spring Fair and Harvest Festival, but none lasts more than a handful of days and most are barely a half day long. Stratford, because of its festival, has become a renowned performing arts centre. The festival runs for about six months, but even in the "off-season" there are arts-related events going on. Brooklin is not an arts centre. There's no theatre let alone a stage with the accoutrements needed, like lighting, sound equipment, curtains, storage, green room, and so on. Even if someone were to step forward to be a patron of such a place, where would it go? Still, here's an idea worth pondering. Invite performers, actors, and playwrights to try out their works in front of audiences, right here in our core. Even without a golden facility, there are enough "bare bones" venues to host evening and weekend Fringe Festival performances. Think Brooklin Community Centre, the United Church on Cassels Rd or the Legion. The Fringe Festival circuit, in case you weren't aware, is actually a worldwide phenomenon with Edinburgh, Scotland, being the grand- est. Canada is festooned with them: Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, PEI, even North Bay. They all had to start somewhere and not in the best of locations either. My niece once staged her play (that I produced) in a rickety old church basement in Ottawa. We weren't certain the ceiling was going to stay above us when church patrons practiced hymn singing upstairs. No, please, do not stamp your feet to the beat! Brooklin could do it, becoming the place to go for theatrical performances outside Toronto. Our venues are in the downtown core with shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. Park, walk two blocks, see a couple of shows, grab a bite, and enjoy the village. Call it the Brooklin Fringe Festival (BFF) or Brooklin Arts Festival (BAF). Pick four or five days right before ar after the Spring Fair and watch the region come to us. Any takers out there? BFF or BAF? Less than Half the Picture By Richard Bercuson With the next Whitby municipal election on Monday, October 22, the Town of Whitby is encouraging eligible voters to find out if they are on the list to vote by visiting voterlookup.ca. Voterlookup.ca is an online service used to collect and confirm information that will be used in the preparation of the final Voters' List for the Whitby municipal and school board elections. Through the service, electors can easily update their personal information, add a name to an address or change their school support. To update or confirm their information, eligible voters can log on to voterlookup.ca using their full name and date of birth, and either: property address; or, assessment roll number (19 dig- it roll number found on a Property Assessment Notice or municipal tax bill). Updates to this information will help ensure the Town's Voters' List is up-to-date before voters head to the polls this fall. An eligible voter is a person who, on voting day, resides in Whitby or is the owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of such owner or tenant, and is a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age and not prohibited from voting. After September 4, electors wishing to update their information may do so by contacting the Town directly. For more information, visit whitby.ca/vote, email elections@ whitby.ca or call 905.430.4315, or go to voterlookup.ca to check the voters list Are You On The Voters' List?