Many Glen Williams residents are already looking forward to next year, and with good reason.
The Glen will be celebrating 200 years of being a place to live, work and play in 2025. Every month will have something for locals and visitors to do to mark the hamlet’s bicentennial.
Two centuries of existence is worth celebrating for any community, however, Glen Williams Community Association Chair Joan Griffin wants the Glen200 to be a chance for celebrants to learn about the setting.
Motivated by many new faces in the area, Griffin and her committee of various organizations conceived an overarching theme of honouring history and celebrating community.
“We want to ensure that everything we do is not just for the sake of doing something, but actually anchored to everyone's passion for keeping this community an amazing place,” Griffin explained.
She added the goal is to “raise awareness of what we have to try to create stewards across all of the residents.”
The fun will kick off in January with walking tours led by local historian Mark Rowe. His tours will look as far back as the Glen’s Indigenous history, European settlement during founder Benajah Williams’ time and the World Wars.
Rowe and the Glen200 committee are in touch with the Mississaugas of the Credit as part of a collaboration with them. Four historical tours are planned for the year.
Discussions are taking place with Fr. Aaron Orear of St. Alban the Martyr Anglican Church to do bell-ringing events, starting in January also.
Masquerade balls, colouring contests for youth, tree planting, Indigenous flag raising, various arts-related events and an auction are some of the many things planned throughout the year.
But the main event will be on Sept. 27, 2025, when the Glen200 Day bash will happen.
“Our plan is to have a day full of activities that fit with our theme of honouring history and celebrating community,” Griffin said.
Festivities may include interactive heritage-type crafts and demonstrations.
Many of the anniversary shindigs will also be fundraisers. A Glen200 logo has been picked, which Griffin says will grace two granite markers. Each will be placed at the traditional entrances to the Glen (exact placement still pending).
