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Switch off and save energy for Earth Hour

Thousands of people around the world participate in Earth Hour each year, including in Malaysia as seen in this photo from 2013 (photo: World Wildlife Fund)

Nobody likes getting bills in the mail. One bill that could easily contend for the most hated is the electric bill. A top complaint is the price of electricity and how much we pay each month.

“Leadership Basics for Frontline Managers”

Bill Templeman

Bill Templeman is a writer, instructor, speaker, program designer, and coach with 20 years of experience working with corporate, public sector and nonprofit clients.

He has a strong background in experiential education (action learning), training program design, and process facilitation. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Concordia University in Montreal and an M.A. in English from the University of Toronto.

Bill has worked with clients across Canada and the United States. He has written, designed, and delivered a wide range of training programs to employee and management groups, including team effectiveness, leadership development, managing change, career transition, sales/client service, and coaching.

SPARK breaks new ground

This rare 1902 photo of a camp at Stoney Lake is one of 70 images to be featured at SPARK's Showcase Exhibit (photo: Fairbairn-MacKenzie Photographic Collection)

When Robert Boudreau, Micky Renders, and Bill Lockington first imagined a photo festival for Peterborough, they never dreamed the first “frame” would be as successful as it was.

Even the highly successful Contact Photography Festival in Toronto drew just 50 exhibitors in its first year; the SPARK Photo Festival boasted 47 in its first year in 2013.

Reducing your water footprint

Children use dip nets to capture and examine water-dwelling creatures found within Meade Creek. Teaching youth about the importance of water is one of the many things we can do to help conserve and protect it for future generations. (Photo: GreenUP)

You’ve probably heard about the drought that California is suffering through. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says it’s the worst on record, and there’s no sign of it easing anytime soon.

All but a few reservoirs in the state are seeing water levels reaching half of what they should be during this time of year. The drought is so bad that the governor issued a state of emergency, asking residents to limit their water usage.

Celebrate watersheds during Canada Water Week

Streams, rivers and wetlands, like this one found along the Trans Canada Trail just outside of Peterborough, are important components to watersheds and provide habitat for countless species of wildlife. Watersheds take centre stage during Canada Water Week, March 17-23 (photo: Aaron Outram)

You don’t have to go far to find someone who’s fed up with winter. This winter season has been colder and snowier than in recent years, which has left even the heartiest souls anxiously waiting a reprieve.

The colder weather has allowed for near-record ice to form on the Great Lakes. Ice coverage has reached 90 per cent, a level not seen since the ’70s.

Provocative rock musical not for everyone

Haley Rosenthal-Dubarsky as Wendla Bergman in The Anne Shirley Theatre Company's production of "Spring Awakening" (photo: Sam Tweedle)

Spring Awakening: The Musical is coming to Peterborough, but is Peterborough ready for it?

After successful productions of Legally Blonde and Xanadu, The Anne Shirley Theatre Company is bringing one of the most controversial and notorious productions in the history of theatre to Market Hall for five shows (and to Trent University for one show).

Under the direction of Dane Shumak, an energetic and good-looking company explores topics such as sex, revolution, abuse, masturbation, atheism, homosexuality, rape, S&M, abortion and death in what is essentially a youth-oriented production. Needless to say, Spring Awakening isn’t for every audience, but it is extremely provocative and daring amateur theatre. It is sure to be one of the most talked-about productions of the year.

musicNOW – March 2014

Oh What A Night! (publicity photo)

Here’s a list of concerts this month in Peterborough and area that have piqued my interest. We are blessed to have such a great local music scene!

The Rise of Sexual Politics

"300: Rise of an Empire" opened in theatres on March 7

We live in an age where sex and horror are the new gods.

So what better way to illustrate this than dusting off ancient morality tales and pumping them full of graphic sex and deplorable violence so that a bunch of frat boys can be inspired to hit the weights together. The Immortals, Clash of the Titans, and — most persistently — 300 have narrated this strange misappropriation.

Original hack maestro Zach Snyder has taken sabbatical to ruin another franchise (he cast Ben Affleck as the new Batman) and has left the directorial reigns in the fumbling hands of Noam Murro. Bizarrely, this is Murro’s sophomore effort after the Dennis Quaid/Sarah Jessica Parker dud, Smart People.

Not that the original 300 — based on the overrated Frank Miller’s account of the desperate last stand between three hundred gallant Greeks standing against the racially ambiguous Persian masses — was much to savour.

An intense, intimate, and intelligent night of theatre

Beau Dixon and Lisa Hamalainen perform in Hamalainen's stage adaption of Chekhov's "Lady with a Lap Dog" (photo: Spiel Players)

Lust, regret, desire, madness and memories: four conditions of the human mind that are universal throughout time and are featured as the emotional centerpiece of the Spiel Players’ production of The Raven and Lady with a Lap Dog.

For two nights only, a collection of Peterborough’s most noteworthy performers brings to life tales from two of literature’s most celebrated authors — Edgar Allen Poe and Anton Chekhov — in an unique theatre experience that adds something new to Peterborough’s theatrical landscape.

A one-act production combining music, drama, and literature, the production opens with Robert Winslow’s dramatic rendition of Poe’s The Raven. Directed by Beau Dixon, Winslow brings the insanity, darkness, and melodrama associated with the works of Poe in an emotional and frenzied performance.

Think Spring with March workshops and events

The Ontario Children's Outdoor Charter aims to get children outside to discover the wonders of nature, like these kids are at GreenUP Ecology Park. Bill Kilburne, of the Back to Nature Network, will speak about the charter at ORCA's annual general meeting on March 20th. (photo: GreenUP)

I was at the Cobourg Home Depot on Sunday and noticed they added a large sign by the front door counting down the days to March 20th — the first day of Spring.

The sign provides hope that winter is finally coming to an end and warmer days are within reach.

While the 20th heralds the arrival of spring, we all know there are several more weeks of cold and snow yet to go before the grass turns green and leaves appear on the trees.

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