The obstacle course will be open from Wednesday Aug. 1st to Saturday Aug. 4th. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. they are keeping things casual. However, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. the event gets casually competitive. To cater to working families the hours are switched on Thursday to run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. There are two identical versions of the course set side by side and so during the competitive time slots event-goers can race against one another to win a prize. I went there yesterday with my media pass and got a chance to meet the young men who are running the event, Privates Dietrich, Selinger and Pedrosa. All three of them were extremely friendly, and we had a great time doing a photo shoot. The following is a photographic map of what to expect on your race through the course.

Step 1: Running the Log

~Pte. Dietrich Runs the Log

The first stage of the course is to run down this 10 foot long log.

Step 2: Running Through the Tires

~Pte. Dietrich runs through the tires

The second stage involved running through tires. It’s just like a boot camp movie, isn’t it?

Step 3: Overleaping the Hay Bale

~Pte. Dietrich Barrel Rolls the Hay Bale

The third stage is to surmount this hay bale. In this instance Pte. Dietrich chose the advanced “barrel role” method!

Step 4: Crawling Through the Wires

~Pte. Dietrich crawls through the wires

At this stage of the course you must wriggle your way under the wires. Don’t forget to keep your rifle dry soldier! Also , if you want to go hard on the course and you’re planning ahead, wear long pants that you don’t much care for because you’re bound to get some grass stains or cut knees at this stage of the course.

Step 5: Overleaping the Hay Bale (redux)

~Pte. Dietrich displays the leaping method

At stage five of the obstacle course you will face another hay bale. Here Pte. Dietrich shows us another way to get ‘er done!

Step 6: Ducking Through the Tires

~Pte. Dietrich crawls through the tires

At stage six you will crawl through a series of tires located under a camouflage net. Another reason to wear clothes you’re not concerned about!

Step 7: The Hot House

~Pte. Dietrich enters the hot house

At stage seven you will run through a small house complete with two target enemies to be taken out with water pistols.

Step 8: The Swing of Doom

~Pte. Dietrich swings over the pit of wet

The last stage of the course is to use a rope swing to swing over a pit filled with muddy water. Yet another reason to wear clothes you don’t mind trashing!

Once you’ve completed the swing you’re finished! Have fun out there Homecomers! Watch the heat when you’re pushing yourself to get through the course at your personal best speed! Just to let you know, I completed the course (and got grass stains on some fairly nice pants!) in good time and I have a bad back. This is just to say that you needn’t be intimidated to try the course. It will be fun for all ages!

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Opening Weekend of Homecoming Festivities!

~Photo Provided By Roger Flood

That’s IT!! It’s decided! We need more reporters here at theOwen.com! How can two people possibly cover everything that is happening in this town during it’s amazing 150th Anniversary Homecoming celebrations? On Friday night we took in the Opening Ceremonies at the Kelso beach amphitheatre and were amazed at the cultural content this city is able to produce. So many amazing musicians played. Tim Harrison made the event feel like Summerfolk for the duration of his performance. David Serada took the crowd on a mesmerizing voyage into the life of Tom Thomson, Lars Jensen played his heartwarming Homecoming song, Steve Dickinson gave us a taste of what’s to come at his upcoming show on Saturday night, and the Little Theatre troupe sang songs from old theatre productions. This reporter’s personal favorite amoungst the musical acts was a younger local phenomenon, Lauren Best, who’s energetic and youthful stage act brought smiles to many faces. Lauren can also be seen in this weeks SHEATRE production of “Tom”, a musical stage play running from Wednesday August 1st to Sunday August 5th. Showtimes start at 8 p.m. at the Roxy Theatre in downtown Owen Sound.

Along with the music there were wonderful dance demonstrations from the Sheila Milne School of Dance, readings of Andrew Armitage’s “Georgian Bay Explorer” read by Ross Kentner, and native drumming and song by the grandfather drum. In fact, the programming was so thick with content that the stupendous fireworks that were to follow actually came nipping at the heels of the last act. It was a spectacular fireworks display that sent everyone home with smiles on their faces! Thanks Owen Sound for being such a great place to live!

For more information about Owen Sound’s 150th Anniversary Homecoming celebrations, visit our collection of Homecoming information, our Events Calendar or visit the official Homecoming website.

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From the Stage at the Meet and Greet tent

The Owen Sound Homecoming Meet and Greet tent was the place to be last night. A beautiful evening on the shores of Georgian Bay with a sold out double bill on Stage. The Brian Moniz Band kicked things off and Tanglefoot wrapped up the evening. Plenty of good times were had by locals and returning citizens alike.

Admission to the Meet and Greet tent is free with your homecoming registration or 5 bucks at the door otherwise. If last night was any indication you may want to get there early for the rest of the shows lined up this week.

For more details on the coming performances you can check out owensound150.com or check our Homecoming coverage. Or have a listen below. In this homecoming audio clip we here from the Town Crier (why oyez oyez?) and from Homecoming Committee Chair Ian Boddy with a brief rundown of some future events planned for the week.

You can download the audio here (right click, save as…)

If you have itunes you can subscribe to all future audio released by theOwen.com. For more details read the Subscribe page

If you have photos from out and about around town or the Greater Grey/Bruce area you would like to share send them along. More details here.

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Live from the Hottest Yardsale

We are out and about on the street for the hottest yard sale (and yes it’s hot)

Check out a couple pics

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