Community

Three beautiful homes will be open for touring on Saturday only from 1 to 5 pm. Tour tickets ($10/ person) and free maps will be available at the Visitor’s Center beginning at 12:30 pm.

Sarah moved into this ranch-style house in 2017. Since the purchase, a wall was removed between the living room and kitchen to open up the space, a fireplace insert installed, new flooring laid, and fresh paint applied throughout. When replacement windows were needed, she chose much larger ones which flood the room with light. “I love my living room for its vaulted ceilings and coziness,” she said. She also enjoys sliding glass doors in both the kitchen and master bedroom that look out over the back patio, and she leaves them open whenever possible to let the breeze come through. Enclosed by a cedar fence, the backyard is a private oasis of green and flowers—a perfect place to watch the sunset.

Poor Boy Pumpkin Patch on 2nd St. will have paintbrushes at the ready on Saturday. Pick out a pumpkin from their huge selection, and volunteers from the Canadian Community Center will help you embellish it. The CCC workshop will be open from 11 am to 2 pm. Your gourd is not the only thing that can be prettied up with paint, either. Face painting will also be available all day, from 9 am to 6 pm.

The Rupprechts built this home in the mid-1980s. In 2015, they gutted it, making it totally handicapped accessible by installing 36-inch doors throughout. They remodeled the kitchen, relocated the laundry room to an area adjacent to the bedroom bath (which Connie loves), added a porch, and extended the master bedroom to include a sitting area with fireplace. When asked about her favorite spot in the house, Connie chose the bedroom sitting area, which surprised her because she was not initially on board, thinking it was a waste of money. It quickly became her favorite place (which Benny may occasionally remind her about), with large east-facing windows offering panoramic views and a front-row seat to approaching storms. Bennie extolled the location, describing it as “a little out in the country, private, but close to town.” He also confirmed that they had “the best neighbors in the world.”

Flap-Air Helicopter Service will offer helicopter rides on Saturday from 12 noon until 5 pm. The helicopter will launch from the golf driving range, at the Hemphill County Recreational Complex, between the duck ponds and the baseball fields. Flights are $35/person, cash only. Each flight will provide a five-minute bird’s-eye view of Canadian. Passengers ages 2 and up are welcome.

The River Valley Pioneer Museum will be the hub of several entertaining activities this Fall Foliage weekend. This year, the Annual Quilt Show will showcase dozens of quilts, both old and new. Visitors may vote for their favorite quilt. “Creepy Things from the Collection” is just that. In 2020, when so many events had been canceled, Director Wendy Wright and her assistant, Elizabeth Escamilla, gathered odds and ends from the collection—yes, creepy odds and ends. Taking it a step farther, they started listing phobias and created a scavenger hunt tied to items on display in the museum. “They’re fascinating,” said Wright. “We were able to identify different Julius Born photos to go with different types of phobias.” Fear of dolls, pediophobia; fear of raw meat, carnophobia; fear of things associated with death, necrophobia; and yes, a fear of museums, mousophobia. In addition, the gallery room walls will be lined with works by local artists. This show and sale, sponsored by the Canadian Arts Alliance, is not to be missed. The River Valley Pioneer Museum will be open on Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 3 pm.

In addition to the permanent collection in The Citadelle Mansion, the touring exhibit of Edgar Degas, The Private Impressionist: Works on Paper by the Artist and His Circle is on display at the Citadelle Art Gallery.

Do you hear the sound of guitars tuning up at Main Street’s Palace Theatre? Yes, you do! The band, 60 West, will begin playing at 7 pm on Saturday at The Palace. Admission is free, and the theatre concession stand will be open for business. In addition to their familiar snack bar fare, music lovers can enjoy kettle corn and pie!

The ever-popular Fall Foliage Arts and Crafts Fair will once again be held at the Canadian Elementary School, at 500 Dogwood St. Over 60 vendors from across the area will tempt shoppers with everything from homemade foods to interesting décor items, art, and clothing. The doors will be open from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday, Oct. 16 and from 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday, Oct. 17. Saturday visitors to the Arts and Crafts Fair can enjoy a delicious enchilada lunch, prepared by the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and served from 11 am to 2 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be served on Sunday from 6:30 am until 2 pm.