The project is supported through funding from Tree Canada’s Community Tree Grants program and includes the removal of invasive Buckthorn species. Buckthorn spreads rapidly, disrupts native plant communities, and reduces biodiversity within naturalized areas. In its place, native tree species will be planted to improve ecological resilience and support the long-term health of the park. 

“This partnership between Sustainable Orillia, the City of Orillia, and the Mariposa Folk Festival shows what’s possible when community groups work together for the environment,” said Danny Epstein, Vice President of Sustainable Orillia. “With the support of funding from Tree Canada, we can replace invasive buckthorn with native species that will strengthen biodiversity, improve the health of Tudhope Park, and create a lasting natural legacy for future generations to enjoy.”

“As Mariposa has created a lasting legacy for generations so too has Tudhope Park. Mariposa is excited to partner with Sustainable Orillia and Tree Canada to do its part in restoring the park to its former beauty for all to enjoy for generations to come.” said Mariposa president Pam Carter. 

Project Timeline: 

• Buckthorn Removal: September 13, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Tree Planting Day: September 20, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

“The City of Orillia is pleased to support this community-led initiative to restore natural areas within J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park,” said Mayor Don McIsaac. “This initiative ensures the park continues to thrive for wildlife and as a vibrant place for our residents to enjoy for generations to come.”

The project will be led by Sustainable Orillia, with the Mariposa Folk Festival assisting in volunteer coordination and event logistics. The City of Orillia is contributing in-kind services to help facilitate site preparation and grant implementation. 

How to Volunteer:

Residents can register to participate in one or both events by completing the volunteer sign-up form. 

Residents can also request a native tree for planting on private property.

For additional information regarding this project, visit: sustainableorillia.ca.

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The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) is pleased to announce the Induction of singer-songwriter Murray McLauchlan, composer of more than 35 hit singles including the SOCAN Classics “Farmer’s Song”, “Down by the Henry Moore” and “Try Walkin’ Away”. Marking its first in-person songwriter induction ceremony since the pandemic, the CSHF is partnering with Mariposa Folk Festival to recognize McLauchlan on Saturday, July 9 on the festival’s main stage.

Since 2018, the CSHF began partnering with music events and festivals across the country to connect with fans and celebrate the songs and songwriters to their musical roots. McLauchlan will be officially inducted at Mariposa by long-time friend and CSHF Inductee Gordon Lightfoot and honoured with a special tribute performance by Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

“I am honoured to join my respected friends Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and so many others in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame,” says McLauchlan.

Murray McLauchlan was born in Scotland and raised in Toronto where he studied art and began singing in coffeehouses at age 17. He frequented Yorkville’s The Riverboat, a hub for the folk-rock music scene in the 70s where fellow singer-songwriters Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and other Canadian icons would play – that was also a favourite tour stop for American artists including Simon and Garfunkel and folksinger Tom Rush.

McLauchlan would play his bittersweet compositions “Old Man’s Song” and “Child’s Song” on the backsteps of The Riverboat for Tom Rush, who became the first artist to record one of McLauchlan’s insightful songs. “Child’s Song” was recorded by Tom Rush in 1970 and would later garner McLauchlan three JUNO Awards for Folk Single, Country Single and Songwriter of the Year.

In 1971, McLauchlan signed with True North Records and recorded his debut album Song from the Street that reached Top 40 in Canada. His first Top 10 single came from “The Farmer’s Song“ which drew attention to the industrial forces decimating family farms, while earning him his first JUNO Awards for Best Songwriter, Folk Single and Country Single. His follow up album Sweeping the Spotlight Away earned him a JUNO for Best Country Vocalist; and his homage to Toronto, “Down by the Henry Moore”, became his first No. 1 hit to cross over on both pop and country charts.

McLauchlan’s first gold record came with the 1976 album Boulevard, which included the hit single “On the Boulevard“. Through the 1980s, McLauchlan enjoyed further success with hit singles like “Do You Dream of Being Somebody?”, “Somebody’s Long Lonely Night”, “Little Dreamer” and “Never Did Like That Train”. He rounded out the decade with the anthem “If the Wind Could Blow My Troubles Away”, participation in “Tears Are Not Enough” and his JUNO-nominated album Swingin’ on a Star.

His most recent endeavors include his 2012 hit albums Human Writes and Love Can’t Tell Time and 2021’s Hourglass, which has made numerous Top 10 lists in Canada, the U.S. and throughout the world. He was won 11 JUNO Awards throughout his esteemed career and is among the Top 20 most-winning JUNO artists of all time.

McLauchlan’s songwriting, whether in his earlier narrative style or his later impressionistic one, has definite grassroots appeal. And the visual sense he developed while studying art as a youth still inspires his songwriting: “I always try to write visually, to put someone into their context,” he explains.

His love for songwriting and art came together in 2021’s “A Thomson Day”, a tribute to the work of Group of Seven painter Tom Thomson that resulted in a collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Recently, “Child’s Song” was featured in the hit NBC TV show This Is Us and Widespread Panic recorded a hit rock cover of McLauchlan’s dark ode “Honky Red”. Others to cover McLauchlan’s work over the decades include Bonnie Dobson, John McDermott, Renée Claude, David Wiffen, George Hamilton IV, Waylon Jennings, Kathy Mattea, David Bromberg, The Ennis Sisters, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, R. Harlan Smith, Walter Ostanek, Bob Neuwirth, 3’s a Crowd, Melanie Safka, and Junkhouse.

McLauchlan will be honoured by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the 2022 Mariposa Folk Festival on Saturday, July 9. The Mariposa Folk Festival takes place July 8 to 10 in J.D. Tudhope Memorial Park in Orillia. Tickets are available at mariposafolk.com.

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“As a designated Bee City, the City of Orillia continues to look for opportunities to draw attention to the importance of pollinators and their habitats. Our pollinators are absolutely critical to our beautiful flowers but even more importantly, to our food supply,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “The new pollinator garden in J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park is designed to attract and support butterflies and bees and is beautifully illustrated in the original work of a local artist. The artwork featuring the butterfly is a symbol of the importance of our pollinators. As a City coined ‘Mariposa’, which is Spanish for butterfly, it’s very appropriate and I encourage all in ‘Mariposa’ to plant for our pollinators and our food supply.”

The garden and art piece are prominently located at the entrance of J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park. The sculpture, entitled Papillio Planta, was hand crafted by local metalworker and jeweler, Robert Doan, and stands over the garden at 7 ft. tall. Doan’s sculpture was commissioned by the City through the Art in Public Places Committee in a call to local artists to create a lasting piece to complement the garden.

“The Art in a Public Places Committee is proud to unveil its first commissioned piece of work,” said Committee Chair, Catherine Phillips. “Doan’s butterfly cluster is designed to represent the character and longevity of the pollinator garden and captures the essence of the original call to artist.”

In total, the new garden contains a total of 12 different flower varieties that provide food and habitat to pollinators. Residents are reminded to respect the environment and others by adhering to COVID-19 regulations and staying on the trail to enjoy the flowers, shrubbery and art piece.

In 2019, the City became a Bee City, designated through Bee City Canada, as a result of the commitments and actions of residents and the City to pollinator education, habitat development and recognition. The City has more than 70 decorative gardens, two community gardens and with the addition of this new garden, it has two butterfly gardens designed to attract and support butterflies and bees.

Pollinators and pollinator gardens provide communities like Orillia with many benefits. They promote food production and biodiversity. Native plants are also more resistant to drought and other environmental threats. They also contribute to the area’s beauty, mental and physical health of residents connecting with people and nature, and overall ecotourism as they draw others seeking these types of experiences.

For further details on the City’s gardens and Bee City status, visitorillia.ca/communitygardens. Information on the Art in Public Places Committee can be found at orillia.ca/publicart.

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