Photos by Mark Girdauskas

The Elgin County Walk for Memories this past Saturday (January 21, 2012) prompted some exuberant “tweeting” from organizers as they raised close to $24,000 in funds. Walkers of all ages took part in the indoor fund-raiser at Parkside Collegiate Institute. Top high school fundraisers were St. Joe’s and PCI. Congratulations to all of the volunteers and walkers!
 
The Walk is one of the activities of Alzheimer Month in January. This year’s theme is “Let’s face it! Get the facts. Know for sure.” The importance of awareness has been highlighted by a recent Alzheimer study showing that Canadians tend to delay seeing a doctor about signs of dementia. That delay means that they miss out on important medications, treatment and support. For more information visit http://www.alzheimerletsfaceit.ca/.

Alzheimer Society Elgin-St. Thomas has run education sessions, Fridays throughout January in the Elgin Mall Community Room (417 Wellington Street St. Thomas) from 10:30 – 11:30am.  The final  one, Know for Sure – understand the process of diagnosis, programs and services available to you takes place Fri Jan 27.  

Sun flooded into the elegantly adorned Canada Southern Railway Station for the Second Annual Bridal Expo this past Sunday (January 15, 2012). Businesses providing wedding services filled the available booth spaces, and both Anderson Dining Hall and Waiting Rooms were busy with a steady stream of wedding planners and friends eagerly scouting out ideas and help.

A weighty volume of Today’s Bride awaited the first 100 brides to arrive for the afternoon event. There were door prizes to be won as local photographers, make-up artists, decorators, DJs and other businesses showcased their offerings.

The London Wine & Food Show offered up its annual extravaganza of sipping and tasting at the Progress Building in the Western Fair District Thurs Jan 12th to Sat Jan 14th. The County of Elgin, Savour Elgin and many Elgin culinary-related businesses were there in full force showing off their good tastes.

Ken Kokko aims to cater to a wide variety of interests with the show line-up at Kenny Iguana’s in St. Thomas. He has brought us a range of Tribute Bands, Karaoke, and even an occasional jazz ensemble. This past Sunday, the show provided a substantial divergence from the norm, on several levels, with a presentation by Scott McClelland of The Paranormal Show.

Photographer Mark Girdauskas was on hand to take some pics and enjoy the show. Mark was pleasantly surprised, crediting Scott’s attention-holding personality and stage presence. He “kept you wondering and thinking about the paranormal. I’ve been to several magic shows, but this one made you see things differently.”

Several Elgin County organizations invited members and community to greet the New Year at their annual levee events on January 1st.

Although now almost solely a Canadian tradition, the New Year’s levee has roots centuries old. In the 1600s Louis XIV received male subjects just after rising ("Levee du Soleil" or "Rising of the Sun"). Through the centuries the levee became mainly a New Year's Day event, held by the sovereign, government or military. Many Canadian organizations continue to uphold the observance as an opportunity to exchange New Year's greetings, and enjoy refreshments.

Several St. Thomas running enthusiasts answered the invitation to end 2011 with one last fun filled run on Saturday December 31st.  Terri Biloski of Run For Your Life, a St. Thomas specialty centre for running programs and gear has organized the run for the past several years. 

For this race, speed doesn’t matter. No timing devices are allowed and runners are asked to predict their finish time over 5km or 10km, then just run for the sheer enjoyment of it.

And judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, they did just that.