Out and About

You already know the Pakenham Maple Run Tour presents art and fine craft – but what form does that take? Well, take a deep breath, because if you are reading this long list of artistic expressions out loud, you’ll need it. There will be (big breath): ceramics, pottery, wood carving and turning, jewellery, baking, leatherworking, landscape painting, watercolours, photography, weaving, felting, handmade soaps, miniature quilts, mosaics, garden sculpture, paper art, children’s literature, basketry, honey products, clothing design, natural skin care, animal portraiture, textile designs, art glass, fibre art, and artistic blacksmithing. Visit our ARTISTS page to find out who is creating this abundance of art!

DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES the Stonebridge Haven Tour stop is no longer available.

Our three artists have been moved to other venues.

ANITA SCHLARB, wildlifle and nature photography: you can find Anita’s colourful photography at the Cedar Hill School House, 270 Cedar Hill Road.

DONNA MITCHELL, watercolour artist: Donna will now be at Farmgate Cider – Maple Run’s largest tour stop – at 4547 Mohr’s Road, Arnprior.

MARY ANNE HARRISON: Mary will be setting up her stunning mosaics at the light-filled Pakenham Library, lower level, 128 MacFarlane Street in the heart of Pakenham.

The Pakenham Maple Run Tour returns April 1st and 2nd with 8 fascinating tour stops and 30 artists and artisans. A tour like no other, Maple Run is a unique blend of art, fine craft, interesting and heritage buildings, spectacular spring scenery, and to top all that off, it takes place right in maple syrup country. Maple Run, a self-guided free tour, truly offers something for everyone in the family.

An incredible gathering of artists and artisans from the area, up the Valley, and across eastern Ontario will present an impressive array of artistic expressions: ceramics, wood carving and turning, jewellery, baking, leatherworking, painting, watercolours, photography, weaving, felting, handmade soaps, miniature quilts, mosaics, fabric sculpture, paper art, children’s literature, basketry, honey products, clothing design, natural skin care, tie dye, barn art, textile designs, art glass, pewterware, and artistic blacksmithing.

Art and fine craft are the roots of the tour, but the Maple Run venues are a tour all by themselves, whether for their history, their architecture, or their function. Farmgate Cider’s heritage post and beam cider barn – reconstructed during the pandemic and now open as a tasting room and event space – is our newest and biggest stop, located just off the 417 at the Kinburn Side Road. The “home farm” for Farmgate Cider, it’s the tour’s largest stop and will present 7 artists and yes, cider tasting and sales. In the village of Pakenham a cluster of 4 tour stops will welcome you. First visit the 3 artists at Stonebridge Haven, a peaceful heritage home and retreat perched high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Cross the unique Five Span Stone Bridge – the only bridge of its kind in North America – and venture into the heart of Pakenham village, with its historic stone general store and unique shops, and find a further 3 tour stops. Photography, clothing design, and textile design can all be found at Paddye Mann’s clothing design studio in a heritage stone building that was home and workshop to one of the first tailors in Pakenham. The sunny and welcoming Pakenham branch of the Mississippi Mills Library hosts an Ottawa Valley landscape painter, a weaver, a paper artist, and a children’s book author as well as a lunch stop. St. Andrew’s United Church, built of local stone in 1897 and featuring a rare sanctuary design, offers 6 artists presenting miniature quilts, pewterware, felting, soaps, jewellery, and fine art. Heading west from Pakenham, travel to Cartwright Springs Brewery at the base of the Pakenham “Mountain” and visit a ceramic artist and an artistic blacksmith. While there, you can of course enjoy a tasting – the brewery is known for offering fine craft brews and even bottled carbonated maple sap! The warm and entertaining Chris van Zanten studio offers you demonstrations of the fiery art of glass making – an experience of colour and drama. At our 8^th tour stop, the Cedar Hill Schoolhouse, step back in time to a one-room schoolhouse hosting 5 artists presenting leatherworking, hand painted pottery, gemstone jewellery, baking and honey products. While in the area of the schoolhouse, continue down the Cedar Hill Road for a visit to Fulton’s Sugarbush and Maple Shop.

Following the entire route of the Maple Run tour is easily done in a day, since the tour stops are open from 10am to 5pm. A car will be a requirement – or if weather permits, why not cycle? – and the route covers about 40km.

Information on the Maple Run Tour can be found at mapleruntour.com, and follow our Facebook page for news, updates, and more.

To make the Tour even more fun, you have the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to be put towards a purchase from any of the artists on the Tour.

Pick up a Tour Passport at any Tour stop and get it initialled by one of the artists.  Visit as many Tour stops as you can, then drop the Tour Passport in a sap bucket at the last Tour stop you visit.

If you visit all 10 Tour stops, your name will be added twice into the draw.

Good luck to everyone!

** The draw will be held a few days after the Maple Run Tour and the winner will be contacted by one of the Maple Run Tour organizers.  **

Saturday, April 4th, 2020 and Sunday, April 5th, 2020 

at

1:30pm

Location:  139 Renfrew Street, Pakenham

During the Pakenham Maple Run Tour, St. Peter Celestine Roman Catholic Church and Rectory in the village of Pakenham, invites you to walk up the hill to Renfrew Street where the doors of the Church will be open to visitors at 1:30pm.  

At that time, a guided tour of this historic Church will take you on a journey which will describe and explain the significances of the Church’s interior décor and exterior influences.   The tour is fascinating and your breath will be taken away as to its interior and exterior beauty.  

The Church tour will be one of many memorable experiences during the Pakenham Maple Run Tour weekend and one not to be missed. 

A little history of the Church:

The Church was constructed by many talented local crafts people and the construction lasted for nine years.  It is only one of three Canadian churches known to retain its remarkable Classic interior decoration, complete with robust statuary, elaborate painting, trompe l’oeil and faux marble finishes.  A striking feature of the nave is the original pulpit, built in the form of a huge, heavily ornamented chalice.

With its perch on a bluff, you can see far and wide across the Mississippi Valley from the silver bell tower. The architecture of St. Peter’s is quite unusual for the area, and is similar in style to churches in Quebec and southern Europe.

For more information on the Church, please visit:

http://www.stpetercelestine.ca

A stop at the Pakenham General Store for art, food AND heritage is always a highlight of the Maple Run Tour.

Established in the early 1840’s by Archibald McArthur and Robert Brown, the Pakenham General Store is considered to be one of the oldest continually operated general stores in North America.  It features both Regency and Classic Revival architectural styles.

The store is like a step back in time with its charming wood floors, displays of vintage grocery tins, and original wooden counters, and still sells a range of groceries, including freshly-baked bread, special maple baking, local cheese, and of course, local maple syrup and maple products. And not to forget – sticky buns!