The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

There are several Christmas traditions in Clarenville and the annual Clarenville Lion's Santa Claus Parade is right at the top.      If you're new to Clarenville, a lifelong resident, or a kid or a kid at heart,  you should never miss out on the opportunity to take part in the annual Lion's Santa Claus Parade. This year's parade will be held on Saturday Dec. 6th. 2014.  Through the dedicated efforts of many volunteers in the Lions Club and participating organizations the parade creates a new set of memories each year.   BE A PART OF THE PARADE! You have a couple of weeks to think about how you can be a part of the parade, build a float, or be a Mummer in it - try it.  (Details below)     I've included some notable parades from years past below as well.   The 2013 Edition The 2012 Edition   The 2011 Edition The 2010 Edition The 2009 Edition The 2002 Edition The 2001 Edition ...

Full list of wreats laid at Clarenville's 2014 Remembrance Day ceremony ON BEHALF OF:                 HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN PLACED BY:                        Comrade Judge Randolph Whiffen ASSISTED BY:                     Legionnaire of the Year, Comrade Randy Goodyear ON BEHALF OF:                 THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT PLACED BY:                        The Honorable Senator David Wells ASSISTED BY:              ...

On Wednesday, October 29 Clarenville officially opened the Age-Friendly Park on Gladney Street. This park is located in proximity to senior's reseidences as well as the Clarenville Middle and High School. It contains walking trails, (wheelchair accessible) park benches, green spaces, gazebos, a tobogganing hill, and a community garden.  Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Seniors, Wellness and Social Development, joined the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Finance and MHA for Trinity North, and community leaders and partners, cut the ribbon to mark the completion of a project that has been three years in the making. Here are video segments of the opening ceremony: Official Ribbon Cutting Garry Gosse - Recreation Director - The Features of the Park Introduction - Leo Bonnell, Vice-Chair, Random Age-Friendly Communities Board Hon. Clyde Jackman Mayor Frazer Russell Hon. Ross Wiseman For more information on the Age...

The 9th Season of Arts Under the Stars is underway! Here's a video selecton of the acts as they play Thursday evenings this summer in Clarenville.  Artists this year include Goowiddy/Ches March and Leland Wareham, Three Shades of Grey, Scalliwag, Quickdraw, Terry Penney, Sweet Voices of Youth and The Dimmagios. You can see photos of each night's performance at  http://goo.gl/nom8y0 August 7th Performance Terry Penney is a fantastic storyteller in song.  Below is a selection from the performance that includes not only the song but the always fascinating background story behind it. Give them all a listen...    July 31st Performance This week's performance featured the four man band Quick Draw from Clarenville.   Quick Draw is Kip Strong, Frank Newcomb and Jason and Dave Saunders. The band plays country, classic rock and Newfoundland Irish tunes for all to enjoy. Check them out on Facebook at  https://www....

On June 17,  Minister of Health and Community Services, Paul Davis; MHA Ross Wiseman, Mayor of Clarenville Frazer Russell and CREST chair Larry Reid announced the launch of the local senior's bus service in front of a crowd of over 70 people - many of whom were seniors. The Clarenville Region Extended Seniors' Transportation (CREST) is a Clarenville based pilot project under the Age-Friendly Newfoundland and Labrador Transportation initiative. The CREST bus service will operate within Clarenville and travel as far as North West Brook, Harcourt and Elliott's Cove on a shared-ride door-to-door basis. The service is intended for people age 60 or over and for people confined to a wheelchair.  The volunteer enabled service will commence July 7, and will operate on a scheduled route that covers the majority of a 20-kilometre radius of the town of Clarenville.  The 16-passenger/wheelchair accessible bus will operate Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m...

This is the script to my address to the Regional Meeting of the Odd Fellows where I was invited to represent the Town and to be the guest speaker...  Many thanks to the local Odd Fellows organizing committee. I appreciate the invitation and the opportunity to speak. Making a Difference Thank you… Newfoundland and Labrador delegates of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows., On behalf of Mayor Frazer Russell, Council and the entire town, I would like to wish you a warm welcome to Clarenville.   I trust your meetings over the course of this weekend will be productive and you fellowship inspiring. It always gives me great pleasure to see people from all over the province come to Clarenville because I know that the people in this town, especially the people who make up this lodge locally are some of the same people who have contributed to making Clarenville such a great home for me.   I also know these people embody the ideals of the IOOF within our communi...

What's not to love about winter?  That was the theme of last Wednesday's Chamber luncheon. Jason Crawford, White Hills Resort's General Manager gave a complete overview of the 2014 season and outlined his and the Boards vision for the future in a speech he gave to the Clarenville Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday May 14th. This past winter, White Hills Ski Resort had its best year ever. 2014 saw the community owned resort draw approximately 20,000 ski visits which yielded about $1 million in direct revenues - all this despite being closed for 5 weekends due to electricity conservation or weather - That's a 30% increase over last year. Crawford pointed that the Resort's benefits stretch well into the community.  Research from New Brunswick has shown that each ski visit generates approximately $118 into the local economy, and that number jumps to $172 per day if the person stays overnight.  That translates into a $2 million annual benefit to the local economy. ...