The Bedellus

The Ontario Provincial Town Crying Championships took place in Kitchener-Waterloo from October 5-8, 2012. Hosted by Scott & Anne Marie Fraser a beautiful venue and high spirits made for some exceptional moments.

After three cries Crier John Webster from Markham came out on top followed closed by Crier Chris Whyman (Kingston) and Crier Mark Molnar (St. Catharines). Crier Webster also won the award for the most humorous cry during the competition.

Rising early on the Monday morning, many of the Criers took the opportunity to walk in the annual Oktoberfest Parade. Photos of the event can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ontarioguild/2012ChampionshipOktoberfest

The weekend of July 14-15 proved a perfect time for Criers to gather in Gravenhurst and Bracebridge for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Competition and the annual Muskoka Escpades of Town Crying Competition.

A reception was held for the Criers and Escort on Friday evening July 13th, 2012 at Nipissing University campus. The next morning, everyone thoroughly enjoyed a one hour cruise aboard the cruise ship Wenonah II, a two hundred passenger replica of a steamship that plied the waters of Lake Muskoka. This cruise was immediately prior to commencing the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Town Crier Competition with the first and second cries held at Gravenhurst Wharf. A wonderful meal was donated by Swiss Chalet for the awards ceremony Saturday evening. Councillor Steve Clement, acting on behalf of his Worship Mayor Graydon Smith, presented each Crier with a unique pewter Christmas ornament and Town of Bracebridge pin. An outstanding talent show was later performed by Town Criers and Escorts – Shaun & Martina Kruger; Dave McKee; Bill McKee; Andrew & Elsworth Welch and Daniel Richer dit le flèche.

Winners of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Competition – Gravenhurst – Saturday, July 14th

1st Place – John Webster City of Markham
2nd Place – Andrew Welch Town of Caledon & Village of Erin
3rd Place – Daniel Richer dit le flèche, Capital Region of Ottawa / Gatineau; Chris Whyman – City of Kingston; David McKee – City of Brantford (three way tie)

Best Dressed Crier – Daniel Richer dit le flèche – Capital Region of Ottawa / Gatineau
Best Dressed Escort Kimberly Rose Easton, Pennsylvania

On Sunday morning, the first cry of the Muskoka Escapades of Town Crying Competition was held at the Muskoka Pioneer Power Show in Bracebridge. A luncheon was provided by Harvey’s Hamburgers on the Swiss Chalet patio amongst the flower display. The final cry was at the Christmas Tree of Santa’s Village with St. Nicholas himself in attendance. The awards for this competition were presented by Santa Claus who then provided his jet boat to transport the Criers and Escorts back to the Kruger residence along the Muskoka River.

Upon disembarking, a BBQ was provided on the garden lawns over looking the majestic Muskoka waterways with great socializing amongst the Criers and Escorts from the three countries of Canada, United States of America and New Zealand. Many of the volunteers and judges also attended.

Winners of the Muskoka Escapades of Town Crying Competition – Sunday, July 15th

1st Place – Chris Whyman City of Kingston
2nd Place – Bill McKee Twp of Scugog, Twp of Uxbridge and the City of Oshawa
3rd Place – John Webster City of Markham

Prizes awarded by Santa Claus at the Village

The Ontario Guild of Town Criers graciously appreciated the contributions which permitted this competition to take place from FedNor Canada; OLG; Sleemans Canada; Swiss Chalet/Harvey’s Restaurants, The Towns of Bracebridge and Gravenhurst plus Santa’s Village. The Nipissing University personnel were also outstanding in providing the reception area and tremendous accommodations for all.

See you next year for the Muskoka Escapades of Town Crying on Sunday, July 14th, 2013!

Calling all Criers!

The Ingersoll Harvest Festival will be once again hosting a Town Crier competition this year on August 25th. This competition is the longest running annual competition in North America. The competition will be run like all the previous years with 2 cries. The first one will be at 11:00 am and the second one will be at 2:00 pm. Lunch will be provide in between.

After the competition everyone is invited back to host Crier Doug Turvey’s household for pizza and refreshments.

This year we will be doing cries in conjunction with the Official Opening of the Oxford County Museum School. Prize money will be as always, 1st- $100, 2nd-$50, and 3rd- $25. The competition is open to anyone who would like to attend. Details will be sent out later to those who express an interest in coming.
Please let Doug know if you wish to come.

Doug Turvey
Town Crier for the Township of Zorra and the Town of Ingersoll

Another resounding success hosted by Crier Steve Travers in Barrie on June 2, 2012

Click here to see more pictures!

Criers Tony Vandermaas and Mark Molnar announce that the 2013 OGTC Provincial Championships will not be a joint effort between their respective communities. Crier Tony will be hosting the competition in Thorold entirely.

Crier Rob Misener invites all Guild members to the 51st Rose Festival Parade in Welland, ON.
Date: June 24th, 2012 at 1 PM.

Crier Bruce Kruger invites all criers to attend the Queens Diamond Jubilee Celebration and Muskoka Escapades Competition. This weekend is also the 125th anniversary of the RMS Segwun. The Diamond Jubilee Celebrations would involve a 2 cry competition with the Mukoka Escapades Competition being the following day. Intent to participate must be received by Bruce or Shaun by March 30th. Please contact Bruce or Shaun Kruger for more information.
Dates: July 14 and 15th, 2012 in Bracebridge

The Ontario Provincial Town Crier Championships is scheduled for October in Kitchener-Waterloo. Host Crier Scott Fraser is promising a three-day, three-cry event that revolves around Oktoverfest and includes taking part in the annual parade. The dates are October 6-8.

The Muskoka Escapades of Town Crying sponsored by Swiss Chalet/Harvey’s was held on July 10th and hosted for the tenth time by the Town Criers of Bracebridge, Criers Bruce & Shaun Kruger with escorts Lynn and Martina Kruger.  The morning competition was held at the Muskoka Pioneer Power Show at J. D. Lang Park and the second cry was held at Santa’s Village.  There were 14 Town Criers in attendance from across Ontario and one United States Town Crier attending from Deerfield, Massachusetts a member of the American Guild of Town Criers.

Santa and Mrs. Claus presented the winners with the awards.  First place winner (kneeling) Crier Chris Whyman, form Kingston, (back left) Crier Dave McKee of Brantford – second place (back right) Bill McKee – representing the City of Oshawa, Scugog, Pt. Perry & Uxbridge won third place.  Competition organizers standing middle back are Town Criers of Bracebridge Shaun Kruger, Bruce Kruger and Crier’s Escort Lynn Kruger.

The second photo shows the winner of the Best Dressed Escort, Mrs. Lynda Travers from the City of Barrie and standing beside Escort Lynn Kruger is her granddaughter Ava Kruger.

Many of the Criers rode aboard Santa’s famous Rudolph Jet boat from Santa’s Village after the competition back to Kruger’s Residence  for a great BBQ along the Muskoka River and social on a hot sunny day.  Councillor Steve Clement, Town of Bracebridge presented each Crier with a Town Medallion.  Good times were had by all with planning underway for next year!  Same time… same place!

Best regards,
Bruce & Shaun Kruger

For additional photos please visit our Photo Gallery
 

The City of Brantford and Crier David McKee audibly and laudably proclaim:

Fellow Criers:

As the May 6, 2011 deadline for applications is looming, you might be interested to know that there are some exciting developments concerning the Provincials. Some of these are still a bit up in the air, but I thought you should know the direction things are heading.

Our Entry-Exit Judge will be an Emmy Award winning choreographer. While she is currently working on shows in Montreal, Florida, Las Vegas, Germany and Japan, she hopes she will be due for a break midsummer and will spend it in Brantford visiting family and judging our event.

The trophies are being made by a very creative potter and will be truly special to the winners. She is also making gifts for all participating Criers.

We are in a position to offer cash prizes in addition to the trophies. The value of those prizes depends on what happens as far as sponsorships go.

While a night’s hotel accommodation has been secured for the Saturday, there is now a strong possibility that we might be able to provide the Friday night as well.

Applications have been coming in dribs and drabs, so I hope this promise of an exciting weekend of competition will spur the rest of you to submit your forms.

The registration form can be downloaded here. Information on addresses and other contact information is available by clicking on the picture in this article.

Audibly & laudably,

David V. McKee,
Town Crier, Brantford.

David Boyd, the Town Crier for Rideau Lakes sends us this note:

I believe the photograph, taken by my cousin during a parade through the City of Chester, catches my enthusiasm and also caught my surprise when I first spotted my cousin in the crowd!

In every way the Chester, England, World Town Criers Tournament was a great success.

I didn’t win the title of Best Town Crier in the World, that went to my very worthy colleague, Chris Whyman of Kingston. I DID win third place in the Chester Oaks Town Crier Tournament for my creative efforts and humourous presentation. I also was awarded one of the unique terra-cotta sculptures of Chester’s Market Cross, as the “Media Award“, for extensive press coverage promoting the Chester Tournament, thus promoting the city of Chester.

I learned a lot about Town Crying and this will continue to add to my presentations. I was also invited to stand-in for the Chester Town Crier at the “Noon Cry” from the Market Cross. That was a wonderful vote of confidence from our Host Crier.

Also announced at the awards ceremony by Chris Whyman: He and Daniel Richer dit La Fleche, the Crier for City of Ottawa, are working together to put together a World Tournament that would be endorsing the UNESCO World Heritage site, Fort Henry and the Rideau Canal. I look forward to seeing how they plan. Not that I want to be a Host Crier, as Host Criers can’t compete.

So, have a grand day, and take what comfort you may in knowing that a retired public servant is out there, crying on your behalf.

Cheers … David

The annual Ontario Provincial Town Crier Championships will take place in Oshawa on Saturday, July 10, 2010. The festivities actually get underway on the Friday evening and to date seventeen Guild Criers and representatives from other Guilds will be in attendance. Crier Bill McKee, the Crier for Oshawa, the Township of Uxbridge & Port Perry-Scugog Township, is hosting this years event which takes place on the site of the Oshawa International Festival. With the criers adding to the colour and pagentry of the day, this should be an excellent three-cry competition.

The planned itinerary for the competition is:

FRIDAY JULY 9, 2010: Arrival at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Durham College anytime after 6 pm. There will be a small reception available upon your arrival or very soon thereafter. We will have the draw order during this time. Your two written cries could be handed in then as well. The accommodations include a continental breakfast, parking and use of the internet.

SATURDAY JULY 10, 2010: Hopefully the bus will pull out at 0945 hours. Anyone driving to the site should note that parking will be limited because there is also  a ball tournament in the stadium next to the Gardens, many pipe bands and a Chinese cultural event at the Festival.

1000 hours: Judge’s briefing.

1030 hours: Cry #1 – Anything to do with International Festivals, Culture, Pipe bands or any distantly related topic. Humour is most certainly welcome. The cry will be done on the south end bridge facing north. Judges will be seated on both sides of the Oshawa Creek.

1200 hours: Opening Ceremonies at North end of Park. Criers welcome but certainly not compelled to attend.

1315 hours: Cry #2 – Anything on General Motors. Again, humour is welcome.

1430 hours: AGM of the Ontario Guild of Town Criers in the Children’s Arena board room. This arena is part of the Botanical Gardens land and is located in the Gardens parking lot on Arena St.

1600 hours: (Or sooner if the AGM is quick) Cry #3 – A cry based on the information given to you after the first cry. There will be no penalties for any historical inaccuracy and no penalties if all the ideas given are not used. The object here is humour and creativity. All other OGTC rules still apply.

1730 hours: Awards. This may be moved to the banquet hour depending on time.

1800 hours: Banquet at Royal Canadian Legion Branch #43, 471 Simcoe St. S. Oshawa. At the banquet, there will a cash bar available, and the dinner menu is beef, Caesar salad, veggies, spuds, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage.

2030 hours: Head home or bus back to car.

Other information:

Lunch on the day of the competition will be in the form of either a voucher redeemable at one of the many vendors or a cash envelope of $10.00 per person. That is to be determined.

It is a busy day yes, but everything is on site for the contest and we are all housed together and the banquet is close by. A detailed set of travel instructions has been emailed to each participant. Any questions call Crier Bill McKee at 905.982.0433 or email him at mcshout@powergate.ca. It is not too late for Criers who have not stated they are coming to sign on.

The Guild Executive wishes to thank Crier Bill McKee and his wife Liz, as well as any others who are assisting in our annual event. This promises to be another excellent day for all Criers!

On literally any weekend the “Limestone City” is a busy place, but added to the bustle of the market, the people filling the stores and restaurants on Saturday, May 22nd, five Criers gathered … four of whom were testing their lungs for the World Championships in Chester, England in June. It was a beautiful sunny day that greeted the Criers and their Escorts who could not escape the literally hundreds of photo requests from the gathering crowds.

Organized by Kingston’s Crier Chris Whyman (kneeling) and Rideau Lakes Crier David Boyd (far left), Bracebridge Crier Bruce Kruger and his wife Lynn, Orangeville Crier Betty Kading and her husband Ron and Heritage Perth Crier Brent McLaren along with his wife Shelley were treated royally.

The Criers strutted their stuff on the Market performing impromptu cries for the merchants and then two cries before the crowds. They toured Kingston on board the Confederation Tour Bus before enjoying what was a meal not to be missed. Hosted by the Kingston Brew Pub the four course “Bell-Ringers Special” meal featured a beer-pairing with each course. The micro-brewery beers (some of which comes from Bracebridge) permeated every part of the meal, from the rolls to the drizzle on the dessert, each course served with a specially selected beer to balance the flavours. It capped the festivities in a unique way and was warmly appreciated by all.

CKWS-TV was on hand to cover the event. You can see their coverage by visiting http://www.ckwstv.com/index.cfm?page=news&id=2530

Everyone walked away a winner from this exceptional day in Kingston.