damned be this transmigration, based on the life and work of early 20th-century newspaper columnist Don Maquis, runs at The Theatre on King in downtown Peterborough from January 29th to February 1st. Kate Story stars as Mehitable the alley cat, Ryan Kerr as Archy the cockroach, and Brad Brackenridge as their creator Don Marquis. (Photo: Andy Caroll)
Join Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the alley cat at The Theatre on King as Kate Story brings to life the writings and characters of 1920s-era New York newspaper columnist Don Marquis, in her original production of damned be this transmigration.
Directed by Em Glasspool, damned be this transmigration (yes, the lowercase spelling is intentional) is a labour of love that brings together storytelling, dramatic monologues, music and song, and dance and movement in a very different — and often very moving — piece of performance art.
Soil scientists are actively involved in solving many of society's most pressing problems. World hunger, environmental quality, urban growth, and global warming are all issues currently being addressed by soil scientists around the world.
(Photo: John A. Kelley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Anyone who enjoys gardening knows there are some very basic elements required to produce healthy plants. These include adequate light, appropriate amounts of water, and good soil. Arguably, the latter could be considered the most important.
2015 has been declared International Year of Soils by the United Nations, casting the spotlight on one of the most underappreciated, yet vitally important elements found on our planet.
Publican House Partners Marty Laskaris, Matt Philips, Mike Laskaris, and Rick Coit in the brewery's new craft beer retail store, along with City of Peterborough Town Ward Councillor Diane Therrien. The store will have its official opening on Saturday, January 31st (photo courtesy of Publican House Brewery)
The Publican House Brewery has opened a new craft beer retail store, right beside the micro-brewery’s location at the corner of Charlotte and Rubidge streets in downtown Peterborough.
The retail store marks the next phase of expansion for the premium craft brewery, which first opened its doors in 2009.
Peterborough Mayor Daryl Bennett presents a cheque for $11,594.45 to Ashlee Aitken of Kawartha Food Share. The money was raised during the free two-hour parking promotion in downtown Peterborough during December. Also pictured is
Dennis Van Amerongen, Parking Operations Coordinator with the City, and Terry Guiel, Executive Director of the Peterborough DBIA. (Photo: Jeannine Taylor / kawarthaNOW)
On behalf of the City of Peterborough, Mayor Daryl Bennett today presented a cheque for $11,594.45 to Kawartha Food Share. The donated funds were collected as a result of a free two-hour parking promotion during the Christmas shopping season.
“We are happy to be part of such a worthwhile fundraising effort,” Mayor Bennett said.
Foxgang Amadeus, designed and painted by Cobourg artist Katriona Dean, is #1 on Bored Panda's list of most beautiful outdoor pianos in the world (photo: Katriona Dean)
Two street pianos designed and painted by Cobourg artist Katriona Dean currently hold the top two positions on Bored Panda’s “Most Beautiful Outdoor Pianos You Can Play All Around The World” list.
Katriona both designed and painted the two pianos, one with a fox theme and the other with an owl theme, for the Town of Cobourg’s “Keys to Our Town”, a public art project featuring six street pianos painted by local artists.
The fox-themed piano — which Katriona has named “Foxgang Amadeus” in honour of Mozart, after a suggestion from a musician friend — is located in Victoria Park at the corner of King and McGill streets. Katriona’s partner Sorab Bulsara carved the ears and stool from an old tree stump, using only a chainsaw. The owl-themed piano, which was designed and painted by Katriona along with Cobourg arist and musician Gina Newcomb, was located in the same spot in 2013.
The Foxgang Amadeus piano first received international attention in late summer 2014, when Katriona posted a YouTube video of Cobourg musician Michael McNamara playing the piano while singing “Say Something” by A Great Big World.
Michael McNamara performs “Say Something” on Foxgang Amadeus
“I had heard from a friend that the most talented musician would walk up to my piano on a daily basis and play it and sing for anybody who was walking by,” Katriona explains in an interview with Wei Chen on CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning. “So I found him on Facebook and I asked him if I could meet with him one Saturday just to hear him play. As I drove to him, I could hear him from about two blocks away, which is the beautiful thing about these street pianos. They can be heard from blocks away.”
“So I got to him and he played about 17 songs for me that morning,” she continues. “I ended up recording one, just because it was so beautiful. I cried through it, it’s quite shaky video, and that’s the one that I put up on YouTube. It was just for the people who were there, the crowd that had gathered. They wanted to be able to see the video, so I posted it up on YouTube just to show them. About a week later, I got an email from somebody to say that it had about 10,000 views.” Artist Katriona Dean with musician Michael McNamara, whose YouTube performance on Katriona’s Foxgang Amadeus street piano went viral in 2014 (photo: James Pickersgill)
The video, which was shared by celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, has since racked up 1.6 million views. Michael was interviewed by Breakfast Television and CBC Radio, and was even contacted by The Ellen Show and The Glenn Beck Show.
Both of Katrionia’s pianos currently occupy the first and second spots on Bored Panda’s “Most Beautiful Outdoor Pianos You Can Play All Around The World” list, as rated by users of the art, design and photography website. The list also contains street pianos from major cities around the world, including Toronto, Denver, Boston, Melbourne (Australia), and Kiev (Ukraine). Katriona Dean’s owl-themed street piano was located in Victoria Park in 2013 (photo: Katriona Dean)
“It’s still surreal for me,” Katriona says. “I’m just overjoyed to realize that others are enjoying these pianos as much as I enjoyed creating them.”
Katriona studied graphic design at Durham College and currently works in the communications and marketing department at Trent University. She also freelances as an illustrator, sculptor, photographer, designer and marketing specialist.
The current interest in street pianos began in Sheffield in England in 2005 when a man moving into a new house couldn’t get his piano up the steps.
As a social experiment, he left it on the street and attached a sign inviting passersby to play the piano for free. The street piano soon became a popular feature of the local community and stayed on the street for over a year.
Inspired by the success of the Sheffield street piano, British artist Luke Jarram created the “Play Me, I’m Yours” project in 2007. He installed 15 street pianos throughout Birmingham for the public to play and, in just three weeks, an estimated 140,000 people either played the pianos or listened to others play.
Since then, more than 1,000 street pianos have been installed in 37 cities across the world, including New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, and Barcelona, with a total reach of an estimated six million people.
Public Energy is bringing works by renowned international choreographers Vincent Mantsoe and Aharona Israel to the Market Hall in Peterborough in February. The two artists will also be giving free public talks. (Photo: Daniel Aimie/Aharona Israel)
For more than 20 years, Public Energy has presented some of the world’s best talent in contemporary dance, theatre, and performance. They have featured exceptional artists from around the corner, and around the world.
Public Energy presents
“NTU” & “Skwatta” by Vincent Mantsoe “Marathon” by Aharona Israel
When: NTU/Skwatta: Tuesday, February 3rd at 8 p.m; Marathon: Thursday, February 12th at 8 p.m. Where: Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough) How much: $22 adults, $15 students/underwaged, $5 high school students (at door only)
“NTU” and “Skwatta” are written and performed by Vincent Mantsoe. “Marathon” is conceived, choreographed and directed by Aharona Israel and performed by Ilya Domanov, Merav Dagan, and Gal Shamai. There will be post-show “talk backs” with the artists.
Advance tickets for both performances are available at the Box Office, by calling 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
This legacy has earned Public Energy a place on tours for artists who perform in places like Berlin, Paris, New York, London, and San Francisco — tours whose only other stops are major Canadian centres.
Portrait of Robert Burns in Ayr, Scotland (photo: public domain)
On January 25, 1903, the New York Tribune issued a special supplement with the title “This is the birthday of ‘Robbie’ Burns, and Scotsmen all over the world will remember it.” (photo: public domain)
It’s the 256th birthday of Robert Burns on Sunday, January 25th. We present some interesting facts about Scotland’s national bard, along with a list of local celebrations and — for the Scottish at heart — instructions on how to host our own Burns Supper.
Local comedian Kristal Jones has organized a special night of comedy, satire, and music to promote the “Draw The Line” campaign of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres.
Drawing the Line – A Night of Comedy, Satire, and Music
When: Friday, February 6, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Where: The Venue (286 George St. N., Peterborough) How much: $10 in advance, $15 at the door
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Advance tickets are available through organizer Kristal Jones at 647-703-0150 or kdmjones87@gmail.com.
“Drawing the Line – A Night of Comedy, Satire, and Music” takes place at The Venue in downtown Peterborough on Friday, February 6th, in support of the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre.
Sexual violence is a reality in Ontario. One in three Canadian women will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. It’s a lot more than rape. It includes everything from sexist jokes to stalking, harrassment, and assault — anything that contributes to a culture condoning and supporting sexual violence.
“Draw The Line” is an interactive campaign that aims to engage Ontarians in a dialogue about sexual violence. The campaign challenges common myths about sexual violence and equips bystanders with information on how to intervene safely and effectively.
Hosted by Jocasta Boone, “Drawing the Line – A Night of Comedy, Satire, and Music” combines the talents of Peterborough comedians, musicians, and entertainers. Scheduled performers include comics Zara Syed, Anne Shebib, Hannah Hogan, Kristal Jones, Jeff Curtis, and Sean Quinlan, with a feature set by Citiots Improv members Ray Henderson and Daniel Smith.
The night will also include musical performances by Will Alexander, James Higgins, and the duo of Alex Pendergast and Jacques Graveline, as well as spoken-word performances by Jayson Down and Wes Ryan.
There’ll also be a silent auction and door prizes, with offerings from many generous local businesses including Black Honey, Pita Pit, Anywhere But Here, Kristine Hannah Photography, Strutt Central, The Peterborough Poetry Collective, and Glamazon Esthetics.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $10 advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are available through organizer Kristal Jones at 647-703-0150 or kdmjones87@gmail.com.
Come out for a night of high-energy comedy and entertainment in support of an important cause.
Where do you draw the line?
For more information about the “Draw the Line” campaign, visit www.draw-the-line.ca
Earth's climate is warming largely due to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, primarily from humans burning fossil fuels which releases millions of years' worth of carbon stored in the ground (photo: NASA)
If you’ve been following the news over the past few months, one item that might have caught your attention was the wet weather impacting California in early and mid December.
The rainy conditions made news for a couple of different reasons, the first being that a large quantity of precipitation that fell within a short period of time.
The current location of The Food Forest at 641 George Street in Peterborough (photo courtesy of The Food Forest)
Update (April 21, 2015)
The Food Forest has advised that this is their last week of operation at their George Street location. As of Saturday, April 25th, they will be closed and preparing for their move to downtown Peterborough. They will be opening the first week of May at 135 Hunter Street in downtown Peterborough (the former location of Maggie’s Eatery, which closed in December after 16 years in business).
kawarthaNOW confirmed in January that The Food Forest (641 George St., Peterborough) will move into the former location of Maggie’s Eatery at 135 Hunter Street in downtown Peterborough.
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