Thanks to Tim Brazeau and some keen photographers, Callander is about to have its own calendar. That’s correct, before year’s end, the Municipality of Callander will be commemorated with a 12-month calendar highlighting local attractions and landmarks with each passing month.
Brazeau administers the Callander, Ontario Community Hub Facebook page, a popular online spot for locals and Callander fans to discuss all things Callander. Since he took over the page a few years ago, group membership has increased significantly.
When Brazeau asked members to submit some photos he could use as the banner page, the people did not disappoint. Many sent in pictures of Centennial Park, dogs strolling down leafy forest paths, mallard ducks hanging about, and of course, Callander’s newest photo attraction, the new lighthouse built by Erin and Ryan Farquhar.
See: The future is bright for Callander’s new lighthouse
“Everybody’s been submitting pictures,” he said. “I’ve been changing the page photo cover with different collages” of submitted photos. Then a light went on, and Brazeau thought it would be a great idea to put out a Callander calendar.
So, the call went out, and once again, the people responded with hundreds of photo submissions. After discussions with some group members, Brazeau decided to lose the collage style for the calendar and go with a more traditional one photo for each month approach.
“Because the lighthouse has been so iconic this year, I asked people to submit lighthouse photos for the cover and for one month” within, as well. The cover is ready to go, but the other photos within will remain a surprise. Perhaps some ice huts in Callander Bay for January? A cranberry themed shot for September?
Only time will tell, but Brazeau assured that the photos will show the beauty of the town and region and will be a nice addition to your fridge or wall.
A life-long Callander resident, Brazeau has deep roots in the community and does what he can to celebrate the town he loves. His father, Bill, was mayor in the early 2000’s and a councillor before that, and Tim is a well-known realtor in town.
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Calendars are available to pre-order and cost $20. All in, each calendar costs around $18 to produce, “so I’m not making money on it,” he said, and what money he does make, he plans to donate a large portion of that back to local community groups. This past summer, he built some picnic tables and donated them to the Humane Society’s Dog Park in North Bay.
He has also been finding some local sponsors who are helping to offset the printing costs by purchasing some ad space within the calendar.
If you want your own Callander calendar, reach out to Brazeau through the Callander, Ontario Community Hub Facebook page. He’ll set you up, and when the calendar is ready to go – most likely in December – he will mail your copy right to your door.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
