NEWS RELEASE          For release July 17, 2008

We're celebrating Southampton's incorporation
on Friday, July 25: come to the play

Fast-forward 150 years. On Friday, July 25 everyone is welcome to an evening of celebration marking Southampton's incorporation in 1858.

At the heart of the evening is a play at Town Hall especially commissioned for the occasion. In Captain and the Council, playwright Deanna Underwood has taken the actual minutes of 1858 council meetings and recreated the birth of Southampton, as the fledgling village council struggles to bring order to a pioneer settlement. They're a boisterous crowd, not above pulling one another's leg.

In a contrasting scene drawn from contemporary accounts, founder John Spence battles the elements and rescues 15 shipwrecked American sailors off Michigan shores. The audience is encouraged to move back in time with the actors of Performing Arts of Saugeen Shores by dressing in period costume.

The evening starts at the Flag at 6:30 p.m. when Town Crier Neil Menage makes his proclamation and he and piper Michael Smith lead a parade up High Street to Town Hall.

The play starts at 7 p.m., followed by presentation of a historical plaque marking the location of the first village council meeting. There is no admission charge.

The evening concludes with a reception offered by the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre, just a short walk away at the museum. Guests will be entertained by the Saugeen First Nation Drummers and Dancers, and guitarist Chris Yenny.

The commemorative plaque will be mounted at the Schendel and Sullivan store on High Street. It will mark the spot where the first village council met. It reads: