Ensemble Hemmingford Together

 by Susan Fisch  (August 2016)

I remember arriving in Hemmingford twenty years ago with my cousin and my three-year-old daughter. Our first action was to join the Hemmingford Library as volunteers: for our intellectual and community needs and also to find friends for my little girl.

We prepared for Old Home Week, which was an exciting week-long celebration of Hemmingford. People came from far and wide to reconnect with their roots. Every organization had a booth somewhere, selling or promoting something for the sake of the community event. The Library sold T-shirts hand painted with a yearly theme by Jacquie Stoneberger in the parking lot in front of the SAQ. Saturday night was the dance; and the week ended on Sunday afternoon with a parade called Wheels in Motion. People brought antique cars or decorated wagons, bicycles, skateboards – whatever had wheels and moved, to participate in the parade.

For a few years now, our community was quiet, in transformation. But now it is time for a renewed community spirit to emerge – which is not to say there isn’t one. There are so many groups and organizations operating in Hemmingford, weaving a tapestry of colourful activity. But there hasn’t been an event that pulled us together into one community event. Ensemble Hemmingford Together is now filling that very need with a Community Day on Saturday, August 20 at the Recreation Centre starting at 2.30pm. Businesses and organizations have been invited to set up tables and present their services and/or products. They are all from the community we live in. There will be food and beverages and inflatable games for the kids. Music will be provided by various local musicians, including 4Banger, who will invite us to dance our hearts out. It is all local. Come one and all and have fun as you meet your Community. We look forward to getting to know you better.