Champney's West Day's Events Aug 3 – 5, 2012

Friday Aug 3

• There will be a kitchen party at the hall from 7:30 - 11 pm. This is a “music and friends event” put off by The Goose Cove Kitchen Party Group, who are donating their time and effort as a fund raiser in support Champney’s West Aquarium Project. Tea / Coffee and a sandwich lunch will be served. Admission is $7 per person. There will be 50/50 ticket sales.

• There will be an 80's party at Johnny's place from 11pm - 2 am. Darrell and Krystal Freeman are devoting their time and the use of Johnny’s Place in hosting the Party. BYOB, come as you are and socialize. Music by Darrell admission is free. Remember to recycle and have a good time with regard for others.

Saturday Aug 4

• As always down home cooking will be available. Soup, sandwiches and fish and brews will be dished up at the town hall from 11am - 2pm. Prices will be posted.

• 50/50 Bingo games start at 2:30 pm

• Games of chance will be taking place down on the waterfront during the afternoon. Come on down and try your luck!

•The waterfront will be hoping with musical entertainment throughout the day provided by local artists. Come listen to the down home sounds, admission is free.

Sunday Aug 5

• There will be a fundraising breakfast hosted by a wonderful group of people that have decided “to be here by choice in Champney’s. It runs from 8:30 am - 12:30 and only cost $ 8:00 per person. All proceeds of this event will be donated to the Aquarium fund, please come visit for breakfast; chances are it will be more than you can eat!

• The recreation group will have games of chance down on the waterfront during the afternoon starting at 1Pm. Games include ring toss,

• The first annual walking on water event will start at 1 Pm. Come check this out all you need is to have your own shoes that you can walk on water with! The trick is to be able to use your shoes to be able to walk on water out to a buoy, navigate it and get safely back to shore. The person with the best time get’s bragging rights and the company of Martha and Bertha in a photo op.

• The great Atlantic Cardboard boat races start at 3pm, get your boats built and get ready to have a time to remember. There are boats already lining up and crews preparing to show their muster in this race. This year we will also have a $ 50.00 prize for best boat judged as most creative by a panel of judges, and a $50.00 prize for winner of races as an honor for their achievements. Entry boats will race each other this year “two at a time” and compete for bragging rights. There are also challenges being issued and sponsored races that will take place to the finish. Boat crews can challenge each other and donate to the cause at the same time. These changes will deliver additional amusement.

• There will be a treasure hunt for Kids after the cardboard boat races. They will be using metal detectors to find buried things. Everyone gets a cold drink and the person that discovers a marked winning $1 coin gets a $10 prize. This event is held with donations by the freeman family.

• Various singers will be performing on the water front during the day and after the boat races and until the fireworks start at 10 pm.

• Rosie’s Snacks will be donating 15% of Hog Dot and Hamburger sales made during Champney’s West days to the recreation group and the Aquarium Project. The take out is located on the waterfront.

 Ella Freeman Memorial Heritage House is now open daily. The Museum will be open throughout the Champney’s West Celebrations. This would be a good time to visit. The museum contains an artifact display, an audio/visual display, and an in depth written history of the people and the place. There is a vast amount of written materials and numerous pictures of early settlement circa 1675 and up to today. To Read more about the Heritage House Click Here

Champney's West Days August 3rd to 5th 2012

This year Champney's West celebrations will start on the evening of Friday August 3rd with a kitchen part at the hall. There are many events planned for the whole weekend to be capped off with the Great Cardboard Boat Races and Regatta on Sunday followed by fireworks in the Evening.

A full schedule of events and times will be available here on Tuesday Evening. Check back and learn about all the fun that is planned, including an improved version of the races.

Artistic Rendition of Champney's West Aquarium

The picture below is a scaled down image of an artistic rendition painting of the future aquarium. The actual painting by Cathy Driedzic is on display at the Recreation Center in Champney's West, along with a descriptive brief on the project.

Cathy very kindly made this painting, which allows us to provide a visual impression of what this community hopes to achieve by this project. Having this rendition or vision of how the end result could look like, helps us tremendously in delivering the message, goals and objectives of this project.

A Few Words on the Artist

Cathy paints fresh and luminous watercolour paintings. Her use of transparent colors and a limited palette produce paintings that are filled with light and a sense of calm. Her watercolours have been exhibited in galleries in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, France and are currently in several galleries in and around St. John's. Her prints and drawings are also shown in her home studio, which is listed in the Studio Guide of the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Cathy has won awards for her drawing and painting in New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Her artwork has been selected for the collections of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the City of St. John's.

Her husband Bill has committed his spare time and his knowledge in fostering this project by being a champion and diligent supporter, since day one. We feel very fortunate that Cathy and her husband Bill have a summer home in Champney's West. They have become very much involved with community activities and they have decided to be “Home by Choice Residents”, devoting a tremendous amount of hours helping the community in any way they can. Bill and Cathy have both volunteered their time and put their abilities to work in support of making the Champney's West Aquarium a reality.

They have also both endeared themselves in the hearts of population of the whole community. They have given us smiles, time to chat, thoughts, advice, help and input and friendship. They have spent so much time in planning and working with everyone to help foster initiatives toward strengthening the future of the community, that it becomes difficult to thank them or recognize them enough, mere words don’t really explain level of enthusiasm and dedication that they have given nor our appreciation.

Thanks Cathy and Thanks Bill!

More information on Cathy’s work can be found by visiting her website Visit Cathy.

Updates from the Group

We will have more details available here on July 27. The volunteers are having a series of meetings and are working on the details and chores required to help make this project a reality. When you have time, please check back here for updates on the progress of the Aquarium project. Book mark and share this link.

The Champney's Recreation Group has many individuals that spend a great amount of volunteer hours dealing with applications, writing proposals, answering calls or making them, dealing with regulatory issues, raising money and dealing with all aspects needed in moving things forward. This behind the scene support often goes unnoticed, yet it is so important and needs to be recognized. Tip your hat to them, a truly devoted and dedicated group!

We ask you our website visitor to do us a favor, take a moment and comment below, your input is important to us! We are all volunteers and your opinions matter, remember if you don't voice them we can't hear them!

It's time very soon for Champney's West Days! and preparations are underway. We are going to release news so have a look on here Thursday, rumor has it that some exciting things will take place this year.

Reminder to members: There is a meeting scheduled for 8 pm on Tuesday July 24 of the entire recreation group. Let's all do our best to attend it!

Be well and be you ... Thanks

New Director For Grand Seduction Film

Actor and filmmaker Don McKellar has been named the newest director of “The Grand Seduction,” stepping up in what one producer has called a “situation of emergency.” McKellar will direct the film, an adaptation of the French-Canadian 2003 blockbuster



“La Grande Séduction” produced by Montreal-based company Max Films and St. John’s producer Barbara Doran, which will be shot in Champney’s, Trinity Bight, starting in July. The area has also featured in “The Shipping News” and “Random Passage,” also produced by Doran.

The film has a budget of $11 million, and most of the cast and crew are said to be locals. McKellar is the third director hired for the film since it was set to start shooting late last August.

Read Full Story At This Link

The Quebecker comedy La grande séduction will have an English Canadian, French and Italian remakes.

The English Canadian version will be shot in Newfoundland-and-Labrador, an Atlantic province of Canada and will be known as The Grand Seduction. This film with a budget of $11 M will be shot between August 28 and November 15.

Be Sure To Come Visit Champney's West!!

Ice On Rocks Rough Sea Near Fox Island 2009

This picture was taken after a storm during the spring of 2009. The spray was freezing to the rocks and made an interesting display.

Ella Freeman Memorial Heritage House

The Heritage museum in Champney’s West became a reality due to a couple of significant occurrences. The first, being the generous gift of the original house, made by Dr. Marjorie Ragosta in honor of her mother Ella Freeman. The second being the hard work and dedication of local volunteers, supported by government programs, to restore the house, acquire local artifacts and begin recording the written history of the people.

We are happy to say that we have now created a web page introducing the Ella Freeman Memorial Heritage House, to tell you how it came about and to give you a glimpse of what you will find in there when you visit.

Read More Here


Historic Champney's West with ice in the harbor

In 2010 CWRG achieved the goal of establishing a Heritage House Museum. This building and the archives it holds came about as result of the significant support and the dedication of many individuals and organizations. The Ella Freeman Heritage House Museum was created and came to life with a ribbon cutting ceremony in August 2010. Many individuals have contributed volunteer time and effort to enhance the building and many of our elders have donated items and memories to the project.

Did you know that the building and land now housing the heritage house was donated by Dr. Marjorie Rogosta and family along with a tremendous amount of her research?

Click Here to Read More and Enjoy

Hike The Fox Island Trail

The Fox Island trail begins in the community of Champney's West and follows a loop of approximately 3 kilometers. Much of the trail is fairly easy to hike however the portion of the trail that leads to the the headland of Fox Island raises over 35 meters and is classed as being difficult.

Fox Island (Fox Head) isn't an actual Island anymore. It is connected by an isthmus to Champney's Island which in turn is also connected by another isthmus to the mainland at Champney's Arm. The Image below shows the beaches along the isthmus as seen from the top of Fox Island. The town can be seen in the background.

Fox Island Isthmus - Picture By Barb Walters

The most talked about of the numerous attractions along the trail is located on the lower plateau of Fox island. Here there is clear evidence of trenches that were used as a defence during Queen Anne's war that began in 1701 as a result of conflict between England and a Spanish-French alliance. It ended with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which granted sovereignty of Newfoundland to England and gave the French fishing rights from Bonavista to Point Riche.

An archaeological dig on Fox Island in 1995 revealed the remains of approximately 15 earthen features or structures, a number of which are in excess of 8 m in length. The principal area of occupation was enclosed with an earthen parapet wall, and a number of bastions were strategically positioned on prominent points of land.

A visit to Fox Island will illustrate why it was chosen as a fortification to protect the surrounding area including the historic town of Trinity. From Fox Island on a clear day you can see miles in any direction including south across Trinity Bay, east to the headland called the Horse Chops and west to Trinity. Historic (sailing) war ships could be spotted well in advance from this point of observation.

The geographical nature of the location ensured that there were few points where a possible attack from land could be carried out. The only way in by foot is across the isthmus. The remainder of Fox Island is composed mostly of shear rock cliffs that drop nearly straight down into the ocean. This feature made defense measures easier to carry out. The trail up to the top of Fox Island first leads to the area known as "the porch". At this point you can see were the defense trenches were constructed to defend against attacks from land. Visit our history section for more information.

Once you reach Fox Island be sure to check out the "Initial Rock" a soft rock in which many people have craved their names and initials over the years. There is also a Geocache located nearby to find and leave a trinket in if so inclined.

Along the trail there are many excellent view points from which to observe the ocean, whales and other marine life, as well as splendid rock formations including sedimentary rock strata located at Quart Cove as seen in the image below.

Quart Cove

The trail begins and ends in the village of Champney's West and your hike wouldn't be complete unless you tour the town and visit the waterfront with that is dotted with restored fishing stages and includes an excellent wharf and sheltered anchorage. This was the historic gathering place of people young and old and still is today. In fact it's scene of the annual Champney's West days celebration. An well attended event that include cardboard boat races, local music, fun and games and more.

View of Wharf Area - Picture by Barb Walters

How to get Here
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Come visit us, hike the trail, see the sights, meet the people and have a trip to enjoy and remember!