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Orillia, sitting in the middle of the trail, was a natural choice for location of the 50th anniversary celebrations, and Lakehead University, Orillia campus, provided an ideal venue.<\/div>\n
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The event kicked off with a welcome pub night at Kelsey\u2019s, with local and out-of-town members of the club and Hike Ontario Board members mingling and renewing old acquaintances.<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Marion-Irene-and-Fern-greet-arriving-hikers.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/div>\nMarion Brophy (past Orillia Club President), Irene Bell (Wasaga Beach President) and Fern Splichal (Board Member) enjoy a cup of cheer while greeting visitors from all over the province.<\/div>\n
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The following morning, the program got underway at Lakehead Orillia\u2019s beautiful campus.\u00a0 While Hike Ontario held their Annual General Meeting and Summit, members of the Ganaraska Club from all over Ontario registered for the day\u2019s events.<\/div>\n
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Frieda Baldwin, the current Ganaraska President, welcomed the crowd.<\/div>\n
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<\/a>Followinga presentation on the history of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail, several of the Past Presidents of the club were given a special anniversary cap and thanked for their outstanding service to the Club.\u00a0 Pictured from left to right are: Paul McCreath, David Francis, Mike Pidwerbecki, and Bob Bowles.
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<\/a>Followinga presentation on the history of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail, several of the Past Presidents of the club were given a special anniversary cap and thanked for their outstanding service to the Club.\u00a0 Pictured from left to right are: Paul McCreath, David Francis, Mike Pidwerbecki, and Bob Bowles.![\n<\/a>](\"http:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/The-Ganaraska-Hiking-Club-gather-around-Trish-elder-performing-water-ceremony-and-prayer.jpg\"){kind=link}
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Kevin Callan provided the keynote address – \u201cWilderness Surthrival\u201d – in which he entertained the group with his description of his work leading 7 day wilderness trips for college students.\u00a0 ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Kevin-Callan-gives-keynote-address-22Wilderness-Surthrival22.jpg\")
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After this, the water ceremony began.\u00a0 The background for this is that during this hiking year, bottles of water from Lake Ontario and from Georgian Bay (being either end of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail) had been relayed by each of the member clubs in turn, until the waters arrived in Orillia to be delivered to the Orillia Club.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Pictured holding the specially designed water tote bags are: \u00a0Barb Lewis, Paul McCreath, and Fern Splichal.\u00a0 Joining them on the journey out of Scout Valley are Wendy Kirk, Isabelle Lloyd, Isobel Thorup, and Carol Strickland (taking the picture).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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They were joined by the 80+ attendees as they proceeded up University Avenue and across Lakehead\u2019s campus to the Indigenous Gardens.\u00a0 There the waters were used in a moving traditional ceremony honouring water and asking for a blessing.<\/div>\n
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Trish Monague (Cedar Woman) leads the water ceremony in the Wiigwasitig Gitigaan (Birch Tree Garden) area at Lakehead University.<\/div>\n