Springfest

Presenters

Aiden Mahoney

As a retired resident of Stephenville, Aiden spends his free time exploring the natural world and through his photography captures the essence of nature’s hidden treasures encountered along the way. He is an active community member and avid hiker who has been an outdoor photographer for over fifty years. Aiden’s photographs have won numerous competitions, and have been published in magazines such as the Downhome, Saltscapes and Canadian Geographic. In 2010 he won a heli-hiking trip to the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia for his photograph of a snowshoer taken on Pine Tree Mountain in Port au Port. 

Janice Flynn

Janice has held a love of the forest and wildlife (particularly birds) since childhood. Her keen sense of observation led her to learn to bird by sight and song during a class expedition to Belize in 2002. In 2010, she completed her Master’s in biology at Acadia University. While in Nova Scotia, she completed several bird surveys and worked with the Town of Wolfville on a common conservation project. Janice has been residing in Stephenville for the past three years and is an active community member. She is passionate about conservation and sustainable practices and as an avid birder and hiker, spends most of her free time observing the natural world.
 

 Neil Dollard

Neil has 15 years experience watching birds and is currently a member of the Provincial Piping Plover Recovery Team.  In 2007, he was recognized by the Department of Tourism for his conservation work and was co-recipient of the lieutenant governor’s Greenwing Conservation Award.
 

Sherman Downey

Sherman Downey was born and raised in a small town on the west coast of Newfoundland. It was from this perspective that he began writing music. There is a certain charm in his lyrics that makes even the simplest things seem poetic. His songs are often likened to those of a younger Paul Simon, full of contagious rhythm, but layered with hints of bluegrass. He fronted a St. John’s punk band that ran one marathon Canadian tour and played gigs with bands like Our Lady Peace, Treble Charger and Bucket Truck, to an audience of more than a thousand people.   

Sherman won a songwriting competition during a short stay in St. John’s where he released 500 copies of an album under the name "PattyFingers" with a friend.  The duo had a top ten hit during the summer on Newfoundland radio and record stores sold every copy.   Sherman Downey was the recipient of MUSICNL’s full length recording grant for 2009 and earned a spot in the top ten for this last year’s regional Canadian Radio Star National Songwriting Competition. Armed with charming melodies, toe-tapping rhythms and a story to tell, Sherman’s songs will have you singing shamelessly into a brush in front of your mirror.