Plenty of good food, fine entertainment at Point Clark Lighthouse Festival on the weekend

There was plenty of good food and fine entertainment at the third annual Point Clark Lighthouse Festival, held Friday and Saturday in a tent beside the lighthouse.

This was the second year for the two-day event, which saw about 75 people attend the Friday night gala, and hundreds enjoy the corn roast and car show Saturday night.

Patrons of the gala enjoyed samples of Cowbell craft beer of Paisley, as well as Kim Crawford wine and Pine River Cheese, topped off with a delicious meal by Burke's Catering of Kincardine.

Lisa Courtney, MC for the evening, welcomed everyone and noted that she spent seven summers as a tour guide at the Point Clark Lighthouse.

"It's been over a decade since I did my last tour of the lighthouse," she said. "I was often asked how many times I had climbed the lighthouse, and I always answered, 'This is my first time ever,' which always got a laugh from the kids."

She said she climbed the lighthouse about five times per day, five days per week, for the 10 weeks of summer, over seven years. "That's 1,750 trips up the Point Clark Lighthouse. But I always enjoyed showing my passion for this national historic treasure."

Courtney said she learned a lot of life skills on the job as a tour guide, Particularly, negotiating skills, which came in handy when a tough biker guy climbed all the way to the top of the lighthouse and then realized he was afraid of heights.

The gala evening included door prizes and a silent auction, featuring local artists. All proceeds go toward the betterment of the Point Clark Lighthouse and the adjacent museum.

The band, "Flowers for Daniel," of Kitchener-Waterloo, provided terrific entertainment for the evening.

Saturday, brought another great crowd to the lighthouse for the car show, corn roast and barbecue, with hamburgers, hot dogs and corn-on-the-cob, and all the fixings. This was formerly known as the Point Clark Lightkeeper's Corn Roast - this was the 26th year for that event.

Providing entertainment Saturday evening, were students of Studio C in Lucknow. And Matt Black of Ripley had his octopus kite flying, much to the delight of the children.

Saturday afternoon also featured paddleboard rentals at the beach.