Juno-nominated Toronto-based rap rockers Down With Webster have reunited for a limited tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of "Time To Win Vol. I" and will perform a free-admission outdoor concert at Peterborough Musicfest in Del Crary Park on July 31, 2024. (Supplied photo)
As part of their reunion tour, Toronto-based rap rockers Down With Webster will be coming to Peterborough this summer to perform a free-admission outdoor concert, courtesy of Peterborough Musicfest.
On Wednesday (April 17), festival organizers announced Down With Webster will take to the stage at Del Crary Park in downtown Peterborough at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31st.
Down With Webster was originally formed in 1998 by Patrick Gillett and Tyler Armes when they were in a Grade 8 music class, with the band named after the titular character from the ’80s sitcom Webster. After winning their school’s talent competition, they jammed in Armes’ father’s garage, performing music inspired by reggae, funk, and jazz, incorporating hip hop when Martin “Bucky” Seja joined the band.
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Down With Webster independently released a six-track EP in 2003 that they sold primarily at concerts, where they soon built a following based on their own style of genre-bending rap and rock sounds and energetic performances. In 2008, they were named the best unsigned artist in Canada by Rogers Mobile and received a recording prize worth $25,000.
After years of rejection from music labels, they soon captured the attention of music executives including musicians Gene Simmons and Timbaland, both of whom wanted to sign the band to their respective labels, but they eventually signed with Universal/Motown and released their debut EP Time to Win, Vol. I in 2009, with the singles “Rich Girl$,” “Your Man,” and “Whoa Is Me.”
Down With Webster was nominated for new group of the year at the 2010 Juno Awards, losing to Arkells. After a cross-country tour in 2011, they were nominated again for group of the year as well as pop album of the year at the 2011 Juno Awards, where they performed. They also received four nominations at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards, with “Whoa Is Me” winning pop video of the year. Later that year, they released their second album, Time to Win, Vol. II, which included the singles “She’s Dope” and “Big Wheels”.
VIDEO: “Whoa Is Me” – Down With Webster
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In 2014, Down With Webster released Party for Your Life, which included the singles “Party for Your Life” and “Chills” and was nominated for pop album of the year at the Juno Awards. While individual members were already pursuing other projects, the band released what would be their final album — V, which included the singles “Love Is Not Enough” and “Take Us Alive” — in 2021.
On April 1, 2024, Down With Webster announced they would be reuniting for a limited tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Time To Win Vol. I. While the band last performed in Peterborough at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in 2013, this is their first appearance at Peterborough Musicfest.
Down With Webster is the second concert to be announced by Peterborough Musicfest this summer, with Juno award-winning indie alt-rockers Metric performing on Wednesday, July 17th. Peterborough Musicfest takes place every Wednesday and Saturday night from June 29 to August 17. The full line-up of performers for the 37th season will be announced in May.
Helping people reduce their waste, Repair Café Peterborough consists of knowledgeable volunteers who donate their time to sew, repair, and fix everything from electronics to clothing, jewelry, and more. The next Repair Café is being held ahead of Earth Day on April 20, 2024 at Peterborough Square. (Photo: Repair Café Peterborough)
Spend Earth Day weekend getting that button sewed back on your favourite sweater, fixing your old radio, getting a new clasp for your mother’s necklace, and keeping waste out of the landfill.
On Saturday (April 20), Repair Café Peterborough will be held on the lower level of Peterborough Square between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Visitors can drop in and get items repaired by volunteers spread across various stations including sewing and mending, electronics, and wood and glue.
“It can encompass so many things,” says Caitlin Smith, one of the volunteer organizers of Repair Café Peterborough. “Whatever you have, we’ll look and see if we can fix it.”
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The concept of a free gathering place for repairs and fixes was initiated by environmentalist Martine Postma which she hosted the first Repair Café in Amsterdam in 2009. Since then, there have been more than 2,500 local Repair Café volunteer organizations formed and held worldwide.
Peterborough’s Repair Café was first formed in 2014. Smith explains that while the group has certainly had volunteers participating since the beginning, others have only in recent years begun to lend their skills as the public becomes more and more aware of human impact on the environment.
“In general, that whole idea of planned obsolescence, fixing what we have, and doing our part to keep things out of the landfill is just becoming more and more of something on the general public’s radar,” she says. “I see on social media folks bringing awareness to the impact of the way we live our lives is affecting our environment.”
Not only do visitors hopefully go home from Repair Café Peterborough with their item fixed, but they also gain some hands-on knowledge from the volunteers which might help them better approach and address the repairs on their own next time. (Photo: Repair Café Peterborough)
Smith notes that it’s encouraging because not only are people raising awareness and talking about it more, but they are also taking action in the ways they can.
“People are not happy with what corporations are doing and are doing what they can themselves, whether it’s just fixing an item at Repair Café or shopping second-hand or doing what they can to change the way they’re living,” she says. “It’s definitely a change in mentality that is slow coming, but we’re seeing a lot more of people doing these great initiatives and altogether doing what we can because we have to change our lives.”
One of the main goals behind Repair Café is to remind people they can fix something they currently own rather than throwing it out and immediately purchasing an all-new product. As the founder and operator of organizing service ReCreate Space, Smith knows first-hand how people fall into the habit of buying new instead of making the small repairs that previous generations would have done.
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“In the world we live in right now, people are just so busy and rather than taking the time to set a thing aside and wait for a Repair Café, they’re more likely to just toss it in the garbage and not even think about trying to recycle it properly,” says Smith. “There’s also the fact that things are designed to not last, which is something that, as consumers, we’re faced with all the time. You really have to do your research and buy something that’s a bit more expensive and is better made (rather) than just going to Amazon.”
While some people are forced by income barriers and rising living costs to purchase built-not-to-last products which can be more affordable, a solution is instead to look to services like Repair Café — even if at first it seems like a lost cause.
“At the last event, we had a woman bring in her mom’s mixer and it was probably older than I am, but the fixer was able to get it working,” says Smith. “That was so incredible to see, as often with newer items, their design makes it so that you can’t even open it to access the inner workings to even try to fix it.”
While Repair Café Peterborough aims to fix and repair all kinds of products, their intention is not to replace local businesses that offer repair services but to fill the gap when a repair service is not available. (Photo: Repair Café Peterborough)
While Repair Café Peterborough is meant to offer solutions, the goal is not to replace local small businesses who are able to do the repairs.
If, for example, someone comes in for a small zipper fix, the volunteers will assist, but if the zipper must be entirely replaced, they will offer resources and contacts for local businesses that can do the work.
“What we try to do is not take away from repair businesses but fill the gaps when there’s not anybody that will fix something,” Smith explains. “There are a few great people working out of their homes, so we will recommend that the person take their item to one of those businesses. We want to support them because we want to have more repair businesses.”
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Beyond simply getting the repair done, visitors have ample opportunity to learn more from the volunteers about how they can fix or repair their items in the future.
“The volunteers will walk the person through the item repair and what they’re doing,” Smith says. “The fixers will try to get the person to do the hands-on work whenever possible and maybe they’ll pick up some knowledge along the way.”
As a volunteer and sewer herself, Smith notes that it’s a win-win for all involved — with the visitor saving money while getting their favourite items working again, waste being reduced, and the fixer getting the satisfaction of having solved a problem.
Repair Café Peterborough at the former Spill Café in 2017. Since it first formed in 2014, organizers have noticed an increase in volunteers and visitors dropping in to the repair events. While planned obsolescence encourages consumers to constantly buy new, Repair Café Peterborough teaches the skills and knowledge needed to repair products and keep waste out of landfills. (Photo: Repair Café Peterborough)
“Our fixers just love it,” she says. “For electrical fixers, they may not know what the problem is, so they figure it out. And when they actually fix that problem, they’re totally accomplished and elated.”
Held on the third Saturday of every month (except on long weekends), Repair Café Peterborough is always looking for volunteers. Volunteers need not be repair experts as extra hands for set-up and welcome tables are also required.
Pat Warren, councillor for Ward 2 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, has been elected as board vice-chair of Conservation Ontario, the organization that represents 36 conservation authorities across Ontario. The longtime environmental advocate was elected as board chair of Kawartha Conservation in January, a position she has held before. (Photo: City of Kawartha Lakes)
Less than three months after being elected board chair of Kawartha Conservation, Pat Warren has been elected vice-chair of the board of Conservation Ontario — the organization that represents 36 conservation authorities across Ontario.
Warren is a longtime environmental advocate who also serves as councillor for Ward 2 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, which encompasses Bobcaygeon in the south to Kinmount in the north. She has previously served as both chair and vice-chair of Kawartha Conservation, including as vice-chair in 2023.
Warren also sits as the council representative on the Kawartha Lakes environmental advisory committee and is involved in various related initiatives, including the recent certification of Kawartha Lakes as a bird friendly city by Nature Canada and the city’s Bee A Hero and Environmental Hero Awards.
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“This is an important time for both the conservation authorities and Conservation Ontario to have strong, committed voices advocating for our natural environments, and the important work conservation authorities do,” Warren said in a media release.
Ontario’s conservation authorities are local watershed management agencies, mandated to ensure the conservation, restoration, and responsible management of the province’s water, land and natural habitats through programs that balance human, environmental and economic needs.
Over the past five years, the Ontario government has been weakening the powers of conservation authorities, most recently with significant amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act that came into effect on April 1.
Kawartha Conservation board chair Pat Warren (left) with Jonathan Scott, vice-chair of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority board, and Angela Coleman, general manager of Conservation Ontario. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Conservation)
The amendments reduce the ability to protect water quality, reduce the distance between wetlands and development lands, and eliminate the need to acquire permits from conservation authorities for the construction of specific small structures.
“I am looking forward to working with the Conservation (Ontario) board on initiatives and policies that help to strengthen our environment, our communities, and make our environment sustainable,” Warren said.
As vice-chair of Conservation Ontario, Warren will work alongside five other board members to help guide the work of the organization, from policy and governance to strategic planning, advocacy and representation, and risk management.
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According to Kawartha Conservation CAO Mark Majchrowski, Warren’s commitment to fostering sustainable communities and protecting natural resources “aligns seamlessly with the goals of Conservation Ontario.”
“Pat’s experience and passionate commitment to environmental conservation aligns with our commitment to sustainable development and community well-being and I’m confident her positive influence will be felt on the Conservation Ontario board of directors,” Majchrowski said.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity to not only represent Kawartha Conservation but to also support impactful environmental initiatives that bolster the well-being of people and communities across Ontario,” Warren added.
The Trent-Severn Waterway is an important driver of the visitor economy in Kawarthas Northumberland. It connects communities throughout Kawartha Lakes (including Bobcaygeon, pictured), Peterborough & The Kawarthas, and Northumberland County. (Photo: RTO8)
The not-for-profit organization responsible for tourism in Kawarthas Northumberland is now accepting nominations for new volunteer members for its board of directors beginning this summer.
Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) has four vacancies to fill on its board, one each from the following regions: the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.
RTO8’s board comprises local industry experts and leaders who are dedicated to the growth and prosperity of Kawarthas Northumberland — which encompasses Peterborough & The Kawarthas and Northumberland County — and are driven by a commitment to sustainable and purposeful year-round visitation.
Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) markets the region branded as Kawarthas Northumberland (Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough & The Kawarthas, and Northumberland County) as a tourism destination. (Graphic: RTO8)
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“Becoming a part of the RTO8 board of directors allows you to actively contribute to shaping the community’s future as a tourist destination,” says Laurie Dillon-Schalk, chair of the board’s development committee.
Although the minimum term of service as an RTO8 board member is one year, terms of two or three years are also available.
Board members will be required to attend the RTO8 annual general meeting on June 20, a half-day orientation session in June, and a half-day planning session in the fall. Board members are also required to attend at least six board meetings per fiscal year and to sit on a committee of the board that meets as required virtually.
Board members enjoying one of the benefits of living in Kawarthas Northumberland at RTO8’s 2016 Annual General Meeting at Elmhirst’s Resort in Keene. (Photo: RTO8)
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Prospective board members must be Canadian citizens of at least 18 years of age. While people from diverse backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply, preference will be given to business owner or operators or those who are working within the Kawarthas Northumberland tourism industry.
To complete the 2024-25 RTO8 board application form, visit rto8.com/eoi-rto8-board/, where you can also find more details about the requirements and responsibilities of board members.
All applications to join the board must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 20.
“Whether you’re a seasoned board member or new to this role, being part of RTO8 provides a unparalleled window into the region’s opportunities and challenges allowing board members to leverage their tourism expertise, and actively participate in supporting the growth of Kawarthas Northumberland,” Dillon-Schalk says.
This story was created in partnership with Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8). If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
Community Care Northumberland's Easter fundraiser, with cookies supplied by Roda's Kitchen in Cobourg, raised $16,000 to support the agency's Meals on Wheels program providing nutritious meals to seniors and adults with disabilities who are unable to prepare meals for themselves. With 800 boxes of cookies purchased by local residents, businesses, and organizations, the funds raised mean the organization will be able to deliver an additional 800 meals. (Photo: Community Care Northumberland)
Northumberland County residents in need will receive 800 more nutritious meals as a result of an Easter fundraiser for Community Care Northumberland (CCN).
CCN recently announced that its Easter cookies fundraiser broke records this year, selling 800 boxes of cookies, and is making a significant impact on the community.
Through the collaborative efforts of CCN, Roda’s Kitchen in Cobourg (which baked the cookies), “and the generous contributions of our community, $16,000 was raised — setting a new benchmark for support,” CCN said in a media release.
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“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our community, donors, volunteers, and the incredible team at Roda’s Kitchen,” said Trish Baird, CEO of CCN. “Together, we have ensured that 800 individual meals will reach residents in our community who have access to nutritious meals through Meals on Wheels.”
Meals on Wheels is a cornerstone program offered by CCN, providing food to seniors and adults with disabilities who are unable to prepare meals for themselves. The funds raised through the Easter cookies fundraiser will directly contribute to the continuity and expansion of this service, “ensuring that no one in our community goes hungry,” CCN noted.
“This achievement marks a significant milestone, demonstrating the power of collective action in addressing the needs of our community’s most vulnerable members.”
Community Care Northumberland’s Meals on Wheels program delivers healthy and affordable meal options prepared locally and delivered several times per week by volunteers or staff members right to the client’s door. In 2022-2023, the program delivered 40,421 meals to 636 clients in Northumberland County. (Photos: Community Care Northumberland)
Joel Scott, CCN’s director of donor relations and communications, told kawarthaNOW the success of the event this year was due to several strategies. CCN uses email marketing, social media posts, support and promotion from traditional media, and online community calendars to get the word out to the community.
“Our team does a lot of one-on-one promotion with their networks as well, and we promote the ‘why’ aspect heavily,” Scott said. “Meals on Wheels touches thousands of people in our community, and the work our team does goes a long way in building connections throughout the community. We focus heavily on those relationships and the community responds in kind.”
It helps that the cookies from Roda’s Kitchen are delicious, Scott added.
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CCN extends its “heartfelt gratitude to the entire Northumberland community for their unwavering support, and to Lucy at Roda’s Kitchen for her exceptional dedication to this cause,” said Sheri Birney, CCN’s manager of nutrition services.
“We also express our deepest appreciation to our dedicated staff and volunteers whose tireless efforts have made this amazing achievement possible. Together, we have made a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most.”
Plans are already underway for next year’s event.
CCN’s Meals on Wheels program delivers healthy and affordable meal options to clients throughout Northumberland County. People can choose to receive hot meals, which are prepared locally and delivered several times per week at the noon hour, and/or frozen meals, which are easy to prepare and cater to several diet types.
All meals are delivered by CCN volunteers or staff members right to the client’s door. In 2022-2023, CCN’s Meals on Wheels program delivered 40,421 meals to 636 clients in the county.
Muster Point owners Kyle Wolsky and Danielle Malcolm opened their storefront location at 49 King Street East in downtown Bobcaygeon on April 12, 2024. The Lindsay couple launched their online charcuterie grazing box delivery business during the pandemic, and have now expanded with an Italian take-out and patio eatery. (Photo courtesy of Muster Point)
A Kawartha Lakes couple has expanded their pandemic-era online charcuterie business by launching Bobcaygeon’s newest Italian eatery.
Husband-and-wife team Kyle Wolsky and Danielle Malcolm opened the bricks-and-mortar location of Muster Point at 49 King Street East on Friday (April 12), offering hand-made focaccia sandwiches, take-home fresh pasta kits, barista coffee, smoothies, and the locally sourced charcuterie grazing boxes they originally launched online during the pandemic.
According to a media release, the couple welcomed hundreds of new and existing customers on their opening weekend, even selling out of all items early on Saturday.
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“The Kawartha Lakes community has welcomed us with open arms since we first opened,” says Wolsky in the release. “To see that support continue with this new evolution of Muster Point is really heart warming.”
Before becoming entrepreneurs, Wolsky and Malcolm spent 10 years travelling and working in various restaurants, pubs, cafes, and eateries in British Columbia and Australia, Wolsky’s native country before he became a Canadian resident over a decade ago.
The couple relocated to Malcolm’s hometown of Lindsay in 2020, launching Muster Point in December of that year to offer delivery of locally sourced charcuterie grazing boxes.
Located in the Old School House at 49 King Street East in downtown Bobcaygeon, Muster Point offers hand-made focaccia sandwiches, take-home fresh pasta kits, barista coffee, smoothies, and the locally sourced charcuterie grazing boxes owners Kyle Wolsky and Danielle Malcolm originally launched online during the pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Muster Point)
“Both Kyle and I have spent years in the hospitality industry across Canada, honing our craft so that one day, we could open our own business, pouring our creativity and love into food we really believe in,” says Malcolm, a cheese and charcuterie connoisseur.
“To be living that dream just four years after starting our business is amazing, and we are so grateful to the community for the unprecedented support they have shown us, growing Muster Point into something we are immensely proud of.”
The couple, who were married in 2022, spent over a month in Italy last year, where they toured a variety of cities and regions including Genoa, Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and Tuscany. They enrolled in culinary classes specialized to each area, including making fresh bread and pasta.
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“It’s so important to us that we make high-quality, delicious food, rooted in the traditions of each region,” Wolsky says. “It’s one thing to do your research and read about the things you’re making, but to learn from chefs to grandmas in Italy really took our knowledge to another level.”
Along with their new bricks-and-mortar location in the Old School House, Wolsky and Malcolm will continue to offer catering for events featuring “The Old Fashioned”, their vintage-inspired mobile food and bar trailer which could be seen at farmers’ markets across Kawartha Lakes last summer.
For more information on Muster Point, including the menu at the King Street East storefront, visit www.musterpoint.ca.
Along with their new bricks-and-mortar location in downtown Bobcyageon, Wolsky and Malcolm will continue to offer catering for events featuring “The Old Fashioned”, their vintage-inspired mobile food and bar trailer which could be seen at farmers’ markets across Kawartha Lakes last summer. (Photo courtesy of Muster Point)
Nancy Cockburn and Jenn McCallum, co-founders of the Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group, pictured with garbage collected on Armour Hill in Peterborough on April 13, 2024. (Photo: John Hauser)
They came and they conquered the garbage and cigarette butts littering Armour Hill park in Peterborough.
The Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group (AMSG) is celebrating the successful April 13 spring clean-up of Armour Hill/Ashburnham Memorial Park on Hunter Street East.
“We were thrilled with the turnout for the sixth Armour Hill/Ashburnham Memorial Park clean-up on Saturday,” Jenn McCallum, AMSG co-founder, told kawarthaNOW.
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“About 60 volunteers cleaned up 38 bags of garbage, and cigarette butts were collected separately to be sent to TerraCycle for recycling,” McCallum shared.
“The volunteers included people of all ages, from toddlers to youth to seniors, and many volunteers also brought their pets to the event. With this number of people coming out, the clean-up was both thorough and quick.”
Armour Hill is the tallest drumlin within the Peterborough drumlin field and features a war memorial to commemorate World War I veterans.
John Hauser cleaning up garbage on Armour Hill in Peterborough on April 13, 2024. (Photo: Scott Adams)
It’s an “iconic” place in Peterborough, McCallum noted.
“Cleaning up the hill is important to show the park some love, because unfortunately, illegal garbage dumping is an ingrained and regular activity that happens within the park. Cleaning up this space shows stewardship and care for the park, both for its human and animal visitors,” McCallum said prior to the event.
The AMSG hosts two park clean-ups annually: one in April and one in November. Typically, 50 to 60 people participate in the clean-up endeavours.
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When asked what would be the best possible outcome for Armour Hill park, McCallum said, “in the future, and for the long term, we would love to see the parking lot at the top of Armour Hill changed to be a people-friendly space.
“Currently, as a large paved parking lot with no delineated parking spaces, it is a car-centric culture, where people come to enjoy the views and leave the garbage behind. We would love to see this space become a beautiful space that people come to enjoy, to picnic and see the views, while respecting the space and properly disposing of their garbage.”
The regular cleanups, which the AMSG has been hosting since November 2021, help keep the 14-acre urban forest safe and clean, AMSG noted.
Some of the garbage collected on Armour Hill in Peterborough on April 13, 2024. (Photo: Jenn McCallum)
This year’s events focus on community engagement, which will inform the development of a conceptual drawing of the top of Armour Hill as “an active transportation and community space.”
Armour Hill is a popular destination during the summer — largely because of its commanding views — and it’s also frequented during the winter months by those who toboggan.
For more information about Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group, including how to get involved, visit ashburnhamstewardship.com.
Peterborough-born multidisciplinary artist Charlie Petch's new one-person play "No One's Special at the Hot Dog Cart" draws upon true stories from Petch's past to explore the negative perceptions around homelessness and mental health and to share de-escalation techniques during moments of crisis. As the final presentation of its 2023-24 season, Public Energy Performing Arts will present the play at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough for one night only on April 24, 2024. (Photo: Nika Belianina)
Multidisciplinary artist Charlie Petch is coming home to Peterborough to perform their new one-person play No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart for one night only at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24th, as the final presentation of Public Energy Performing Arts’ 2023-24 season.
The play, which premiered in a sold-out run at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille in March in a co-production with Erroneous Productions the Toronto Star called “a compassionate, moving piece of theatre,” draws on true stories from Petch’s past as a 911 operator, hospital bed allocater, emergency room clerk, street worker, and — as the play’s title implies — a hot dog vendor.
“Everything I needed to know about emergency health care, I learned as a teenage hot dog vendor in downtown Toronto,” Petch says in a line from the play.
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Through spoken word and musical storytelling, Petch shares tales of survival and kindness as a witness to life on the street, as well as the de-escalation techniques Petch has honed over the years.
“I think there would be much less fear if people knew how to stay safe when interacting with people who are having trouble with their emotions,” says Petch in a media release. “In reality, we also need to learn how to de-escalate ourselves.”
Inspired by Toronto street culture in the 1990s and the aforementioned de-escalation practices, Petch began writing No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart during the pandemic as an exploration of the negative perceptions around homelessness and mental health. As the pandemic continued and social and economic divides widened even more, that exploration became increasingly topical and urgent for the artist.
VIDEO: “No One’s Special At The Hot Dog Cart” trailer – Charlie Petch
“I am hoping that giving audiences tools and knowledge about emergency response procedures will help them interact with others better, and that will empower them to resist a system that tells us homeless people deserve police abuse, that street culture is heartless and not a community, and that poverty is a crime,” Petch explains.
No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart is directed by Autumn Smith — who will also be directing the world premiere of Alison Lawrence’s Onion Skins & Peach Fuzz: The Farmerettes at 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook in July — with dramturgy by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, stage management by Flavia Martin, set design by Joel Richardson, and lighting design by Joel Richardson. Fully ASL interpreted, the show features Deaf performer Jaideep Goray from Phoenix The Fire.
Sold on a sliding pay-what-you-can scale from $5 to $50, tickets are available in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St, Peterborough), by phone at 705-775-1503, or online at markethall.org.
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In addition to performing the play, Petch — a certified instructor in non-violent crisis intervention — will be hosting a workshop on de-escalation techniques from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 27th at The Theatre On King. Sold on a sliding pay-what-you-can scale from $5 to $20, tickets are available at eventbrite.ca/e/873425006707 or by contacting Public Energy at admin@publicenergy.ca or 705-745-1788.
A self-described disabled/queer/transmasculine multidisciplinary artist, Petch was born in Peterborough. Their family moved to Toronto when Petch was only six, but Petch returned in 1992 at the age of 19 to attend Trent University’s cultural studies program, mainly because Trent was described as the “bisexual university.”
However, Petch soon dropped out to pursue a career in the arts, initially working at the Union Theatre — Peterborough’s former experimental theatre venue — where Petch won a play-writing contest with Napalm Queen, described as an early precursor to No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart. Petch also performed as a stripper in Janet Fiendel’s A Particular Class of Women, a role described as being well-suited to the bawdy side of their nature.
Charlie Petch draws upon past experiences in Toronto as a 911 operator, hospital bed allocator, emergency room clerk, street worker, and hot dog vendor in their new one-person play “No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart.” Public Energy Performing Arts will present the play at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough for one night only on April 24, 2024. (Photo: Nika Belianina)
During this time, Petch was also learning the technical side of theatre, becoming the house technician at the Gordon Best Theatre when it first opened before landing a paid lighting gig at the Market Hall.
Also a musician, Petch performed in several bands, most notably Wine With Everything and the Silver Hearts, with the latter showcasing their unique talents on the musical saw.
While Petch left Peterborough again in 1996 to pursue an artistic career in Toronto, they have frequently returned to Peterborough to perform plays and poetry, including as a featured performer at the 2017 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.
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Petch was the 2017 Poet of Honour for the speakNORTH national festival, winner of the Golden Beret lifetime achievement in spoken word with The League of Canadian Poets (2020), and founder of Hot Damn it’s a Queer Slam.
Their debut poetry collection Why I Was Late (Brick Books) was named “Best of 2021” by The Walrus and won the 2022 ReLit Award. Petch was also long-listed for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2021.
A touring performer, as well as a mentor and workshop facilitator, Petch’s film with Opera QTO, Medusa’s Children, premièred in 2022. Petch is the current writer in residence for Berton House.
Charlie Petch’s new one-person play “No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart” premiered in a sold-out run at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille in March in a co-production with Erroneous Productions the Toronto Star called “a compassionate, moving piece of theatre.” As the final presentation of its 2023-24 season, Public Energy Performing Arts will present the play at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough for one night only on April 24, 2024. (Photo: Nika Belianina)
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
Artists (left to right) Whitney O'Hearn, Jakeb Daniel, Shannon Linton, and Katie Hoogendam are collaborating for "NatureNuture: An Evening of Art for the Earth" at the Old Camborne School north of Cobourg on April 20, 2024. Featuring nature-inspired visual art, film, spoken word, and music, the event is raising funds in support of the Northumberland Land Trust and the A Gift of Trees fundraiser at Ten Villages Cobourg. (Photo: Jordan Hoogendam)
There are many ways to acknowledge and appreciate Earth Day and this year a group of Northumberland County artists are coming together in one of the most beautiful ways with an evening of song and art in support of local environmental initiatives.
Through music, film, visual art, and spoken word, the Old Camborne School — at 3441 Albert’s Alley in Camborne about seven kilometres north of Cobourg — will be transformed into a space of fun and reflection at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 20th during “NatureNurture: An Evening of Art for the Earth.”
Organized through sponsorship from Zon Engineering and an arts grant from Community Power Northumberland, NatureNurture tickets cost $20 per person and are available in advance at eventbrite.ca/e/860093190887. A small number of tickets will be available at the door for $20 cash or pay what you can.
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“We have always been looking for fun, interesting, and different ways to connect artistically that also speak to the things that are really important to us,” says Shannon Linton, who is the co-organizer of the event alongside poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist Meredith Katie Hoogendam aka Merkat. “Our art often has a lot to do with the natural world or with climate and people’s experiences of bad situations, so this was a natural fit for us.”
Linton will be performing original songs and “meaningful” covers alongside Toronto vocalist Whitney O’Hearn and indie folk singer-songwriter Jakob Daniel of Cobourg. Called “Murmuration,” the musical pieces explore the common theme of connecting with community and earth for environmental change.
“It’s really focused on the idea of us as humans coming together to make ourselves safer and to make something beautiful the way birds do in murmuration,” says Linton.
Shannon Linton is a Northumberland singer-songwriter, climate activist, and classically trained vocalist. She will be performing original and cover songs at “NatureNurture: An Evening of Art for the Earth” at the Old Camborne School north of Cobourg on April 20, 2024. Proceeds from her EP merch and ticket sales will support the Northumberland Land Trust. (Photo courtesy of Shannon Linton)
For the “Hills Are Alive” segment of the evening, Hoogendam will be screening a short film, presenting her visual artwork, and using language to connect with the audience.
“(Hoogendam’s work) is about the innate dialogue that exists between humans and the natural world, and remembering or returning to actually having a connection to the natural world where it isn’t just something we use for our purpose, but something that we are in a full relationship with,” says Linton. “She sees the world and expresses herself in a way that I don’t know of any other artist that does, so I’m really excited for that piece of the evening.”
While Linton herself has always been conscious of individual things she can do for the planet, it was connecting with Hoogendam, O’Hearn, and other activists in a book club during the pandemic that “lit a fire in her” to become even more vocal in her climate activism.
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“Climate solutions require bigger action from government and corporations,” Linton says. “And that has now gone even further into having us think about how we can also create communities that care for one another, because climate change is here. We are not fixing all of it — we cannot fix all of it now. We’re too far gone in some ways, but we still need to be able to have meaningful and beautiful lives and help each other.”
Since the book club, Linton has been joining advocacy groups, volunteering, and is on the environment and climate committee in Hamilton Township.
“I live in paradise, in a beautiful, beautiful natural environment, and I want my two kids to be able to have a meaningful life that includes the natural world,” she says. “That includes community building with people and the connection to earth and to the natural world around this city that is so beautiful and life-giving.”
‘Pregnant Pause’ (acrylic on birch) by Katie Hoogendam aka Merkat is one of the visual artworks that will be on sale at “NatureNuture: An Evening of Art for the Earth” at the Old Camborne School north of Cobourg on April 20, 2024. Proceeds from the sale of Hoogendam’s work will support A Gift of Trees, a fundraiser from Ten Thousand Villages Cobourg which will plant 10,000 trees equally by the Ganaraska Regional Conservation Authority and throughout the country through the non-profit organization Tree Canada. (Photos courtesy of Katie Hoogendam)
As a climate activist, Linton ensures that even her merchandise as an artist is environmentally conscious. Not only are her T-shirts upcycled but, rather than selling CDs, for her EP about climate, In Spite of Everything, she chose to release a book of watercolour acrylic paintings from local artist Janita Wiersma to pair with each song. The book is similar to an album booklet, with the album itself available online.
“I think it’s wasteful to just create things for the purpose of getting people to buy them,” she says. “It’s a lot of plastic and a lot of waste, so this book is, to me, another piece of art and a beautiful contribution to the music, and not just a thing for people to buy.”
The proceeds from the merchandise, Hoogendam’s visual art pieces, and ticket sales will all go towards local non-profit organizations. Hoogerdam has chosen for her proceeds to be donated to A Gift of Trees, a fundraiser from Ten Villages Cobourg. The fundraiser’s goal is to plant 10,000 trees equally in the local area through the Ganaraska Regional Conservation Authority and across the country through Tree Canada.
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Linton’s donations will be supporting the work of the Northumberland Land Trust and the 14 properties the organization stewards.
“They are doing incredible work — all volunteer — to protect our natural landscape,” Linton explains. “They’re doing all this important work, and it flies under the radar. Rather than hoping the government will take care of everything, smaller groups doing their part are really important and what’s going to get us through.”
Though the April 20th show is the first of its kind, Linton remains hopeful that it might become a regular event that will continue to make audiences think about the climate in a fun and engaging way.
Toronto-based vocalist and mezzo-soprano Whitney O’Hearn and Cobourg singer-songwriter Jakeb Daniel will be performing alongside Shannon Linton at “NatureNuture: An Evening of Art for the Earth” at the Old Camborne School north of Cobourg on April 20, 2024. (Photos courtesy of the artists)
“I love to collaborate and we’re both very committed to continuing in advocacy, so I think it’s fair to say it will happen again,” she says. “But it would never look the same twice, because we’ll always have new ideas.”
Those interesting in donating to the event can support the Northumberland Land Trust, A Gift of Trees at Ten Thousand Villages Cobourg, or email Linton at shannonlinton@hotmail.com.
A passenger vehicle left County Road 2 west of Colborne on April 14, 2024 and ended up in a farmer's field. Three passengers were injured, including one who was airlifted to Toronto with life-threatening injuries. The vehicle's 46-year-old driver has been charged with impaired operation. (Photo: Northumberland OPP)
A Brighton driver is facing charges after a single-vehicle collision on County Road 2 west of Colborne on Sunday evening (April 14) that injured three passengers, including one who sustained life-threatening injuries.
At around 6:10 p.m., Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Northumberland Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and Alnwick-Haldimand Fire Department responded to a report of a passenger vehicle that left the road between Townline Road and Herron Road in the Township of Alnwick-Haldimand.
One of the vehicle’s passengers suffered life-threatening injuries as a result and was subsequently airlifted from the scene by Ornge Air Ambulance to a Toronto hospital for emergency medical treatment.
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Two other passengers were transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where one had minor injuries and the other was then transported to a Toronto hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
County Road 2 road was closed until around 2:45 a.m. on Monday while police investigated and documented the scene.
As a result of the investigation, the 46-year-old driver from Brighton was arrested and charged with operation while impaired – alcohol and drugs. The driver also received a 90-day administrative driver licence suspension and their vehicle was impounded for seven days.
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