Young violinist wins another gold medal for top marks.

By Paula Vassa
The Troubadour

Lise Boutin could not be more proud of her 11-year-old violin student.

Isabelle’s gold medal collection for playing violin

Not only is Isabelle Robinson a violinist but she is also a gold-medal violinist. She was just recently presented a prestigious award by the Royal Conservatory of Toronto for scoring the top mark in Level 6 violin exams in Alberta.

“This is her second gold medal, so it’s quite an achievement,” said Boutin.

The quiet student has been working hard on her craft and it shows.

“Isabelle is, of course talented. But talent can only take you so far, right,” said Boutin. “It’s work, it’s discipline, it’s smart practising.”

Boutin is proud of her student, who is already performing at a much higher level than expected.

Lise Boutin instructs her prize student, Isabelle Robinson.

Isabelle is talented but she has already set goals for herself.

“Well, I want to go to university or college for violin.”

She adds that she would also like to play solos in a large orchestra someday.

Boutin’s pride in Isabelle is evident.

“I’m so glad she chose violin”.

“It’s just about making memories for the kids…”

By Jody Foss
The Troubadour

CBS Mayor Steve Tessier welcomes residents to this year’s annual Christmas tree lighting event.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Conception Bay South.

Hundreds turned out on Nov. 26 – a sunny but frosty Saturday afternoon – to attend the annual CBS Christmas tree lighting event at the Town Hall. By all accounts, it was the biggest turnout in recent memory.

Wendy Greeley, who brought along her children Patrick, Kaitlyn and Keira O’Brien, said the tree lighting would be the start of a yearly tradition for her family.

“It’s just about making memories for the kids, that’s all it is,” said Greeley.

The annual event is becoming more and more popular.

“It’s a great chance for the community to get together again and get ready for Christmas, and for the kids to enjoy it,” said CBS Mayor Steve Tessier, one of several local dignitaries to speak. “It’s all about the kids . . . It’s the beginning of Christmas, it’s only four more weeks.”

The free hot chocolate was a definite hit on the chilly afternoon.

This year’s event featured musical entertainment, treat bags for the kids and free hot chocolate for all in attendance served by members of the town’s Youth Advisory Council. Organizers suggested residents bring along their own mugs to keep the event environmentally friendly.

Representatives from the CBS/Paradise Community Food Bank were on hand to accept food and monetary donations. Tickets were also on sale for a chance to win a large gift basket with all proceeds going to the food bank. With donations down this year, Tessier urged the crowd to give generously.

Musical entertainment came courtesy of Santa’s “Secret Singing Elf” – who sounded suspiciously like singer/songwriter, Ray Lake. He got young and old alike jumping and gyrating and keeping warm to rocked-out versions of such chestnuts as O, Christmas Tree and Any Mummer’s Allowed In? –  complete with a mummer who danced among the crowd.

Santa’s “Secret Singing Elf” got kids moving and keeping warm in the chilly temperatures.

A highlight of the event was the honouring of a local veteran as part of the town’s Veteran and Family Community Covenant. Instituted in CBS in 2011, it is a public pledge to honour and recognize the military service of local veterans. This year’s recipient was Leonard Greenslade. A community volunteer of over 40 years, Greenslade once served as president of Branch 50 of the Royal Canadian Legion in CBS and has received the certificate of merit from that organization.

All afternoon there were murmurings that a certain jolly old elf with a white beard and big red coat would make an appearance. Sure enough, as kids began chanting “SAN-TA CLAUS, SAN-TA CLAUS,” the big man himself appeared, waving to the crowd and ringing a bell. Santa thanked the Town of CBS for the invitation and passed along best wishes from his elves who are busy back at the North Pole making toys.

The countdown to the tree lighting was the climax of the evening.

The climax of the evening came with the countdown to the Christmas tree lighting, led by Mayor Tessier, which sent kids scrambling toward the massive tree as it lit up brilliantly in the darkening sky.

As an added attraction this year, anyone in the immediate vicinity of the Town Hall can tune their FM radios to 88.3 and hear classic seasonal favourites broadcast from the tree. It will be broadcasting throughout the Christmas season.

Craft sale offers unique art and gifts Dec. 9-11

By Martin Jones

The Troubadour

Students will transform the historic venue at 278 Duckworth St. into a Christmas wonderland where local artisans and craftspeople will showcase their latest holiday creations.

Forget the impersonal gift cards for the special someone that already has everything. With over 50 craftspeople displaying their art, including glassware, handmade clothing and tasty treats, the Christmas Tea and Sale is perfect for any gift giver that also likes to give back.

Jacqueline Humphries will be showcasing her wearable art at this year’s Christmas Tea and Sale. She has created a series of jewellery pieces composed of silver and fabric inspired by nature and everyday life.                                                                                  Photo supplied

The centre’s tea room will be serving a warm lunch and holiday snacks guaranteed to warm the chilliest of shoppers.

CNA has been a proud supporter of this event for several years now. The Textiles: Craft & Apparel Design program is taught at the Anna Templeton Centre on Duckworth Street.

John Barry is the instructional coordinator for applied arts at CNA and sees the college’s involvement with the centre as a valuable tool in the student’s education.

“It’s a great opportunity to strengthen the craft industry,” said Barry. “It’s a great opportunity for the students to get a direct involvement to the things they will be doing when they graduate.”

This year’s Christmas Tea and Sale runs Dec. 9 to11. Admission is just $2 with free admission for children under 12 years.

Proceeds from ticket sales and the Tea Room will support the Anna Templeton Centre programs and activities. As Barry says, supporting the centre is the gift that keeps on giving.

“The Anna Templeton Centre and other arts facilities are absolutely cultural treasures,” said Barry. “They don’t just do what they do, they provide a solidity and stability for an entire industry that can orbit around them. The centre is an anchor that supports and provides a sustenance to a much larger community beyond themselves.”

Its the 19th Annual Christmas Tea and Sale in support of the Anna Templeton Center in St.John’s. The event promises to showcase handmade art and crafts, Christmas carols and delicious treats for the entire family. Picture provided

The program aims to help struggling people and families, at a time when many in the province need it more than ever. Eg Walters of the Community Food Sharing Association is asking for donations. Student journalist Kyle Greenham went to their warehouse for a video report.

“… We live on an island – we’ve got to get back to the water.”

By Jody Foss
The Troubadour

Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee, project director of Too Big To Ignore, hosted a public forum and information session about sustainable small-scale fisheries in this province. It was held at MUN’s Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation on Nov. 21.

Researchers at Memorial University want people in this province to start talking about the future of the cod fishery and the challenges faced by rural communities that once depended on it for survival.

A public forum held at the Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation on Nov. 21 succeeded as a conversation starter.

The forum and information session – coinciding with World Fisheries Day and billed as “ReCODnecting: Renew, Reimagine, Revitalize” – was presented by Too Big To Ignore (TBTI), a MUN-based research network with global connections. Its aim is to elevate the profile of small-scale fisheries around the world.

Dr. Ratana Chuenpagdee, TBTI project director, explained the impetus for the event.

“People talk about cod coming back,” said Chuenpagdee. “If that is really happening, can we reimagine what the fisheries would be like for the province? Can we renew the interest of the people about the fisheries? Can we revitalize the coastal communities with these opportunities?”

“The whole idea about this event . . . is to invite conversation that is also about sustainable communities,” she added.

A highlight of the evening was a panel discussion moderated by Chuenpagdee.

Panel participants included Port au Choix Mayor Carolyn Lavers, Dr. Kelly Vodden of MUN’s Grenfell campus, local e-commerce entrepreneur Blaine Edwards and Edith Sampson of the William Ford Coaker Heritage Foundation. Each speaker voiced concerns and offered suggestions to address them.

None was more passionate than Lavers, who experienced first-hand the devastation to her community in the dark days following the 1992 cod moratorium.

Port au Choix Mayor Carolyn Lavers addresses a public forum at last Monday’s event.

“The focus of community got lost, and money became the focus,” said Lavers. “We don’t need 10 fishing enterprises that gross a million dollars; we need a hundred, a thousand enterprises that gross $100,000.”

“We also need to start teaching our children that the fishery is a viable profession . . . We’re still teaching them that they need to get educated and go away – that there’s nothing here for us,” she added.

Lavers also pointed out the interconnection between fishing and the tourism industry in this province.

“Part of what we’re selling to the tourism industry is our culture – our fisheries, our rural regions,” said Lavers. “If we lose our rural culture and our rural regions, we lose us – we lose the very fabric of who we are.”

Guest speaker Glenn Blackwood, vice-president of the Fisheries and Marine Institute, is optimistic about the future of the cod fishery and its potential to revitalize coastal communities. He suggested the key lies in responsible management and creative thinking.

“We will have to maximize the value of the fishery in the future,” he said. “That’s not an allocation issue. It means that a smaller fishery with limited amounts of catch will have to maximize the amount of dollars they make from it.”

Kimberly Orren of Petty Harbour-based non-profit Fishing For Success suggested looking at a cod fish as a tourist fish rather than a food fish. A cod fish that might net a fish harvester about $40 when sold off the wharf might potentially be worth between $600 to $1,000 when you factor in tourism spinoff dollars.

Fishing For Success was established to teach youth and families about the fishing heritage of this province, and Orren also voiced her concerns over how young people are losing touch with their culture.

“The average age of the fisherman is almost 60,” said Orren. “Who’s going to fish in five years from now? We’ve got to start talking about getting young people involved . . . (or) all of these things that tourists are coming here to see, it’s not going to happen anymore.”

Orren strongly emphasized the importance of engaging young minds to ensure the survival of our culture to future generations.

“They’re not all going to grow up to be fish harvesters, and that’s fine,” she said. “Maybe they’ll be kelp farmers, maybe they’ll come up with a solar boat, maybe they’ll be mariners. Maybe they’ll just like to go to the ocean and chill out, because it’s a great place to de-stress . . . but we live on an island – we’ve got to get back to the water.”

Geography students, Emily Wells and France Liboiron demonstrate a homemade trawling device designed to test ocean water for micro-plastic content.

The student projects on display in the Centre’s atrium showed many young people are thinking about diverse ways to ensure a sustainable and environmentally-conscious future for our ocean life. These included everything from how to harvest kelp for use as a food source and fertilizer and how to minimize fish wastage by utilizing all parts of the carcass.

There were also citizen science projects such as how to build homemade trawls to test ocean waters for micro-plastic content. These can become harmful to humans after they enter the food web through ingestion by fish.

A telling observation from Blackwood neatly encapsulated the importance of this discussion and its significance to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

“Fisheries in Newfoundland is very much about cod,” he said. “When we go out for fish and chips, we don’t check to see if it’s haddock or hake, or whatever. Fish in Newfoundland is cod – and for 500 years, the fishery in this province has been about the cod fishery.”