Radville -
On a bright, sunny day, with a gentle breeze blowing, the 2010 Radville-Laurier Homecoming Committee kicked off the centennial celebrations that will be held July 30th, 31st and August 1st.
The celebrations started at the Radville Town Office when Shirley Cancade, Mayor of Radville, Gene Gilmore, Reeve of the R.M. of Laurier and Judy Dionne, Chairperson of the Homecoming Committee raised the Homecoming Flag (with the logo designed by Amber Larsen), along with a new Canadian and Saskatchewan flag, on the flagpole by the town office. Along with the flags, a group of interested town and R.M. residents saw the homecoming committee unveil the Radville birthday sign that will stand in the lot beside the town office, along with flag for the centennial year.
After the flag raising everyone moved to the Innovation Centre where the festivities continued. Inside the library the much awaited Trains and Grains Visual Arts Display was opened. This display showcases the many talents of the local residents, past and present. Everything from crocheting, knitting, quilting, woodworking, painting, poetry, photography, taxidermy and sculpting is on display. Because of the many submissions for this display some of the pieces will be changed mid February so make sure you get out and see the display now and plan to return after the change. The displays are truly remarkable.
In another room at the Innovation Centre coffee and dainties were being served while Gerald Goski, an accordion player from Weyburn, entertained the crowd with some good old-fashioned, toe-tapping music. At approximately 3:00 p.m. Judy Dionne welcomed everyone and thanked all in attendance for coming. At this time Judy read a letter from The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. A grant has been received, in the amount of $21,900 from the Building Communities, through the Arts & Heritage Programs to help offset some of the expenses that will be incurred in the planning and execution of the Homecoming festivities. Judy especially thanked Shauna Bourassa for her assistance in filling out the grant application.
The last, but certainly not least, announcement to be made was that of the winner of the Centennial Song Contest. The contest was done by a panel of judges, using a blind judging format, which meant that no one who was judging knew who had submitted the songs. Five entries were submitted by people ages 6 years to "80 something". After a very close decision the winner was "Radville Your're My Home Town" music and words written by William D. Stitt who now lives in Victoria, BC. Dr. Stitt, who is now 83 years old, lived here from age 4 until he graduated from school and moved away to pursue an education in dentistry and medicine. The interesting thing about Dr. Stitt is that he was also the winner 25 years ago when a contest was held for the 75th birthday. Dr. Stitt took his song from 25 years ago and added a special verse for the Centennial. The winning song was performed by three local ladies, Diane Robinson, United Church Minister, Anna Appelquist and Elda Henheffer. The ladies sang the song through once for the crowd to hear and then the song was sang again with everyone joining in and singing along. Plans are in the works for a CD to be made of the song that will be available to purchase during the Centennial celebrations along with other momentos of the weekend.
Throughout the afternoon celebrations, three door prizes were drawn with the winners being: Iris Field - picture of the Radville elevator, taken by Bill Pastachak and donated by Judy Dionne; Phyllis Fair - Radville Tourism cookbook; and Brenda Field - 10 % off Homecoming registration.
The Homecoming committee did an excellent job organizing this kick off and were very pleased with the attendance. With only six months to go until the big weekend there is still a lot to do. As the weekend gets nearer watch for further announcements and news releases to keep up on what will be happening!
