The team behind the design for the new Canadian Canoe Museum has won a prestigious Canadian Architect Award of Merit.

At Canadian Architect’s annual awards gala in Toronto last night, the magazine presented Heneghan Peng Architects and Kearns Mancini Architects with the award.

“It’s an honour to receive a Canadian Architect Award — particularly for a project that celebrates a Canadian icon, the canoe,” says Roisin Heneghan, Director, Heneghan Peng Architect.

The Irish-Canadian team’s design will be built to house the world’s largest collection of canoes and kayaks at the Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site on the Trent-Severn Waterway. The team’s elegant serpentine glass pavilion, graced by a rooftop garden, was chosen in January 2016 as part of the museum’s two-stage competition — the first of which garnered close to 100 submissions from around the world.

The Canadian Architect awards, now in their 49th year, are the highest recognition for excellence at the design stage in the Canadian architectural sector. By focusing on commissioned but not yet completed projects, the program recognizes design ambition and supports an overall culture of design excellence. A total of 10 awards were announced for projects selected from nearly 150 professional submissions.

The award-winning projects will be published in the December 2016 issue of Canadian Architect, available as of December 8th at www.canadianarchitect.com.

The jurors commented that the new Canadian Canoe Museum “provides two promontories to view the canal. One is the museum itself with its ample glazing and the other is its landscaped roof.” They added: “It’s very generous in that way, reinforcing the connection to the locks and to the waterway where the canoes have travelled.”

“This national award is an incredible honour,” says Bill Morris, Chair of The Canadian Canoe Museum Board of Directors. “It is humbling, and at the same time, befitting of a redevelopment project that is of national scope and significance. It’s an exciting time, and we are moving forward with much momentum thanks to an incredible project team and our key partners in redevelopment, the City of Peterborough and Parks Canada.”

The design has been envisioned with, and for, its community. Purpose-built for the collection, the new museum be the high-profile hub of the organization and the headquarters from which it reaches out across the country. The redevelopment project is currently in the detailed design phase.

“The strengths of this design are its simplicity and its sophistication,” says Lisa Rochon, Chair of The Canadian Canoe Museum’s Architect Selection Committee and Senior Fellow, Global Cities Institute, University of Toronto. “It breaks with ego-driven architecture to offer a gentle, organic space that poetically winds its way along the Trent-Severn. I can’t wait to see this museum built. It’s going to change the way we think about architecture, place making and the canoe — a true icon of design.”

Peterborough Police have arrested and charged six people in connection with a homicide at a home on Stewart Street in Peterborough.

One adult and two young offenders have been charged with first degree murder, and three adults have been charged with accessory after the fact.

On November 26, 2016 at around 1:30 a.m., police were called to 296 Stewart Street where they found a deceased male, who has since been identified as 42-year-old Terence (Terry) Pringle.

An autopsy was completed and police confirm the cause of death as blunt force trauma.

Over the past five days, members of the Criminal Investigations Unit conducted an extensive investigation of the crime. As a result of that investigation, six people have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Terry Pringle. Two of those arrested are young offenders.

Police are not commenting on the motive for the crime, but they have confirmed this is an isolated incident and that all those involved have some connection to the victim.

The following people have been arrested and charged:

• Samantha Elizabeth Hall, 25, of Stewart Street (Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, Accessory after the fact to murder)
• Christopher Mitchell Bolton, 29, of Bethune Street (Accessory after the fact to murder)
• Joseph Douglas Crawford, 28, of Dalhousie Street (Accessory after the fact to murder)
• Jordan Kelly Osborne, 24, of Aylmer Street (First degree murder, Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence)
• 16-year-old Peterborough male (First degree murder)
• 15-year-old Peterborough male (First degree murder, Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence)

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the name of a young person cannot be released. All accused were held in custody and are scheduled to attend court on November 30th.

While the police are not looking for any other suspects, they are still interested in speaking with anyone who may have information related to this investigation.

“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

This past Monday, I did something I hadn’t done in years: I hosted a breakfast for seven local women. I invited them to meet me for breakfast at Elements (140 King Street, Peterborough) so that I could talk to them about a non-profit project I’ve become pretty passionate about in recent months. (I’ll have more to say about that in a moment, but first, more about the breakfast.)

On climbing out of the social media rabbit hole

I suppose I could have sent out a series of e-mails talking about the project. Or I could have shared my thoughts with my friends via Twitter, Facebook, or any number of other social media platforms. But this felt like the kind of conversation that needed to happen face-to-face — that would bring everyone together in the same place at the same time.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m hardly a Luddite when it comes to embracing technology (or, in this case, tapping into the power of social media). There are few people who love Twitter as much as I do, in fact. But here’s the thing: I’m also keenly aware of its limitations — how social media can give us the illusion of being connected when, in reality, we’re all just sitting in front of our computers on our own.

This breakfast was about climbing out of that social media rabbit hole, at least momentarily, and seizing the opportunity to share ideas face-to-face. I had almost forgotten how great it feels to watch people connecting the dots between one another’s ideas in real time, in real life. It’s a pretty powerful thing to witness and experience, after all.

What we were talking about

At this point you’re probably wondering what we were talking about: what topic could have possibly inspired seven women to want to stumble out of bed extra early on a Monday morning to head downtown to meet me for breakfast?

What we were talking about is an exciting project that is coming on stream early next year — a database project that will make it easier for conference organizers and members of the media to connect with expert sources who also happen to be women.

It’s called ExpertWomen.ca and its aim is both far-reaching and noble: to amplify women’s voices for “a more democratic and equitable world.”

This isn’t just a good thing for women. It’s good for all of us. As Informed Opinions (the non-profit organization that is spearheading the ExpertWomen.ca database project) notes on its website, “Organizations and countries making most effective use of women’s contribution are more competitive and experience a higher quality of life.”

Bottom line? It’s in everyone’s best interest to encourage women to lean in and speak up.

Now back to breakfast…

The conversation that happened over breakfast was even livelier than I had anticipated — and I had high hopes for this particular group of women.

The women around the table shared experiences, swapped resources, and began to brainstorm possibilities — including the idea of having Shari Graydon of Informed Opinions deliver one of her op-ed writing workshops for women here in Peterborough.

They also produced a steady stream of names of women who would want to know about the ExpertWomen.ca database, either because they should be listed in it, they might want to help spread the word about it, or they might wish to donate funds to keep it up and running once the initial Status of Women Canada grant funding winds down.

But here’s the best thing about the breakfast: this free-flowing exchange of ideas all took place over the course of about 90 minutes — and without everyone in the room being bogged down by hundreds of emails and/or social media posts before and after the fact.

So here’s to the power of face-to-face conversations: to more talking and less typing. I think we need to be doing more of that. How about you?

Welcome to my first Publisher’s Picks column! Our editorial plan with this column is to select the top quality, must-see, must-do, and don’t miss events in the Kawarthas. I will make every attempt to cover our full readership area — which is now five counties wide. (We’re excited to now have over 150,000 unique readers monthly, thank you for reading!)

As Linda Kash (Peterborough’s very own resident angel) often says when referring to the plethora of natural homegrown talent in our area, “there’s something in the water”. Whether it’s musical, visual arts or performing arts, I think she’s right. And the holiday season is a time when this is most evident — with concerts, fundraisers, theatre and arts events filling our calendars. It is also a time when the enormous generosity of our communities shines through.

So, let’s do this. Here are my top picks for this week and more. I’m including upcoming events over a few weeks in this first column — because these are often seasonal sellouts — and I’m here to let our readers know about the best of the best. So don’t delay to get your tickets for any of these events now.

Megan Murphy brings Murphy’s Law back to Peterborough December 3

I’m pretty excited about my top pick this week.

In the summer, local film director and 93.3 FM media maven Megan Murphy debuted her film Murphy’s Law to sold-out audiences in Peterborough and Cobourg. Murphy’s Law then won the prestigious “Best Documentary” award at the Fingal Film Festival 2016 in Swords, Ireland in September.

VIDEO: Murphy’s Law Trailer

This Saturday, December 3rd at 7 p.m. will see the return of Murphy’s Law to Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-7469). Meg will be at the screening and present for a Q&A after the film.

If you’re not familiar with the story, Megan retraces her father’s cycling trip across Ireland on his rejuvenated bicycle, based on a diary she found after he passed away. (I’m bringing my own Kleenex.) You can read a recap of the film by our columnist Sam Tweedle here and his in-depth interview with Meg last December.

Tickets are $16 and can be purchased online at www.showplace.org.

Discover your Christmas spirit with the entire family this weekend in Millbrook during “Christmas in the Village”

If you haven’t recently enjoyed shopping in Millbrook, or have yet to discover the charm of the village and its shops — this weekend is a great time to take the short drive to the “valley”.

Enjoy their newly renovated streetscape, free parking, and easy walks to everywhere during “Christmas in the Village” this Thursday to Sunday.

On Thursday evening, events kick off with an Old Tyme Christmas featuring horse drawn wagon rides, Community Care bake sale and silent auction, juggler and musical performances, carolling and crafts, gingerbread house display, farmers’ market, roast beef dinner at the Legion (for $12), photos with Santa, special meals at local restaurants, special events in local shops, and much, much more.

On Friday evening, enjoy skating with Santa and a Victorian Christmas program at St. Thomas Anglican Church. On Saturday, check out crafts, cider and hot chocolate at the library at 10:30 a.m., the Santa Claus parade at 1 p.m., with Santa visits after the parade, and remember Christmases past at Centennial Place with Rob Winslow of 4th Line Theatre at 2:30 p.m.

On Sunday evening, the Community Choir Christmas Concert at Millbrook Christian Assembly will wrap up the evening ($12 per person or $30 per family).

Here’s our article on the event.

Three Martinis & Friends Holiday Bash: unconventional festive fun on December 9

If you like the idea of local holiday music with lots of fun mixed in, then mark your calendar for next Friday, December 9th.

A fun and entertaining mix of comedy and music will take place at the Gordon Best Theatre (216 Hunter St. W., Peterborough, 705-876-8884) featuring musical improv comedy group The Three Martinis. You make up the titles, they make up the songs.

The group features Dan Fewings, Rob Phillips, and phenom Jimmy Bowskill who is between tours with The Sheepdogs and Blue Rodeo. You never know what might happen when The Three Martinis take the stage — but I can guarantee you’ll be laughing.

The show will also feature Josh Fewings, Melissa Payne, Trevor Davis (of The Silver Hearts), and Alisha Embury. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Worth every penny for a fun night out.

For more information, see our story.

17th Annual “In From the Cold” Christmas Concert at The Market Hall on December 9 and 10

If you’re one of the regular patrons of this musical celebration of Christmas past and present, you know your seasonal spirit is guaranteed to be kindled by the many dozens of local performers involved in the annual “In From the Cold” Christmas concert at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough, 705-749-1146). There are two performances, on Friday, December 9th and Saturday, December 10th, both at 8 p.m.

kawarthaNOW.com is proud to be a long time-sponsor and we encourage all to attend to support the YES Shelter for Youth and Families. The concert features Celtic and contemporary carols and seasonal songs performed by Carried Away, The Convivio Chorus, Curtis Driedger, Michael Ketemer, and Tanah Haney.

All proceeds go to the YES Shelter for Youth and Families — the concert has raised over $100,000 over 17 years!

Tickets are $20 per person ($15 for students or children). For more information, see our story here.

NHL legend Bob Gainey joins the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra on December 10

Here’s a traditional Christmas concert with a Canadian twist. On Saturday, December 10th at 7:30 p.m., NHL legend Bob Gainey will be joining the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra for “A Nutcracker Christmas” at Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-7469).

The symphony will perform excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s beloved and timeless Nutcracker, and Bob will narrate a musical version of Roch Carrier’s modern classic “The Hockey Sweater”. Bob will be wearing one of his jerseys, which will be signed and raffled off in support of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra.

The concert will also include seasonal favourites and a carol sing, and the Kawartha Youth Orchestra will join in to help get everyone into the spirit of the season.

This performance is almost sold out, there are only a few single tickets left! Tickets are $30 ($10 for students) and are available online at www.showplace.org/pso-nutcracker.

Make sure to read out article about the concert here.

Foley Family and Friends presents the 12th Annual Cozy Christmas on December 11

It’s going to be a big weekend for community Christmas spirit. The talented Foley family and their many friends take to stage at Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-7469) on Sunday, December 11th to raise funds for a village school in Liberia.

Talent abounds with the entire family! Expect everything family and everything Christmas with a variety of music from artists such as Bridget Foley and the Gospel Girls, 4 Front, Colleen (Foley) Anthony, Dan, Char and Amelia Foley, Al Black, the Basciano, Krauss and Vandermey families, Northern Soul, Soulshine, and more.

There’ll also be stories and trivia from the family historian, Hugh Foley.

Tickets are $15 per person ($10 for students under 16). For tickets, visit www.showplace.org/cozy-christmas.

Save the date! Royal Wood on Valentine’s Day at Showplace Performance Centre

On Tuesday, February 14th, Lakefield’s own Royal Wood is coming to Showplace Performance Centre (290 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-7469).

This is my advice this week to lovers and couples about what he/she really wants for Christmas. The best part is that this gift gives twice: give Royal Wood concert tickets for Christmas and they’ll thank you all over again on February 14th.

It’s a win-win and Royal Wood is both dreamy and talented! Royal is on tour to support Ghost Light, his new album released in 2016 and one of his best in many years.

Tickets are available now for $34.50 online at www.showplace.org/royalwood.

VIDEO: “Long Way Out” – Royal Wood

And if you want to be in the know about what’s coming up (and maybe win tickets!), you should subscribe to our VIP Enews which will arrive in your inbox every Wednesday morning — along with the most recent version of this column. Sign up for our VIP Enews here.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think by posting a comment below.

With the support of the community, new Canadians Mohammad and Randa Alftih have opened a new restaurant in downtown Peterborough.

OMG — Oasis Mediterranean Grill — at 460 George Street opens for business today (November 28), with an official grand opening set for Monday, December 5th.

For the Alftihs, this has been an unforgettable year. From their heart-breaking and harrowing decision to leave their Syrian home in Aleppo to the arrival in their new Peterborough home, their lives have changed in many ways.

Far away from their family and friends in Aleppo, this could have been a very lonely and isolating experience for the Alftihs. Yet through the support of their sponsorship group, Safe Haven for Refugees, and through the new friendships they have forged with neighbours and members of their faith community, the family has blossomed.

Now, almost a year later, the family has opened a new restaurant. With 20 years of expertise in running two successful businesses in Aleppo, Mohammad has many skills to bring to the table — not the least of which is his incredible spirit of entrepreneurship and the desire to give his family a good life in Peterborough.

Mohammad and Randa’s story is similar in many ways to the stories of other new arrivals. Their first year of getting settled in their new country is made possible through the sponsorship groups that have brought them. But the financial support will run out in the next few months for many, and finding employment in Peterborough, especially for new Canadians can be very tricky. Most of these families have spent their life savings just to get here, and they bring with them only what they can carry in suitcases.

For Mohammad and Randa, opening a small restaurant would have been impossible if it weren’t for the fact that, late last spring, long-time Peterborough resident Kenzu Abdella (a mathematics professor at Trent and the President of the Kawartha Muslim Association) offered to become a partner to make their dream of opening a business a reality.

Abdella hopes that their business partnership might serve as a model for the business community of Peterborough and for other recent arrivals. As a member of The Refugee Taskforce, Abdella is only too aware of the fact that sponsorship money will soon end.

“New Canadians bring the skills and experience to really enrich our city,” Abdella says. “The last thing they want is to become dependent on social services. They have a strong work ethic and a strong desire to give back to the community. But they can’t do it alone.”

The grand opening takes place at 460 George Street in downtown Peterborough on Monday, December 5th from 3 to 7 p.m. During the grand opening, the restaurant is offering patrons a 25% discount on food along with a free drink and dessert.

Menu – December 2016