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10 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2007 ????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????? Keyboard studio piano students excel at Kiwanis Music Festival Rockwood and area piano students of the Bookbinders Keyboard Studio entered the 2007 Kiwanis Music Festival of Guelph and captured nine firsts, six seconds and a third award in Competitive Classes. First: Cristal and Adrianna Vermeulen (2), Anastasia Smelsky, Melissa Chapman, Devon Jones (1st and 2nd), Philemon and Titus Lee (4). Second and third: Samantha and Lori Van Veen, Kayleigh Rankin, Aaron Smelsky, Robin Librach, Ben Turner. Students in Composition Classes re- ceived excellent adjudication. All accepted and performed their own composition at the Festival including: Myra Freeman, Kayleigh Rankin, Mad- eleine Saliba, Aidan Szekely Nokes and Aaron Smelsky. Congratulation to Titus Lee, for his out- standing performance, rewarded with the Award Committees Scholarship Prize and the Alice Sloan Memorial Prize. He will be performing March 21 at the Festival Concert (River Run Centre, Guelph) and entering in the Ontario Fes- tivals Association Provincial Finals in June. The executive, and chair- persons representing the various committees of the Acton Seniors Centre all had the chance to give their input at a recent meeting titled Something to crow about. Topic was about having a booth in the new Fall Fair building, and demonstrating to the public we are an active group of Seniors. Everyone was enthusiastic, and had great ideas for promoting the Centre. One project will be to complete and enter a quilt at the Fall Fair. We will be working on the quilt over the next few months. The squares are already put to- gether, so were looking for eight people who can help with the actual quilting. Lessons begin on March 26, and quilting will start on Wednesday, April 18 at 1p.m. at the new home of Joanne Bissonnette where the quilting frames will be set up on a permanent basis. For more information phone Sheila Foster 519-853-0570. There is a signup sheet if you can make a commitment. Dont forget you will need scissors, needles, a thimble and good eyes. The trip to St. Lawrence Market on April 19 will cost $12 and the money must be paid by April 12. When you pay please make sure to get a copy of the receipt from the cash register, as that will be your ticket for the bus. Carmen has volunteered to phone everyone and give them all the information. There were two tables of ladies playing bid euchre this Thursday, down from some weeks. We cant blame the bad weather for the atten- dance. Ruth Burke had the only mooner. Our next monthly social dinner is on Wednesday, March 28 at 6p.m. and will have an Irish theme. Victor has extended the date for purchasing the tickets, to Friday, March 23. The next Rama trip will be on Wednesday, March 28. If you would like to go in future please sign the sheet requesting our own bus and then we will have lots of space for everyone. Margaret tells me there were nine carpet bowlers, last Monday and Gerry Mar- jerrisons Brown team beat Pat Jones Black team 13-11. Margaret says the Black team had better get going, to beat the Brown team in future. There will be two income tax clinics for those eligible on March 27 and April 17. Phone Eileen Dix 519-853- 0493 if you would like to make an appointment, or to find out more about it. There will be two Revenue Canada trained volunteers process- ing the information. There were only two peo- ple playing darts on Monday, but one of them was a new player, Betty Lockerbie. Dart players where are you? You cant blame it on the weather! The evening class for Tole has restarted again on Thursday evenings at 6:45p.m. If you are inter- ested call Margaret Dodgson at 519-853-8855. Tammy Somerville is the instructor. ROCKWOODS NEW GALLERY: Internationally acclaimed Rockwood artist Paul Morin opens his new gallery this weekend. Paul Morin Gallery, on Main St. S., will be an artists cooperative. - Rebecca Ring Photo Local artist Paul Morin opening gallery on weekend By Rebecca Ring Internationally acclaimed Rockwood art- ist Paul Morin is opening an art gallery in Rockwood. Paul Morin Gallery at 120 Main St. S. opens this weekend, March 24 and 25, from 10 am to 5 pm. The gallery is a dream come true for Morin literally. One night, he dreamt he opened a gallery here and it was a great success. He discussed the dream with his wife, Janine, over morning coffee and she thought it was a wonderful idea. On their way to Eden Mills for a day of tobogganing with their kids, the couple spotted two commercial spaces for lease on Main St. They took this as a good sign and put the plan in motion. Morin chose the space next door to The Village Sweet Shop, which he says is the perfect layout for his gallery. He says such serendipity has been the mainstay of the most exciting projects in his life. Morin will exhibit his paintings and Janine will exhibit her wooden bowls at the gal- lery. He plans to invite other artists to show their work, making the gallery an artists cooperative, each taking their turn with lease payment. Usually, a gallery will show an artists work and take a large commission on any sales made. In a cooperative, the art- ist pays for the space and is able to keep the total remuneration of any sales. The gallery will also host lectures, music events, book signings and workshops. Morin says Rockwood is the perfect place for his gallery. His opening exhibit will be his fine art landscapes of near and far. Nature has always inspired his work, and he hopes the gallery will put on a pedestal the incred- ible, diverse scenery we take for granted, and illuminate the magic places here. He wants the gallery to be an oasis, drawing people from near and far to experience the beauty in art and Rockwood. He says, It is not about acquiring the art. Just being surrounded by it can be an inspiration and improve life. Morin plans to work with the township and other business owners to promote tourism and business traffic. Thousands of visitors come to the Rockwood Conservation Area every summer but many do not come into town. Morin wants to help change that. He also plans to link with tours such as the Miata Drivers Tour Club of Toronto, who will make Morins Gallery and Rockwood one of their stops on April 29. Morin has been painting for 30 years. He moved to the area from the GTA to live and work closer to nature. He is an internation- ally acclaimed illustrator of childrens books with many awards to his name, including the Governor Generals Award for The Orphan Boy. He has travelled the world, immersing himself in traditional cultures to research his many books. These experiences have inspired his fine art landscapes and abstract paintings. He says his abstract work represents a bridge between past and future. In traditional cultural practices, he sees how the past is integrated into the future and therein lie the answers to todays environmental problems. In his travels, he has collected many rare instruments and recorded sounds in nature. With these, he has recorded over a dozen music CDs and exhibition soundscapes. He has also made about a dozen videos, including Rock Wood and Water. For more information, visit www.paulmo- rinstudios.com.BD RENTALS 105 Alma St. Rockwood Tel: 519-856-9571 NEW TO RENTAL LINE UP Hardwood Air Nailer & Stapler VOX POP If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be, and what would you talk about? Bert DaSilva, Acton Id invite Elvis hes one of my life-long idols. Id like to ask him what happened why did he get into the drugs when he had the world by the tail. Lucas Payne, Acton It would probably have to be Bruce Lee. He had a tough life and had a major in philosophy so Id like to know what a regular day in his life was like. Laura Evans, Acton I think Id invite George Clooney. He looks like a nice person -I think hes political and cares about world issues, and hes a movie star that might bring some interesting people with him. Norm Paget, Acton I would probably invite the Prime Minister of Can- ada and Id ask Stephen Harper all about the gas shortage, the high price of gasoline, the GST, the promises made during the last election, ATM charges and interest rates.