A campaign is underway to purchase and install a stained glass window in the St. Martha’s Regional Hospital (SMRH) chapel. A committee has been set up to spearhead the project and, as committee members Dr. Mary Gorman and chair Fr. Neil McKenna noted, the project will further enhance a place where people go to find comfort. “We see it as a place for patients to go and have a quiet [...]

In 2011, Hollywood made a movie called War Horse which made a lot of money and received critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for best picture. John Vermeer, of Pleasant Valley, also has a war horse story and while it may not end up being turned into a big budget blockbuster, it is complete with photos and the enthusiasm of the storyteller who remembers details as if they happened [...]

A contest to honour culture, traditions and territories started in Paqtnkek Mi’kmaq Nation June 1. The Chief and council in Paqtnkek are sponsoring the Highway Overpass Art Contest with submissions now being accepted. “It could be electronic, if it’s something they’ve done that way,” Susan Tapfer, communication co-ordinator for Paqtnkek, said, noting designs are to be brought to the front desk of the band office. “There is no limit to [...]

The tradition of strong Highland dancers from Antigonish will continue next month as three local dancers head to the Canadian Highland Dancing Championships. Megan Smith, 9, Erin Gilfoy, 10 and Abigail MacDonald, 13, will all take the trip to Montreal with their families for the national championship, held July 3 – 7. To qualify for the nationals, the dancers had to be in the top 3 of their age group [...]

They came to share stories about the current political and social situations in Egypt, and though small, a crowd listened. Around a dozen turned out Saturday, June 8 to the People’s Place Library to take in the stories of Mohamed Kotb, John Gad, Nawal Ghatas, Mohamad Kamal and Mary Ramsis, five individuals from different backgrounds and community groups in Egypt who are all studying programs at the Coady International Institute. [...]

The Antigonish Therapeutic Riding Association (AnTRA) has launched its annual sponsor a rider fundraising campaign. “There is a nominal fee [for participants] but it doesn’t come close to covering our costs, which are not huge ($5,000),” Amanda Workman, AnTRA board chair, told the Casket. Last year, thanks to strong community support, AnTRA completed another campaign financially. In 2012, 16 riders participated in the program, which was housed at Creekside Equestrian [...]

A country-style fundraiser in benefit of Royal Canadian Legion Arras Branch 59 will take place Saturday at the local branch. The Country Flavour Show, featuring Dereck and Candy Siteman, will take centre stage at 8 p.m. The couple has been performing for almost two decades – together and separately – with a bevy of impersonators paying tributes to the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond. During the [...]

It has been a few years since local artist Vicki MacLean has put on an art show. That will change this Saturday with the opening reception for a month-long show she is doing at A Matter of Tastes Art Gallery, located on Hwy. 7 in Ashdale, about 9 kilometres from Antigonish. “It has been since 2002 or 2003, somewhere around there,” MacLean said in trying to recall her last show. [...]

Father Bernard MacAdam enjoyed a special celebration in March which recognized not only his efforts in Honduras but that of other diocesan priests from the Diocese of Antigonish. The Holy Family Parish (Parroquia Sagrada Familia) celebrated 50 years and wanted to recognize the significant contributions of MacAdam and fellow priests for their work in Honduras and the parish including Father Alex MacKinnon, Father Basil Campbell, Father Finlay MacLellan, Father Pius [...]

A few flat tires, the occasional broken chain and biblical quantities of mud added up to a successful first ever cross-country mountain bike race Sunday at Keppoch mountain The Highland Grind XC mountain bike race, held under Sunday’s clearer skies, attracted 75 riders from around the Atlantic provinces to participate on the fresh course. “It doesn’t have the traditional single track, what cross-country racers across the province are used to [...]

Big and small, walking, running and rolling, more than 100 participants made their way on a five-kilometre journey Sunday morning in Monastery as part of MADD Antigonish’s Strides for Change walk. This year’s walk was held in honour of Nico Landry and Kory Mattie, two East Antigonish Academy students who died in November 2011. “I hope that it’s going to put the awareness out there, how big a problem drinking [...]

Hughie McCarron was a 17-year-old farm boy from North Grant, the 11th in a family of 13 children, when his older brother Leonard came home from the 1956 Antigonish Highland Games after tossing a caber for the first time. “My brother Leonard was interested in all kinds of sports,” McCarron recalled. “He came home from the Games and we started practicing in the fall.” From modest beginnings working on the [...]

It’s not every day that kids have the chance to poke an anemone, hold a sea star or check out the vertebrae of a tuna, but the StFX version of World Oceans Day, celebrated Saturday, June 8 around the world, gave a few local youth that opportunity. “We just wanted to promote ocean awareness by showing them different marine organisms and the biodiversity that exists in the ocean, just get [...]

What started as an online journal to post crafts she had created with her three sons, Gina Bell’s blog now reaches tens of thousands of readers each month and was recently named as an influential Canadian mom blog. The award, from SavvyMom.ca, listed Bell’s blog, East Coast Mommy, as ‘most likely to have the best birthday parties.’ “Pretty much, I blog about what we do, what I do with my [...]

It takes a special kind of patience to get down on one’s knees and gently explain the basics of music to a four-year-old. Multiply that experience thousands of times, to hundreds of students over 25 years and you can begin to see the life Sister Lillian Gaudet has lead as a Music for Young Children (MYC) teacher. With families and friends milling around at the start of her 25th and [...]

Heavy events athlete Jim Sears, a man known for many caber and shot put winning throws, is amongst the inaugural class of the Antigonish Highland Society’s Highland Games Hall of Fame inductees. To celebrate the 150th year, a Hall of Fame is being established to honour those who have helped contribute to the success and importance of the local Games. “It’s a lovely honour,” Sears said while relaxing on the [...]

With only a couple of weeks left before local schools turn their students loose for the summer, many parents are likely not looking forward to the choruses of “I’m bored” that each summer brings. Keeping kids active and engaged during the warm summer months can be a challenge, but plenty of day camps held throughout the region this summer aim to ease that boredom and promote fun learning. Whether a [...]

A few of Antigonish’s finest musical talents are coming together for a concert June 12, at 7:30 p.m., at the Schwartz School of Business auditorium. Brothers John-Angus and Colin MacDonald, of the Trews, will be performing together as the Trews Duo, along with up-and-coming artist Molly Thomason. Proceeds from the show, an acoustic concert, are going to Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre (FAST) and tickets can be obtained by calling 867-3333 [...]

Food market entrepreneur and TV personality Pete Luckett was the special guest on-hand at Gabrieau’s Bistro, May 30, for an event in support of the Antigonish Visitor’s Information Centre (VIC). Luckett noted he met bistro owner Mark Gabrieau “many moons ago” through their obvious food connection. “As a guy in the food business, immersed in what I do, selling fruits and vegetables, fine foods, specialty foods, I had to meet [...]

Antigonish native Jean (Curry) MacKenzie is coming home. The Canadian certified counsellor will launch her first book Sunday, June 9, beginning at 2 p.m., at Claymore Inns and Suites. To Know, Love and Serve – A Path to Marital Fulfilment, co-authored with Melissa Guzik, as its synopsis describes, “brings the wisdom and experience of the church’s teaching on marriage to a practical program designed to strengthen and heal the unity [...]