A note from John:
One of the greatest success stories in sport is happening riqht here at home. Manitoulin Special Olympics athletes have won 2 gold and 3 silver medals
in World Special Olympics competition. Five of our athletes have currently
made it on to Team Ontario and will be representing Ontario at the National
Games in Vancouver this coming July. Very few communities across
Canada can
boast these kinds of results. Special Olympics Competition at these levels is not to
be taken lightly. When we were in Athens, Greece attending the World Competition in 2011, we saw 7,500 athletes from all over the world competing and sixty five thousand spectators came to witness the opening ceremonies. It was the largest sporting event in the world that year. The success of our program is two fold. First our athletes now know what
can be achieved by extreme dedication and hard work. Second, Bluegrass in
The Country which is our main fund raiser, gives our local athletes the
resources necessary to go on and train and compete with world class
athletes. All of our athletes have a chance to learn a sport and enter a
competition. Whether they win or lose "LET THEM BE BRAVE IN THE
ATTEMPT" (SO Oath)
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who help us out
with Bluegrass In The County. Thanks to our sponsors, our ticket buyers
and to our performers all of whom perform for at way below market value
just to help out this great cause. Bluegrass in The Country receives no government
assistance of any kind. We depend only on you the people of Manitoulin and
on our visitors who come from off island. The first year of our show we had
8 off island trailers. Last year we had over sixty. As the show continues
to grow, the line up gets better and better. Many top name groups have heard
of " The Show on Manitoulin" and want to come and be part of this great
fun filled weekend. In the coming weeks our volunteers will be making the rounds to see if you
would like your company to be included as a sponsor for this great local event
that supports our local Special Olympics Athletes. The Special Olympics
Committee thanks you in advance. We can't wait to show you what we have
lined up this year June 6, 7, & 8 in Providence Bay! See you there ! John Featherstone- Event Organizer
