Anyone familiar with Wilno, Ontario, knows that the town is synonymous with a couple of things: a historic tavern and a really big chicken that, for some reason, was known to be “borrowed” from time to time.
Ish Theilheimer and the Stone Fence Theatre have built their latest production around this story, and by all accounts, it’s both historically accurate and hilarious.
To fully appreciate the play, it’s important to know a bit about Wilno, especially for those of us who weren’t born and raised here. In 1894, the arrival of the railroad through the Madawaska Valley connected the region to Canada’s expanding Prairies and introduced visitors to the area’s rolling hills and picturesque lakes. During the railway’s construction, Ignacy Slominski chose to make Wilno home for his young family. He purchased the “Stopping Place” from John Burchat, located across from the newly built Wilno train station, and expanded the property by adding a dining room, kitchen and additional guest rooms. The business became known as the Exchange Hotel.
Up until the pandemic, St. Mary’s Church held a chicken supper every year around Labour Day weekend, often drawing crowds of 1,000 people or more. The large plywood chicken erected along Highway 60 at that time became something of a local legend—to the point that a song was written about it, one that remains popular today.
While the play is fictional, Theilheimer says it is also steeped in Wilno’s history. The production opens July 21 at the Rankin Culture and Recreation Centre, where it will run for 12 performances. An additional performance in Wilno has already sold out.
For ticket information, including show dates and times, please visit this link.
(Written By: Richard Evans)
