By Lynda Shadbolt
“Every moment is made glorious by the light of love,” said Rumi.
I really do love living in Haliburton County. It is a special place on this wondrous and precious planet that we live on.
I work hard to never take it all for granted. I’m writing this article as the snow is falling, and we have friends visiting for the weekend. We’ve been skiing, snowshoeing and shoveling all weekend. We couldn’t be happier.
Last night Jim and I attended the Terra Lightfoot concert at the Legion, sponsored by the Haliburton County Folk Society. The show was sold out, Thom Lambert opened for Terra, and it was a fantastic evening.
Terra lights up the stage, and her band is equally bright. Tara lives in Haliburton County now, and her neighbours were in attendance. It’s this kind of community that keeps us healthy, connected and belonging.
I personally try to celebrate every good news story about our county. Every good thing that happens make this place a wonderful place to live, and visit.
There are so many fabulous things happening in downtown Haliburton right now. Scott Walling, from Walling Studio (wallingstudios.com) has taken over Haliburton Framing and Photo from Luke Schell. Luke has retired after many years of dedicated service.
I know Scott from a distance. He often comes into the cafe where we have coffee each morning. He is always so friendly, kind, and has a big smile on his face. We always say good morning to each other, and sometimes we have a quick chat about being creative.
Two years ago, Scott made these funky little felted gnomes and had them for sale in the cafe at Christmas time. My husband loves gnomes, and so I got him one as a gift.
That gnome has sat in our living room since it arrived on that Christmas Day. It is a little reminder to me to be creative, be funky, and be kind. It all matters.
“Scott is a multidisciplinary artist working in numerous mediums; analog & digital photography, printmaking, jewellery, fibre arts, sculpture, painting, and drawing. He also works at Haliburton School of Art + Design in many positions, including Coordinator of the Centre for Making.”
He volunteers with the Art Council. His plan is to combine the store – Haliburton Framing and Photo (haliframesphotos.co) with his job at the college. On his website, he says, “I will help you present your art to the world.”
It is so exciting for the community to have this young businessman starting his business and contributing to our community. If we want businesses like his to succeed, we need to support them. If we want our downtown to thrive we need to shop locally when we can.
Scott and other small businesses are the people who support our hockey teams, our soccer clubs, our curling rinks etc. Scott is someone who loves art, love supporting people in their art and loves his life here in Haliburton. That is a guy we want to keep around!
