North Grenville welcomed twelve special visitors from Taiwan last week as part of their tour around Ontario.
The visit was organized by Friendship Force, an international organization focused on promoting understanding, cultural education and citizen diplomacy through homestay journeys around the world. Local resident Anna Van Adrichem Rochon is part of the Friendship Force Ottawa and organized the tour of North Grenville for their Taiwanese visitors, most of whom where staying with hosts in Ottawa.
The tour began at 11 am at the North Grenville Municipal Centre as Anna told the guests a little bit about North Grenville and the Municipal Centre itself. They seemed particularly impressed by the scale of the Municipality’s two skating rinks and were thrilled to see a real adult hockey player getting ready for his noon-hour game.
After the short tour of the Municipal Centre, the visitors gathered in the lobby to meet Mayor Nancy Peckford, who was on hand to welcome them to North Grenville. “On behalf of myself and my council colleagues, I want to say what a thrill it is to have you here,” she said. “It’s great to have you as part of the community if only for a day.”
Eddie Lok, one of the visitors, gave Mayor Peckford’s daughter, Clara Peckford-DeRyk, a ball that he made out of recycled paper and plastic from a market in Taiwan. They both enjoyed a game of catch in the Municipal Centre foyer before the group left for the rest of their tour.
The visitors were treated to an exciting day in the North Grenville, with a visit to a local wood carver’s studio, scavenger hunt of sights around town, hands-on apple pie making, and meals at the Kemptville Christian Reformed Church.
The group’s visit to North Grenville culminated their tour of Eastern Ontario as they headed towards Hamilton the next day. A portion of the group were also excited to extend their visit to Canada and head to Yellowknife to see the Northern Lights.