Folks who come to watch Orangeville Music Theatre’s new production of Sweet Charity should to expect to enjoy some major laughs and a wonderful musical experience, this according to OMT’s co-director and choreographer, Roland Kirouac. He and his wife Sandra are the minds behind the show, and they’re both confident that people will have a grand time watching the musical.

Sweet Charity is based on Frederico Fellini’s film Nights of Cabiria. Reinterpreted by Neil Simon, it’s a musical play that tells the story and troubles of Charity, a dancer-for-hire at New York’s Fandango Ballroom. Charity tries to search for her one true love – the one who’ll sweep her off her feet and take her away from her tiring job.

Kirouac adds the play is a story about love, redemption, hope, and seeing life in positive light. And as with all musicals, Orangeville Music Theatre’s Sweet Charity is a marvelous showcase of song and dance.

But Kirouac says that it’s the comedic scenes that are sure to take the audience by storm.

Sweet Charity opens to the public  from the 11^th until the 20^th of June. Tickets are priced at only $23, and are available at the box office. Call 519-942-3423 for more information.

The proposed off-leash dog parks in Orangeville may be appealing to dog owners in town, but not everyone is happy about it.

At a meeting that took place on Tuesday, May 25, residents near the proposed sites were busy asking questions and raising their worries about the parks, with issues discussed ranging from poop, parking, bites, and children’s safety.

For Stephanie Wilson, a resident of Diane Drive, an off-leash park shouldn’t be placed in close proximity to a residential area. She pointed out that more consultation and investigation needs to be done before pushing through.

After going through a list of parks owned by Orangeville, the town’s Leash-Free Dog Park Committee announced that Erindale Park, located at the corner of Dufferin Street and Erindale Avenue, and Brown’s Farm Park along Diane Drive, will be Orangeville’s proposed off-leash parks.

According to the committee, the two parks were chosen because they matched the qualifications of an ideal off-leash park. The criteria covers factors such as park size, light, parking space, and distance from children’s play areas.

With the committee getting an earful from residents living near the two sites, members have promised to go over other parks and see if any alternatives can be found before ultimately making a recommendation to council.

We’re halfway through the week and it’s time once again to give you the 411 on what’s happening here in Orangeville over the weekend and next week.

The Climate Change Action Group of Erin together with Credit Valley Conservation are proud to present the film, “Food, Inc.”, tonight at 7 in the evening. The film showing takes place at the Erin Canadian Legion Hall. The best part? Admission is free, but those in attendance are encouraged to make donations to both non-profit groups. You can log-on to www.creditvalley.ca for more information.

The Orangeville Art Group will be hosting an outdoor painting workshop on the 30^th of May, at 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, at the open grounds of the RA Art Gallery. The workshop will feature renowned artist George Perdue, who’ll be discussing the ins and outs of plein air painting. Of course, there’ll be plenty of painting and sketching for interested art buffs. Admission is pegged at $50 for non OAG members and $30 for members.

This Saturday, May 22, the Headwaters Health Care Centre will be having a plant sale at the centre’s garden, beginning at 8:30 to 11 in the morning. The sale will feature a variety of perennials as well as a silent auction.

Laura Jotham looks just like any regular teenager you see these days. But unlike most of her peers, she doesn’t have the luxury of doing what she wants, going where she wants, and living the life of a normal teenager to the fullest.

The Orangeville teen was born with Retinopathy of Prematurity, a disease that damages the eyesight of premature babies. Laura was born 10 weeks early, and developed ROP during her stay at the hospital.

Today, Laura says she has 10% vision in her right eye, and none at all in her left – making her legally blind. Needless to say, this makes walking around the city very difficult, and she doesn’t feel particularly at ease with a cane, seeing as how it can make her an easy target for muggers and other criminals.

This prompted her to approach the group, The Lions Foundation of Canada, an organization that provides dog guides to individuals with disabilities. Laura visited their centre in Oakville where she met one of the trainers who was working with Hedda, a black Labrador.

It was love at first sight.

Today, Laura is back in Orangeville to support the Purina Walk for Dog Guides, which takes place on the 30^th of may. The dog walk was organized to raise awareness and funds which will go to the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program.