Driving along Regional Road 25 into the heart of Milton was brightened recently by the lights of Allendale. This has happened due to an outpouring of love and effort from countless extraordinary citizens in a very short amount of time.

It all began one evening in the middle of December 2020. Laraine Goodban was feeling sad.  She had been visiting Gordon, her husband of 53 years. Looking at Allendale where her husband was now living, she thought about how the people on the inside (Gordon included) would appreciate some Christmas lights outside their windows. She asked Allendale Administrator Sean Weylie if it was do-able and he said YES!!!

Like most film festivals this past year, the Milton Film Festival is going virtual, streaming all films and guest Q&As online. This new format has allowed the Festival to expand to five days – January 27-31 – and have fourteen screenings, each available for viewing for 3-5 days.

The 8^th annual event marks the return of some old friends, including Milton director Jawad Mir, whose documentary ONLY 78 had its Ontario premiere at the 2018 Festival. Now Mir is back with co-director Ahmad Ebrahimi with a new documentary. CITIZEN OF MORIA follows Ahmad after he is forced to leave Afghanistan by the Taliban and winds up in Europe’s worst refugee camp – Moria.

The pandemic has forced everyone to re-think and re-evaluate how to operate, how to survive as a business or organization and most importantly how to thrive. “For Milton Rotary, the year got off to a rocky start in terms of fundraising with the cancellation of our annual Denim and Diamonds Spring Gala,” says Rod McLachlan, Milton Rotary public relations director.

With a commitment to aiding and focusing on Milton youth, projects and programs with decades of historical success were suddenly at risk. But fortunately for the local charitable service organization, one long-time fundraiser is well positioned to stem the bleeding – the annual Rotary Online Auction, says McLachlan. This year’s auction runs from November 7-21 at www.RotaryOnlineAuction.ca

For the past eight years, Arts Milton has hosted Milton Culture Days. On the last weekend of September each year, in partnership with the Town of Milton and hundreds of local Activity Organizers, Arts Milton has opened the doors of the FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton to thousands of community members. Together they have enjoyed a wide selection of free arts and culture activities.

In 2020, it was clear that this type of gathering was not going to be possible. But Arts Milton did not disappoint Miltonians! This year’s Milton Culture Days consisted of 80 activities over a four-week period from September 25 – October 25. Offerings included a mix of outdoor on-site events, pre-recorded activities, livestreamed workshops and self-guided challenges.