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www.celtic-connection.com
JULY-AUGUST 2005
Ceili Music and Dance Camp: One of Harrison's Highlights
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Before there was Vancouver there was Harrison Hot Springs. The world-famous lakeside village also known as "the healing waters of Harrison" was actually discovered in 1857 by some gold miners who were passing through on their way to the Caribou gold fields.
They discovered the hot water at the edge of the lake, and from then on there was a great interest in developing a hot springs resort. Back before the turn of the century, taking the waters was very popular in Europe, especially in the well-known spa town of Bath, England.
In 1886 the first hotel was built in the resort village of Harrison which was called the Saint Alice Hotel. It later burned down because it was wood and heated with wood stoves. Later the Harrison Hotel was built.
The population of Harrison Village is currently about 1,600 people, but in the high tourist season, which starts the middle of June and continues to October, the population soars to anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 in the village on a Saturday night.
Harrison will never be a big community because of its geographies; there is a lake at the north end, big cliffs on the east and farm land to the south. But Harrison will always be an important community and a world-renowned resort destination as it has been since 1886.
John Allen, who was born in Portadown, County Armagh, is the mayor of Harrison. He takes great pride in his Irish heritage and also in being the mayor of this famous resort village.
Like many of his fellow Celts, Allen is a bit of a character and he loves the music and "craic" and of course, talking to people. Along with his duties as mayor, he also owns the Sasquatch Springs R.V. camping resort. Allen, who plays the piano accordion and sings, encourages live music of all types at his camp ground.
Mayor Allen recently spoke to The Celtic Connection about his background and the upcoming attractions for the summer months in Harrison.
Laughing, he said, "First of all, let me be clear on one thing here. I play the accordion badly, but some of the tunes are recognizable. Actually, I sing better than I play, but I can't do the two things at the same time."
Speaking about how he managed to get from Portadown to Harrison Hot Springs, the mayor said, "I immigrated to Chilliwack in 1970 to be a cherry farmer, and six years later I moved over to Harrison and opened up the R.V. camping resort.
"As the mayor of Harrison, I am also the chief executive officer of the community, which means that I have to ensure that everybody's doing their j ob.
"I arrange and chair all the council meetings and assign committee work to councillors, and I represent the community outside the village in dealings with the regional districts of the municipalities, provincial and federal governments. "
MAYOR JOHN ALLEN
Speaking about some of the attractions at Harrison, Mayor Allen said, "We've got about a mile of golden sandy beach on the edge of a fresh water lake, and it's a beautiful setting. Harrison is also where the world championship of sand sculpture is held, and it takes place annually the weekend after Labour Day.
"We give away about 050,000 in cash prizes and we also pay for the travel and accommodations of these world-class sand sculptors. That is supported by the admission we charge to come into Sand Sculpture Park to see these sculptures.
"After they've finished their carvings, we preserve the sculptures for the whole month of September right up to Thanksgiving. People come out and enjoy them even after the competition. At the moment and all summer long, we have a sand sculpture exhibition going on called 'The Enchanted World of Sand', which is the largest sand sculpture in the world."
One of the upcoming events in Harrison, that is most near and dear to the heart of the mayor is the Ceili
Irish Music and Dance Camp that takes place from August 14 to 20. "This is really a delightful event, particularly in the evenings when all the kids get together in the hall after dinner. They're all out doing Irish dancing, showing off the new steps they learned at the Ceili Camp. The instructors and musicians are really high calibre, and they teach dancing, fiddle, bodhran, flute, pipes, and this year Gaelic football has also been included.
"I was delighted when Leslie Wilson, the director and creator of Ceili Music and Dance Camp, contacted me about having the camp here in Harrison since I've been promoting the idea of having an annual Irish music festival for years. Harrison is just a quiet little village, so to see it full of musicians and kids running around playing the fiddle and dancing on street corners, it's just a delight."
Mayor Allen said, "I think there is a great potential with Harrison providing the perfect setting for an annual Irish music festival. What I am trying to do is use the Ceili Camp as the foundation or base to build the whole concept on. It would work so well with the workshops during the day and the performances in the evening.
"It's actually already happening in Harrison; it's just the scale of the whole thing that needs to be put together, but, as my mother used to say 'I've only got two hands'." •
For more information about Harrison Hot Springs (Village) call (604) 796-2171, e-mail: info@harrisonhot springs.ca, or visit: www.harrisonhot springs.org. For more information about the Ceili Irish Music and Dance Camp at Harrison, visit: www. dedanaan.ca and follow the links to Ceili 2005. [N.B.: Special thanks to Shane Donnelly of Donnelly Landscaping in Vancouver for suggesting the article on John Allen the Mayor of the Village of Harrison.]
LEARNING THE INTRICACIES of the Irish bodhran at the Ceili Camp in Harrison.
AERIAL VIEW ofthe Village of Harrison, British Columbia.
OWNER BRIAN HUNTER and Ginger Di Salvo at the opening of Penny Lane Spirits.
After Three Years of Bureaucracy, Penny Lane Spirits is Now Open
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - Brian Hunter, the proprietor of the popular Penny Lane Neighbourhood Pub at 41st and Main Street, recently opened Penny Lane Spirits - a full service liquor store which stocks cold beer, wine, liquor, coolers and ciders.
Brian is well-known in both the Celtic community and in the neighbourhood surrounding his Main Street business. A respected businessman, he has been the owner and manager of the Penny Lane Pub since 1994. Prior to that, he spent 20 years with Molson Brewery as a sales representative and as a sales and promotions manager.
When I dropped in recently to talk to Brian about his new location, the store had only been opened two days. Brian had spent the previous weekend stocking the store with product and getting reading for opening day.
"I've done all my exercise for the week," he joked. "We unloaded eight skids of beer, which is about 240 dozen per skid, so with 2,000 dozen beer, I had my work cut out for me. It takes time to stock the shelves and find the right places for everything. We're planning special tasting events at the store along with several prizes. We will also have a draw for a barbeque in July. Lots of fun things are being planned," he said.
Under licensing regulations, the store is designated as a replacement store, so they are permitted to carry everything. The term "replacement" is used when one store closes down and the city allows another store to open up. Brian said, "We are actually one of two replacement stores in the city. We are replacing the store that closed down at 47* and Victoria Drive. That is how the licensing works, it's pretty stringent."
It took three years of bureaucracy before the store was finally up and running. Brian said, "We originally wanted to open beside the Penny Lane Pub, but unfortunately the neighbours thought it was going to be too much of a hassle.
"We had several meetings with the neighbourhood here at our new location to assure them that we would work closely with them to make sure we don't have the problems they seem to think a liquor store will bring to the area. In our years of operation at the Penny Lane Pub, we've had no problems with the police. We're very careful to check ID's and ensure that people are the proper age to be served in the pub. It is our intention to operate this location in a similar manner."
The Penny Lane Spirits store is set-up with a large walk-in cooler which allows the customer to walk-in and select their products or they can choose from the displays in the front ofthe store. While the store is not as large as some ofthe bigger liquor stores, customers will find all their favourite brands here and some that the larger stores don't carry.
The store will also stock a number of wine selections not found at other liquor stores since Penny Lane Spirits will be buying directly from some of the wineries, which allows them to offer these selections at a very competitive price.
In closing, Brian said, "Many people have a misconception about the privately run cold beer and wine stores, and they feel that they will be paying more, whereas the prices are just as competitive and in some cases, less expensive."
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Penny Lane Spirits is located at 6509 Victoria Drive (49th and Victoria) in Vancouver.