The winning 2011 Canoe Raffle Ticket has been drawn, and the Friends are pleased to announce the winner is:
CRAIG HALPENNY of Perth, with ticket 0078 purchased way back in April at the Perth Festival of the Maples.
Congratulations, Craig, and thanks to everyone who supported our annual raffle to raise funds for Friends’ programs.
Wow, the second weekend of the Heritage Mica Festival (Aug. 27 and 28) will bring loads of exciting activities for the whole family. The Perth Town Crier will welcome all our guests and set the tone for this heritage day.
On Saturday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Lally Homestead site showcases work and play as it would have been in the early 1900s. A variety of heritage trades and crafts will be demonstrated. Children can enjoy heritage games all day long and music will be provided on site by a number of musicians. When you are ready for a break, have a taste of our miner’s lunch served from the wood stove in the drive shed for a cost of just $3.
The Silver Queen Mine will also be open for visits with interpretation by parks staff. Stop by the bunkhouse to see how the miners lived and enjoy music there as well. Then in the evening, make your way to the park amphitheatre for a concert by Corkery Road.
On Sunday, Aug. 28, the action moves to the Main Beach with Voyageur Canoe Tours on Hogg Bay. 
Join the costumed interpreters in the 34-foot canoes for a view of the park from the water. All ages are welcome. Tickets for the canoe tours are just $2 per person or $5 per family and advance reservations are recommended. You can purchase your tickets at the Park Visitor Centre from 1 to 4 p.m. daily or reserve tickets by contacting eventsmurphys@ripnet.com with information about which tours you are booking and how many tickets you need. While you are waiting for the tours to return, visit with Bear the Tinker for songs and story-telling.
Please remember that dogs are not permitted on the beach or in the mine or bunkhouse.
See you at the Heritage Mica Festival next weekend! Click here for a summary of festival events.
A small but hardy group braved the rain and danced up a storm to the Celtic sounds of Cratur at the Barn Dance and Corn Roast hosted by the Friends of Murphys Point on Sunday. This was the highlight of the second day of the Heritage Mica Festival at the park.
Despite the often heavy rain, Friends volunteers braved the elements to cook the corn outside. An enormous cast iron pot was set over a wood fire and soon the water was bubbling away. Local corn, picked the same day, was cooked to perfection by volunteers from the Friends and topped with melted butter. Festival visitors enjoyed their corn in the large tent at the Lally Homestead as they listened to the four-piece band Cratur.
Cratur performs Celtic music specializing in Cape Breton fiddle music. The band comprises three excellent OttawaValley fiddlers, accompanied by guitar. Their instrumentation is as traditional as the music. The voices of the far-flung Celtic peoples who shaped this land – from Scotland, Ireland, and Newfoundland to the Ottawa Valley– come to life as they play.
The Heritage Mica Festival continues next weekend at Murphys Point Provincial Park. Click here for complete event details.
The world premiere of The Silver Lining saw a sold-out audience Saturday night (August 20) at the Heritage Mica Festival at Murphys Point. The Friends of Murphys Point commissioned this outdoor theatre piece to bring to life the Lally family who settled in the area where the park is now located back in the late 1800’s. During the performance of The Silver Lining, we follow James, David and Katie Lally as they meet up with Rinaldo the prospector, John McGlade the mine foreman, and many other characters who were involved with the Silver Queen Mine from 1903 to 1906.
The Silver Queen Mine located at Murphys Point Provincial Park is a mica mine that operated in the early 1900s. Representative of numerous mines that existed throughout the area, the Silver Queen has been restored and is open for viewing regularly throughout the spring and summer months on a variety of tours provided by park staff. The Silver Lining provided an opportunity to view the homestead area, the mine trail and the mine at night, lit by the glow of mica lanterns carried by the audience. With two shows on opening night, the audience was entranced as these characters from our history came to life.
Click here for the full story!
It was a beautiful sunny day at the main beach for the kick-off to the second annual Heritage Mica Festival. Lanark Highlands Celtic band Skirmish performed at the opening events.
From left, Gary Glover, Bill Cameron, Victor Maltby and Linda Grenier
The band drew crowds during the event hosted by the Friends, which featured a barbecue and children’s games in the afternoon and a theatrical performance (The Silver Lining) on the Silver Queen Mine Trail in the evening. Festival events are planned on weekends right through to Sept. 11.
Volunteers Don Goodfellow and Judy Fletcher serve up tasty food!Volunteers Frank Roy and Judy Buehler dance to the Celtic sounds of Skirmish.
Join us for the performance of The Silver Lining at the Heritage Mica Festival on Saturday, Aug. 20. The cast and musicians have been rehearsing their lines to bring the history of the Silver Queen Mine and the Lally family to life for our festival guests.
Meet Katie Lally as she plots a romance with the help of Agness Beaudrie, the beautiful wife of the owner of the Dominion Promoting and Developing Company.
Or join John McGlade, mine foreman, as he negotiates working conditions for himself and his men.
Performances take place this Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7 and 9 p.m. with advance tickets recommended. Tickets are $2 per person or $5 per family and can be purchased at the Visitor Centre at the park daily from 1 to 4 p.m. or by emailing eventsmurphys@ripnet.com or by calling 613-267-5340.
The Silver Lining will also be performed on Saturday, Sept. 3.
A busy weekend ahead heralds the beginning of the 2011 Heritage Mica Festival. The festival officially kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 20 with a fabulous BBQ
and the music of Skirmish under the main tent at the Main Beach in the afternoon. Take part in a heritage scavenger hunt and check out the festival souvenirs. In the evening, join us for an interactive story of the Lally family and the mining days of the early 1900’s with The Silver Lining, played out along the Silver Queen Mine trail. Tickets are required for the evening performances at 7 and 9 p.m. and advance reservations are recommended.
On Sunday, Aug. 21, come to a hot dog roast at the campfire pit at noon. The festival 
moves back to the Lally Homestead at 5 p.m. for a corn boil and a barn dance with the Celtic music of Cratur. The hot dog roast is by donation and the corn boil and dance is only $3.00 per person, free for those aged 12 and under.
Visit our Festival Information tent at the Park Gatehouse (Friday, 3 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.; Sunday, 3 to 5 p.m.). For full information about the Heritage Mica Festival, click on the link above or access a summary of the activities here.
Friends-wear is all the rage – and now you can get it and more at unbeatable prices during our summer sale!
CHECK IT OUT:
* ALL Friends printed T-shirts and bucket hats are now reduced to the low price of $10!
* ALL Friends embroidered T-shirts are now $20!
* ALL books are reduced by 20%!
While you are stocking up on all of these sale items, be sure to check out the unique merchandise to be found in the Friends Corner of the Park Store.
Don’t forget – Friends members receive a 10% discount on all Friends’ merchandise in the store! Not a member? No problem! Click here to sign up online!
We Friends are pretty darned good at feeding campers, so we thought we would extend this talent to town.
If you’re hungry this Saturday, Aug. 13, be sure to stop by our fundraising barbecue in front of Barnabe’s YIG at the Perth Mews Mall (corner of Wilson Street and Hwy. 7) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for some good eats!
This is a fundraiser for general Friends programs, so every burger, dog and drink counts! Hope to see you and your appetites there!
Thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers, the 1860s ore wagon that has been located for many years on the Silver Queen Mine Trail has been restored to almost-pristine condition, but we’re not quite done!
Volunteers did amazing restoration job
The dilapidated Adams wagon came from a farm that belonged to Anna McLaren in the 19th century at what is now BurgessWood, a subdivision on nearby Otty Lake. The land was purchased in the 1970s by Grover Lightford (a long-time Friends member), who donated the wagon to the park.
Former Friends’ director John Bufton lives in BurgessWood, and he approached the association’s community maintenance team about volunteering to refurbish the wagon, which was once used to transport ore from area mines. Rudy Lepp served as the chief consultant, and other volunteers involved included Dan Woods, Gord Munroe, Gord Barrie, Tom Spence, Larry Paquette and Wayne Smith. John’s wife Judy, a current Friends director, painted the undercarriage of the wagon and the wheels.
This type of wagon was first built in 1863 by a company called Adams & Son in Paris, Ont. It is believed our wagon was used in the 1880s. It serves to demonstrate to visitors how materials were moved during early mining operations in this part of the Canadian Shield.
Research indicated the Adams wagon should be painted in its authentic green and red colours. Much of the wood had to be replaced, but stays true to the original style.
Two of the wheels were sent to a Mennonite community in western Ontario to ensure they were properly repaired. We’re hoping to raise about $1,000 to have the remaining two wheels repaired this fall.
Interpretive role for ore wagon
You can see the work so far when the wagon returns to the Silver Queen Mine Trail in time for the Heritage Mica Festival this month.
To help complete the wonderful work started by the BurgessWood team, please consider making a donation to the Ore Wagon Restoration Project. Click here to see how you can donate online or send a donation by mail. Tax receipts will be issued for donations.
We have big plans for future interpretive displays surrounding the wagon and the mine, so stayed tuned!
A HUGE thank you to the team of volunteers for all of their hard work – beautiful job!
