Sod Turned For Richmond Legacy Pavilion At Fairgrounds
By Manotick Messenger
A group of community volunteers, leaders and political dignitaries were on hand at the Richmond Fairgrounds for the sod turning of the Richmond Legacy Pavilion.
The project stemmed from the village’s 200th anniversary celebrations in 2018. The pavilion was planned to mark Richmond’s past while setting the stage for its future. The Richmond Legacy Pavilion is the result of efforts of the same team of volunteers that envisaged and delivered the 200th Anniversary celebrations.
The Richmond Legacy Community Association and the Richmond Agricultural Society, a not-for-profit entity, provided the energy, vision, initial major donations and site for the project. Other funding came from a number of sources including the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group, the City of Ottawa, numerous local businesses, the drive and perseverance of Richmond villagers and a countless number of entertaining fundraising initiatives.
Cydney Green, who along with Maryan Wammes have been driving forces co-chairing the Richmond Legacy Pavilion Association, talked about how the seeds were planted for the pavilion in 1990 during the planning for Richmond’s 175th anniversary celebrations.
“At that time, Co-Chair Joyce Cook was hoping to have a memory walkway and our group, collectively had the inspiration to build a band stand for our community,” Green said.
“The funding was not sufficient at that time to make those dreams a reality. However, our passion for this project never went away,” Green said. “Once completed, we will have a Legacy Pavilion for Richmond. One that marks our remarkable history and steers us into the future. One that is available through the Richmond Agricultural Society for public and private events.”
Wammes acknowledged the Government of Canada’s support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) for their Canada Community Revitalization Fund towards the construction of our Legacy Pavilion.
“We would like to thank The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group for the Learning and Engagement Accelerator Fund, the City of Ottawa 2022 Rural Community Building Grant Program along with our many partners, our volunteers and last but not least the immense support of our community in our fundraising efforts,” Wammes said.
Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton, offered congratulations on behalf of the Province of Ontario.
“While the Richmond Legacy Pavilion will be a beautiful and much-needed addition to the Richmond Fairgrounds and to the community, what makes the pavilion so special is how the Richmond Legacy Community Association brought the community together to make this happen,” Ghamari said. “The committee has driven this project through numerous sponsorships, partnerships and donations. They have held Oktoberfests, New Year’s Eve parties, and many other events throughout the past few years. None of these fundraisers have been more fun and more talked about in the community than the Great Richmond Potty Caper.”
The facility will be a centre piece gathering point for Richmond and provide a long overdue location for a number of private and public events. Its design will not only recognize architectural features of historic buildings from the past, it will protect users from the temperate weather conditions in particular heavy rains and excessive heat, increasingly common occurrences. The facility’s design and features will benefit a variety of audiences and permit a wide range of social, recreational and entertainment events. It is being built with the expectation that it will be a desired, versatile, and well appreciated addition to Richmond.
