An aerial view of the Bennett-Lindsay Labyrinth at Bittersweet; the venue for the 3rd Annual Burnstown “Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope” on Sept 13, 2015. (photo credit: Art Latimer)
On Sunday, September 13, 2015 Cheryl Babineau and Richard Gill of Bittersweet Gallery and Fog Run Studio will host for the third time the Burnstown “Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope”, using the medieval 11-circuit Chartres-style labyrinth mowed into their meadow.
Cheryl and Richard often thought it a shame that the labyrinth was under-utilized. Wanting to put it to good use, the labyrinth became in 2013 a most unique setting for the first Burnstown Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope. Maintaining it is after all a labour of love and thanks to Kate Lindsay and Richard Laxton, the labyrinth is primed for another year.
A labyrinth is not a maze, but a single winding path that guides a participant to its centre and back out again. Unlike a maze, the labyrinth holds no tricks or dead ends. Walking a labyrinth is a right brain activity (creative, intuitive, imaginative). Many walkers of labyrinths report life-changing experiences, a sense of breaking through a barrier and finding answers, sometimes without even knowing they had a question.
This cause is especially meaningful to Richard as he lost his mother and two sisters to ovarian cancer and has two daughters at high risk.
Ovarian cancer is Canada’s most fatal women’s cancer. It is often overlooked and under-diagnosed and there is NO screening test. Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed in late stages, resulting in five-year survival rates of less than 30%. Ten to fifteen percent of the most common type of ovarian cancer is hereditary due to mutations in the genes passed through the family, either the father’s or mother’s side.
On that same day, the 14th annual Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope will be held in at least 45 other locations across the country. It is the largest one-day event in Canada that raises money solely for the fight against ovarian cancer.
Thanks to the generosity of family, friends and neighbours, the 2013 Burnstown Walk raised a grand total of $8,000 for Ovarian Cancer Canada. Everyone is invited to join Cheryl and Richard again this year in supporting this very important cause by participating as a walker, starting your own team or sponsoring a walker. The 2014 walk participants raised $12,000, a 50% increase over 2013.
The 2015 goal is to raise $15,000 and contribute to funding research to develop reliable early detection techniques, improved treatments and ultimately, a cure. You will find more information on the Walk of Hope below.
History of The Bennett – Lindsay Labyrinth
Labyrinths have been used for over 4000 years. They have crossed cultural and religious traditions and can be found in countries all over the globe. The labyrinth was a central feature in many of the European Roman Catholic churches in the middle ages and many of these still exist today. The most famous of these is at Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres near Paris, France.
The Bennett – Lindsay Labyrinth in Burnstown is fashioned after the same pattern. It is cut into the lawn at Bittersweet Gallery and was originally measured and laid out by the late Peter Bennett of Renfrew (a dear friend of Richard and Cheryl) along with the help of Pete’s wife Loana (Lou) and friend, Kathryn (Kate) Lindsay who is actively involved in maintaining it today.
It was in 2005 that Pete, Lou and Kate practically insisted on making a labyrinth at Bittersweet fashioned after Pete’s and Lou’s cut the meadow of at their property outside Renfrew. Cheryl and Richard, who felt this, might be too much maintenance, agreed when Kate offered to help maintain it. Pete and Kate re-installed the labyrinth in 2007 in its current position in the meadow. When Pete died in 2010, Kate, Cheryl and Richard decided to retain the labyrinth as a labour of love in Pete’s memory.
The 2015 Burnstown Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope – Sunday, September 13, 2015
Where: next to Bittersweet Gallery at Fog Run Studio, 5 Leckie Lane, Burnstown, Ontario
Registration, refreshments and opening ceremony begin at 9 am. The walk will begin in the labyrinth at 10 am rain or shine at and will continue through a path that meanders around neighbouring barns for a 2.5 kilometer option or continue with a more strenuous walk up the hill on Leckie Lane to make up 5 kilometer (with a rest stop to visit the Coulas sheep along the way).
Participants should be aware that the labyrinth surface is cut grass that can be dewy in the morning with some uneven ground so comfortable footwear or walking barefoot is recommended.
The walk will then wrap up with draws for door prizes donated by area businesses and a grand prize of a clay relief sculpture by Richard Gill for the most funds raised. There will be brief closing remarks by Burnstown resident Denyse Campeau, for this year’s Burnstown Walk. Denyse can also be reached at dcampeau1@sympatico.ca or by phone at 613-432-9569
• Registration is $25 and is waived for registrants who raise $100 or more in pledges.
• If you raise over $100, you’ll receive a walk T-shirt!
• For more information, to register, or to pledge a Walker, visit ovariancancerwalkofhope.ca or
call toll-free 1-877-413-7970
• Walk website: ovariancancerwalkofhope.ca
Join or sponsor online at www.ovariancancerwalkofhope.ca. Help us raise awareness and funds so that more women survive.
"A labyrinth is a metaphor for life’s journey, it is like the walk we take in life – filled with twists and turns, always leading forward". Source: Carleton Place community labyrinth brochure
Sharing with you
a sunny fall day
The mown path before me
Twisting and turning
Uphill and down
Uneven ground
Like my life’s journey
Nature's texture is here
Stalks of tall dry grasses
Seeds pods of new life
Fall softly as I brush by
Soft and woolly plumes
Caress me as I walk on
I sidestep the thistles
Sharp and prickly
The hurts along the way
Like my life’s journey
Wild flowers fading
Colours of yellow, purple and white
Appear unexpectedly
As the smile on my face
The calm in my heart
Celebrating the joy
Of my life’s journey
Debby Lytle, September 29th, 2012
of the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth
written after a walk in the Bennett-Lindsay
For more details call: 613-432-5254 or 613-433-9990
Photos from September 8, 2013, the first Burnstown Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope |
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| Starting in the labyrinth |
A visit with the sheep at the Coulas’ |
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| Richard Gill walking on Leckie Lane |
Cheryl Babineau in the labyrinth |
