This Month in Lambton - August 2023

The August 2023 edition of This Month in Lambton includes the following news, service updates, programs and events:

• Stay up to date on road closures
• Emergencies Lambton - Tornadoes
• Lambton Heritage Museum hosting First World War Historical Reenactment Event
• Spend your PA Day in the new gallery at Lambton Heritage Museum
• Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery events
• Lambton County Library events

Stay up to date on road closures

Temporary closures and detours on County Roads are required due to seasonal construction and other events, like severe weather or emergency road work.

The County posts information on planned and upcoming road closures at lambtononline.ca/roadclosures, including a real-time map from Municipal511 showing upcoming and current planned closures, and emergency closures from the County and local municipalities.

Check your route before you go!

Emergencies Lambton - Tornadoes

Lambton County is no stranger to tornadoes. Several tornadoes have touched down in locally in recent years and a number of significant tornadoes have impacted Lambton historically.

Often, tornadoes form unexpectedly, leaving forecasters little to no time to issue official warnings.

You can stay alert by monitoring the conditions around you. Watch for:

• Thunderstorms that grow steadily worse, with heavy rain and extreme thunder and lightning.
• Large hail (hail larger than a nickel is evidence of a strong storm).
• An extremely dark sky, sometimes highlighted by rotating green or yellow clouds. Sometimes wisps of cloud will be seen swirling upward toward a low point in the clouds.
• An eerie calm at the end of a severe storm – the sun might even be visible.
• A rumbling sound like a freight train, or a whistling sound like a jet.
• A “wall of white” coming toward you – many tornadoes are hidden by heavy rain and a funnel might not be visible.

If you observe any of the above warning signs, take cover immediately, preferably in the lowest level of a sturdy building.

Stay away from windows and exterior doors and walls. Flying glass and debris blown into a building are extremely dangerous.

For more information on severe summer weather, visit EmergenciesLambton.ca.

Lambton Heritage Museum hosting First World War Historical Reenactment Event

Join Lambton Heritage Museum for the special event Experience the First World War on Saturday, September 9, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Local reenactment group Dominion of Canada Reenactment Corps will be attending in uniform to demonstrate the training soldiers received in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Visitors will be invited to sign their own attestation papers, participate in mock training exercises, and interact with reenactment corps members in hands-on activities. Stations will highlight different equipment soldiers carried, such as rifles and gas masks, and topics of discussion will include trench warfare and battle planning. At 1:00 p.m. the Museum’s Curator/Supervisor Dana Thorne will give a presentation on the 149^th Battalion, a battalion in the C.E.F. that was comprised of local men from Lambton County.

General Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (65+) and students, $3 for children (4-12) and children aged 3 and under are free.

This event features weapons, simulated gunfire, and discussions of battle that may not be suitable for all ages. For more information, please visit the event page on the Museum’s website.

Spend your PA Day in the new gallery at Lambton Heritage Museum

Looking for something fun to do for the PA Day on Friday, September 15? Why not visit Lambton Heritage Museum and see the new permanent exhibit in the Lambton Gallery!

Drop-in between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to discover how our communities have changed in dramatic ways over time, but also things we have in common with the people that came before us. Some of the themes that are explored include the natural world and biodiversity, key local industries, arts and culture, the study of archaeology, and more. Try hands-on activities like uncovering archeological specimens, “roasting” marshmallows in our interactive tent, and packing a bushel of apples.

The Museum’s Curator/Supervisor Dana Thorne will give guided tours of the new space at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30. Don’t forget to head outside and explore the seven outbuildings too!

Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery events

Family Saturday Studio Drop-In 

Every Saturday afternoon, JNAAG offers a free workshop for all ages, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Families are welcome to drop-in for a short, artist-facilitated studio activity inspired by the current exhibitions. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

• September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 – Favourite Things Collage
  Layer shapes and textures to create a mixed media collage of favourite things. The same activity will be offered for every Saturday in September.

Current Exhibitions

The gallery is open Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Thursday from 11:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m., and Friday, Saturday & Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

Humans of Lambton

Stephen Livick’s photographs served as the inspiration for this year’s Teen Photo Contest which challenged teens in Lambton County to respond to the theme Humans of Lambton.

The Humans of Lambton exhibit showcases Livick’s portraits which appear alongside a juried selection of those responses – carefully considered and selected by guest jurors based on submissions that excelled in the following categories: group, candid, and creative portraits.

This initiative is in collaboration with the Lambton County Library and is a continuation of the Take your Shot Teen Photo Contest which began in 2019.

Winners of the Take Your Shot: Teen Photo Contest: Rylee Kerr (Overall Winner), Miranda Hurst (Groups), Isabelle Robert (Candid/Environmental), and Ava Donald (Creative/Fine Art).

This exhibit will be on display until October 14, 2023

Many Lives Mark This Place 

In 2014, Ontario-based painter and printmaker John Hartman embarked on a project to capture the intimate relationship between more than thirty leading Canadian authors and the places that inspire them. The result was a body of large-format portrait paintings that celebrate the richness of Canada’s literary fabric. 

This exhibit will be on display until September 9, 2023.

Biskaabiiyang | Returning to Ourselves

Nico Williams, ᐅᑌᒥᐣ is Anishinaabe and member of Aamjiwnaang First Nation community, currently working in Tiohtià:ke | Mooniyang | Montréal. He began experimenting with beadwork in 2015 using Japanese glass Delicas (beads), natural materials and seed beads. He has actively been focusing on the revitalization and evolution of this medium. 

This exhibit will be on display until September 9, 2023.

Lambton County Library events

You can register for all Lambton County Library events at lclibrary.ca.

Book Cover Design Contest

Visit “CANSCAIP in the Grove: The Art of Picturebooks” at Gallery in the Grove from September 9 to October 28, 2023, and see the library’s ‘Book Cover Design Contest’ winners featured alongside artworks by the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP).

Additionally, all artwork submissions from the contest will be on display on the main floor of the Sarnia Library from September 22 to October 22, 2023.

Emergency Preparedness Workshop

Join us at Alvinston Library on Thursday, September 14 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. to learn steps to prepare for, respond to, and recover from various types of emergencies. 

In this free workshop, Lambton County Archives will discuss the history of emergencies in Lambton County and the surrounding area. Emergency Planners from Lambton County and Lambton Public Health will discuss emergency planning and emergency response plans. Participants will learn how to create their emergency plan, review shelter-in-place and evacuations, and learn to use Sarnia-Lambton Alerts and Environment Canada's emergency tools. This workshop will close with a question and answer period, and a draw for a starter Emergency Response Kit.

Kimchi Tasting with Jiak – Culture Days

As part of Lambton County Library’s Culture Days celebrations, Lo-Anne Chan will talk about the cultural significance of kimchi, the process of making it, and will then guide participants through a tasting of different varieties of kimchi in this cultural experience. This event will be held at Sarnia Library on Wednesday, September 27 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.