The Acoustic Grill « Build A New Life in Prince Edward County

Prince Edward County-Music to My Ears

Contributed by Dan Taylor, Economic Development Office.

There is an incredible music scene happening in Prince Edward County or is it scenes? The diversity of music is incredible. We have a renowned and pure Jazz Festival, that last year featured legend Ellis Marsalis, as well as a wonderful classical music festival that brings in top notch talent and plays in wonderful venues including some of our historical churches.

I recently enjoyed Guh a bag pipe lead jazz fusion band in the Bloomfield Town Hall, chased the next day by a County Ceilidh in St. Andrew’s Church an active church which doubles as a performance space.

There’s always the Barley Room Pub, and JJ’s among many others that support local talent. Local impresario Steve Purtelle’s Acoustic Grill brings in top class talent from all over North America and beyond as well as serving up a really mean burger.

The talent pool of local musicians like Suzanne & Natasha Pasternak, the Frere Brothers, Emily Fennel and others seems almost endless. The Quarter Moon Cafe is an open mike must for local music and locals, held roughly every other Thursday in the summer at the Bloomfield Town hall.

Young Picton and sometimes Nashville based sibling rockers Instant Rivalry can be seen at local venues such as Cuz’s, Coaches and on occasion at The Regent Theatre. When researching this article I just came across Prince Edward County Rock Society on Facebook. Who knew about all this musical talent?

If you are into hip hop then there’s Alex ‘Heist’ Hirst “F.L.O” of Dough Control Studios! Check out his video it’s an awesome tune! If I didn’t have Hip Hop where would I be?

If you like music and are thinking of relocating, give me a call, perhaps Prince Edward County is the place for you? Dan Taylor 613-471-0881.Hip Hop,

Tags: Barley Room Pub, Bloomfield Town Hall, Guh, Jazz Festival, Music, Regent Theatre, The Acoustic Grill
Comments (1) | Posted over two years ago by Dan Taylor

Super Santa

by V. (Roni) Summers Wickens, Executive Director
Picton BIA

For some time now, I’ve been hard-pressed to identify the single most appealing feature of picturesque Picton. Is it the sheer number of historically significant buildings, Picton’s friendly home-town charm, or the deep fried pickles at The Acoustic Grill that draws visitors from near and far to our beautiful town? Finally, I have the answer: today I met Super Santa.

John Zandarin, for a greater number of years than he is probably willing to admit, has volunteered his time to the Picton Santa Claus Parade, at first by default in his role as a municipal public servant and later, by choice. Indeed, Zandarin’s Super Santa is part of what draws kids of all ages to this fun festive event. In the hours leading up to the parade, where others might be making a list or checking it twice, Zandarin can be found at the Bluebird Building at Picton’s historic Crystal Palace welcoming toddlers and tots for their annual visit with Santa….and this year of course, is no exception. But, what makes this year special is that Zandarin has joined forces with Kate Redmond of Kate Redmond Designs to decorate Santa’s Village and there will be magic in the air, especially in light of Zandarin’s recent purchase: an original 1890’s antique McLaughlan cutter ~ just like those used by countless County farm families on countless County roads in years gone by. Purchased with his own funds and stored in his barn for fifty-one weeks of the year, Zandarin proves that what truly makes our community unique is that selfless spirit of giving that lasts the whole year through.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he (and his original antique sleigh) will be in Picton on November 28th courtesy of volunteer extraordinaire John Zandarin and the Picton BIA.

Tags: Picton, Prince Edward County, Quality of Place, The Acoustic Grill
Comments (1) | Posted over two years ago by V. (Roni) Summers Wickens

Movember, PEC Is Behind You All The Way!

As told by Graham Sayers of SuperCider Me and Chesterfields Homegrown Cafè

I was sitting in Chesterfields one day when my friend Dari came in and asked me to participate in Movember – the ritual of growing a moustache for a month to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer. Movember is an international campaign that has been gaining support and attention since it began in Australia in 2003.

Now for most men prostate cancer is at best a touchy subject, especially when you consider the subject being touched. Issues of the butt embarrass most men – we don’t like any attention paid to our butts unless alcohol, curiosity and written consent are involved. But early detection is key with this cancer that affects one in 6 men. So how do we get men to agree to put themselves in an uncomfortable position? The way out of many tight situations is through laughter, and if growing an awesome moustache gets people talking, I say grow that MO!

I rounded up the SuperCider posse because I knew that if this great community would support a cause like drinking cider for a year, surely they would grow a `stach for ass. I wasn’t disappointed. We now have 30 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas on our team, and Picton has turned into our own private IdaMo.

Support so far in the media has been phenomenal: the Picton Gazette and Countylive.ca have both done articles. We believe this may have been what made mayor-elect Peter Mertens bend to the cause, and we’ve finally convinced him to join our team. (Our words of encouragement on Facebook were bordering on harassment.)

The Mo Bros of PEC meet weekly at Chesterfields for a group photo, and we look forward to raising a glass of cider at the Acoustic Grill for “Mo-licious”, a stache-bash, Mo-down, gala celebration of all things Mo on the 30th of November. This is a moustache-only party. Moustaches are available at the door for $10. All proceeds go to prostate cancer. Donations can be made to our PEC Movember team at http://ca.movember.com/

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