Emilie- Claire Barlow & the Unique Boutique

Saturday Dec 3   7pm Silent Auction 8pm Performance   $40

Emilie-Claire Barlow is the featured performance on stage and the Unique Boutique Fundraiser is held in the Galleries.  A few years ago, CBC (Canada Now) called Emilie-Claire “the next best thing in jazz”, but she is hardly a newcomer to the music scene. Barlow’s first album Sings was released in 1998. She has received three nominations for Canada’s Juno Awards and was named “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the 2008 National Jazz Awards. Her 2009 release “Haven’t We Met” follow suit as a number one bestselling jazz album.  Bidding in the Unique Boutique Silent Auction is available from 1-4pm daily from Nov 24- Dec 3 with final bids the evening of Dec 3^rd..   Presented by Meaford Hall & CultureFoundation.   www.mhcfoundation.ca   http://emilieclairebarlow.com/

Alice in Wonderland  Kids in the Meaford Hall

Friday Dec 9  1 pm and 7pm  $15

Kids in the Meaford Hall is pleased to present the wonderful story of Alice in Wonderland, based on Lewis Carroll’s classic fantasies as adapted by Michele L Vacca. Alice, succumbed by a deep dream, falls into a rabbit hole and lands in what we call Wonderland, filled with many weird and wonderful characters experiences and adventures. A zany show with hilarious actions, Alice in Wonderland is sure to entertain both young and old.. Presented by Kids In the Meaford Hall. www.meafordhall.ca

The Nutcracker Fleetwood Dancentre

Saturday Dec 17 2pm & 7pm   $20 adults, $10 children 12 and under

Fleetwood Dancentre of Collingwood will present the holiday classic production of “The Nutcracker” on stage at Meaford Hall.  Presented by Meaford Hall.  www.fleetwooddance.net

TICKET PRICES WILL BE SUBJECT TO HST

On the Screen - all films just $10 and showtime at 4pm

Oranges and Sunshine

Thursday December 1

Oranges and Sunshine tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in recent times: the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom. Almost singlehandedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. She discovered a secret that the British government had kept hidden for years: one hundred and thirty thousand children in care had been sent abroad to commonwealth countries, mainly Australia. Children as young as four had been told that their parents were dead, and been sent to children’s homes on the other side of the world. Many were subjected to appalling abuse. They were promised oranges and sunshine, they got hard labour and life in institutions.  Starring Hugo Weaving, David Wenham and Emily Watson.  105 minutes Drama  R

In the Galleries

Hours: Mon-Fri 9-4:30; Sat 1-5 and Sun 10-4. Free Admission

Please note the galleries are closed occasionally for private functions. Please contact Meaford Hall in advance to ensure availability.

Unique Boutique

November 24 – December 3

A silent auction fundraiser for Meaford Hall & Culture Foundation. Bid on such items as a Fairmont stay for two, NHL and Raptor tickets, spa treatments, progressive dinners and more. Daily viewing from 1 – 4 pm. Final bids accepted the evening of December 3rd.

Recent Works – Painting & Photography Kerry Riley & David Johnston

December 6 – January 7

David has returned to painting after a career of teaching at Ryerson University. He studied art & design at Winchester School of Art and Central School of Art in London, England. His images have been rendered in hard edge watercolour as well as silk screen but he now concentrates on acrylic painting with airbrust. David’s paintings combine stylized objective imagery imposted on randomly controlled colour fileds. Kerry has been dabbling in the creative process since studying applied art and design at Ryerson University. History, architecture, and nature inspire her images in drawing, photography and mixed media collages. Both Kerry and David have resided in Meaford for over 20 years. Opening reception Saturday December 10 from 5 to 7pm.

Congratulations to the chamber of Commerce who work so hard to make this event such a great success.

It was a packed house at Meaford Hall last night for the second annual Dragons’ Den Meaford presented by the Meaford & District Chamber of Commerce.  At the night’s end, a grand total of almost $25,700 in cash and prizes was awarded to contestants who pitched their business ideas to a panel of five local business ‘Dragons’.

First place winner was Nicholas Schaut of Meaford with winnings in the amount of almost $11,000 in cash and prizes.  Nicholas won the Dragons over with his idea of developing a farm business to grow hops organically for the craft brewing industry.

In second place was David French of Thornbury, who walked away with just under $9,000 in cash and prizes for his advanced technology to capture high definition aerial video.

In addition to almost $8,000 in Dragon contributions between them, the top two winners also received a share of $3,000 in cash donated by the Centre For Business & Economic Development.  There were also numerous additional prizes from sponsors for the top two including media advertising packages, web hosting and design, and business bank accounts from financial institutions.

The competition featured twelve contestants who were invited to come prepared with their business pitches.  Of those twelve, seven finalists, pre-determined by a Meaford Chamber selection committee, were called to the stage to present in a Price Is Right ‘come on down’ approach.

Of the other finalists, Meaford’s Darryl Hindle won $2,500 in cash and prizes for Quench Buggy, a water dispensing unit to help eliminate the use of plastic water bottles, particularly at public events.  James McIntosh of Meaford received almost $1,800 in prizes for The Duxbury Cidre Co. Ltd., a business to manufacture hard cider and apple products from Meaford apples.  Kathy Bell, also of Meaford, garnered almost $600 in cash and prizes for ePRESSions Electronic Press, an idea to help published authors format their work for the electronic marketplace.  All seven finalists also received mentoring packages from the Business Enterprise Centre.

All proceeds from Dragons’ Den Meaford will go directly towards a bursary for a Georgian Bay Secondary School (GBSS) student pursuing a career in business or marketing.

This year’s Dragons were Paul Penny of Walker Mowers, Terry Scott of Scott Clay Products, Barbara Kay of The 100 Mile Market, Rick Galbraith of the Rotary Club of Meaford, and Liz Harris of the Meaford & District Chamber of Commerce.

Due to popular demand, the Meaford & District Chamber of Commerce would also like to recognize those other contestants who submitted business proposals.  Malcolm Cook of Meaford presented Blue Harbour Studio, a sole proprietorship allowing customers to transform their memories on camera onto a large canvas and mount on frames for home/office decoration.  Collingwood’s Reg Sheffield spoke about Escarpment Outfitters, a company offering local brands reflective of escarpment area living such as clothing, food items, home décor and more.

There were also contestants who did not make the stage but whose business pitches were received by the Dragons.  Jason Whaley of Meaford submitted his idea of operating a small fleet of bicycles, kayaks, canoes, cross country skis and snowshoes for seasonal rentals by Meaford Harbour.  Meaford’s Joyce Taylor proposed The Dog Barkery and Community Café, a retail/pet café serving people and their pets with beverages, pet munchies, doggie jackets and other gear.  Krista Barrasso of Collingwood brought forward It’s All About Me, ‘believe in yourself’ mirror graffiti geared towards girls to promote positive thinking and self esteem.  George Overbeek of Owen Sound submitted Log Cabin In A Box, a project kit to grow selected trees from seeds.   Meaford’s John Malloy offered up Network News Daily.com, an online news publication that would be turned into a print product and distributed throughout the region with a focus on tourism and green issues.  And James Hickey (location unknown) envisioned the creation of road construction stop signs lit with super bright LEDs for better visibility.

The Chamber acknowledges and congratulates all ideas received.  For more information, please contact Jamie Pettit at 519-538-1640 or business@mdcc.ca.

Three weeks…  That is all it took for Tanya Vesely, one of the Dragons’ Den Meaford finalists to bring her business to fully fledged operational fruition.   The Travellin’ Scrapper will be opening its door to the public on Friday November 13, 2009 at 10am.  The new store will be located at 24 Trowbridge Street in the heart of Meaford.  The store, which encompasses over 1200 square feet, will boast a large open classroom space for instructional seminars and a place to work on scrap booking and paper craft projects.  The retail section will carry a comprehensive assortment of tools, papers and supplies for this ever growing hobby.

This date and time will bring together over a year of planning, writing business plans, many a sleepless night and one fateful appearance on Meaford’s hugely popular take on the CBC show, The Dragons’ Den.   On the show, budding entrepreneurs venture into the den to gain highly sought after start up funds.  Meaford’s own Dragons, Todd Campbell of RBA Financial Group, Chris Davies of Muxlow Pharmacy, and Gary Bochna of SOS-Storage On Site in Thornbury saw merit and potential in Tanya’s idea and awarded her $1500 to get The Travellin’ Scrapper off the ground.  In addition, some supporting prizes to assist her with the start up were awarded by the Business Enterprise Centre, mycollingwood.ca, ShopMeaford.com and Scotiabank.

In conjunction with Meaford’s Economic Development Strategy, The Travellin’ Scrapper will provide a new retail haven for people to shop in Meaford for their scrap booking and paper craft supplies.  It will also bring 2 full time and approximately 4 part time positions to the Meaford economy.  This is precisely the kind of result that the Meaford & District Chamber of Commerce was hoping for when it initially made the decision to host the first ever Dragons’ Den Meaford.

Visit The Travellin’ Scrapper at 24 Trowbridge Street Unit 8 or at www.travellinscrapper.com to see the wide assortment of classes and products available.

The Travellin’ Scrapper will be THE place in Meaford for friends to meet, exchange ideas and preserve memories.

The Selection Committee for Dragons’ Den Meaford is pleased to announce the seven finalists who will pitch their business ideas to the panel of ‘Dragons’ on October 21^st:

Meredith F. Cowan, Meaford

Kim Giffen, Thornbury

Jim Fewster, Meaford

Chantelle Boyes, Meaford

Jason Moore, Meaford

Normand Comeau, Priceville

Tanya Vesely, Meaford

All applicants were required to submit a one-page synopsis detailing their business idea with an explanation of its relation to one of the four pillars of the Municipality of Meaford’s Economic Development Strategy… Retail, Agribusiness, Tourism or Green.

Modeled after the popular CBC TV show, Dragons’ Den Meaford will take place at Meaford Hall on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 beginning at 7pm. Applicants will pitch their ideas to 5 local ‘Dragons’ for feedback and hopefully, cash. Each Dragon will bring a minimum of $1,000 to invest in the idea(s) they like best. This means that potentially, an entrepreneur could walk away with $5,000 for business start-up! Also up for grabs are a free business bank account, business plan assistance, business start-up mentoring, admission to a number of entrepreneurial workshops, an advertising package and more.

Tickets cost $10 (+GST), students $5 (+GST) and are available at the Meaford Hall Box Office by calling 1-877-538-0463 or online at www.meafordhall.ca.

Dragons’ Den Meaford is presented by the Meaford & District Chamber of Commerce. For more information, contact 519-538-1640 or business@mdcc.ca.

Now beautifully restored and renovated, the Meaford Hall Arts & Cultural Centre doors are open in historic downtown Meaford. The Meaford Hall, also known as the Opera House, is a stone’s throw from Georgian Bay and adjacent to all amenities in an area well-known for its year-round attractions. As a four season venue, Meaford Hall plays host to a variety of events including live theatre, music and entertainment, business and corporate events and social gatherings.

The newly-restored Meaford Hall has state-of-the-art staging, an intimate Edwardian Opera House with theatre balcony, two large light-filled gallery/reception halls, meeting room with landscaped terrace, a boardroom and full kitchen and bar facilities. The brand new east wing houses the Box Office, elevator, coat check, dressing rooms and a Green Room.

For the past hundred years, Meaford Hall has echoed with music, drama, and debate, serving as the political, social and cultural heart of Meaford.  Welcome to the next century of Meaford Hall!

www.meafordhall.ca