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Craft show The Mountainview Mall was filled with all kinds of hand-made crafts and odds and ends as a craft show moved in for the weekend. Here, Alfred McCleary shows off a hand-embroidered table cloth, for 9" ENCORE $4490, which he was asking about $90. McCleary says he travels from mall to mall, and usually visits Midland two or three times per year. Askenncnia Senior Centre to be a first in Midland There has never been anything like it in Midland. The Askennonia Senior Centre will be a place for Midland seniors to do more than socialize. It will also be an educa- tional experience. Sometime this fall, pro- bably around October, the new concept in senior cen- tres should be a reality, ac- cording to organizers. The Askennonia centre will be run out of the Calvary Baptist Church on King Street, and it will be designed 'to meet the social, educational and recreational needs" of those it serves. Rev. Jim Manuel of the Calvary Baptist Church says such a centre is much needed in Midland, which has a higher percentage of seniors than the national average. "We have a fairly signifi- cant concentration of seniors," said Rev. Manuel, '"'and quite a number of people who find this area a pretty good place to retire." Midland With so many tourists bringing themselves and their business into Midland, it is often forgot- ten that Midlanders do some touring around of their own. And one of the many places they do their touring is right next door at the He quoted Simcoe Coun- ty District Health Unit statistics that show Midland is made up of about 14 per cent seniors, compared to a national average of aobut 11 per cent. And with the baby boom generation aging, that figure will surely rise. Although there are already a variety of healthy social clubs for senior citizens in Midland, said Rev. Manuel, there is a great need for a kind of "one-stop shopping"' cen- tre of activities. Although the programm- ing for the centre has not yet been finalized, organizers expect things like seminars on nutrition, workshops on health care, travel counselling as well as anything else those who participate ask for. The demands of the par- ticipants will really set the tone of the centre said Rev. Manuel. "Two things are very im- portant here: One is that the programming will grow out of what they see as a need. We're not going to lay it all on them." "The other thing is that we are not duplicating the services of other clubs. We are plugging the holes and building bridges between out centre and other agen- cies." Askennonia will operate five days a week out of ex- isting .church facilities. Eventually a full time director of the centre will be hired. The ambitious project, described by Rev. Manuel as a 'bold venture," evolv- ed out of the church's long time involvement with seniors in the community. The location of the church building, which. is near several retirement buildings and homes for the elderly, is in a natural- ly ideal location for such a comprehensive senior centre. The idea first came up about one and a half years ago at the Calvary Baptist Church's annual meeting. Since then a search com- mittee set out to discover how to respond to the needs of seniors. What it came up with is the birth of Askennonia, which will be 'developed by a group of people who have developed a keen in- terest and expertise in working with seniors." One of those people is Martha Dickerson, who has worked with similar types of operations in her native U.S. "There is nothing like it~ in Midland at the present time,"' said Dickerson. She added that the cen- tre has already received assurances of funding from several government groups, including the province. She also noted that, although Askennonia will not be a religious organiza- tion, the Calvary Church has generously donated the space for it to operate. "'It is difficult to put a dollar figure on that contribu- tion," she said. theatre fans go north Muskoka Festival. Organizer Norman Brown says he has noticed over the years a large in- flux of -people from the Midland area, who travel to Port Carling, Gravenhurst and Bracebridge to take in some of the festival. Thurs. July 30, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Fri. July 31, 9 a.m. - Sat. Aug. 1, 9 a.m. - Urb's Home F Page 16, Tuesday, July 28, 1987 9 p.m. 5 p.m p WE FURNISH THE HOME YOU FURNISH THE HOUSE urnishings The Muskoka Festival is a series of theatrical pro- ductions, including some original works. It is staged in the three municipalities during the summer, from June 27 to Sept. 5. Brown says festival organizers are targeting Midland as one of the places they'd like to draw even more people from. Last Saturday was the opening of Brighton Beach Neil Simon. It stars Eric Woolfe, who starred in the same production at Theatre London last year. ays . . inate KOR KES te 4 SRIGFPLEVSESE FSREIW E are, ¢ a pte ple > © ah ce Be Fe | Se > Prd > : fa) i . 'tee? cage BARRE s 101 Main St., Penetanguishene 949-8912 * Free parking at rear of Store « ROME RE re Te