This year we Bemisters of Carbonear are organizing an exciting family picnic and pot luck supper at a lovely rural location in southern Ontario – just a bit north east of Toronto. We hope you will join dozens of other members of your extended family and become acquainted with our proud family heritage rooted in the West Country, England and Freshwater and Carbonear, Newfoundland.
Our Bemister Family Picnic will be held at the Goodwood Community Centre in Goodwood, Ontario, on Sunday, August 5.
In the mid afternoon we will be organizing activities for children who would like to take part, providing information on family history and genealogy for those who are interested in our heritage, and giving lots of opportunity for Bemisters of all ages to renew friendships and meet new cousins - however far removed. We hope to have our Bemister travelling museum with its marvellous collection of family treasures – artifacts* as we say - and stories to go with them, lots of boards with family trees and pictures, and we will be bringing out a special edition of the Bemister Bulletin in honour of the occasion. Also we will have Newfoundland music and videos on hand.
Now the way we are keeping costs down is to run our event as a POT LUCK SUPPER – so you get to contribute a favourite dish to captivate your cousins. Now this can be a family traditional dish or not – we are sure it will all be delicious. What about Capt. Willis Bemister’s fish chowder? Or Aunt Stella’s Boston doughnuts? Or Obadiah Gilbert Joyce’s baked beans? Or Aunt Maria Shepherd’s spinach salad? Not to mention George Bartlett Bemister’s Railway stew, Granny Ladner’s Methodist butter tarts or Hon John Bemister’s cod au gratin? Well, you get the idea. We can have a wonderful meal with contributions from all branches of our family.
The cost will be a very modest $20 for each adult 18 and over, $10 for youths between 12 and 18 and 12 free. The fee includes a family membership in the Bemisters of Carbonear - which will keep you on the mailing list and ensure you get our newsletters, notification of future activities, and a wonderful buffet dinner. We will supply tea, coffee and soft drinks.
The nearest accommodations are B & B’s in Uxbridge area or motels in or near the other communities mentioned below. Goodwood is about a half hour drive NE of Toronto – and accessible from Highways 401, 404 or 407. The community is E of Markham, W of Uxbridge, NW of Oshawa and Whitby and easily found on MapQuest (try typing Goodwood for the area map or just zoom in from Toronto – Markham area). There are also motels to be found in Newmarket, Stouffville and other communities E of Toronto.
Do return the interest / registration form - with your cheque NOT LATER THAN July 15. We will get back to you with additional information closer to the event. You can also communicate with us by e-mail or telephone if you wish.
On Saturday, August 4, we are willing to co-ordinate some additional activities for folks from afar if there is sufficient interest. These activities might include a lunch downtown, some sight seeing with a Bemister flavour, and perhaps a ball game. But all this is outside the family picnic which stands on its own on Sunday, August 5. Local tourist information will be provided at the reunion as well as Toronto area Bemister grave locations and other Bemister sites that may be of interest.
This should be a great event for the whole family and we are sure you will enjoy meeting the dozens of other descendants of John and Mary Bemister of Corfe Mullen who are likely to attend. This picnic is a real winner!
Artifact – an object made by a human being, for example, a tool or ornament, especially one that has archaeological or cultural interest – viz. interest to the descendents of John and Mary Bemister, needless to say!
Contact - Bemisters of Carbonear,
lchopkins@shaw.ca
c/o Cameron Hopkins, 246 River Street, Ganonoque, ON
Cameron Hopkins (BC) (250) 962 1967
(After Jun 1, ON) (613) 382 7166
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