Roseneath Spring Festival

Roseneath Here We Come…

Our friend, Ron Marden, is a wood carver and is a member of the Northumberland Woodcarvers Club. Each year they hold a show to feature the works of their members. Traditionally the show is held in February, in Roseneath. This year, however, they decided to work with the newly formed Roseneath Spring Festival committee and hold their show in conjunction with the inaugural Spring Festival. We had promised Ron that we would visit this year’s carvers’ show and the new Roseneath Spring Festival. So, here it is, early Saturday morning and we are headed north from Cobourg on County Road #45 to Roseneath. It’s a beautiful spring day, warm but overcast. We arrived in Roseneath at approximately 9:30am, ½ hour after the festival had opened.

The Roseneath Spring Festival

After we had parked our car, we passed through the admission gate, paid our $2.00 each and headed towards the first large building. Inside the building various groups had set up information booths. The booths ranged from Environmental Exhibits to a Health and Wellness Display. There were also some hand-crafted products for sale. After we had investigated all the booths in the building, we headed back outside. Just outside the exit, there was a kid’s area with lots of activities available. Several tented booths were in the process of being set up, getting ready for the day’s festivities. The first tent we came to was already set up. It was housing and covering two woolly sheep. Beside the tent a lady was working away on her spinning wheel. A young pup lay beside her in the shade of the tent. The next tent, already set up, covered an old wicker chair. The chair was just about to be re-caned. Jane Weeks, of Smallbones (see website) showed us some of her caning techniques. (Click HERE for a video of Jane) Setting up a tent for the Cobourg Highland Games was George Trotter (Click HERE to read my Cobourg Highland Games article). Judi and I stopped for a few moments to talk with George about the upcoming Games. (see Highland Games website) From George, we headed towards Roseneath’s famous Carousel. Music form the Carousel filled the air! We looked inside to watch as the Merry-Go-Round Horses “danced” to the music! Once passed the Carousel, we headed towards the Pancake and Sausage Breakfast. People were lined up waiting patiently for their breakfast. From there, we headed back towards the building that housed the Northumberland Woodcarvers Show. On our way we passed the Haldiman Township firemen’s display and the building that was going to host several of the day’s events. Unfortunately we had arrived too early to take in many of the events. We were scheduled to visit another event over a hundred miles away! Such is the life of the Festival Nomad!

The Northumberland Woodcarvers Show

The woodcarvers’ show was being held in the Alynwick Civic Center. This building abuts the Roseneath Fairgrounds. We went inside the building. Judi immediately noticed a sign pointing to a book sale at the buildings library room. She headed towards it! I headed in the opposite direction to the room holding the Woodcarvers Show. After looking around the show, I spotted our friend Ron Marden. Ron greeted me and then started to take me around the show. Judi eventually, 2 books later, joined us! Ron especially wanted to introduce us to some of his fellow Northumberland woodcarvers. Our first introduction was to Bert Hirt. I couldn’t help noticing the fantastic carved divider that he had created! I asked Bert about it and he explained the carvings. The intricate detailed carvings were absolutely amazing! Next Ron showed us his own carvings. I have known Ron for many years and his work just keeps getting better and better. Judi and I are fortunate to own several of his pieces. Across from Ron’s area was Audrey Ottewill. Ron introduced us and Judi and I chatted with her about her work. Next to Audrey was her husband, John Ottewill. Again, Ron introduced us. John was this year’s show organizer. A huge job, well done! Ron then took us to see the carvings of Marianne Rogers. After admiring her work, I started to have a much better appreciation of the thought and craftsmanship that goes into each creation! It is hard to imagine how anyone can make wood become so alive! We left Ron and wound our way around exploring other booths. At the end of our tour we made our way back to Ron and said our goodbyes.It was time to leave the Roseneath Spring Festival and the Northumberland Woodcarvers Show. We had another festival to visit!