The screening of Selma at the Meaford International Film Festival (MIFF) will be enhanced by a rarely seen exhibition of photos taken during this pivotal period in the American civil rights movement. Lynn Ball was freelancing in the darkroom at Canadian Press Toronto in the late winter of 1965 when he heard about the upcoming third march from Selma to Montgomery. Knowing it would an historic event, the aspiring news photographer packed his gear into his car and drove to Alabama, where he took a series of astonishing photos that sat in a drawer for the next 50 years.

Ball says that some of the photos were considered too controversial or racially charged to be published at the time by American, and even Canadaian, news organizations. “AP [Associated Press] sent out the pictures and then immediately sent out a kill order on them,” he told the Kemptville Advance.

These included photographs of white demonstrators in opposition to the march – images which still have the power to shock today.

News organizations wouldn’t publish photos of white protesters in Selma, Alabama in 1965 – Photo: Lynn Ball

“These pictures [white people waving signs displaying racial slurs] weren’t picked up by anyone,” Ball told the Advance. “No one would touch them.”

Some of Ball’s film was still undeveloped in a drawer until earlier this year. The 50th anniversary of the Selma march prompted Ball to develop and organize a photo essay, which premiered in Merrickville, Ontario in March.

The exhibit, along with a recorded interview with Lynn Ball, is currently being displayed by the Emancipation Festival at the Grey Roots Museum in Owen Sound. MIFF’s special exhibit is thanks to the efforts of Blaine Courtney, Emancipation Festival Chair. MIFF will also feature an additional exhibit from the Festival and Clarksburg’s Sheffield Park Black History Museum about their efforts to preserve and explore the black experience in Grey Bruce.

Fall colors, scarecrows on parade, and one of Ontario’s most popular craft shows. Meaford welcomes Autumn this weekend with all of the above.

It kicks off at 6 p.m. today with the Scarecrow Invasion and Family Fun Festival – a parade of colourful scarecrows down the main street and down to the Harbour for fun, games and refreshments. This year, the scarecrows are “going to the movies.”

At 10 a.m. tomorrow, the annual Apple Harvest Craft Show opens at the Meaford Arena and Meaford Curling Club. This juried craft show features close to 200 artisans from Ontario and beyond.

And the blaze of autumn foliage has just begun in the last week or so, heralding fall and apple season.

It’s not too early to be thinking about autumn and scarecrows, at least not in Meaford.

The annual Meaford Scarecrow Invasion and Family Festival crew starts gearing up before the snow has melted, and they’re calling for volunteers. Coming very soon are a series of Scarecrow Building Workshops at the Harbour Pavilion. There’s more art to it than you might think. Learn how to stuff, clothe and give character to your favorite scarecrow.

And check out this video on volunteering to get an idea of what goes into the Festival, and how you can get involved.

To sign up, visit the festival’s volunteer page.

Well, actually they’re already here. If you’ve been through town lately, you’ll have seen the circus scarecrows hanging out (in some cases literally!).

But don’t forget the action today in downtown Meaford. AT 5 p.m., it’s a pre-parade show by the OPP Golden Helmets Precision Motorcycle Team. At 6, the scarecrows parade down the main street to the harbour. And at 6:30, enjoy the free Family Festival sponsored by Scotiabank, with activities, surprises and fun for all ages.

Meaford Scarecrow Invasion

Here’s a free event that fits right in with Culture Days this weekend – the 100 Mile Stomp. Head down to Meaford Harbour on Sunday, September 29, any time after 1 p.m., and enjoy entertainment, crafts, food and fun from local businesses. That local focus explains the 100 mile part. What about the “Stomp”.

While the artists will perform a lot of their own music, at least 50 percent of the performance will be the songs of Stompin’ Tom Conners. It’s a tremendous Stompin’ Tom Tribute festival!

Enjoy the music, buy CDs, crafts and other goods, and enjoy food from local merchants.

Visit the 100 Mile Stomp website to learn more.

MIFF, the Meaford International Film Festival, kicks off this evening, with “The Parade”, a “tragicomedy about Balkan war criminals and gay bashing”, followed by the opening night gala featuring food from Creative Choices Catering, coffee from Ashanti Coffee, beer from Kilannan Brewing Co., wine from Colio estate wines, and of course… popcorn!

The festival runs through Sunday night. Visit the website for all the details.

Unfortunately, we learned about this one too late to join in, but thanks to a chat with a participant, we can tell you a bit about it.

Earlier today, the Bighead Harvest Craft Beer Shindig celebrated the local hop harvest at Bighead Hops with locally grown food, music and, of course, beer. Three craft breweries from the area (and one from that city to the south) featured their wares at the shindig:

Kilannan Brewing Co. – an actual “Meaford” brewery, based just this side of the municipal line at Rockford. Read our feature article from last Christmas.

Maclean’s Ales, from Southwest Grey County.

Collingwood’s Northwinds Brewery, the newest kid on the block, which will launch its first brew, Corduroy Rye IPA, next month.

And Junction Craft Brewing, from Toronto, brewers of Conductor’s Craft Ale.

Meaford’s organic Bighead Hops, owned by Nicholas and Monique Schaut, are enjoying a growing reputation among craft brewers, and have even lent their name to Northwind’s Bighead SMaSH, coming soon. The shindig, held among the 20-foot hop plants, was also a chance to show off Nicholas’s new harvesting equipment.

If it happens again next year, we will make sure not to miss it!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like… Meaford’s Christmas window unveiling. Okay, that’s a bit of a mouthful, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s that time again. Tomorrow, Saturday, November 17, the merchants of Meaford will remove the masking hiding their marvelous displays, and folks will treat themselves to an early taste of the holiday spirit.

Watch the lighting of the tree at Meaford Hall, visit the shops and the Museum, enjoy mulled cider and more, warm up by the street fires, enjoy the music of carollers… and say “Hi!” to that red-clad, white-bearded, jolly old fellow who’ll arrive on the fire truck.

And check out this video from the Riggster.

Meaford’s Scarecrow Parade is just the beginning of a busy weekend in Meaford. The weekend traditionally anchored by the Apple Harvest Craft Show – a show of carefully selected artisans and craftspeople from near and far offering everything from toys to tinware to needlework to folk art to stained glass and much more – has grown busier every year, as events and exhibits appear to tempt tourists and locals alike.

This year, the Meaford Museum is open with free admission all weekend – and on Saturday, you can can. That is, you can learn to can. Well, let’s see how the museum puts it. “Learn the steps to effective and safe canning with Isobel McInnis as she does on-site demonstrations at 1 pm, 2 pm and 3pm. Printed material will be available and you are invited to ask Isobel any questions you may have. Each demonstration will take approximately 30 minutes.”

Meanwhile, the Heatlamp at the Harbour Music Festival kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a vendors market opening, followed by a music show for the kids, a Tex-Mex food bar featuring chili, pulled pork, nachos and a selection of hot sauces, and a series of three performances offering gutsy blues, folk, and more through the afternoon.

That’s a taste of this weekend’s events. To learn more, just head to Meaford.

They began to arrive early in September, scarecrow scouts appearing one by one to stand silent on lawns through town. By the middle of the month, they’d taken over. Everywhere you looked, straw-filled sentries – this year’s army seems to have escaped from frightening, fantastic, and farcical fairy tales – greeted you with sewn-on smiles, pasted-on pouts, or glued-on glares.

For the 16th time in as many years, Meaford’s Scarecrow Invasion was complete. Well, not quite. To celebrate its domination of Meaford, an army of scarecrows will amble down the main street of town this evening.

To see the burlap battalions in fine fettle and join in the fun, head down to Sykes Street later today. Starting at 5 p.m., enjoy the pre-parade Tartan Fling, with performances by the Celtic Dance Company of Owen Sound. At 6, prepare yourself for the parade itself, as it descends on downtown. Then, follow the tattered troops to Meaford Harbour for the Scotiabank Family Fun Festival. It’s free, and there’s a little something for everyone, including an apple pie contest, vintage vehicles on display, goats and other animals seemingly wandered in from local farms, and a performance by the Grey County Highlanders Pipes and Drums Band. Meaford’s Farmers’ Market will also be open for business.

To prepare you for what’s to come, enjoy the following videos of Meaford’s Scarecrow Parade.