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.