The Octagon – October, 2018
Fall has arrived and as the colours change so do we. This coming weekend (Thanksgiving) sees the last of this year’s Manor House tours. We will be offering guided tours on both Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 and 2:30 pm. So if you are looking for something to do while the turkey is cooking, take the family for a scenic drive along Westside Road and visit the Manor House.
As we reflect back on this past season we think of all the visitors from around the world who visited and toured the Manor House; all the school tours with the excited children who gazed in wonderment at the artifacts from a bygone era; all the seniors who came by bus for a day’s outing and reminisced as they explored the objets d’art of their childhood. We are delighted to see the figures for this past season show an increase in revenue from tours and gift shop sales despite the fact that due to a lack of volunteers, we were only able to offer guided tours on weekends.
September 16th saw another wonderful Fintry Fair take place in front of the Manor House and despite the ominous weather which was forecast, the day turned out to be warm and sunny! I am sure the forecast kept many people away as attendance was down but those who did come out certainly seemed to enjoy themselves. The Vikings put on another of their crowd-pleasing shows, the Kalamalka Highlanders strutted their stuff on the front lawn; the Triskele Celtic singers and other musicians entertained us beautifully all day long. For those of you who missed the Fairs this year, we will be holding these events again next year with the first being held on Mother’s Day 2019.
Notes from our Curator, Dan Bruce: Just in time for the Fall Fair, we were able to arrange for the return of an interesting piece of Fintry’s past. The granite and concrete block that was used as a mounting aide for tall horses is now back at the Manor House. This was originally somewhere out to the west of the building, but that area is now part of the campsite section of the Park, so we have re-located it on the patio outside the Trophy Room. When the Baileys moved from the Manor House to Burnside, they took the block with them, (along with the sundial). The sundial was brought back to its original site several years ago, but the mounting block was a bit more of a challenge. One of our neighbours on the Delta, Conrad Moskal was able to make this move happen for us with his heavy equipment. The block is no lightweight, and was clearly never meant to be moved at all. Conrad set it down carefully on the corner of the patio, inset somewhat to allow the lawn mower to work around it. When we have our Fairs in the future, the Fintry merchandise booth canopy can be secured to the block, no wind could ever move it!
Still in the spirit of the season, I would like to thank all the hard working members of the Friends of Fintry who make the three Fairs which we hold in May, July and September happen.
I am truly grateful to those of you who take time out of your already busy lives, step up and take on whatever role is needing filled……. and it all just comes together.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!