encoreNOW is a bi-weekly column by Paul Rellinger where he features upcoming music, theatre, film, and performing arts events and news from across the Kawarthas.
This week, Paul highlights the 5th annual Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival, a Havelock date for the The Salt Cellars, Globus Theatre’s staging of Norm Foster’s Come Down From Up The River, Serena Ryder opening the 38th edition of Peterborough Musicfest, classic rock Lighthouse-style at Campbellford’s Barn at Westben, and yet another world premiere opening a new summer season at Millbrook’s 4th Line Theatre.
New home for the Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival
When the Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival debuted in 2021, after having already been delayed a year due to the pandemic, it was originally going to feature 35 shows at four outdoor locations with a limit of 10 tickets for each show. In the end, due to Ontario government restrictions, it was presented drive-in style, with audience members confined to their vehicles to keep the nasty COVID-19 virus at bay.
Four years on, that valiant show-must-go-on premiere is well in the festival’s rear-view mirror with the fifth showcase of Indigenous artists and art ready to enthrall at its new home of The Guild Hall in Peterborough’s East City. Previous festivals, including the drive-in debut, were held on the Trent University campus.
From Thursday to Sunday (June 19 to 22, which includes National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21), the festival will well meet its mandate of connecting Indigenous artists with the Nogojiwanong community and beyond. Scheduled are several uncensored, land-based multi-art form performances — comedy, storytelling, dance, music, burlesque, and more. Accomplished Indigenous artists from across Ontario and beyond are in the mix, as evidenced by the schedule posted at www.indigenousfringefest.ca/schedule.
Billed as the only Indigenous fringe festival in the world, at its heart is the organizers’ pledge that each participating artist is free to choose how and what they perform. As you would expect, such freedom invariably brings forth stunning performances that truly are one of a kind.
Meanwhile, this year’s move to the Peterborough Theatre Guild will allow for the first-time display of Indigenous visual art in a hall space that has regularly seen art exhibited. That adds yet exciting another dimension to the festival’s offerings.
Tickets to individual festival performances, affordably priced from $8 to $12 depending on the show, are available online at eventbrite.com/cc/niff-2025-4299063 and also at the door prior to each performance.
The Salt Cellars’ advocacy for social justice strikes a chord
VIDEO: “Down The Road” – The Salt Cellars
As a means of advocating for social justice, music has long played a prominent role. As a prime example, talk the folk music scene of the 1960s, led by the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, and many others, that gave a loud history-changing voice to the protests over American involvement in the Vietnam War.
That voice hasn’t gone away. New challenges abound today, with the resulting concern and angst of the masses expressed in song by many worldwide. Closer to home, Virginia deCarle and Rob Bersan — The Salt Cellars — have been doing so since forming in 2016.
Hailing from the south side of Algonquin Park, the duo’s songwriting is anchored by a shared belief in, and commitment to, empathy, equality and equity. The goal is simple but at the heart of everything they do musically: spark meaningful conversations and inspire positive change.
The Salt Cellars’ fusion of folk, Americana, blues and jazz is at the heart of three albums — Truth, Crooked Tree, and Inside These Walls — along with their 2024 EP Sky Compass. In the recording studio, guest turns by the likes of Jane Bunnett, Hugh Marsh, Tom Fitzgerald, and Jordon Zadorozny have added to the rich result.
On Sunday (June 22), Pineapple Productions is presenting The Salt Cellars as part of the Havelock Stone Hall Concert Sessions at Stone Hall on the 6th Line of Belmont (6713 Highway 7).
Advance tickets to the 2 p.m. concert cost $20 at www.universe.com/events/6KSG58 or $30 at the door.
Globus Theatre staging yet another Norm Foster classic play
Ever-busy Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon is back at it, presenting yet another hilarious and tender stage play — a formula that has worked so well for the company. If ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
This time around, the Lakeview Arts Barn welcomes Norm Foster’s Come Down From Up River.
Meet Shaver Bennett, who, working as a logger in the forests of New Brunswick, has spent most of his life in solitude.
After two decades apart, he unexpectedly shows up at the city home of his estranged sister’s daughter Bonnie. Having no fond memories of her uncle, she worries about bringing him into her life — and that of her wife Liv.
As for what follows … well, you have to buy a ticket. What I can tell you is Foster is considered Canada’s most produced playwright. The Newmarket native has written more than 65 comedic plays, each known not only for their humour but also their insight into life’s tribulations.
That has drawn comparisons to American playwright Neil Simon, and earned Foster, in 2016, a lifetime membership to the Playwrights Guild of Canada and, in the same year, an Officer of the Order of Canada. Come Down From Up River premiered in 2018 at The Foster Festival in St. Catharines — the first theatre festival in Canada celebrating the work of a living Canadian playwright.
Globus Theatre’s production of Come Down From Up River runs for 10 performances, with evening shows at 8 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays from June 25 to 28 and July 2 to 5 and 2 p.m. matinees on June 28 and July 3.
Tickets are $50, or $100 for the show and dinner before the show, and are available at www.globustheatre.com/shows-all/come-down-from-up-river
Peterborough Musicfest opener welcomes a familiar voice
VIDEO: “Better Now” – Serena Ryder
Much has changed in Peterborough, but one thing that hasn’t is the conviction, by thousands near and far, that Peterborough Musicfest’s arrival marks the true start of the summer season.
For generations, that has been the case since the late Fred Anderson founded the free-admission summer music festival in 1987, bringing Canadian jazz great Moe Koffman to Del Crary Park on Canada Day of that year.
Over the summers since, countless music memories have been shared by locals and visitors alike, with the list of acts verging on endless. Now, as Musicfest opens its 38th season on Saturday, June 28, it’s turning to a local girl who’s “done good” (very good, in fact) as its 2025 lineup lid-lifter at the same park.
Seven Juno Awards attest to the talent that is Serena Ryder. With her powerhouse vocals and captivating stage presence, the Millbrook native and graduate of the former PCVS integrated arts program remains a huge draw.
Hit songs such as “Stompa” and “What I Wouldn’t Do” have kept Ryder front-of-mind for many, but her relentless advocacy for mental health and wellness has shared equal space on her calling card, and was cited when she joined Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2021 as the recipient of the Allan Slaight Music Impact Honour.
Ryder has been a good friend of Musicfest, this being her fifth appearance at the festival proper, and adding two Musicfest-related performances at Market Hall, her seventh overall.
Ryder will take to the stage shortly after 8 p.m., kicking off a summer of concerts every Wednesday and Saturday nights until August 16. Up next, on Canada Day, is retro rock tribute Neon Nostalgic followed by, on July 2, William Prince.
For the summer’s complete line-up (with concerts still to be announced for four dates in July), visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca
Classic Lighthouse sound still resonates 55-plus years on
VIDEO: “Sunny Days” – Lighthouse
Speaking of top Canadian music acts that have thrilled Peterborough Musicfest audiences, Lighthouse has never failed to deliver in a big way.
Formed in 1969, the Toronto-born band’s combining of rock, jazz, classical and swing music still strikes a refreshing chord — its horns and string instruments anchoring its trademark powerhouse sound while providing full evidence of why it was named Canadian Group of the Year at the 1972, 1973 and 1974 Juno Awards.
On Sunday, June 29 at The Barn at Westben in Campbellford, Lighthouse will deliver on the hard-driving sound that gave us iconic hits such as “One Fine Morning,” “Sunny Days,” “Pretty Lady,” and “Hats Off To The Stranger.”
Front stage on keyboards, as he has been since day one, will be Paul Hoffert, who founded the band with the late Skip Prokop. Also still in the fold is original guitarist Ralph Cole.
Lighthouse represents Canadian classic rock at its finest. During a time when homegrown acts struggled to gain a following beyond our borders, this is one band that garnered a lot of attention, and kept it a long, long time after.
While ticketed seats to the 2 p.m. concert are sold out, you may be able to purchase a meadow pass which, weather permitting, means you can experience the concert from the Westben Meadow surrounding The Barn (bring your own chair and dress for the weather). Visit www.westben.ca on Friday, June 27 to check if meadow passes are available.
Another world premiere heralds a new 4th Line Theatre season
VIDEO: Kim Blackwell speaks with Robert Winslow about “The Housekeeper”
If there’s a prettier, more peaceful place than the Winslow Farm to spend a summer evening being wholly entertained, this guy has yet to stumble upon it.
That little slice of heaven on earth off Zion Line near Millbrook has been home, since 1992, to 4th Line Theatre. Back then, Robert Winslow, with a deep interest in local history, envisioned an outdoor company that would bring to life local stories, providing local actors and stage production crew members lots of work while delivering a unique theatrical experience. With 42 original plays — a number written by Winslow himself — since presented, mission accomplished.
On Canada Day, 4th Line Theatre will open its 33rd two-play summer season with the world premiere of The Housekeeper. Written by Winslow and long-time collaborator Ian McLachlan, this is the fourth play of 4th Line’s acclaimed Barnardo series, with Doctor Barnardo’s Children, Wounded Soldiers, and Carmel all being staged in summers past.
The Housekeeper tells the story of a mysterious woman named Eleanor Gwyn who arrives in Millbrook in 1955 looking for a job. Being the housekeeper for widower Walter White might be the perfect fit. Gwyn is hoping to make a fresh start in life and to find a place to call home, but is Millbrook ready for her and her progressive world views?
Gwyn will be portrayed by Julia Scaringi, who performed in 4th Line’s 2022 production of Alex Poch-Goldin’s The Great Shadow and the 2023 production of Winslow’s The Cavan Blazers. Making his 4th Line debut, Canadian actor and singer Jay Davis is playing Walter White — one of the Barnardo children featured in Doctor Barnardo’s Children and Carmel.
The Housekeeper is staged at 6 p.m. from July 1 to 19, with preview nights on July 1 and 2 and opening night on July 3, and performances on Tuesdays to Saturdays from July 8 to 12, and 15 to 19, with an additional Monday performance on July 14. The play contains mature content and is recommended for audience members 16 and older.
Tickets, season subscriptions, and gift certificates are available by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 1-800-814-0055), online at www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca, and at 4th Line Theatre’s box office at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook.
Encore
- It’s still a way off, but if you’re planning to take in this September’s Creekside Music Festival in Apsley, tickets are now on sale at www.creeksidemusicfestival.ca/tickets. I’m sharing this now because the annual event typically sells out and sells out fast. First held in 2018 as a one-off on the shores of Eels Creek, the festival has welcomed a number of terrific acts, most of them local, and in the process donated a portion of the proceeds to several Apsley area non-profits. Set for September 5 to 7, this year’s lineup features, among others, Tommy Youngsteen, Montana Sky, Mudmen, and Prairie Oyster founder Russell deCarle.
- It’s great to see Quaker Foods City Square in downtown Peterborough being used as intended: as a safe urban gathering place for residents. To that end, a free family-friendly Canada Day Movie Night is set for dusk on Monday, June 30 in the space off Charlotte Street … with free popcorn to boot. The City of Peterborough ran an online vote to choose the movie from among four Canadian-themed options and, after 800 votes were cast, Fly Away Home was the winner. Filmed partly in Ontario and based on real events, the 1996 film starring Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels tells the story of a young girl from New Zealand who, after losing her mother, must move to Canada to live with her estranged father. After she finds a collection of abandoned goose eggs and they hatch, she bonds with her father as the pair train the orphaned geese to migrate south using an ultralight aircraft.
