Uxbridge, ON

Kathy Clulow, sales representative, RE/MAX Scugog Realty Ltd, brokerage Uxbridge, Ontario. Kathy welcomes your real estate inquiries for the Durham Region communities of Uxbridge, Port Perry, Brock and Scugog, and the York Region Communities of Markham-Unionville, Stouffville and Georgina. To Contact Kathy, or visit our web sites MyUxbridge.info or UxbridgeRealEstateOnline.com

I recently had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Krystaal, a multi. talented group of three brothers whose repertoire includes R&B, Pop, Gospel, Urban and African music. They were in Uxbridge to reconnect with and to perform at Uxbridge Baptist Church

After a successful 2006 World Peace Tour the Lwamba's  recently shared the stage with past Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton along with Al Gore and John Grisham.

Born into a family of affluence in Zaire (now the Democratic republic of Congo) the three Brothers have an incredible storey to tell.

In 1989 their peaceful existence was shattered by violence. Violence that  resulted in the separation of their close knit family. Violence that resulted in the death of many close friends and relatives including their parents. Their incredible journey includes the peace they found in the midst of hopelessness in refugee camps and the public forgiveness of the very people who murdered their parents.

The incredible journey of the Lwamba brothers is chronicled in the book Keep on Standing. It talks of their journey from being members of an affluent family in Zaire, their narrow escape from the student massacre that took place in the University of Lubumashi, to their time in the refugee camps in Kenya to their eventual sponsorship, arrival and reunification here in Canada, to becomming world acclaimed musicians.

After 18 years of separation the story has a chapter yet to be written,  a sister was recently reunited with the family through a chance meeting at Matthew House (A Toronto Based Refugee Centre)

Kathy Clulow, sales representative, RE/MAX Scugog Realty Ltd, brokerage Uxbridge, Ontario. Kathy welcomes your real estate inquiries for the Durham Region communities of Uxbridge, Port Perry, Brock and Scugog, and the York Region Communities of Markham-Unionville, Stouffville and Georgina. To Contact Kathy, or visit our web sites MyUxbridge.info or UxbridgeRealEstateOnline.com

UXBRIDGE ONTARIO - Hidden Gems

The small hamlet of Leaskdale was home to a famous Canadian Author “Lucy Maud Montgomery”, who had her first book “Anne of Green Gables”, published 100 years ago. She resided in Leaskdale from 1911 to 1926 and here, as the wife of Rev. Ewan Macdonald a Presbyterian minister, is where she would write 11 of her 22 best selling novels.

Designated as a Provincial Historical site in 1965 and a National Historic site in 1997 the home along with St. Paul's Presbyterian Church are quickly becoming a significant part of the venues that attract tourists to Uxbridge.

In honouring the 100 anniversary of “Anne of Green Gables” Uxbridge council has officially declared 2008 as “100 Years of Anne”. The LMM Society and the Township have planned several events to help celebrate this anniversary.

The Historical plaque erected on the front lawn of the Manse property reads as follows:

"LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY"

In this house the author of "Anne of Green Gables" lived for fifteen years, and here wrote eleven of her twenty-two novels, including "Anne of the Island" (1915) and "Anne's House of Dreams" (1916). Born in 1874 at Clifton, Prince Edward Island, she was educated at Charlottetown and Halifax. From 1898 to 1911, she lived at Cavendish, P.E.I., and there began her career as a novelist. In 1911 she married the Rev. Ewan Macdonald, a Presbyterian minister, and came with him to Leaskdale. They moved in 1926 to Norval, and nine years later to Toronto, where she died in 1942. Mrs. Macdonald was awarded the O.B.E. by King George V in 1935

Events Calendar 2008

April 17th - "100 Years of Anne" Celebration, with the Penguin book launch sponsored by Blue Heron Books and featuring Budge Wilson author of "Before Green Gables" in Leaskdale

May 10th - 2nd Annual Antiques Festival at the church and manse in Leaskdale

June 20th, 21st, and 22nd - "100 Years of Anne" Festival in Uxbridge along with a Garden tour and Strawberry Social in Leaskdale

July and August - Wednesday Workshops and Teas at the Historic St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Leaskdale

November 28th - Floral Christmas Afternoon Workshop and an Old-Fashioned Christmas Concert/Carol Sing in the evening at the Historic St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Leaskdale

Other interesting sites

The Royal Canadian Mint is offering a commemorative 2008 25 Cent Coin, with a coloured picture of "Anne" for $19.95 CAN.

Feb 12, 2007 - In the format of a letter to Dear Lucy Maud: Carola Vyhnak , a Toronto Star staff reporter tells us, “Lucy”, about some of the current happenings with the old manse and around Uxbridge.

Kathy Clulow, sales representative, RE/MAX Scugog Realty Ltd, brokerage Uxbridge, Ontario. Kathy welcomes your real estate inquiries for the Durham Region communities of Uxbridge, Port Perry, Brock and Scugog, and the York Region Communities of Markham-Unionville, Stouffville and Georgina. To Contact Kathy, or visit our web sites MyUxbridge.info or UxbridgeRealEstateOnline.com

Canadian Real Estate Review

1997 - 2007 A Decade In Review

Pent-up demand, population growth, tight inventory levels, and the longest economic expansion since World War II collectively fuelled one of the best decades on record for residential real estate in Canada, according to a report released by RE/MAX. Download Full Report

The RE/MAX Decade in Review 1997 - 2007 Found that

• Major housing centres across the country experienced strong consecutive growth between 1997 and 2007.

  In 2006, homeownership rates in the country were the highest on record at 68.4 per cent. Population growth has contributed to heated market conditions – especially in Calgary (+31.4 per cent), Edmonton (+20 per cent), Toronto (+20 per cent), and Vancouver (+15 per cent) where percentage increases have hovered in the double-digit range. Overall, Canada’s population rose to almost 33 million in the 2006 census, up approximately 10 per cent from 1996 figures.

• Average price spiralled upward while unit sales climbed in tandem as more and more Canadians bought into homeownership.
  
• Nationally, average price almost doubled in the 10-year period, rising from $154,606 in 1997 to $307,265 in 2007, for a 7.1 per cent annually compounded rate of return.
  
• Home sales across the country increased just over 57 per cent from 331,092 units in 1997 to more than half a million sales last year.
  
• Edmonton led the country in terms of percentage increase in average price. The city saw a 203 per cent upswing in housing values - or an 11.7 per cent increase annually - with average price rising from $111,587 a decade ago to $338,636 in 2007.
  
• Prince Edward Island experienced the highest percentage increase in unit sales, with the number of homes sold up 119 per cent in the 10-year period.
  
• Immigration and in-migration have played a serious role in jumpstarting residential housing markets, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, and to some extent, Saskatchewan over the past decade. At first, there was an influx of American buyers, especially in Canada’s coastal regions and recreational hot spots, as our southern neighbours took advantage of the almighty US greenback. Then the European and Middle Eastern purchasers flooded the market, buying up real estate considered ‘cheap’ by international standards. In recent years, there have been a growing number of purchasers from Mainland China.
  
• From a global perspective, there’s no question that Canadian real estate brings good value to the table.
  
• The non-cyclical nature of the decade comes as some surprise.

  Never before have we seen such a continuous run up in Canadian real estate. Clearly, strength in all markets has been directly linked to solid growth in local, provincial and national economies. Low interest rates, job security, and consumer confidence have all served to further bolster home-buying activity across the nation.

• Robust economic performance in Western Canada has also drawn job seekers from across the country, looking to capitalize on employment opportunities.
  
• As demand for housing increased across the country, the supply of homes listed for sale began to contract.

  Multiple offers were commonplace in many areas, some with sales-to-listings ratios as tight as 80 to 90 per cent. Nationally, 1997 marked the first year since 1988 that the sales-to-listings ratio hit 50 per cent. The sales-to-listings ratio would remain above 60 per cent from 2001 onward – rising to as high as 68 per cent in 2002.

• The decade was not without its obstacles – the high-tech meltdown, a US recession, 9/11, SARS, Mad Cow, a blackout that affected the entire Northeastern seaboard, natural disasters such as ice storms, hurricanes, and forest fires and more recently, the credit crunch south of the border.

Given the continuation of sound economic fundamentals, it’s expected that residential real estate markets across the country will continue to experience healthy activity, albeit at a more moderate pace.

Sales Representative
RE/MAX Scugog Realty Ltd. Brokerage 905-852-6143
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Two upcoming events put on by The Arts Community in Uxbridge illustrate the commitment the community has to caring and sharing with and for others in the community.

Ryleepus Productions is presenting a special performance of Neil Simons "Barefoot in the Park" on Valentines Night with the proceeds going to Precious Minds a charitable organization that provides support to families in North Durham Region with children who have barriers to learning by providing support, linking parents with resources, raising awareness, and providing financial assistance.

A second event is an auction of local artists work to support the AhMen Projectwhich in turn will be using the proceeds of the theatrical presentation to support the Uxbridge youth center and the Uxbridge Arts Association. The art works in the auction will be on display at the Green Goose Gallery from February 4 to February 22 and Blue Heron books from February 23 to March 2. Local Artists donating their works are Lis Simpson, Richard Simpson, Kathy Goldberg, Gretel Boose, Sarah Cowley, Shirley Neal, Linda lee Purvis, Saundra Reiner, Cynthia Cupples, Denny Corbett, Fly Freeman, Wynn Walters, Lynn Bishop, and Tom Loach Creations, Carmel Brennen.

The AhMen Project, to be staged in the Music Hall March 28th to April 6th, is the new work of Anna Mackay Smith and is a theatrical presentation of the stories written and presented by local women about the men in their lives.

The Art community in Uxbridge has its roots in history.

As far back the late 1800s Art in the form of what has become know as The Dowling Scrolls, created by Rev James Thomas Dowling was used to illustrate biblical stories during his sermons.The scrolls are 7 feet high, and there is a total length of 446 feet.They were painted using oil house paint on cotton canvas.

Uxbridge is treated to a rare glimpse of history when, to the enjoyment and amazement of all who see them, The Dowling Scrolls are, on rare occasions, unrolled and brought to light for a significant display.  Rev James Thomas Dowling created this astounding one of a kind work of art during his tenure at the original Uxbridge Baptist Church during the 1870's

Uxbridge is blessed with a very strong and thriving arts community with theatrical productions throughout the year.

In the summer you can enjoy  Art In The Park, and the  Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts and Studio Tour  which includes visual, theatrical, musical, film, Books and authors there is something for everyone. If your interest are in the line of Gardening you can tour the Gardens of Uxbridge.

In the fall you can enjoy  Annual Steam Threshing Heritage Days  which on occasion include a re-enactment representing soldiers and their camp from the ‘War of 1812'

At Christmas you can revel in and Experience the Joy of that First Christmas or listen to presentation of Handel's Messiah on alternating years.

Kathy Clulow, sales representative, RE/MAX Scugog Realty Ltd, brokerage Uxbridge, Ontario. Kathy welcomes your real estate inquiries for the Durham Region communities of Uxbridge, Port Perry, Brock and Scugog, and the York Region Communities of Markham-Unionville, Stouffville and Georgina. Contact Kathy, or visit our web sites MyUxbridge.info  or UxbridgeRealEstateOnline.com