Lynn Blunt Fan Club

I missed having my husband, Steven in the passenger seat the last three days while I took my album, "Come into the Kitchen", to Azilda, Sudbury, and Blind River, Ontario. He always takes great photos of the scenery we pass.

Northern Ontario sure was beautiful to drive through on this trip. Aside from a tiny bit of rain on one day, the other two were filled with sunshine and I watched the snow glitter on the rock cliffs. Along the highway to Blind River, the lakes saddle up close to the pavement, yet they go on far beyond where my eyes could see. Sudbury and Azilda still have snow but Blind River has a lot more and early mornings still have frost. I forgot how beautiful the rock cliffs were in the Algoma District. The scenery is a bit different than Highway 11 South. The majesty of it all really took my breath away as I took a quick glance across the expanse to the snow covered mountains with their evergreen trees standing tall and proud as a sign of how untouched this beautiful place actually is, even in 2026. It made me appreciate the fresh air and wide open spaces. Many times I wished I could pull over and take pictures but there was nowhere safe for me to do it.

Whether playing Azilda, Sudbury, or Blind River the audience had a love of music and there were fan favorites they expected in the set lists. They also love originals and welcome singer/songwriter/performers with open arms. These small Northern Ontario towns want to hear your stories of creation. What drives you to write and head out on the road to share?

Many of the homes along the highway I travelled are not pristine and some have been left abandoned. Reading population signs show some towns with a population in the 100s. It made me wonder how things might be different if there were incentives to populate the north and have more centralized industries to allow for more higher paying job opportunities.

One thing I know for sure from travelling across Northern Ontario, there is a true sense of community. People I have met do not look at what they are missing, they look at what they have instead. I asked why some of them stay here and many indicated they left the South to have a home and not a tiny, expensive apartment. Pristine lakes, walking in the bush, knowing their neighbors, these were important items to them. They come together to help their neighbors and a 45 minute car ride to a charity event is the norm. These communities welcome you with open arms. Pitching in and helping out is what I have been taught by my parents and these people do just that regularly. They knew I was the outsider because even if they did not know the names of everyone in the hall, they probably passed them on the streets of their small town. However, before the end of the night, I had become one of them. Pitched it, helped out and then they knew I belonged. It felt like home and it was hard to leave.

Whether leaving La Fromagerie in Sudbury, The Dog House in Azilda or the Royal Canadian Legion in Blind River, after my shows people said, "see you next time." It made me feel like there was no real sense of time, but they were telling me I was welcome back.

I only ever lived in Southern Ontario for about a year out of my 62 years on this earth, and I was too young to remember what it was like. All I know, is these people in the north of Ontario, from my experience, are my kind of people. Maybe this is my tie to Northern Ontario? Unless you have lived somewhere else how can you tell what ties you to a place? Perhaps it is that feeling in your heart telling you this is home and "Come into the Kitchen" is a common phrase to get you to join into their community and help out. Feed your soul and heart at the same time as your belly.