Sometimes you just have to be creative in troubling times! Thanks to Jim Lorraine, his wife Trish, Jeannine Garrett and lots of volunteers one of the largest High School Graduation events in Canada (with potentially 385 graduates) was able to proceed, despite a world-wide pandemic.

Jim and Trish have a daughter Eryn, and back in September they expected she would be graduating from Grade 12 at Cobequid Educational Centre in June 2020 and they would be attending a normal celebration. But once COVID-19 appeared, and classes were cancelled, it looked like Eryn and her classmates would not be able to experience this once in a lifetime milestone. It was then the Lorraine’s decided they had to try and do something and they offered to host a Graduation event at their Riverbreeze Farm in Upper Onslow.

The local community had already been hit hard with several tragedies this year, including the loss of CEC student Emily Tuck and another classmate Ameila McLeod’s father and stepmother, who were all killed during the mass shooting in April. The possibility of giving local High School graduating students something to smile about immediately had huge support.

Ameilia’s mother Jeannine Garrett started a Facebook page called CEC Grads 2020 and the excitement really began to take off.

Jim Lorraine was overwhelmed with the support from over 200 volunteers, people and businesses donating their time and money to make this happen. "Whatever we needed, people said yes, we never had anybody say no for what we asked and most of the time we didn’t’ even have to ask, they just came to us," he says.

The huge field across from the Riverbreeze Corn Maze was turned into a numbered parking lot for over 400 vehicles with a "stage" formed out of pile of gravel at the front. Graduates were invited to arrive by car with their families and park in designated spots until their name was called. They could then approach the stage and family members could drive along the front of the stage and take photos of their graduate.

Each graduate was presented with a tote bag filled with items including a meal voucher for one of ten restaurants in Truro, where they could go for a meal with their family following the ceremony while they awaited the evening events to begin at 9:00 PM. The unique graduation ceremony was held 4-7 pm with an evening party at 9 and fireworks at 10.

Jim says the committee was able to purchase 1600 meals for the graduates and their families. All expenses for the event were either donated or paid for through a GOFUNDME account that reached over $20,000 in donations.

There was much car horn honking throughout the outdoor ceremony as names were called and after all graduates had their turn walking the stage on Friday, June 26th there was a group photo staged with the graduates all throwing their caps in the air from their parking spots.

Graduates continued to celebrate after dark, with music and celebrity video greetings played on the big screen. At 10:00PM, the fireworks started with one of the largest fireworks event ever set off in the Province, dedicated to Emily Tuck and to Ameilia McLeod’s father and stepmother, Sean McLeod and Alanna Jenkins.

Earlier in the week graduates picked up their grad caps and gowns from CEC and over three days, five minute appointments were booked for each graduate and four family members to attend an official school-based graduation in the auditorium, where students were presented with their diplomas by the Principal.

When asked how graduates felt about their 2020 Graduation, there were nothing but rave reviews…perhaps this will be new trend.

Congratulations Class of 2020, this will certainly be one for the memory books and well deserved!

Ship’s Company Theatre won’t be stopped by Covid-19 as it debuts its 36th season online this July. The summer theatre known for showcasing Atlantic voices has brought together some of the most acclaimed musicians from the region as well as a wide variety of talented writers to share powerful Atlantic Canadian stories and songs throughout July and August with the Parrsboro community and beyond.

"I"m so thankful to be able to share these free online offerings this summer," said Richie Wilcox, Ship's Company Theatre’s Artistic Director, "This being my first season as Artistic Director, I really wanted to be able to connect with the community and, while this might be different than I had originally envisioned, I’m truly excited to bring our summer season directly into the homes of our loyal fans and supporters. And hopefully we’ll gain some new fans along the way!"

July 10, 2020 | The Shipwright Sessions: Beneath Springhill by Beau Dixon
Ship’s company will debut its brand new Shipwright Sessions on July 10 with a free livestreaming event. The Shipwright Sessions give you the opportunity to hear excerpts of works from the playwright themselves combined with a close-up look at the writer through mini-interviews. The first Shipwright Session features an excerpt from Beau Dixon's award-winning Beneath Springhill: The Maurice Ruddick Story. This one-man musical chronicles the life of Maurice Ruddick, an African Canadian who survived the historic mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia in 1958. Learn the story of this Black Nova Scotian man who helped keep seven trapped miners alive and was awarded Citizen of the Year only to find his heroic act marred by racism.

July 17, 2020 | Online Music Nights: An Evening with Ryan Cook
This intimate free livestream will showcase material from Ryan Cook's newly released album Old Faithfuls. Mixing classic country music with modern satire, Ryan forges a sound between contemporary folk and dyed-in-the-wool country. With nuances of pop and western swing, Ryan’s songbook reminiscences of the early hillbilly pioneers but stays very much in the current landscape. Receiving over 20 award nominations in Canada including three Album of the Year awards, his acoustic live show combines thumb-picking guitar styles, original ballads, and classic country from the 1940s and 1950s. Ryan is no stranger to Parrsboro audiences and those that have seen him know he is a charming storyteller who is as much an entertainer as he is a songwriter.

July 24, 2020| Online Music Nights: An Evening with Vishtèn
The second installment of our free online music series features Acadian powerhouse trio Vishtèn Twin sisters Emmanuelle and Pastelle LeBlanc join musical forces with Pascal Miousse to dazzle audiences with their fiery blend of traditional French songs and original instrumentals that fuse Celtic and Acadian genres with modern rock sensibilities and indie-folk influences. Their trademark blend of fiddle, guitar, accordion, octave mandolin, whistles, piano, bodhran, jaw harp and percussive dance result in a tour-de-force of traditional and contemporary music.

July 31, 2020| The Shipwright Sessions: Silence: Mabel & Alexander Graham Bell by Trina Davies
Trina Davies shares an excerpt from her script that showcases the relationship between the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, and his deaf wife, Mabel. Written from Mabel’s point of view, this Nova Scotian tale is a beautiful and true love story about how we communicate. Davies is well known to Ship’s Company audiences as her script Shattered debuted at the theatre and Ship’s recently produced her script The Romeo Initiative.