4 Friday, August 30, 2019 brooklintowncrier.com Where Brooklin doesn't exist Less than half the picture: By Richard Bercuson Dear Durham Region Director of Marketing, Tourism, and Cartographical Services, I write this with a heavy heart. This summer, I was in a doctor's waiting room - not the reason for the heavy heart. As I am wont to do in such places, I riffle through magazines. Almost always, the pickings are outdated and slim. I riffle the piffle, as it were. I did come across your magazine, Durham Relocation Guide, which I hadn't seen before, let alone knew it existed. I wish I'd known about the glossy publication when I was moving here. Now I live in Brooklin and toil as its solitary newspaper mogul. Thus I need to be particularly aware of anomalies that might affect my new surroundings, not to mention readers and potential advertisers. Ours is a business, after all. At first glance (and I ask readers to refer to the enclosed Durham map from your mag), I saw Whitby and then also expected to read the words Brooklin in a clear font on the northern part of the town. To my surprise, I didn't see anything. My photo of the map will confirm. It was not an optometrist's office so I knew my eyes weren't failing me because of a tiny or nearly transparent font. More careful looks and I concluded that Brooklin was not there. I mean, we're here, and perhaps I'm not always all there, however... We did not exist. A burgeoning community of 30,000-plus, among the fastest growing and most important areas of the region, had been erased. I do wish to give your department benefit of the doubt. It is possible an over-exuberant graphic artist accidentally hit the delete button. It's also possible, I suppose, that when listing the most prominent parts of Durham, Brooklin just got forgotten. Somewhere between typing names from Almond Village to Zephyr, we were omitted. Or, was this deliberate? You'll please forgive this morsel of paranoia: I wonder if someone in the Regional office is ticked at this publication and is making a point. It is true I've been unkind regarding the pathetic bus service in Brooklin, the appalling state of Winchester Road traffic, and trucks rambling up and down Baldwin. Now I'm denigrating the region's promotional magazine. As they say, "Quel dommage." All of which now leaves it to the denizens of Brooklin and local realtors to rely solely on our own word of mouth. We might even hand out maps of Brooklin with the rest of Durham redacted. It certainly doesn't take much to boast of the community's benefits. Did you know we have our own downtown? And, in case you missed it, Whitby was recently declared one of Canada's best places to live. I daresay Brooklin is a significant chunk of it. But yes, I know. We're no Zephyr. We'll just have to try harder. Award-Winning Harvest Festival Coming September 14 Residents are invited to join the Town of Whitby on Saturday, September 14, 10 am-4 pm, for the 20th annual Brooklin Harvest Festival, a free, outdoor, family-friendly event that celebrates the start of fall. The site is Grass Park and Downtown Brooklin (with activities taking place along Baldwin Street from Cassels Road to Way Street). Earlier this year, the Brooklin Harvest Festival received a "Top 100" award from Festivals and Events Ontario, a provincial award that recognizes festivals and events that have outstanding achievements in the support, promotion and/or execution of festivals and special events in Ontario. To kick off the 20th anniversary of the Brooklin Harvest Festival, a celebratory cake-cutting will take place following the event's opening ceremonies at 10:15 a.m. New to the festival this year is the Harvest Coral which will feature a stagecoach, gold panning, western performances and more. In addition, families will enjoy festival favourites such as the kids' zone, corn maze, rock wall, interactive games, wagon rides and live entertainment. More than 75 food and community vendors will be on-site, including several from the Whitby Farmers' Market, offering fresh fruits, veg- etables, flowers, baked goods and other unique, homemade products. A number of local businesses will also participate in special promotions and activities. This year's event is proudly sponsored by Tim Hortons, Elexicon Energy, Trafalgar Castle School, Fieldgate Developments, Brooklin Village and Mount Lawn Funeral Home & Cemetery. As the event is pedestrian-focused and includes road closures, residents are encouraged to walk, bike or use other forms of active transportation to get to the site. Secure and designated bike parking will be available at the event. Limited parking is available in the municipal park- ing lot at 3 Vipond Rd., at the Brooklin Community Centre and Library at 8 Vipond Rd., and Brooklin Memorial Park (access off St. Thomas Street). Road closures will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Traffic on Highway 12 (Baldwin Street) will be detoured around Downtown Brooklin at Columbus Road and Winchester Road. Access routes throughout Brooklin will remain open to local traffic. For more information, visit whitby.ca/harvest-festival.