{"id":1827,"date":"2013-05-07T14:12:38","date_gmt":"2013-05-07T18:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=1827"},"modified":"2013-05-14T15:43:35","modified_gmt":"2013-05-14T19:43:35","slug":"150-tattoo-draws-hundreds-to-community-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/150-tattoo-draws-hundreds-to-community-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"“150” Tattoo draws hundreds"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was almost standing room only Sunday afternoon as hundreds of residents filled the Aurora Community Centre to mark the Town\u2019s 150th birthday with the Aurora 150 Tattoo.<\/p>\n

Bringing together nearly 300 individual performers from across Ontario \u2013 and indeed across the country \u2013 in the form of seven pipe and drum bands and performers, people were up on their feet celebrating Aurora\u2019s milestone and marvelling at the intricacy of the performers.<\/p>\n

Under a cloudless sky, festivities got underway before the Tattoo itself with a \u201ctough mudder\u201d for kids, held across the street at Machell Park. Parents looked on with pride as the youngsters tackled the obstacles under the guidance of Aurora\u2019s air cadets. The \u201cmudder\u201d was held in conjunction with an Appreciation Lunch hosted by the Queen\u2019s York Rangers.<\/p>\n

After that, it was time for the main event.<\/p>\n

\"(ABOVE)<\/a>

(ABOVE) Aurora\u2019s White Heather Pipes and Drums received an ovation from the hometown crowd as did (TOP) band members from the Governor General\u2019s Horse Guards.
Auroran photos by David Falconer.<\/p><\/div>\n

The program began with Official Town Crier John Webster getting everybody into the spirit of the occasion. Following the arrival of Newmarket Aurora MP Lois Brown, MPP Frank Klees, and Aurora Mayor Geoffrey Dawe, the program truly got underway with performances from the Glendaurel Highlanders, a performance of God Save the Queen by Aurora Teen Idol Taylor Mansillo, accompanying the Band of the Governor General\u2019s Horse Guards, and the combined bands performing \u201cHighland Cathedral\u201d featuring the voice of Amanda Jones.<\/p>\n

For Ms. Jones, a member of Aurora\u2019s White Heather Pipes and Drums, performing \u201cHighland Cathedral\u201d before so many was a personal highlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d she said, following the event. \u201cThe first song really set the tone. It is a powerful song on its own and with the massed bands and the brass section. I don\u2019t know about the rest of the audience, but I felt a very powerful feeling behind me and it was a great way to mark a big celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven going right down to the end, everyone came out and performed really well, and what went through my mind was, \u2018this is awesome!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the march off of the combined bands and colour party, performances continued with the Ulster Accordion Band, performing such favourites as \u201cDanny Boy\u201d and \u201cWhen Irish Eyes are Smiling.\u201d Next up were the Barrie Pipes and Drums, the Aurora Community Band with selections from \u201cLes Miserables\u201d, and Scottish dancing led by students from the MacMurchy School of Highland Dance.<\/p>\n

Carrying on with the highland theme, they were followed by the Paris Port Dover Pipes and Drums, the return of the Governor General\u2019s Horse Guards, the White Heather Pipes and Drums \u2013 which had a rousing ovation from the hometown crowd \u2013 and colourful, action-packed performances from members of the Spectrum North Baton Club.<\/p>\n

The grand finale brought nearly all the performers back on the floor for an intricate display of marching and performances, including an encore performance by Ms. Jones of the national anthem and Amazing Grace, in memory of people who have lost their lives in conflict and violence, most recently in Boston.<\/p>\n

Mayor Geoffrey Dawe took the salute in the march past.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely impressed by the precision,\u201d said Mayor Dawe as the crowd dispersed after the show. \u201cI am really pleased with the crowd. You always wonder whether or not you\u2019re going to get the crowd out, but there weren\u2019t very many empty seats and we had great participation today.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what went through his mind when taking the salute, marking such a significant anniversary in the Town\u2019s history, he said it was difficult to put into words. People, he said, had been asking him whether Aurora would be holding a Tattoo again, and he said the interest was out there for an encore; maybe not next year due to the work and planning that went into it, but in the near future.<\/p>\n

One of the many people who had first-hand experience of the work it took to put this together is Alison Collins-Mrakas, chair of the Aurora 150 planning committee. Appearing moved by the results of the team effort, she summed it up in one word: \u201cspectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [Town of Aurora Special Events coordinator] Shelley Ware, David Veitch, and Norm MacKenzie should be extremely proud of themselves at Aurora\u2019s first Tattoo,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was unbelievable, standing room only, and just fantastic. What I kept thinking was, \u2018This was worth it!\u2019 From the mudder outside to the luncheon with the Queen\u2019s York Rangers, any and all were worth it.
\n\u201cThe mass finale at the end and Amazing Grace, I don\u2019t know what to say without crying!\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up in Aurora\u2019s 150th Anniversary calendar will be Canada Day celebrations, beginning with a special youth day on Saturday, June 29 (details to follow), the Rotary Club\u2019s Dance in the Park on Sunday, June 30, headlined by Lighthouse, and, of course, the Canada Day Parade and celebrations on Monday, July 1.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir It was almost standing room only Sunday afternoon as hundreds of residents filled the Aurora Community Centre to mark the Town\u2019s 150th birthday with the Aurora 150 Tattoo. Bringing together nearly 300 individual performers from across Ontario \u2013 and indeed across the country \u2013 in the form of seven pipe and drum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/2013-05-07-10.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-tt","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-14 17:57:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}