Rotary unveils engraved wall on River Mill Park bandshell

Almost four months after it officially opened, the Rotary Club of Huntsville was finally able to unveil the engraved stones on the back wall of the River Mill Park bandshell. A crowd of dozens gathered tonight (September 7) for a short celebration of the stones which were sold to community members and local businesses as a fundraiser to help construct the bandshell.

“We can be safe in saying it’s happening a little bit later than we thought it was going to be,” said Rob Saunders, a member of the Rotary Club of Huntsville. “When we opened the bandshell on May 24, the thought was that the engraved wall would follow shortly after.”

It was delayed due to the tremendous task of getting the stones engraved, which required Rotarians Ross Kirwin and Peter Redwood to make 20 trips to Alliston to haul stones back and forth to the engraving company willing to take on the job.

Mayor Scott Aitchison said he was glad to see the project was delayed because it gave the community “an opportunity to see how fantastic this bandshell is and how well it’s getting used.”

I’m looking forward to seeing what this wall looks like and the representation of the great contributions that this great community makes to the many projects that go on. It’s a wall full of people who want to give back to our community… If you want to get something done, call a Rotarian. I’ve never met a group of people more committed and more eager to make things happen in our community. Hats off to the Rotary Club.
Mayor Scott Aitchison

Saunders singled out several Rotarians and community members for their contribution to the project, including Drew Markham, whose idea it was to do the buy-a-brick fundraiser, Jim Alexander from Algonquin Natural Stone who donated all of the stone for the project, Ross Kirwin and Peter Redwood for their significant time put into the project, and Stepping Stone Masonry who pieced together the back wall and casing without mortar. “A whole bunch of stones had to be cut and refined because we kind of oversold the wall and we had to make them fit,” said Saunders to laughter from the crowd.

There are 235 bricks in the wall and Saunders gave thanks to all who bought a stone to help make the project happen. And then he joked that if anyone found a spelling mistake, they could talk to Ross Kirwin.

Since it opened in May, the bandshell has been host to a variety of concerts and activities, including the Muskoka 2-4 Craft Beer Festival, Band on the Run, Canada Day festivities, the Backstreet Urban Festival, movies in the park, and the CBC simulcast of the final The Tragically Hip concert.

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