The Saugeen First Nation Amphitheatre restoration project is making progress as fundraising continues to support the work.
A donation cheque from the Kincardine Lighthouse Blues Festival was presented Wednesday at the amphitheatre on Highway 21.
Blues Festival President Rick Clarke and Festival Board Member and Bruce County Blues Society President Marilyn Clarke have donated $1,500 to the project.
Clarke says she and her husband Rick first noticed the amphitheatre site a coupld of years ago, and stopped to walk around and admire its beauty. She says, “When we found out they were doing fundraising for this, we thought this is excellent– an excellent idea and something that would enrich everybody’s community, especially the Indigenous, but everybody can benefit from the beauty and learning from it.”
Drystone walls, walking paths, gathering areas and gardens are being installed at the amphitheatre and along the riverbank with a focus on the restoration of indigenous plant knowledge and medicines.
The gardens called the Gzhe-Mnidoo Gi-Ta-Gaan (Saugeen First Nation Creators Garden) will be designed around an interpretation of the Seven Grandfather Teachings.
In partnership with the Skills and Partnership Fund of Canada, Saugeen First Nation has signed on for a three-year collaboration with the Saugeen Shores based Backyard Boys Landscape Construction Inc. Through that partnership, six young men from Saugeen First Nation are gaining hours toward their masonry certification to Ontario standards. This is the first job site.
Saugeen First Nation Independent Business Association Coordinator Brittany Roote says, a substantial amount of the drystone construction of the amphitheatre is done. She notes there is still work to be completed including the grand staircase and an accessibility pathway, as well as wiring and landscaping.
Roote says every donation counts, that they don’t go unnoticed and people are contributing varying amounts from five or ten dollars to hundreds or thousands. Saugeen Gas Bar has been participating in the fundraising campaign by providing the option to ’round-up’ your bill to make a donation.
A well attended Elvis impersonator concert fundraiser was also held this summer to raise money for the project.
If you would like to contribute, you can donate online at https://saugeenfirstnation.com/amphitheatre-restoration/
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