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"WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2001 - 7 = RIK DAVIE / WEEKEND STAR CELEBRATING 50 YEARS: iow and Thelma Wright were honoured by fam- ily and friends at the Blackstock Community Center recently on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary. Mr. and Mrs. Wright were joined by their children, from left, Leslie Wright, Harold Wright and Sheril DeJong, and over 100 guests, to mark the day the two took their vows. BROOKLIN PROFILE - BY ROXANNE REVELER Brooklin Harvest Festival's to be held this weekend Festival Time Group 74 proudly hosts the second Annual Brooklin Harvest Festival in Grass Park (Cassells and Hwy. 12). This free family fun day celebrates our com- munity. There will be something for everyone. Community displays, veg- etable and craft vendors, Halendas bar- becue truck serving lunch (proceeds go to Ist Brooklin Scouting), baked goods, face painting, childrens' games, a con- test sponsored by Group 74, Brooklin Horticultural Society and Brooklin Woodcarvers displays, Celtic dancers will perform, Police Puppets will perform for the kids, and live music for all ages. The festivities will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 3 p.m. Bring the entire fam- ily for a great fall day in Brooklin. Brian Winder, the town archivist will be hosting a Brooklin Walking Tour at 2 p.m. A variety of historical displays from Whitby LACAC, Camp X and the James Rowe House. Scouting Ist Brooklin Beavers and Cubs invite all kids aged five to 10 to come to our last registration for this fall on Wednesday, Sept. 12 from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. at Brooklin United Church. Spaces are limited for both groups. Girls are welcome to join. For mere information call 905-655-7850. Legion Stuff Tom Mark will be providing the live entertainment at Brooklin Legion Branch 152 on Saturday, Sept. 8 from 3 to 7 p.m. This local chap is always a delight to lis- ten to. There will also be a singles horse shoe match starting at 12:30 p.m. No charge - no cover for anything, so join in the open house of fun. Elections In accordance with the constitution of Whitby Seniors' Activity Centre, elec- tions for the board of directors will be held in November. Nominations for positions will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15/01. Anyone wish- ing to run should notify either Ray Hatter, Jim Auchterlonie or Joe Drumm by calling 905-668-1424. Calling all Seniors The "Wheel Committee" invites all seniors 55+ in the Ashburn, Brooklin, Myrtle area to meet at Windreach Farm, 312 Townline Road, Ashburn at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at the Visitors Centre. Enjoy an accessible hayride, tour of the farm, petting zoo, museum and apple picking. Refreshments will also be served around 3 p.m. The cost is only $3 per person. See you there, rain or shine. Scout and Venturers from Scugog Township joined approximately 12,000 other youth at the Canadian Jamboree held at Cabot Beach Prince Edward Island. Scouts from all over Canada as well as Scouts and Venturers from United States, Chile, New Zealand, England and Hong Kong attended the Jamboree. Canadian Jamborees are held every four years in dif- ferent parts of the country acting as the host. A special kind of magic takes place at Scouting Jamborees and its not the type of thing that is easy to describe but it carries the thoughts and hope of the founder of Scouting Lord Baden Powell. Lord Baden Powell took youth from different back- grounds, different lifestyles, different neighbourhoods and different levels of intellectual skills and brought them together to share their skills and knowledge at Brownsea Island. This Jamboree did basically the same thing when it brought over 14,000 participants including leaders and staff volunteers together to Canada's smallest province for a week of learning through participation and sharing a common piece of land to form a tent city. Maybe it's the impossibility of it all, in this day and age when reading the newspapers about bickering and complaining throughout the country, the concerns raised with the youth and here with basically 14,000 strangers there was only the feeling of friendship and a desire to help each other. The desire to help started before we arrived when Scouts Canada supplied a group from England with equipment when they arrived and were not allowed to use theirs because of the concern with hoof and mouth disease. When we arrived we were greeted with staff to answer any questions and help transport our equipment to our camp site which was an unexpected surprise because we had come prepared to carry it for the approximate two km. hike. What allows the youth to come together for 10 days to live close to one another, share the work, have fun, play hard, learn through participation, experience new food and activities while becoming good friends. The many volunteers who worked planning this, staffing it and the many leaders who believe "today's youth are tomorrow's leaders" and rather than give it lip service provide the resources and time to allow this to happen through the Scouting Program. I would remiss if I did not acknowledge that financial commitments made by local businesses, service groups, charities, fundraising in the communities and parents also made this accessible to many youth who have oth- erwise been denied this experience. Our bus with youth from Little Britain, Lindsay, Prince Albert and Port Perry ranging in age from 11 to 16-years- old was typical of many others which had youth on it from different communities. So what would you think of if someone told you were travelling with 35 youth and 10 adults, most of them strangers for two days each way to and from PEI. with a sleep over each way? Relax you'll enjoy it. My experience was that adults do not give the youth enough credit for their ability to adapt to new friends, appreciate each others differences as well as sharing what they have in common. There was no bicker- ing, no horseplay and only friendly chatter with the odd breakout of laughter so much so my partner and I were able to sit back, enjoy the scenery, discuss the upcoming years events and catch the odd snooze. Any parent who had youth on this bus or any other youth at this Jamboree can be proud of them. As a leader it was gratifying to hear the local towns people where we stayed and on the Island comment on the youth's politeness. . The Jamboree covered approximately 350 acres, had a portable hospital, a crew of fire personnel, police, three grocery stores, numerous pay phones, a centre for enter- tainment, a garbage truck route and on site recycling. We now formed the third largest city in PE.l. and were approaching the population of Scugog Township. Activities included repelling towers, zip lines, canoe- ing, basic kayaking as well as ocean kayaking, potato canons, taking a zip line into the ocean, wallowing in mud playing games, archery, pellet shooting, snorkeling, rollerblading, skate boarding, high land games, swim- 'Scugog Scouts, Venturers enjoy Canadian Jamboree at PE] ming, hiking, overnight wide games, learning about the environment and also sightseeing at the various cities. During the evening activities such as volleyball, dances, chocolate sliding and campfires kept everyone busy. If this was not enough to keep the youth busy the event planners had piles of posts available to be used for whatever they were needed for. Our youth started building a square friendship bench that provided so much fun notching that it soon grew to be a log cabin. Using their skills with an axe and lashing a log cabin soon took shape complete with roof. Word soon spread about the log cabin and people from other sub camps came to view it and the local newspaper took the youth's picture beside the cabin. Showing their confidence in the struc- ture a couple of youth took turns sleeping in the cabin and not to miss out on the fun Scouter Will had to get in on the action. Other groups built lookout towers and entrance gates to their campsite. This was the first Jamboree that the youth completely planned and ran both the opening and closings. Getting a good view was difficult and although they had prob- lems getting the crowd to quiet down they did a great job. The speeches by Premier Binns, National Commissioner and Camp Chief Sam Elsworth at the opening and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson at the closing were short and to the point. Entertainment by Annick Gagnon at the opening and Kindle along with a video party at the closing provided the youth with what they were interested in. If you would like to see more of the Canadian Jamboree log onto the CJ'01 site and come out to register in the Scouting Program. Scouting groups in the area are Cartwright, Scugog Island, Prince Albert, Seagrave, Uxbridge as well as Port Perry. All groups are always looking for adults that are interested in the youth and will provide training for the skills you need help with. For more information call Ellen at 905-985-8047. | CG Bl Sl oe SB -m