As we get closer to our busiest time of the summer, we have to remind ourselves to sit back and enjoy the view. That is, when it’s not raining.

Here are a few things you should know about regarding our upcoming summer activities.

Ice Cream Giveaway

Weather permitting, our ice cream giveaway will be this Saturday July 27^th, starting at 1:00 p.m. Note the locations below might vary depending on wind direction. Look for a pontoon boat with the SMLCA banner on the side. Check locations in the directory. Don’t delay because when it’s gone, it’s gone.

North:  South of Lone Star Island, just east of Horne’s Island (Map C)

Central:  South of Bagley Island near Cedar Nook (Map W)

West:  South of Disher’s Island (Map M)

East:  South of Battleship Island (Map E)

Urgent: Volunteers Needed for the 74th Annual Lake Regatta!

As you know, the 74th annual lake regatta is just around the corner, and we are excited to celebrate this beloved tradition with our community. However, we are still in urgent need of volunteers to ensure the event’s success.

Despite our multiple posts, we are still short on dozens of helping hands for several CRITICAL areas:

• Hot Dog Cooks
• Lucky Draw Helpers
• Canoe and Swim Race Helpers
• First Aid/CPR person
• Barge Loaders (Friday and Saturday) at the Marina
• And More!

The event is fast approaching, and we need your support to keep the fun afloat! Your participation will not only help the regatta run smoothly but also contribute to the spirit of our community.

Please consider signing up and being part of this amazing event. Let’s come together to make this regatta a memorable one for everyone involved.

We still need people to “sign up” their old canoes and paddles as well!

Go to:

https://signup.com/go/iyCtKaY

If you need further clarification or extra help signing up, please contact Kimberly Swinoga at kswinoga@gmail.com

Thank you for your support and dedication to our community.

Golf Tournament Cancelled

We are extremely sorry to announce that the golf tournament has been cancelled this year due to poor turnout by the specified deadline. We will do a de-brief in August to determine whether this is an activity worth continuing in future years. Attendance has gradually been declining over the years and it leads us to conclude it has out lived its life expectancy. Also, the golf courses have increasingly stricter protocols for an event like this and makes it difficult to organize due to lack of flexibility. Bernie Mitchell has done a great job on organization for the event, but there just isn’t enough interest. Perhaps someone else would like to take over this responsibility in future and we will lend our support.

Art Tour

Be sure to be on the lake on Saturday August 10^th and Sunday August 11^th between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. for the 8^th annual SMLCA Artist Tour.

Brochures are available at both marinas, and are also available at the regatta.
There are 27 artists located at 17 stops on the lake who are all looking forward to your visit and support. The brochure features a large, easy to read map and all 17 locations will have an Artist Tour banner visible from their dock, so we hope this makes finding the stops easier for everyone! A photo of the banner as well as detailed information is located on the website and brochures so you know what to look for. Please visit https://sixmilelake.art/

Membership Progress

Our membership numbers have been steadily increasing and only need 70 members to reach our target of 500.  Remember our membership year runs from June 1 to May 31 and it’s time to renew for 2024/2025. The Membership Fee is $50.00. If you haven’t already renewed your membership, there are several ways to do that:

• Visit https://smlca.wildapricot.org to join or renew online. It’s a great idea to choose the auto-renew option. Then you don’t have to remember to renew each year, it’s done automatically for you.
• Visit the membership table at the regatta.  You can pay by cash, credit card, or cheque.
• Visit Sarah McKinney’s cottage at 150 Sanctuary Road, (W006 in the directory) when her sign is out on the dock.  Sarah can accept cash, credit card, or cheque.
• Contact Sarah at membership@sixmilelake.net or 647-823-8458 to request an invoice to be mailed to you. You can also arrange to pick up your directory at her place or come to the regatta.

On our membership portal, you can make optional donations to the annual fireworks show and/or for improvements to the regatta site and contribute to a general donation bucket. Fireworks prices have risen, like everything else, and we are always trying to improve your experience of the show. (Even if you don’t want to join the SMLCA, you can still do your part by financially supporting the many worthwhile things we do for the lake, ranging from navigation markers, the clean-up crew, and the regatta). To make any donation go to https://smlca.wildapricot.org/Donate. Thank you for your support.

Puzzle Sales

Sadly, we have decided to discontinue sales of the puzzles due to insufficient demand. We have only sold about 50 and we would need to sell several hundred to obtain these at an affordable price. We apologize to those who have placed orders and will refund your money. We understand that there are many who love doing jigsaw puzzles, so perhaps in future we can re-launch this project with a simpler approach.

Jo Hartjes

With regret we learned that Jo Hartjes recently passed away at his island, his favourite place on earth. He was 94 years old. He will be sadly missed by so many in our community and we send our sincere condolences to his family and friends. We will publish an obituary and let you know of celebration of life plans in our August issue, once the family has finalized those details.