Listowel, Ontario
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| Listowel | |
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| County | Perth |
| Township | North Perth |
| Settled | 1902 |
| Incorporated (town) | 1998 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Municipalitly of North Perth |
| Elevation | 382 m (1,253 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - Total | 12,500 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code(s) | 519 |
Listowel, Ontario is located in the Municipality of North Perth, created in 1998 during the amalgamation of several other communities in the northern section of Perth County, Ontario. Population 5,476 est. 1996.
Listowel is named after the town of Listowel, Ireland, even though a majority of the early settlers were in fact Scottish and from other European countries.
The Campbell Soup Company was a major local employer for 48 years, operating a frozen, foodservice and specialty food plant in Listowel. This relationship ending abruptly with an announcement of the factory's pending closure on April 29th, 2008.[1] The surrounding area is mostly agricultural land located on the Perth Plain, dominated by the beef and pork industries.
The region is home to many talented visual artists which are showcased annually as part of the region's Studio Tour. Theatre 311 is a very reputable venue for live theatre drawing on local talent and actors from surrounding cities.[2] Listowel is also represented in the film industry by Dura Mater Productions [3], an independent film company that has received recognition by film festivals throughout North America [4] and Europe [5].The Bookery is located across the street from Theatre 311. This Celtic inspired book store stocks over 25,000 books and traditional Celtic, Irish & Scottish Jewellery in Silver. In addition they provide gallery space for local artists to display their work.[6]. The town of Listowel has also raised it's fair share of talented musicians from many genres such as Thirteen O'Clock [7], Krymera [8], Brian Vollmer (lead singer of Helix) [9], Ian Laing [10], The Bender singers [11], and Chachi On Acid [12].
Listowel has a large Irish festival, called Paddyfest, which is held over the two weeks surrounding St. Patrick's day. This festival was first started in 1977 from an idea put forth by Dave Murtha to honour the large numbers of persons of Irish ancestry present in the Listowel area. Paddyfest is maintained by the Kinsmen and Kinette clubs of Listowel. The official spokesperson for Paddyfest is chosen yearly in the Paddyfest Ambassador Competition. Contestants must perform a speech, impromptu question and interview with the judges and receive the overall highest score to be awarded this position. A separate award of Talent is given out to the contestant with the highest score in the talent competition. Runner up and Congeniality are also awards which are available. Although the Paddyfest Ambassador Competition changed its name and official status from being Miss Paddyfest when first created, a male has yet to win the title.
Among Listowel's famous citizens is Horatio Walker, a popular artist in North America at the turn of the 20th century and former hockey legend Cyclone Taylor, up and coming actor Jared Keeso [13], film director Colin Burrowes [14], music producer and record label owner Chris Moon, and Television Writer and Producer Chuck Tatham [15].
[edit] Related Places
[edit] External links
- Paddyfest
- Christ Church
- Listowel, Ontario from its founding to 1902
- The Canadian Encyclopedia: Listowel
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