Home :: Rocktoberfest 2010

Rocktoberfest 2010

Event date:
October 8, 2010 - October 11, 2010
Location:
Landon Bay Park in the Frontenac Biosphere Arch Reserve near Gananoque Ontario

Event Type:
Festival
Status:
Upcoming

 

Rocktoberfest 2010

The Canadian Dry Stone Wall Festival

Held every year here in CANADA on Thanksgiving Weekend 

 

October 8 9 10 and 11  

 

This year it will move from a 3 day event to 4 whole days of activities!

 

 Directions to Landon BayDirections to Landon Bay

 

 The 7th Annual Canadian Dry Stone Wall Festival will be held in this year in the beautiful Landon Bay Centre, a 225 acre ecological reserve, and beautiful park area, run by Parks Canada, which is situated near 1000 islands. It has hiking trails camping, swimming, and many more facilities.

Our festival this year will involve the construction of a permanent dry stone 'arched footbridge' (12 foot span) in the Landon Bay Park property. It will be built over a year-round brook to connect a well-used hiking trail in the park. It will be built during the four days of the festival (without using concrete or cement) by a volunteer team of international wallers.  The public is invited to attend all four days and watch this event from several key vantage observation areas.  

There are also many other attractions and events to  participate in during the four days including...
-Dry stone wall workshops and testing, Saturday Oct. 9  and Sunday Oct.10. ( Please register for either of these by writing to mcclaryharris@sympatico.ca )
-Children's stone and vegetable stacking events.
-Art and Craft Booths
-Live Music
-Indoor Powertpoint presentations during the evening given by guest stonemasons from Great Britain.
-A guided walk of unique geological features of this unique Biosphere Reserve.
-Trade Booths
-On-site food. 
While participating wallers, wortkshop students and those being tested will need to register and pay an entrance fee, admission to the actual festival is free to the public. 

Plan to be there this coming Canadian Thanksgiving. 

 International stone restoration expert, Patrick McAfee takes one last picture of the blackhouse before he returns to IrelandInternational stone restoration expert, Patrick McAfee takes one last picture of the blackhouse before he returns to Ireland

 

The 2009 DSWAC Dry Stone Wall Festival which was held in Grand Valley last year involved amongst other things the building of a traditional Scottish 'Blackhouse' by wallers who were invited from all over Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and the US to attend.

 

Here is how the newly constructed DSWAC Festival 'blackhouse' looked last Christmas 2009Here is how the newly constructed DSWAC Festival 'blackhouse' looked last Christmas 2009 

 

 

At our first DSWAC Dry Stone Wall Festival 2004 we built 'Springdale Bridge' in Port Hope during this three day Thanksgiving event.At our first DSWAC Dry Stone Wall Festival 2004 we built 'Springdale Bridge' in Port Hope during this three day Thanksgiving event. 

 

festival bridge design for Landen Bay hiking trailfestival bridge design for Landen Bay hiking trail 

 

The Main Event 

This will be the highlight of our upcoming fall festival as visitors come to watch a group of specially chosen wallers complete a 12 foot span  'dry-stone' foot-bridge over a spectacular running brook which connects a well-used hiking trail in the park. Plan to be there this coming Canadian Thanksgiving.

 

As usual there admission to these festivals is free to the public. 

 

Norman Haddow at the Macdougall bridgeNorman Haddow at the Macdougall bridge

 This bridge was built in 2009 using Upper Canada Stone 'chocolate drystone' from Madoc Ontario

A similar bridge to the one we will be building at Roctorbefest this year was constructed last year by DSWAC students in Russell, Ontario, near the nations Capital.

 

Besides the main bridge event there will be ........

 

Dry stone wall building

Waller and masonry instructor at Algonquin College, John ScottWaller and masonry instructor at Algonquin College, John Scott 

- Wallers and instructors from across Canada will be attending.

 

 

International waller and master craftsman Norman Haddow, seen here with Chuck Eblacker at our 2005 Festival, will be joining us again this year.International waller and master craftsman Norman Haddow, seen here with Chuck Eblacker at our 2005 Festival, will be joining us again this year. 

And professional wallers from over the world will be here in too,

to demonstrate their techniques and skills in building dry stone features traditional to their country.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Walling workshops

  

 

 Completed workshop wall and some of the students who built itCompleted workshop wall and some of the students who built it

 

-There will be at least two beginner dry stone workshops running simultaneously during the festival. Saturday and Sunday.  There is a limited registration for these courses so sign up early. to register for these please email-  mcclaryharris@sympatico.ca

 

 

 

 

 

DSWA of UK Certification and Testing

 

 

 matthew ring certified

This year, as in other years, the DSWAC will be facilitating certified dry stone wall testing at our annual festival in October. There will be both beginner and intermediate testing made available to all those interested, which is usually overseen by two certified examiners with the DSWA. Proceeds from our yearly Thanksgiving Dry Stone Wall Festival go towards paying for qualified testers to come each year from Britain to examine to the standards set out in their Craftsman Certification Scheme. Wallers who have obtained beginner's certification during past DSWAC run events who are interested in upgrading their skills and obtaining their intermediate certification, should contact us again by writing john@dswac.ca. We will arrange the details with the DSWA. There is provision for those who don't have their beginner's accreditation, but wish to be tested for intermediate certification, to do so. Several DSWAC members have been successful in doing it this way in the past. Anyone interested in learning about the requirements for these two levels of certification should visit the DSWA website at http://www.dswa.org.uk/Craftsman-Certification-Scheme-g.asp.

Arrangements need to be made with the DSWA.UK  and the DSWAC before the beginning of August.  

 - again please contact mcclaryharris@sympatico.ca for details

 


Food

 



Gourmet lunches are provided for all the wallers at every festival.Gourmet lunches are provided for all the wallers at every festival. 


 
 
 -will be provided for wallers and students.

 There will be food concessions for the public too 

 


Music

 

 

Ancient Music TrioAncient Music Trio 


- Live folk celtic and jazz can be enjoyed in different parts of the park.


 

 

Children's Events

 

 Every festival includes different children's eventsEvery festival includes different children's events

 

 

During the 2009 festival John S-R and some of the kids who came there each day built butternut squash arches and sculptures.

During the 2009 festival John S-R and some of the kids who came there each day built butternut squash arches and sculptures. 


 - Kids of all ages will be involved in the creating of temporary (dry stone-like) art structure made from local material and/or produce.

 

 

 


Trade Booths and Arts&Craft Pavilions

 

 


  - With a variety of exhibitors and international artists displaying their work and sharing information about various traditional crafts and heritage construction


 


Nightly Indoor Presentations 

 

First day of the symposium presentations. 


We are looking to have three evenings of audio visual presentations and lectures this year.
 
Presenters invited to this years event include
Patrick McAfee
Norman Haddow
Nick Aitken
and others to be announced.  
 
 
 
Awards
 

The DSWAC will announce the winners of our annual dry stone competition for the year 2010. 
A 500 dollar prize will be awarded for the best Canadian dry stone sculpture constructed with at least 3 tons of material, of any size, made of any natural stone material. It must have been built and/or completed in 2009 or 2010. The dry stone art installation has to be permanent. It can be an abstract garden feature or incorporate architectural features, as in the case of a folly, or be representational as in a figurative piece or natural organic shape. A prize of 200 dollars will go to the second place winner.
 
Please send pictures along with a description of your piece to john@dswac.ca  Please include all your contact info as well as a short biography. The deadline for this competition is September 30th, 2010. Winners will be announced on the web site and at this years ROCKTOBERFEST. Good luck.
Any pictures of entries sent to the DSWAC may be used on the web site. 
 


  


 

                              Hands up, who is coming to the festival again this year?Hands up, who is coming to the festival again this year?

Plan to be join us just to watch or better yet participate at this coming Canadian Thanksgiving  

DRY STONE WALL FESTIVAL.

 

Details will be posted here over the next months.  If you would like to be emailed individually about this event please contact us at mcclaryharris@sympatico.ca

 

Hubb Creek BridgeHubb Creek Bridge

 

 Here is a photo of a similar bridge (material provided by Upper Canada Stone and built by DSWAC members) which is like the one we will be building this year in Landon Bay 

 

Please visit the Rockport website for a list of other things to do in the area while you are there for the festival. 

                                                      www.rockportthousandislands.com