William Dale
Published online June 17, 2026, at www.pontiacjournal.com
DANFORD LAKE — A sense of history and community spirit filled Henry Heeney Memorial Park on June 13 as the Municipality of Alleyn-et-Cawood celebrated the main weekend of its 150th-anniversary festivities.
The milestone marks 150 years since Alleyn-et-Cawood separated from Thorne to become an independent municipality on June 14, 1876. According to Special Projects Coordinator Sheila Emon, the anniversary weekend represents the culmination of a year-long celebration that began with the municipality’s winter carnival in January. Since then, organizers have hosted monthly events and fundraisers leading up to the anniversary weekend.
Emon credited strong community support for the success of the campaign, noting that local businesses enthusiastically supported a sponsorship program that helped fund anniversary activities and will see participating sponsors recognized in a planned memory book.
A highlight of the weekend was a handmade 150th-anniversary quilt created by local artisans Laura Boucher, Michelle Cracknell, Louise Cracknell, Geneviève Lafleur, Denise Larocque-Renaud, Ellie Masotti, Ashley Miljour and Sylvie Taschereau. Visitors purchased raffle tickets throughout the weekend for a chance to win the commemorative piece.
Organizers also unveiled a 150th-anniversary cookbook featuring family recipes collected from local residents. The publication expands on a cookbook originally produced for the municipality’s 125th anniversary and contains more than 200 pages of recipes passed down through generations of local families.
To help preserve the anniversary year, organizers are documenting events and collecting stories and photographs for a memory book. Residents are also contributing painted handprints to a mural symbolizing both the municipality’s deep roots and continued growth. The completed artwork will remain on display at the site, which hosts the municipality’s summer day camp.
The celebration featured a community parade, helicopter rides, family activities, a dunk tank, exotic animal presentations, food vendors, live entertainment and an evening dance.
Anniversary events will continue throughout the year, including a Canada Day barbecue and duck race on July 1, a fishing derby at the Five-Mile Beaver Club on August 8, a commemorative wine launch in partnership with Domaine de Cawood in September, a Thanksgiving dinner in October and a community Christmas tree-lighting ceremony to end the year.
PHOTO — Alleyn-et-Cawood Councillor Jessica Cayer takes a turn in the “Splash for Cash” dunk tank during the municipality’s 150th-anniversary celebration at Henry Heeney Memorial Park on June 13. (WD)