The Latest News for You

#NOTLSTORIES

This week we asked our social media followers to tell us their favorite stories or memories of their visits to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Below are a few of the stories they shared. We encourage you to share the #notlstories as well in your next social media post.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary by eating lunch at The Olde Angel Inn

Joanne Holmes Donato

My husband and I surprised family and friends by getting married at the Buttery. We wrote our wedding into the play, surprised everyone, they thought it was a joke until the Minister said my husbands full name. Everyone knew it was for real then , this followed with tears and cheers. Best memory ever 🍻🥂🤴👸

Holly Blanchard

My hubby and I on our honeymoon in 1993! It was hard to choose which photo but I decided on this one of us on the Whirlpool Jet boat.

Tonde Wirth

Business Community Chat

Please join us at 10 am Tuesday and Thursday for a conference call style chat with fellow members of our Niagara-on-the-lake business community.

This will give you an opportunity to speak with others and share your stories and experiences during this challenging time.

Business Community Chat

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/703739669

You can also dial in using your phone.

Canada: +1 (647) 497-9391

Access Code: 703-739-669

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/703739669

We look forward to chatting with you!

Our Great Community

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society sends our heartfelt Thank You and deep gratitude to Sharon and staff at Van Noort’s Florist for their support and work in ensuring that our annual Flowers for Seniors event was able to be carried out last week.

Family, friends hold birthday party parade for 3-year-old boy in NOTL

Photo supplied

L-R: Back row: Kevin Turcotte, Tom Ridout

L-R: Front row: Natasha Henry, Lord Mayor Betty Disero, Donna Ford, Barbara Worthy, Sarah Kaufman, Juliet Dunn

Town Receives Prestigious

Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage award

For

Voices of Freedom Park

The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has been awarded the prestigious 2020 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Conservation for its Voices of Freedom Interactive and Digital Park. The Park honours the stories of people of African descent, enslaved, Black Loyalists, freedom seekers, and free Blacks – all part of Niagara’s history, yet often untold. Representatives of the Voices of Freedom Park committee attended a ceremony at Queen’s Park in February to receive the award from the Lieutenant Governor.

Located at the corner of Regent and Johnson Streets in the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Old Town, the Park occupies the former site of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Lawn Bowling Club. In 2014 the Town, inspired by the leadership of the Niagara Foundation, embarked on a journey to preserve the site for public use and cultural conservation. The concept for the Voices of Freedom Park was born.

A committee of the Town was formed to oversee the design, construction, and overall content provision of the Park. Landscape Architect Tom Ridout won the bid to design the foundation and layout of the Park and it was built by Dawland Farms & Landscaping (Niagara-on-the-Lake). Its unique sculptural art, steel and metal arches, and meditative paths, have created a mini oasis in the centre (usually) bustling Old Town.

However, the Park is more than just a physical park. It is a digital exhibition.

The interactive content is a minefield of research, application and historical documentation.

Under the leadership of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum, the Town formed an Education Committee to interpret local Black History, using the Park as a starting point. Natasha Henry, President of the Ontario Black History Society, oversaw the comprehensive research that was the basis for a multi-media application and education resource.

The entire program and content are accessible from anywhere in the world, using an easily downloadable app from Balado Discovery, found on the website www.vofpark.org .

Visitors to the Vofpark.org website can download the app and hear ‘voices’ from the past, and the stories of struggle and resilience that characterized the Black experience here in Niagara. Written and created by local producer Barbara Worthy, these stories were recorded at Wow! Creative Studio in St. Catharines, and utilized the talents of Shaw actors with local singers and musicians.

Making these stories even more appealing is an accompanying walking tour of local historic sites that reflect the lives and impact of these early Black settlers here in Niagara.

Plus, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum created a fully inclusive Ontario curriculum-based education program offering activity-based learning materials for Grades 3 – 12. During February and March 2020, a total of twenty workshops were presented at six local schools, in the Catholic, public and private systems.

The two years of planning and building the Voices of Freedom Park were overseen by the Town, with a dedicated group of passionate and visionary individuals. The committee included Honorary Chair, Wilma Morrison, well-known for her lifetime of work promoting and preserving Black History; Co-Chairs Lord Mayor Betty Disero and John Hawley; Donna Ford, Nicole Cripps, Paul Hancock, Denise Horne, Sarah Kaufman, Martin Mazza, Paul Shepherd, Alexis Spieldenner, Raymond Tung, Kevin Turcotte, Mario Vecchi, John Wiens, Tim Johnson, George Webber, Shawna Butts, Hillary Kerr, and Amy Klassen. And a special ‘thank you’ goes out to Nancy Butler and Michael Power for their book Slavery and Freedom in Niagar a, which formed the foundation of research for the entire project.

Said Lord Mayor Betty Disero, “On behalf of Town Council and the Staff of Niagara-on-the-Lake, I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to everyone involved.”

The Voices of Freedom Interactive and Digital Park offers the perfect remedy for these changing times. Download the app at Vofpark.org , to access all these stories, the guided walk, and masses of history. And just as important, take this opportunity to enjoy a walk in Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Heritage District and Old Town, and explore this truly unique Park.

Notice to Residents

2020 Sidewalk Replacements

Starting the week of April 6th, 2020, the Town of Niagara-On-The-Lake will be commencing with our annual Sidewalk and Curb Replacement program. Some of the proposed work may be carried out in front of your property. Residents affected will be delivered a notice prior to the contractor starting work. We ask that residents with in-ground sprinkler systems adjacent to sidewalks being replaced mark out sprinkler heads in an effort to minimize possible damage that could occur during construction.

Some residents will have access to their driveway temporarily interrupted and we ask those residents affected to refrain from the use of their driveway for a period of five (5) days following the pouring of the concrete. This measure is required to allow the concrete to gain sufficient strength and to avoid damage from vehicles. Our contractor, Sacco Construction Limited, will notify residents affected prior to driveway access being interrupted.

With respect to sod restoration, please be advised that the Town’s Contractor will be responsible for the watering and condition of the sodded areas for a period of 120 days after placement, however, if you have an opportunity, additional watering would assist in sod growth. Please refrain from mowing the sod until such time as the sod begins to root (minimum of 14 days after installation). Restoration timing will be dependent on availability of material and weather conditions.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns regarding the proposed work.

Sincerely,

Bryan McMillan

Engineering Technologist

Phone - (905) 468-3061 Ext. 282

cc: Council, SMT

Trudeau says businesses, non-profits, charities all...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday the 75-per-cent wage subsidy announced late last week will be available to large and small companies as well as charities and non-profit organizations to keep employees on the payroll amid the continuing...

Read more
www.theglobeandmail.com

E-Laws

The General regulation under the Travel Industry Act, 2002, has been amended to reduce burden on travel agents and wholesalers (registrants) and help certain travelers impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read more
www.ontario.ca

Museum encourages families to journal time in self-isolation and social distancing

With many of our favourite local businesses, parks, institutions and other public spaces closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are certainly living in unprecedented times.

But that also means that we are living though a future history class today. So, how can you contribute to Niagara-on-the-Lake’s history during self-isolation, quarantine and social distancing?

“A personal journal that documents your day to day activities and experiences is a great way to start”, says the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum’s Managing Director Sarah Kaufman. “This is also a great way for kids to get involved and contribute to history”.

The Museum is encouraging the community to get involved in helping to document what is going on in our community. You can write letters to family that you are unable to see while in isolation, describe how daily life has changed, list what you are doing to have fun at home, and track how the pandemic is affecting the Town and the region.

“You can share your journal entries, letters and thoughts with the Museum by using #deardiaryseriesNOTL on social media”, says Kaufman.

The Museum has been sharing lots of great content on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help keep people engaged and entertained during these circumstances. From history quizzes to video tours to highlights from the collection, they are ramping up their online presence in order to continue serving the community.

#deardiaryseriesNOTL is another way to highlight the local stories that will help to tell our history in years to come.

Once this is all over, why not consider donating these journals and letters to the Museum? In 50 or 100 years we may just have an exhibition on the COVID-19 pandemic and your journals will help us tell the stories of how Niagara-on-the-Lake made it through.

You can find the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum on social media using @NOTLMuseum or visit them online at www.nhsm.ca to find research material and other historical resources.

List of Restaurants and Wineries

(hours and closures may differ as changes seem to be happening quickly)

Please Click Here for a list of Wineries and Breweries and their updated hours and available services

Please Click Here for a list of restaurants offering take out etc

Support Local

The @backhousefarm is now selling our honestly grown vegetables curb-side! 106 Niagara Street NOTL. New product being added daily!!

Newark Neighbours - Covid 19 Update

We hope that everyone is hanging in there!

We have received many requests from this awesome community on how to help.

At this time our stock is running low and can use your help with the following food donations:

Peanut Butter
Strawberry Jam
Canned Fruit (small cans preferably)
Canned Stew
Canned Kidney Beans
Canned Chili
Canned Chunky Chicken soup
Small boxes of salted soup crackers
Cereal
Flavoured Instant Oatmeal packets
Cleaning wipes
Toilet Paper

If you are healthy and wish to drop-off non-perishable food donations, we will meet you at the back door on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10:00 a.m. and noon .

We will need to disinfect all cans/packages before we can stock our shelves. Please do not leave your food donations unattended !

As well, a kind reminder, please hold all your collectible/clothing donations at home – we are unable to process your treasures at this time, but will gladly accept them once we get back to normal operations.

https://www.newarkneighbours.ca/

Many of us are getting caught up in the hysteria of the COVID-10 pandemic. All public events have been cancelled; weddings; corporate events, most standing orders.

It is taking a tole on every business around the globe including the cut flower industry.

Most are resorting to staying home, or near home and I think that's where we can help!

Are you walking circles around your house? why not walk by some of our cut beauties each lap?

WE all know flowers and plants have a positive effect on overall health and happiness. Our cut flowers especially. The aroma and vibrance they bring to a room says it all.

In the 41 years we have been growing cut flowers we have never sold on 'the road'.

Different times call for different measures. For the next few weeks we will be selling our cut Freesia and Ranunculus 10:00am - 3:00pm at wholesale prices “on the road” Tuesday-Saturday.

Pick some flowers up for you, for your family, or your shut in seniors.

If you can't make it out to Niagara on the Lake, pick up some locally grown cuts on your grocery run.

We are raising the next generation of entrepreneurs, and since they are home we need to keep them busy. (From a safe distance)

Support them, Support us. Support the Floral Industry.

Sale is cash only. taxes in.

337 Hunter Road, Niagara on the Lake

10 am to 3 pm

Tuesday to Saturday

$5 for Freesia

$10 for Ranunculus

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