October 21. Hugh Scott, country singer from Luskville. At the Aylmer Legion Hall, 59 Bancroft, Aylmer Sector, Gatineau. Membership not required.   Full meal at 6.00 pm. Cost: $6.00 per person.
Entertainment starts at 7.30 pm.
For information call: (819) 684-7063.

October 23. Backbeat.  Local band at the Aylmer Legion Hall, 59 Bancroft, Aylmer Sector, Gatineau. For information call: (819) 684-7063.

Until October 27.  Geraldine Classen, Portage-du-Fort artist is exhibiting paintings of her home town at the National University of Mexico in the Hull sector of Gatineau.  Using oil and acrylic, Ms. Classen seeks to bring back memories of the days before the railway, when Portage-du-Fort was an important centre on the Ottawa River.  Her pictures depict similar realitiess about Portage-du-Fort and the town of Chapala in Mexico, where she spends the winter.  She pleads strongly for restoration and conservation of her own town’s historic buildings. Two other artists, Paula Zoubek and Ellen Schowalter, are also exhibiting their works.

October 27. Bernard Pivot will host a “Dictée" (Dictation Contest) at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Dictée, held in French, showcases a competition for people whose first language is not French. All other lovers of the French language are welcome to participate in the Dictée simply for fun. The contest winners will take part in the Final Dictation Contest in France, and compete for the “Trophée de l’orthographe” (Dictation Contest Trophy).
To sign up, read the contest rules, then fill out and send the registration form. Hurry, as spaces are limited and the registration period ends Friday October 22.
The winners will be announced during the program Les trophées de la langue française hosted by Bernard Pivot and broadcast during the week of November 20 on the TV5 channel. You can also win free passes to attend the taping of this program in Ottawa.

October 28. Al Visser Trio (soft rock and country music). Al Visser comes originally from Aylmer.  At the Aylmer Legion Hall, 59 Bancroft, Aylmer Sector, Gatineau. Membership not required.   Full meal at 6.00 pm. Cost: $6.00 per person. Entertainment starts at 7.30 pm.
For information call: (819) 684-7063.

October 28. Ron Moores’s Back 40 Band hosts the Back 40 Stage at Rasputin’s -  guest Joey Wright (singer/
songwriter and country music artist from McDonalds Corners, Ontario – new CD entitled “Camp”). 
At Rasputin’s, 696 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa.  7.30 pm.  Admission: $5.00 (this small cover charge gets you in.  The cover charge proceeds are split between the featured band/artist and the CKCU-FM 93.1 Funding Drive).

Every last Thursday of the month (except in July, August and December) Ron Moores and the Back 40 Band host the Back 40 Stage at Rasputin’s.

The musicians of Back 40 come from both Quebec and Ontario.  Ron Moores resides in Cantley.  He regularly introduces at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield.  The Band broadcasts on CKCU-FM Community Radio (93.1) at noon on Saturdays.

For information call Rasputin’s at:
(613) 230 - 5102 or email: dean.verger@rasputins.ca) or call:
Ron Moores at (819) 827 - 0068
or email: ron.moores@back40.ca

October 29.  Beyond the Pale, with Josh Dolgin from Chelsea and Eric Stein from Toronto.  At the Black Sheep Inn, Wakefield.  9.30 pm. An all-Canadian all-stars band, specializing in klezmer music and adaptations of other folk forms.  A show for all ages.

Advanced sale of tickets at Compact Music, Bank and Third or Bank and Slater, Ottawa.  Telephone: (613) 233-8922.  Or contact the Ottawa Folklore Centre, 1111 Bank Street, Ottawa.  Telephone: (613) 730-2887.  Drop by at the Black Sheep Inn, or call us at:
(819) 459-3228, and reserve tickets at $10.00 (Master Card only). Students and teens: half-price.  Kids, 12 and under or 75 and over, come in free. 

October 29. Learning song-writing at Rendezvous Rupert. 
Jennifer Noxon, Ottawa singer, song-writer, language teacher and visual artist, will be giving instruction at a one-day workshop of writing exercises to encourage budding songwriters to develop their talent. Food will be provided for participants. 
Space is limited so register early. 
For information call Rendezvous Rupert at
(819) 459-3580. The executive director of Rendezvous Rupert is Linda Vanderlee.

October 30.  Studio Sparks opens in Wakefield.  This new art studio will open with an exhibition entitled “Letting Go”, by the owner, Sara Sparks, a local resident.  At
40 Mahon Road South, Wakefield.  2 - 6 pm. Exhibits span 30 years, from Sara Sparks’s student days at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design to the present.
For information call: (819) 459-1701.

Until October 31st. “Exposition d’art”,  studio tour organized by a group of artists located on Allumette and Morrisson Islands and in the Waltham area. Participants are: David Rogers (wood sculpture), Francis Giroux (oil, silk, milk churns and quilting). Claudette Spence (oil), Betty Lamarche Ryan (oil and photography), Margaret Lynch Beauchamp (oil and acrylic), Maurice Bissonnette (painting and prints), Donna Crabbe (acrylic, ink drawing, painting on stone, sculpture and interior murals), Annette Craisse (miniatures and handicraft), Myrna Yaniszewski (oil).
Directions: Follow Hwy 148 to Waltham and Allumette Island.  Numbered coloured posters guide visitors from one studio to the next.  Maps are available from stores and tourist information booths.  The route also includes the church of St. Alphonse Liguori, “the cathedral of Chapeau”, built in 1988 to be the cathedral of the new diocese of Pembroke and designated a historic monument. For information call:
Claudette Spence at (819) 689-5050.