Berries & Blooms 2012

Crafts & Marketplace
Beamsville’s Berries & Blooms Festival offers a wide array of handcrafted and manufactured items — everything from painted glassware & wood, flowers, both real and artificial, handcrafted beaded jewellery, gold, silver, crystal and costume jewellery, quilted items, purses, sunglasses, candles, scarves, hats, books, toys, linen & cotton clothing, hats, wallets, crafts from Thailand, artwork, bedroom linens, smocked clothing, cedar benches and planters, air plants & succulents, and teas & accessories are just some of the items that will catch your eye! You can even book a Tarot card reading! With the wedding and graduation season upon us you will be sure to find a unique gift! Or, maybe something for yourself!

Business Displays
Everything from financial information to chiropractic health, kitchen ware, mixes & relishes to make up & skin care, basement refinishing systems, insurance, organizing services to waste management, wind harnessing & concrete statuary and the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, plus Trillium College offering free mini massages- all these businesses and more will be on site to answer your questions about their services and promote their products.

Community Displays
Are you new to the Town of Lincoln or newly retired with extra time on your hands? Have we got just what you need! The local Women’s Institute & the Lincoln Public Library and will highlight what they have to offer the community. Grace Community Church and Calvary Gospel Church will offer information on their programs. Great Lakes Christian High School will outline their opportunities for students. Niagara Action for Animals & the Lions Guide Dog Foundation will also be featured. The Falun Dafa Association of Hamilton will promote their cultural performances. The Niagara Dragon Boat Club will have an interesting display. Please stop by and visit with these amazing folks, mostly volunteers, and maybe you’ll find a group you want to join! And as always, many local service clubs and organizations are involved in providing food and volunteers for the Festival

Food
The Lions Club will be serving up burgers, fries & hot dogs, Grouchy’s BBQ will have pulled pork, ribs & chicken and then dessert awaits your taste buds – the Lioness Club will be dishing up their famous strawberry sundaes; strudel, both apple & cheese & a variety of cupcakesm, sticky buns and chocolate findue along with ice cream novelties will be offered by other groups or businesses; — is your mouth watering yet? All these delicious food items will be on site so there is no excuse to go hungry at the Berries & Blooms Festival!

The 2012 edition of the annual “Strawberry Idol Vocal Competition” promises to be the most exciting year in the events’ 9-year history. For the first time ever, ten promising vocalists in each age category will be provided the opportunity to perform live at the “Berries and Bloom Festival” to be held at Beamsville District Secondary School on Saturday June 16, 2012.

There are three separate age categories including 9 and under (10:00 a.m. show time); ages 10 to 16 (Noon show time); and ages 17+ (2:00 p.m. show time). Contestants will be judged on five criteria including Pitch; Tone; Originality; Stage Presence and Judges Overall Impression. Leading the judges will be Kristina Yole, a local, notable music instructor who owns the Lincoln House of Music.

The competition will be hosted by Bill Culp, a well-known Niagara musician who has toured the world and performed with a variety of top Canadian names including Garth Hudson (The Band), Cleave Anderson (Blue Rodeo), Gord Lewis and Dave Rave (Teenage Head), amongst the many names on his impressive resume. Culp was signed to Bullseye Records of Canada in 2005 for his acclaimed solo disc “Roots’N’Roll” and his songs have attained significant radio airplay in Canada and 12 countries around the globe. At present, Bill is enjoying US radio success as a member of the Dave Rave Group, whose single “Looking Out My Front Door” is currently # 61 on national radio charts in the United States.

“The Strawberry Idol Competition is a big annual event in Beamsville and I’m delighted to be a part of it. I’m looking forward to making the show fun for everyone involved including the participants and the audience” notes Culp. This 2012 Strawberry Idol competition marks the first time Culp has been available to participate as host due to his busy performance schedule. Currently on tour in Europe, Bill returns home the week before the festival and then heads out to Western Canada the week after. He commented “The timing for me was perfect this year and I am eager to hear the young talent we have in West Niagara.” Culp returns home from his tour out west on July 1st, and is then slated to headline the Canada Day show at Charles Daley Park.

With only ten slots open per age category, pre-registration for Strawberry Idol is highly recommended.

Kidz Zone will be bustling with every conceivable activity for the tiny tots through to teenagers! Beamsville Co-op Nursery School will feature water play, face painting and mural painting for the very young. Veggie Tales movies will be shown all day long at the Grace Community Church tent; take a break, park yourself on the blankets, relax and laugh at the antics of these vegetables with an important lesson!

Three giant inflatable activities will be on site: the Disney’s Cars Dual Lane Slide, the Strawberry Shortcake Bounce & Slide and the Big Top Castle Maze can all be used over and over with your all day play wrist band at a cost of $5.00. (Single play will be $1.00.)

Atkins Pony Rides returns as a Festival favourite; another Kodak moment in the making! Beamsville’s Guide & Brownies will be doing a craft – let your kids be creative!

Calvary Gospel Church will feature their summer programs for children. And Celebrate – It will have helium balloons and freezies for sale.

The Kidz Zone Stage features all day entertainment with Calvin’s Magic Show at 11 am and Christyrious at 1 and 3 pm in the Lions 40′ x 20′ tent!

Want to get prizes, help the environment and have fun? Then come to Berries & Blooms and become an Eco-Defender! And it’s not just for kids . . . it’s for adults, too.

How does this work? Check-in at Eco-Defenders Headquarters on June 16th and get deputised by the 1st Beamsville Scout Troup. Then you can do one of several tasks to earn points — pick-up recyclables, pick up garbage and/or help with the composting. You will be rewarded with 1 point for every recyclable. You can also get rewards based on the time volunteered either helping pick up garbage, sorting compost or helping out the Scouts. For every half hour volunteered we’ll give you 30 points.

At any time you can turn in your points for any of the available rewards. And you can even get something with only a single point! We have tons of toys, candy and other small items for 1 to 10 points so anyone can earn a reward. And there will be bigger rewards like tickets to events, gift certificates, etc.

So go green with us and become an Eco-Defender!!!