July 18, 2017
2100
Martin Ward joined the youngsters playing the instruments at the Rotary Music Park in Kincardine, as they made a joyful noise prior to the official opening of the park, Tuesday morning.
Governor of District 6330, Ward attended the event with his wife, Mary Ruston, of Grand Bend, and both thoroughly enjoyed playing some music with the children before getting down to business for the ribbon-cutting.
"Here's a project for a school yard in our area," said Ruston. "This is beautiful."
"This is absolutely fantastic," agreed Ward. "When I agreed to come to Kincardine and help with the official opening, i wasn't sure what I was getting into. But now that I see the music park, it's fabulous. It's great how things happen - a Rotarian has an idea and he brings it to the club and then, it becomes a project."
He was also impressed that the Kincardine Rotary Club did the project to celebrate Canada's150th birthday, and the 100th anniversary of the Rotary International Foundation.
Ward said the foundation began when Rotary was just 12 years old. The organization had become basically a business networking group, when some members suggested it should create a foundation that could do some good in the world.
"The Rotary Foundation became one of the most highly-regarded and highly-respected charities in the world," said Ward. "Last year, it won a gold award as the No. 1 charity in the world."
He said Rotary has spent billions on services and programs over the past 100 years, in such areas as clean water, fighting disease, promoting peace, improving education, saving women and children, and serving the local community.
"The major Rotary project is the eradication of polio," he said. "In 1979, there were still 1,000 cases of polio diagnosed every day in the world. In 1985, Rotary began its work to end polio, and this year, there have been only six cases worldwide.
"On behalf of the district, congratulations to the Rotary Club of Kincardine on this music park which is a wonderful addition to the community."
Kincardine Rotarian John Hill, who brought the idea forward, said he saw a music park during his holidays in Britain.
"I saw how popular the outdoor musical instruments were," he said. "They drew people, from age two to 90, to the park, and everyone was having a great time."
He presented the idea to the Rotary Club and the results were the music park located at the north end of Rotary Park, on Huron Terrace, across from Kincardine Harbour. It is a Freenotes Sculptural Ensemble, featuring six instruments: the Contrabass Chimes, Manta Ray, Swirl, Aria, Lilypad Cymbals and Pagoda Bells.
"I thank the Kincardine Rotary Club, all who helped with the music park, and the sponsors and everyone who supported the project," said Hill. "Most parks are designed for active children and have lots of playground equipment. This one has musical instruments for all to play. I hope it will be a great benefit to the community."
Susan Cruickshank, president-elect, thanked the sponsors, especially those at the platinum level, including Bruce Power, John Sweeney Concrete and Leader Resources.
Joining Ward for the ribbon-cutting, were members of the Kincardine Rotary Club, Tim Mancell, Area 2 assistant governor, of Walkerton, and a group of children from the Little Beginnings Daycare in Kincardine.
The event ended with hot dogs and refreshments.
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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