Category: Information

Central Ontario All-Day Singing on August 27th

We are happy to announce we are returning to the lovely Detweiler Meetinghouse located one kilometre west of Roseville, Ontario for an All-Day Singing.

When:

  • Registration begins at 9:30am
  • Singing will be from 10:00am to approximately 3:30pm (EDT), with midday dinner on the grounds.

Where: Detweiler Meetinghouse at 3445 Roseville Road, North Dumfries, Ontario.

Directions: Located in the Town of North Dumfries in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, is 105 km (66 mi.) southwest of Toronto. From Highway 401, take exit 268. Turn left (west) on Hwy 97, then right on Northumberland St and then left on Roseville Road.

Accommodations: The nearest cities are Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, where a variety of hotels, motels, B&Bs and Airbnbs can be found.

Vaccinations and Masking: The Toronto Shape Note Community is a loving community that cares for our most vulnerable members, and as vaccinations are proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we would prefer that all participants are vaccinated. While we do not have the capacity to check, nor the interest in engaging in a compliance-relationship with our friends, we do trust that all who chose to join us will respect that trust, and honour our community’s preference. In the same spirit, masking in not required, but we strongly encourage it out of care for others.

The meetinghouse has plenty of windows we can open for ventilation, as well as plenty of outdoor space.

Check out the Facebook Event for more information. This is Ontario shape-note singers’ biggest event of the year, and one you absolutely shouldn’t miss!!! For questions, more info and/or to volunteer to help, contact torontoshapenotesinging@outlook.com.

No 2021 Convention Again :-(

We had hoped to announce a 2021 Central Ontario Sacred Harp Convention this year, but it just wasn’t possible.

This past Saturday we held a special park singing at Fred Hamilton Playground in Toronto. At least ten singers from Toronto participated and we had memorial lesson but no dinner-on-the-grounds. Minutes will be submitted to mark the occasion.

Hopefully we will be back again in August 2022 when we’ll be thrilled to have you singing with us once more.

2020 Convention Cancelled

Please note the cancellation of the 2020 Central Ontario Sacred Harp Convention earlier planned for August 21-23.

Despite the cancellation, we hope you will contribute names and information for the Memorial lesson to Pleasance Crawford.

And please mark your calendars for August 20-22, 2021 sometime in the future when we’ll be thrilled to have you singing with us once more.

Heather Schramm and Lloy Cook, Co-Chairs

Second Annual Central Ontario Sacred Harp Convention

This year on August 24 and 25 we will host our second two-day convention. After holding all-day singings for fourteen years, last year we decided to extend the gathering to multiple days of events, and we were really happy how it went, and all the wonderful singers who showed up.

The first day of this year’s singing is Saturday, August 24 at the Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue in a mid-town area of Toronto known as the Annex. Following that on Sunday, August 25 we return to the Detweiler Meetinghouse at 3445 Roseville Road, North Dumfries, Ontario. We’ll sing each day from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with midday dinner on the ground.

But there is more! On Friday evening, August 23 at 6:00 p.m. there will be a Singing School at the Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, in Toronto with special guest Lauren Bock of Decatur, Georgia, USA.

And we’ll hold an Evening Social on Saturday, August 24 at 6:00 p.m. at a location nearby. (RSVP to Pleasance Crawford for more details. There will be food at the social, but snack and beverage contributions are welcome.)

Download the flyer for more details or join our Facebook group for updates. We hope to see and hear you there!

First Annual Central Ontario Sacred Harp Convention

Our big expanded annual singing is coming up. This year on August 25 and 26 we will host our first two-day convention. After holding our all-day singings for fourteen years, we decided to extend the gathering this year to multiple days of events.

The first day of singing is Saturday, August 25 at the Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue in a mid-town area of Toronto known as the Annex. Following that on Sunday, August 26 we return to the Detweiler Meetinghouse at 3445 Roseville Road, North Dumfries, Ontario. We’ll sing each day from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with midday dinner on the ground.

But there is more! On Friday evening, August 24 at 6:00 p.m. there will be a Singing School at the Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, in Toronto with special guest Bridgett Hill Kennedy. And we’ll hold an Evening Social on Saturday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m. at a location nearby. (RSVP to Pleasance Crawford for more details. There will be food at the social, but snack and beverage contributions are welcome.)

Download the flyer for more details or join our Facebook group for updates. We hope to see and hear you there!

About the Toronto Shape Note Group

COME AND SING with the Toronto Shapenote Group the third Wednesday of every month from 7:30-9:30 pm. We sing from the The Sacred Harp, 1991 revision song book. Experienced and not so experienced singers are welcome, and loaner books are available.

We gather in the Music Room of Bloor Street United Church at 300 Bloor Street West (near Huron).

That’s a very short walk from the Spadina station on the Bloor line. There’s paid parking behind the building; there may also be on-street parking in the surrounding neighbourhood. Before 7 pm, enter by the westernmost (courtyard) door off Bloor: the one with the “300″ above it. After 7 pm, use the door at 470 Huron St., off the parking lot.

We also have a more informal singing earlier in the month at someone’s home. The day and time are variable, so join our mailing list to keep informed. You can join the email list by contacting Pleasance Crawford at pleasancecrawford at rogers.com

We have been singing together since the Fall of 2000. For years we met at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Anglican, but their financial difficulties forced us to move to Bloor Street United.

We have connections with many other Ontario Shapenote groups, and we all gather together in August for the Central Ontario All-Day Sing (with dinner on the grounds, of course!).