Ian Tamblyn, art & photography exhibitions

Join us on Saturday June 26 for a wonderful performance and a delicious dinner at the Red Canoe Cafe. Ian Tamblyn brings his songs of canoeing, the north and other classic Canadian tales and the menu features grilled salmon or chicken or organic pork chops from our own farm. Reserve now as seats are going fast. 613-756-9515.

A bit of Wilno in Afghanistan

Jon Whitehead, who grew up in the Wilno General Store, is now a proud young soldier with the Canadian military. He has just left for a tour of duty in Afghanistan and posts this photo of some of the Afghani kids. Jon is also a talented singer who was on Canadian Idol a few years ago. His lovely and talented sister Cindy worked here at Wilno Station when we first opened, and his musical uncle Robert Yeretch has done a number of performances here in the Red Canoe Cafe. When I first moved to Wilno, I lived in the apartment above the Wilno General Store in the heart of downtown Wilno. One of my favorite memories is listening to the Whitehead family rehearsing their songs for Mass on Saturday night at St. Mary's. They would practice in the store behind the counter while the customers came and went. Then, after a couple of years, when Tom and I opened the cafe, Cindy was a loyal and competent and fun-loving employee. We had a farewell party here at the Cafe when Mike and Diane sold the store and moved all the way to Rockingham. Mike, who is also a musician, has rescued us several times when visiting performers showed up without their amplifier patch cords and other necessary items. The delicious pasture raised beef in our burgers comes from Diane's sister and brother-in-law's farm near Douglas...Life in a small village is so intertwined!!! We are all keeping Jon in our good thoughts while he is in Afghanistan.

Red Canoe Cafe Spring 2010

The Red Canoe Cafe is ten years old this spring...from our beginnings as a lunch and dessert cafe in the front room of the main house to this licenced cafe with a bright sunporch and a patio and a menu built on organic and local food we mostly raise and grow ourselves on our farm.
No wonder I feel exhausted!!!!!

We had a lovely month in Merida Mexico during winter and then came back to the farm to get ready for an even busier spring. We now have four breeding sows and a purebred boar and are hoping to have about seventy piglets over this next year. All but one of our ewes have lambed and we have 25 lambs and sadly lost six in various flukey mishaps. Our chicks seem to be doing well and will be ready for early July. Hens are laying, ducks are quacking and now we have three geese sitting on eggs and hissing viciously when I try to give them corn and water so they don't starve to death.

We are re-opening the cafe in between all this agricultural hooptedoodle and Tom has finished roto tilling the garden both at the main building and down at the suites. We had our first guests last night and another couple tonight. I've cleaned the three main rooms and rearranged the gift shop and am about to tackle the downstairs gallery. New paintings to hang, new jewellery to display.

Planning an increasingly local menu for this summer with Feast of the Farm being a major project as last year people really enjoyed the fresh food and organic meat. I think it's going to be a busy summer as the trend toward healthier eating is definitely growing in leaps and bounds.

And it's going to be a somewhat bittersweet summer as it may very well be our final one as restaurateurs in this lovely little village. After much consideration and debate, we have decided to list the business for sale as it is becoming clear that no two sane human beings can continue trying to run a restaurant and a farm which are a 45 minute drive apart and also both require most attention at exactly the same busy spring and summer seasons.

We've had a lot of good times running this place...worked with some incredible staff...met fabulous people and made countless friends. As part of having a cafe business, we've hosted poetry readings, philosopher's cafes, gallery openings, book launches, scrabble tournaments, songwriter evenings, wedding rehearsal dinners, family reunions, dance exhibitions and gatherings of all sorts. Musicians and performers from all across Canada have graced our little cafe. We published a newspaper, did dinner theatre and are in the seventh year of a week long Film Festival which had premiered major Canadian films! It has not been a dull life but it has been a very busy one and I am hoping that we will find new owners who are keen to add their own inspirations.

So on that note, we prepare for a busy summer and look forward to whatever the future holds.

Farm to Fork Film Festival continues

Additional Screenings Friday Nov 27 and Saturday Nov 28:

Please see previous posts for more detailed synopsis on the films being shown.

Friday

1 pm: Food Inc

2:30: The World According to Monsanto

4:00 King Corn

6:30: The Real Dirt on Farmer John


Saturday:

1 pm: Food Inc

2:30: The World According to Monsanto

4:00 The Real Dirt on Farmer John

Red Canoe Cafe will be serving a delicious selection of local foods. Free admission to screenings. Donation jar happily accepts contributions for festival expenses. For more info or reservations for meals please call 613-756-9515.

Film Festival Screening Schedule 2009

"From Farm to Fork" a provocative look at food and farming, is the theme of this years WFVF which runs from Thursday Nov 19-to Saturday Nov 21. Sunday Nov 22, we wind up this years festival with a Philosopher's Cafe centred on the pleasures and pitfalls of food and drink in our lives.

By request from film-goers The Wilno Film & Video Festival will be extended this year to run for two additional days on Friday Nov 27 & Nov 28 with screenings from 1 pm through 8 pm. Schedule will be posted shortly but will include all the major films screened in the first week. We will also be serving our "100 Mile Local Food" menu for lunch and dinner on both those days.

Screenings are at the Red Canoe Cafe at the Wilno Station Inn in our downstairs gallery. Admission is free (limited by space available) although a donation jar welcomes any contributions to the festival expenses such as film rentals, promotion etc.

The Red Canoe Cafe will be serving a special "100 Mile" local food menu during the festival.

Red Canoe Cafe "Feast of the Farm" Festival Menu
Price of $20.00 includes choice of soup (caldo verde or cream of tomato)
choice of
grilled organic sausage on braised red cabbage with warm german potato salad
organic lamb stew over curried potatoes
or organic meat loaf with fall vegetables and mashed potatoes.

dessert of maple pumpkin cake with whipped cream
AND INCLUDES: glass or red or white wine or pint of Wilno Heritage or Steamwhistle Beer.

Reserve your dinner/screening tickets now by email or at 613-756-9515 to ensure that you will have a seat for the films and for your meal.

SCREENING SCHEDULES:

Screening note: We regret that we will NOT be screening the feature films Julie & Julia or Chocolate during this weekend's festival lineup due to limited time and seating space.

Thursday Nov 19:

1 pm: El Contrato: (NFB 51 min): For 8 months of the year, a Southern Ontario town absorbs 4000 Mexican migrant labourers who pick tomatoes under conditions and wages that no local workforce will accept. Despite fear of repercussions, the workers finally voice their desire for dignity and respect, as well as for better wages and working conditions.

2 pm: Earth to Mouth: (NFB: 41 min) An exquisitely filmed meditative look at an 80 acre farm near Newcastle Ontario, providing Asian vegetables for the Chinese markets. Founded by Lau King-Fai who survived the loss of her father and siblings and husband in Hunan province, this Canadian farm has become oasis, income and independence for this fiesty mother, her son, and the half dozen Mexican farm workers who all in their own way, endure the rigors of farming and savour their moments of peace.

3 pm: The Fight for True Farming (NFB: 89 min) Crop and animal farmers in Quebec, the Canadian West, the U.S and France insist it is possible to grow food differently than the current norm of factory farming and agribusiness. A film of grim lucidity but also irrepressible hope.

5 pm: The World According to Monsanto (109 min): Monsanto's controversial past combines some of the most toxic products ever sold with misleading reports, pressure tactics, collusion and corruption in their race to genetically engineer and patent the world's food supply. One reviewer says this film will "freeze the blood in your veins".

7:30pm: Food Inc: (94 min) exposes how our food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the farmer, the safety of the workers, and the well-being of the environment. You'll never look at dinner the same way again.

Friday Nov 20:

1 pm: Re-Generation: A look at the post-Woodstock generation and the impact of the sixties in our culture. Partially filmed at MorningGlory Farm near Killaloe.

2:30 pm: King Corn: You Are What You Eat: (90 min) engrossing and eye-opening, King Corn is a fun and crusading journey into the digestive tract of the fast food nation. Fueled by curiousity and naivety a pair of college buddies return to their ancestral home in Iowa to discover how the modest corn kernel has conquered America. Along the way, they unlock the hidden truths about America's modern food system.

4:30: Fed Up: (57 min): The bio tech industry tells us that their technology is the only hope for feeding the world and saving the environment. A compelling and an entertaining look at our food production system from the Green Revolution to the Biotech Revolution and what we can do about it.

6:30 pm: The Future of Food (60 min) You'll never look at your dinner the same way again. A thought provoking examination of modern farming and agriculture practices.

8 pm: Backwoods Gourmet: (28 min): Local food afficionados turned film-makers develop a pilot for a cooking show set in the hills of Cormac/Killaloe. Starring Lee Lafont, Tim Storey and Barry Goldie with guest appearances by their friends. Cinematography by Antonin Llotsky.

8:30 pm: A series of short films about Cool Hemp, OVFC film, and other about local food producers.

Saturday Nov 21: Please refer to film profiles on Thursday and Friday schedules

12:30 Rooftop Gardens

12:45pm: The Real Dirt on Farmer John (80 min)

2: 30 pm: The World According to Monsanto: (109 min)

4 pm: Food Inc:

5:30 pm: The Future of Food

6:30 pm The Real Dirt on Farmer John

8 pm: Seeds of Change: Farmers, Bio-Technology and the New Face of Agriculture

Sunday Nov 22: 2 pm-4 pm: Philosopher's Cafe with Stan Skreszewski: Join us for a spirited discussion about the meaning of food and drink (and chocolate) in our busy modern lives. Free admission. Bring your favorite chocolate. Everyone welcome.

Poetry, film festival and philosopher's cafe

Whew...the summer is over and the quieter days of fall are here. Still lots of exciting events on the horizon.
Sunday Nov 8: Annual poetry in the cafe...2-5 pm. Free admission. Poets welcome. Come out and read or be an appreciative audience.
Saturday Nov 14: Artisan bread-baking workshop at Donegal Farm is SOLD OUT. Watch for more workshops throughout the winter.
Thursday Nov 19-Sat Nov 21: Sixth Annual Wilno Film and Video Festival. This years theme is "From Farm to Fork"....a look at the foods we eat and the philosophies that drive modern farming. We'll be serving delicious meals composed of local foods each evening!!!
Sunday Nov 22: Philosopher's Cafe...2-5 pm. Join us for another provocative debate with our host Stan...more to come.
Saturday and Sunday Nov 28-29: Christmas Shopping Party featuring the works of Linda Sorensen and the original jewellery designs of Gerri Eisen..