For several St. Patrick’s Day events that happened over the weekend, the COVID-19 outbreak was not enough to put them to bed. Doors remained open and guests, fewer or more than in their expected numbers, arrived.

Bake Sale

Friday Morning, Animal Aide Pontiac organized a St. Patrick’s Day-themed bake sale at the Community Lodge in Shawville to raise money for their Spay and Neuter Program.

Susan Belanger and Dianne Boisvert were handling change by the front door and Roz Carter had a table set up with tonnes of boxes of cookies and other treats beside them. Wearing green top hats, glasses and necklaces, all three had nylon gloves on.

At the back of the room, behind the tables covered in green cloth, Katherine Morris was running the kitchen. She was serving croissants, scramble eggs, bacon, homemade sausages and buttermilk pancakes for breakfast.

Belanger talked about her responsibilities with the organization.

“I collect all the cats and we bring them to a veterinarian,” she said.

The money collected would cover for her gas for when she picks up the cats, brings them to surgery and then brings them back home.

She decided to volunteer for the program because she believes there is a big problem with stray cats around the Pontiac and lots of people do not have access to cars or they do not have enough money to spay or neuter their own.

“Even just in Shawville, there’s hundreds of stray cats,” she said.

The organization holds several events every year to try and raise the money. Last year there was the Mother’s Day Tea, for example.

“Sometimes we do barbecues, sometimes it’s tickets for a draw,” she said

This event saw several people come in, despite the warning issued at the federal level to avoid public gatherings.

“We were contemplating whether we should cancel,” said Belanger. “It was a little too late to be canceling it last night, when food was being cooked and all the baking was done.”

Irish Tea

The Quyon United Church hosted another St Patrick’s Day inspired fundraising event on Saturday morning: Irish Tea.

Tables were set up in the church’s basement where guests had a chance to try some baked goods prepared by the young woman in the congregation and, of course, tea.

Irish Tea is an annual event. The proceeds from the annual event, went towards Godly Play, a Sunday school program.

Godly Play is a montessori-based program. Montesori is a theory which encompasses a learning development based on six pillars: independence, observation, following the child, correcting the child, a prepared environment and an absorbent mind.

The proceeds are used to buy props for the Sunday school program, such as a scale model of Noah’s Ark and its animals.

By the tables in the kitchen, Kara Young, a member of the church, was helping with the goodies.

“It’s very hands on for the children, for exploring what they’ve learned,” she said.

About ten or so children between the ages of 1-13 attend this Sunday school every week. Children who are younger than three are separated from the older ones in a nursery area.

“We might read a story to them,” said Young. “They’re not participating in Godly Play yet.”

Similar to the bake sale on Friday, the United church was also prepared for the epidemic. Helpers wore gloves, plates of baked goods were covered in celaform and there was hand sanitizer on deck.

“This is actually our last event,” said Young. “The church will be closed for two weeks.”

St. Patrick’s Day at Gavan’s

Gavan’s Hotel in Quyon is known for organizing one of the biggest St Patrick’s day parties in the region.

This Sunday, however, was admittedly a bit different.

An improvised sign on the entrance kindly asked those who are feeling ill to not enter the premises. Inside, half the tables stood empty – an unusual sight for the day, according to Nick Matechuk.

“This coronavirus that’s going around, it has made a big, big change,” he said.

Matechuk does not necessarily see the outbreak as fully negative. He said it’s good that people are taking the time to look after themselves and avoid large crowds. He did not let it affect his business, either.

“My doors are open, if you want to come in,” he said.

Indeed, about an hour after the show started, the rest of the tables were beginning to fill up.

From left: Mitchell King, Krista and Sarah Howard attended the celebrations at Gavan’s Hotel.

Rebecca Nugent is a member of the Quyon United Church who handled the baked goods at Irish Tea. She wore gloves and covered the goods with celaform. Hand sanitizer was also at hand for the guests.

From left: Kaden Provost and Brodee Campbell pose by the gift basket at the Irish Tea event. The basket raised money for Godly Play.

Katherine Morris cooked and served breakfast for the bake sale. This event was a fundraiser for the Animal Aide program she volunteers for.

From left: Susan Belanger and Dianne Boisvert took care of guests coming into the bake sale. They had wipes and sanitizer on the table, and also wore gloves for handling the money.

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