SARAH HARMER'S I LOVE THE ESCARPMENT TOUR

Burlington native Sarah Harmer is embarking on a seven-city concert and awareness raising tour along Ontario's Niagara Escarpment.  The tour will begin in Owen Sound on June 14th and conclude at The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington on June 26th.

Sarah got her musical start with country rockers The Saddletramps and then formed her own band, Weeping Tile, after moving to Kingston, Ontario.  The group produced three albums before Sarah recorded Songs For Clem (1999), a collection of jazz and country standards, made as a Christmas present for her Dad.  This led to her first solo album of original material, You Were Here, which received much critical acclaim, including Time Magazine's pick as debut CD of the year in 2000. 2004's All of Our Names earned Sarah her first Juno Award, winning the Adult Alternative Album of the Year

"The 'I Love the Escarpment' tour idea came to me this winter.  I had been pouring over studies, reports, policies, websites, soaking in all I could about the precious UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that is the Niagara Escarpment. The Niagara Escarpment is recognized as one of the world's unique natural wonders. It is a green corridor ridge in southern Ontario that runs from Niagara Falls northwest to Tobermory.  It is home to the oldest trees in eastern North America- 1000+ year old white cedars, 40% of Ontario's rare plant species, countless endangered and threatened species, and ancient aquifers and wetlands that house and filter precious drinking water for Southern Ontarians.  I grew up on the escarpment on Mt. Nemo in north Burlington; a wondrous plateau with remarkable woodlands, wetlands, prime agricultural soils, and headwaters of 20+ creek tributaries that originate on the high-ground and flow off the brow to Lake Ontario.

A recent application attempt by the aggregate industry to re-zone 200 acres of Escarpment Rural Land to Mineral Extraction Land has galvanized myself and many other concerned citizens to establish a campaign and committee.  We have been at work for the past four months Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL). The Provincial government needs to ban new quarries and quarry expansions on the Niagara Escarpment.  PERL, a growing group of concerned citizens, is working to this end.

I figured that as well as going to meetings, hiring experts, learning about the application process, and meeting with countless planners and politicians, I could also round up some musical friends and set off to walk the Bruce Trail along the escarpment and play shows along the way.  In this way we could get up close to revere the natural wonders of the escarpment- Southern Ontario's spine- and make merry music in communities along the way. This land is environmentally sensitive and ecologically diverse and is one of only three locations in Ontario that has the international distinction and recognition as a United Nation's World Biosphere Reserve.

I'll be playing acoustic versions of songs new and old with a fine blend of musicians. We'll also be experiencing the escarpment along the Bruce Trail and we encourage others to come out for a show, a hike, or both."

All TOUR DETAILS available on the Live page