This Week in Photos - April 30, 2026

Recognition – Harriston Legion Branch 296 recognized long-time volunteers and new members alike at the Legion hall on April 18. PHOTO 1: Legion members Anne South, Janice Tuck and Terry Fisk presented membership pins to a several members, including Gary Thackeray, middle, who was recognized for 50 years. “A strong community is built on dedication, service and people who quietly show up year after year,” said member Krista Fisk. “Each pin represents years of service, camaraderie and a shared commitment to supporting veterans, their families and the broader community.” Fisk added, “It’s a meaningful reminder that the strength of the Legion lies in the people behind it.” PHOTO 2: Kenneth Pike has been a member for 30 years. PHOTO 3: Allan Colwell and William Neil were recognize years of service. PHOTO 4: Ron Ross and Wayne Ross have been members for 40 years. PHOTO 5: Mark MacKenzie has served for 25 years. These are important milestones, officials stated, adding the strength of the Legion lies in the people behind it. PHOTO 6: Twenty years - Mary Jean Hartwig, Norm Brown, Anne South and Troy Gilbert. Submitted photos

Detour – County of Wellington staff will be conducting multiple culvert replacements along Wellington Road 2, between Elora Street and Ski Road, in the Town of Minto in May and June. The road will be closed daily from 8am to 5pm, with no through traffic, starting May 4 until early June. The actual section of road closed will change daily; for the most current information visit municipal511.ca. ABOVE: The detour route (in orange). Submitted image

Blessings for summer – Blessings to You Palmerston donated $1,500 to Saugeen Connects’ Student Start Up Program, which teaches youth how to launch a summer business from the ground up. From left are: Marg Stevens, Wendy Ross, Belinda Wick-Graham (Minto economic development director), Diane McFarlane and Annette Curry. Submitted photo

Donations – The Mount Forest Lions Club donated $15,500 to local organizations during its April 16 bring-a-friend night held at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex. More than 100 attended the event. Louise Marshall Hospital received $10,000; the Mount Forest Air Cadets received $2,500; the Lynes Blacksmith Shop received $2,000; and the Mount Forest Museum and Archives received $1,000. The Lions Club is hosting a voluntary road toll during the Victoria Day long weekend to fundraise for local organizations, as well as a Walk for Dog Guides event on May 31, raising funds for the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. Submitted photos

PHOTO 1: Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington hosted a skills building day at the Guelph ReStore on April 24 for female students at Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute. PHOTO 2: Emma Kernoghan used a chop saw for the first time at the skills building day. PHOTO 3: Anastasia Gilroy tries her hand at mudding drywall. Photos by Joanne Shuttleworth

Spring Fling – The third annual Spring Fling at the Stables was held at the GrandWay Events Centre on April 25. Organized by the Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington, the day saw large crowds enjoy the offerings of over 80 vendors. Children seemed to love the farm themed Kid Zone, and all appeared to enjoy the food truck snacks. PHOTO 1: Theodore from Cambridge enjoys the Kid Zone. PHOTO 2: Serena, left, and sister Gemma enjoyed their visit to the Spring Fling. PHOTO 3: EarlyON manager Lindsay Cowan and neice Ruby at the Spring Fling. PHOTO 4: From left: community outreach worker Julianna McKenzie, community engagement and fund development coordinator Ali Kane-Decaire, executive director Alessandra Kent, community outreach worker Jonni Gasparetto and EarlyON manager Lindsay Cowan. Photos by Duncan Hossack

PHOTO 1: The Tim Horton’s Smile Cookie Campaign is underway and proceeds from the three locations in Fergus and the one in Elora are going to the Aboyne Rural Hospice. PHOTO 2: Here owner Peter Moorhead offers cookies to members of the hospice advisory committee, Caroline Skimson, left, Dr. Clarissa Burke, and Hilary Blackett. The campaign runs from April 27 to May 3. Cookies sell for $2 each and 100 per cent of the proceeds go to the charity. Photos by Joanne Shuttleworth

Art show – Jurors walked artists and attendees through the Insights gallery at the Wellington County Museum and Archives on April 22. The gallery will remain on display until June 28. PHOTO 1: Laurie McGaw won the representational painting and drawing award for her oil on canvas, Julian. PHOTO 2: Elora artist Dianne Kennedy Cruttenden’s handwoven tapestry, Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder, won the fibre arts award. PHOTO 3: Juror Scott Everingham said A Yellow Leg by Grazyna Adamska-Jarecka won the abstract painting and drawing award in part because the judges were intrigued by the vibrancy, intensity and wide use of pallet. PHOTO 4: Fergus artist Claudia Lambert said her piece, Psychograph, illustrates a journey through art, including both the fun and frustrating parts, and is a reminder to let intuition take over. Photos by Robin George

Members of the Centre Wellington Singers celebrated the choir’s 30th anniversary with a concert at Melville United Church in Fergus on April 25. The concert was aptly named Canada Eh! that featured Canadian songs. Ben Wright of the Barrel Boys also joined the choral group. PHOTO 1: The choir sang to a full house at the concert. Photo by Bill Longshaw. PHOTO 2: Conductor Melanie Steenburgh is in her first year with the singers. Photo by Duncan Hossack. PHOTO 3: Members of the Centre Wellington Singers celebrated the choir’s thirtieth anniversary with a concert at Melville United Church in Fergus on Sunday. Photo by Duncan Hossack.

Go native this spring – Shaun Booth, author of the book A Gardeners Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region, gave the spring Tree Talk at the NeighbourWoods meeting on April 23 at the Elora Centre for the Arts. Native plants generally grow well in their natural climates and gardeners should give a thought not just to a succession of colour, but a succession of pollinators, who will also love your native garden, Booth said. Photo by Bill Longshaw

Say trees – Mother Nature blessed staff at AO Smith on April 22, Earth Day, with wonderful weather for planting trees. The company ordered about 100 trees from Wellington County’s Green Legacy program and they planted pine, sumac and white ash saplings on the property on Hill Street in Fergus. Photos by Joanne Shuttleworth

Clean up – As part of Earth Day celebrations, Erin volunteers braved the rain on April 25 with a community garbage clean-up event by picking up litter around local parks and streets. Photo by Tristan Clark

Clean up – Linamar Corporation’s Skyjack division staff spent the afternoon of April 22 helping clean up Riverside Park in Guelph. With cleanup kits provided by the City of Guelph Clean and Green program, the Skyjack team helped clear bags of litter from the community park, which is one of the oldest parks in Ontario. Riverside Park is located just down the road from Skyjack’s Guelph headquarters and is enjoyed often by many Skyjack employees living in the area. Submitted photo

Innovation – The Grand River Agricultural Society hosted the fifth annual SPARKS Symposium on April 22 at the Grandway Events Centre to connect agricultural and environmental technology companies with potential investors, provide a platform showcasing several innovative businesses in the agricultural sector and highlight the business opportunities in agriculture. This year’s event showcased companies working to reduce carbon output in agriculture and monetize carbon reduction. Five companies (Competitive Green Technologies, FireRein Inc., SoilOptix Inc., Upside Robotics and V6 Agronomy Inc.) pitched their technology to the audience, who later voted on which they thought would have the greatest impact on net carbon and which they would invest in. PHOTO 1: From left, Steve Kehoe, director energy transition, BMO capital markets, Barb Swartzentruber, senior advisor at CANZA (Canadian Alliance for Net Zero Agri-Food), Deanna Martin, biogas operations and process consultant for Deanna Martin Biogas and Christoph Wand, livestock stainability specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. These four represented the event’s “expert panel” who were invited to discuss how carbon capture programs are evolving. PHOTO 2: Mike Tiessen from Competitive Green Technologies was one of two winners for the pitch event, receiving a cheque for $1,000. PHOTO 3: Sam Dugan from Upside Robotics was the other winner, receiving a $1,000 cheque. Photos by Ellouise Thompson

Home show – The Erin Chamber of Commerce hosted the Erin Home Show April 24 to 26. The three day event was held at the Erin fairgrounds, with dozens of exhibitors offering a wide range of goods and services to the local community. PHOTO 1: Ann Shanahan of the Ann Shanahan Team, Century 21 Millennium Inc. PHOTO 2: Erin Home Show Olivia Crabb and John Brennan at the Town of Erin booth PHOTO 3: Bob Bainborough from Leaf Filter. Photos by Tristan Clark

Fight Ford – People gathered in cities across the province on April 25 in a second Fight Ford protest, standing against a range of changes under Premier Doug Ford’s government, including health care, education and development on environmental land. PHOTO 1: Members of Sound of the Drum, an OPIRG action group, showed up to bring some extra noise and energy to the protest. From left, Sheila O’Reilly, Debbie Samson, Patti Phillips and Karen Reid. PHOTO 2: Bob Dawson said he is particularly concerned about changes to the Freedom of Information Act that mean cabinet ministers and their officers are excluded from access to information requests. PHOTO 3: From left: Tyler Nelson, Ken Colquhoun and Ben Dickin. Colquhoun said he came out “to protest Doug Ford and his secrecy,” and said he’s particularly concerned about him “dismantling the FOI act [and] how much he likes Donald Trump.” PHOTO 4: Colleen Burns said she’s particularly concerned about healthcare, and came out “to protest against Doug Ford’s corruption. We’ve had enough – it’s time for him to go. Photos by Robin George

Kids drama club – The Monday night class of Centre Wellington Children’s Drama Club presented the age old story of Little Women at the Fergus Grand Theatre on April 25 to a full house. A 23-member cast told the story of four sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – growing up during the Civil War and facing poverty, love, loss and the challenges of becoming women. They learn about responsibility, kindness, and independence as they pursue their dreams and support one another. Photos by Bill Longshaw

Bottle drive – Members of the Knights of Columbus hosted a bottle drive outside of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fergus on April 18. Funds from the bottle drive will go towards the many programs supported by the Knights of Columbus. ABOVE: From left are Knights of Columbus members Michael Clark, Bryan Reynolds, Tim Moynihan, Jim Keracher, Deacon Paul Mulligan, Herman Lavigne, George Isley, David Morgan and high school volunteer Aiden Corbiel. Photo by Ellouise Thompson