Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) is seeking knowledgeable and experienced tourism and business professionals to provide mentorship and one-on-one coaching to tourism business owners and operators in the Kawarthas Northumberland region. Through the Acceler8 program, mentors will be matched with business owners for a structured and facilitated coaching process to help them navigate changing market challenges and support the overall economic growth of the region. (Photo courtesy of RTO8)
Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) is seeking knowledgeable and experienced tourism industry professionals in the Kawarthas Northumberland region to provide business mentorship that will contribute to the region’s economic growth.
The organization, which is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, has announced a refreshed delivery of the Acceler8 tourism business mentorship program.
Held in partnership with regional destination marketing/management organizations, as well as local economic development offices in Northumberland County, City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough County, and the City of Peterborough, the program offers a personalized approach to assist tourism sector businesses in identifying and solving specific business challenges.
Joe Rees is the program manager of the refreshed Acceler8 program, offered by Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) to assist existing tourism sector businesses in Kawarthas Northumberland with addressing challenges to help their business succeed and grow. Rees was previously director of tourism for Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development before the organization dissolved. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development)
Share on Bluesky
For 2025, Acceler8 has been refreshed to help local businesses navigate changing economic and market conditions. Through a facilitated and structured coaching process, mentors will be matched with business owners based on their skillset to lend invaluable guidance and support them in tackling challenges, improving efficiency, and reaching their goals.
As a new facet of this year’s program, participating mentors will be acknowledged financially.
“We are recognizing and acknowledging the time and commitment that the mentors are making to the Acceler8 program,” says Acceler8 program manager Joe Rees. “As part of the refresh, we are providing an honorarium for their time and expertise. We’re all about promoting that people across industries should be getting paid for their work.”
VIDEO: RTO8 Acceler8 Coach Sheryl Delorme
Share on Bluesky
RTO8 is seeking mentor applications from those with experience and expertise as accommodation, retail, attraction, experience, or food and beverage providers within Kawartha Lakes, the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, or Northumberland County.
“Tourism is recognized as a very significant economic driver, and regionally we have to acknowledge that we share the same visitors across the region,” Rees says. “We embrace a huge geographic area — some of it is GTA adjacent, a lot of it is rural, some of it is cottage country — so we’ve got a myriad of opportunities and a myriad of existing experiences, resources, and accommodation providers.”
“It’s important to get some perspective from somebody who’s dealing with the same things as business owners because tourism is regional. There are different municipalities, different rules and regulations and bylaws, and in some cases a different type of visitor. It’s invaluable to have somebody who’s dealing with exactly the same thing you’re dealing with.”
The Acceler8 program offered by Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) supports tourism business owners and operators in the Kawarthas Northumberland region by matching them with knowledgeable and experienced mentors who provide personalized one-on-one coaching that addresses key challenges and opportunities facing their businesses. Mentors are existing or retired business owners and/or specialists in one or more key business disciplines. (Photo courtesy of RTO8)
Share on Bluesky
Whether mentors are current or retired business owners or specialists in a key business discipline, they will join the lineup of tourism support professionals who have years of expertise in offering guidance to Acceler8 participants. Acceler8 mentorships are highly flexible and can be adjusted to fit a mentor’s schedule and availability for as little as two to three hours in a month.
“We want to have a strong number of mentors with a good cross section of skillsets so we can promote the program and deal with some of these business issues and challenges as they come up,” Rees says.
“An experienced person could be somebody who’s just been through the fire for the very first time, has successfully created an experience and navigated the challenges and pitfalls, and is ready to give back to someone else.”
VIDEO: RTO8 Acceler8 Participant Blades of Glory
Share on Bluesky
Mentors will have the opportunity to share their expertise, leadership, and coaching skills and connect with other experienced professionals, all while making a meaningful impact on local tourism businesses and contributing to the region’s economic growth.
Given the partnership opportunities across tourism businesses, Rees notes that offering support across the region is always beneficial as “a high tide floats all boats.”
“If there’s a visitor coming to a successful experience down the road, they might come to your place to eat and they might stay in the accommodation next door,” he explains. “Every person who’s being mentored and every person who is a mentor have their own networks, which can lead to exponential growth in finding new suppliers and partnerships.”
Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming to promote regional tourism activity in the area branded as Kawarthas Northumberland, which includes the historic Trent-Severn Waterway, one of the region’s most celebrated assets that draws visitors from across Canada and the world. With the busy summer season approaching, RTO8’s Acceler8 program will support local tourism business owners and operators by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of mentors. (Photo courtesy of RTO8)
Share on Bluesky
Given the current economic climate and the prediction that Canadians will be spending more time vacationing in Canada as a result, Rees is hopeful that Acceler8, with the guidance of knowledgeable mentors, will help regional tourism businesses thrive this summer.
“Summer’s coming up fast, and we want to contribute to as many new and exciting opportunities for people to visit as possible across the region,” he says. “We talked for years about staycations and we’re back there again, so we’re looking forward to a busy year.”
For more information on Acceler8 and to apply to become a mentor, visit www.rto8.com/acceler8/.
This branded editorial was created in partnership with Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8). If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
Campbellford Memorial Hospital's laboratory team recently earned accreditation by meeting over 98 per cent of the required standards. (Photo: Campbellford Memorial Hospital / Facebook)
Laboratory employees of Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH) are being recognized for their “exceptional efforts” that have earned the department accreditation.
The Municipality of Trent Hills hospital recently announced its lab team achieved an “almost perfect” score across all standards in the accreditation process.
“Campbellford Memorial Hospital is proud to announce that our laboratory has successfully achieved accreditation, meeting over 98 per cent of the required standards,” says Peter Mitchell, executive assistant/communications and community relations manager.
Advertisement - content continues below
“Out of 423 measured criteria, we passed 418, demonstrating our commitment to excellence in quality, safety, and patient care. Action plans are already in place to address the remaining five standards, ensuring continuous improvement,” Mitchell told kawarthaNOW.
“This achievement reflects the dedication and expertise of our laboratory team, whose hard work and adherence to best practices have positioned us among the top-performing labs in our region. We thank our staff for their exceptional efforts and for truly giving their best, every day.”
Tests and procedures are conducted at CMH by qualified radiology and laboratory technologists using state-of-the-art technology. The hospital services for inpatients are available 24/7 365 days a year, and focus on providing patients with information about their health as it pertains to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Advertisement - content continues below
CMH noted its lab is equipped with the sophisticated computerized instrumentation for timely and accurate testing, which allows its team to effectively process tests, in areas such as chemistry, hematology, microbiology, transfusion medicine, serology, pathology and cytology.
Services include:
Hematology: For the detection of changes in blood cells that may indicate disease states such as anemia, infection and leukemia. Coagulation (blood clotting) testing is also performed to monitor patients on anticoagulant therapy, to detect bleeding disorders (hemophilia) and thrombolytic disorders.
Pathology/Cytology: For the preparation of all tissue specimens and body fluids removed at surgery, by needle biopsy or aspiration for examination by a pathologist, who then makes a diagnosis.
Clinical Chemistry: For the detection of changes in bodily functions through the testing and monitoring of blood chemical constituents, drugs, enzymes, lipids, proteins and hormone analysis.
Advertisement - content continues below
Microbiology: For the detection of disease causing organisms from a variety of body sources and includes the identification and subsequent antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacteria and fungi.
Transfusion Medicine: More commonly known as ‘blood banking”, this area of laboratory medicine deals with compatibility testing and preparation of blood and blood components for transfusion and selective treatment of various conditions.
Serology: For the detection and identification of antibodies that are typically formed in response to an infection (Mononucleosis) and other disease states (Rheumatic illness).
Cardiac Testing: For the detection of changes in the heart’s electrical activity in assessing and monitoring of a new or existing heart condition.
Advertisement - content continues below
CMH provides the only local laboratory service in its broad catchment area.
Out-patient testing is available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
A promotional photo from 4th Line Theatre for "Wild Irish Geese" written by and starring Peterborough's Megan Murphy (middle) and directed by Kim Blackwell. The play, which tells the story of the impoverished Irish settlers who came to Peterborough in 1825 under an emigration plan administered by Upper Canada politician Peter Robinson, makes its world premiere at the Winslow Farm in Millbrook from July 29 to August 30, 2025. Earlier in July, 4th Line will also present the world premiere of "The Housekeeper" by Ian McLachlan and Robert Winslow, which is the fourth in a series of plays by McLachlan and Winslow about the Barnardo children. (Photo: Wayne Eardley / Brookside Studio)
Peterborough’s Megan Murphy will have a leading role in the new historical play she has written about the Irish settlers who came to the Peterborough region 200 years ago, which premieres at 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook this summer.
The outdoor theatre company has announced that Murphy will play the role of the narrator in her debut full-length play Wild Irish Geese, which tells the story of impoverished Catholic Irish settlers who came to the Peterborough region in the 1820s under a emigration plan overseen by Peter Robinson, a politician in Upper Canada who represented the riding of York and Simcoe.
Around 2,500 settlers, mostly from County Cork in Ireland, settled in Lanark County, Carleton County (today Ottawa), and Scott’s Plains (later renamed Peterborough). Today, there are thousands of descendants of these settlers living both locally and around the world.
Advertisement - content continues below
Herself a descendant of the Peter Robinson emigrants, Murphy will be the play’s seanchaí, the Gaelic word for a traditional storyteller or oral historian.
“Storytellers only exist when there are ears to hear their tales,” Murphy says in a media release. “The audience is just as essential as the performers. They are a vital part of the magic. I can’t wait to share this experience with you this summer.”
The play, which has its world premiere at the Winslow Farm in Millbrook from July 29 to August 30, is part of the bicentennial commemoration of the arrival of the first of the Peter Robinson Irish settlers in 1825. Descendants of these settlers are being invited to return to the region this summer to pay homage to their ancestors.
Megan Murphy (with Conor Ling in the background) performing a scene from 4th Line Theatre’s production of “Wishful Seeing” during a media event on July 20, 2022. Murphy will play the role of narrator in her debut play “Wild Irish Geese,” which premieres at 4th Line in summer 2025. The play tells the story of impoverished Catholic Irish settlers who came to the Peterborough region in the early 19th century under a emigration plan overseen by Peter Robinson. (Photo: Heather Doughty / kawarthaNOW)
As a playwright, Murphy has been working on Wild Irish Geese for almost two years. Last January, audiences got a preview of the play when Murphy and several actors including 4th Line Theatre founder Robert Winslow, M. John Kennedy, Jonathan Cullen, Kelsey Powell, Hilary Wear, and more did two free public readings of excerpts from the play.
A seasoned performer, Murphy is no stranger to 4th Line Theatre, having appeared in the summer 2022 production of Maja Ardal’s Wishful Seeing. The prior summer, Murphy and musician Kate Suhr also presented The Verandah Society in Residence at 4th Line Theatre.
Wild Irish Geese will be directed by Kim Blackwell, 4th Line’s managing artistic director.
Advertisement - content continues below
“I am absolutely thrilled to work with Meg as both a playwright and an actor this summer,” Blackwell says. “She is the perfect person to play the keeper and teller of community stories in Wild Irish Geese.”
Wild Irish Geese will run at 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays from July 29 to August 30, with preview nights on July 23 and 30 and opening night on July 31, and an added Monday performance on August 25.
Tickets and gift certificates are available by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 1-800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, and at 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office location at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook (open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays).
Harpist Tanah Haney and fiddler John Hoffman will perform as the Celtic duo Banish Misfortune at a family-friendly St. Patrick's Day Kitchen Party at Camp Kawartha Environment Centre on March 15, 2025. The vocal trio Hardwood Cat and Irish traditional quartet The Skelligs will also perform. (Photo courtesy of John Hoffman)
A group of Peterborough musicians will be presenting a family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day Kitchen Party on Saturday (March 15).
The alcohol-free celebration of authentic Irish music begins at 1:30 p.m. at Camp Kawartha Environment Centre at 2505 Pioneer Road (near Trent University).
The idea for the show originated with harpist Tanah Haney and fiddler John Hoffman, both veterans of the popular annual In From The Cold Christmas benefit concert for YES Shelter for Youth and Families known for its traditional performances of seldom-heard seasonal music.
Advertisement - content continues below
Haney and Hoffman will perform as their Celtic duo called Banish Misfortune. Also performing is the vocal trio Hardwood Cat, featuring members of the medieval ensemble Hurly Burly, as well as The Skelligs, an Irish traditional quartet who perform monthly at Peterborough’s Crook and Coffer pub.
“These performers will offer an enchanting mix of songs, jigs, and reels and lovely airs and waltzes from the Emerald Isle, performed on a range of acoustic instruments including Celtic harp, Irish flute, fiddle, and Irish bouzouki,” Hoffman says in a media release.
Admission for the show is pay what you can at the door.
A 50-year-old Peterborough woman is dead following a snowmobile collision in the City of Kawartha Lakes on Sunday afternoon (March 9).
At around 1 p.m. on Sunday, Kawartha Lakes Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency services responded to a snowmobile collision on private property south of Fowlers Corners just west of Peterborough.
Due to the severity of the snowmobile operator’s injuries, an ORNGE air ambulance was dispatched. Highway 7 near Cottingham Road was closed so the helicopter could land.
Advertisement - content continues below
The snowmobile operator, a 50-year-old Peterborough woman, was later pronounced dead. The OPP has not released the woman’s identity or any details about the nature of the collision.
However, police are reminding the public that snowmobiling incidents can occur in unpredictable and uncontrolled natural settings where riders need to always expect the unexpected.
As snowmobiling can take riders far away from emergency assistance, each rider must be prepared by carrying a tool kit, spare parts, flashlight, first-aid kit, and survival items such as high-energy food, fire-starting equipment, and a compass.
Northumberland Hills Hospital is located at 1000 DePalma Drive in Cobourg. (Photo: Northumberland Hills Hospital / Facebook)
Residents interested in having an impact on the delivery of local health care services are being invited to consider joining Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) in west Northumberland as a community member representative on its board of directors.
The NHH board is inviting expressions of interest from Northumberland residents who have an interest in volunteering. To that end, the board is hosting a virtual board volunteer open house on Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m., which will be accessible through Zoom.
Jennifer Gillard, NHH’s vice-president of patient experience, public affairs and strategic partnerships, said being a board member is an interesting and important role.
“There are many volunteer opportunities in Northumberland, and all bring their own unique rewards,” Gillard told kawarthaNOW. “Hospital board governance is truly unique. It’s an opportunity to be part of shaping the oversight and growth of an institution that, over time, touches the lives of virtually all of us.”
Advertisement - content continues below
The NHH board is made up of a diverse mix of local volunteers who bring their skills and work and life experiences to the governance of the hospital. The board is comprised of volunteers drawn from around west Northumberland County. Volunteers work to enable the board to meet the responsibilities expected of it in the province of Ontario.
These responsibilities include providing strategic direction to the hospital’s management team, selecting the CEO and chief of staff and evaluating performance, providing oversight to the physician credentialing process, and monitoring the operational and financial performance of the hospital.
“The role of the local hospital board is critical, very interesting and, as current directors will speak to at the upcoming open house, very rewarding,” Gillard said.
Advertisement - content continues below
As a key part of its commitment to providing meaningful opportunities for public input into the NHH board’s decision-making processes, and as a method of succession planning for the board, the NHH board of directors regularly recruits community members to serve on the board’s committees for quality and safety, governance, and facilities and campus development.
In addition, community members attend and participate in full board discussions.
Community members serve up to five one-year terms. While the individual time commitment may vary from year to year and committee to committee, as a general practice the expectation for community members is participation in one committee meeting and one full board meeting — about two hours each, or four hours in total — every other month, from September through June.
Advertisement - content continues below
Board business is conducted with a mix of virtual and in-person meetings which generally fall in the early morning and early evening.
Community members may be appointed to the board as a director when a vacancy occurs.
The skills, interests, and lived experience of each member will be matched with the board needs at the time and as documented in board by-laws, with an aim to ensure representation from across the west Northumberland region that NHH serves, the hospital noted in a media release.
Advertisement - content continues below
The NHH board says it is committed to the hospital’s core values of integrity, quality, respect, compassion, and teamwork.
“We are pleased to once again host our annual virtual board volunteer open house and highlight the many rewarding volunteer opportunities available with NHH’s hospital board,” said Cyndi Gilmer, NHH board chair, in extending the 2025 call for interest. “Over the past three years, we have been able to connect with and recruit many talented and dedicated residents through these virtual open house opportunities. Our aim is to raise awareness and interest.”
Those passionate about making a difference in the quality and service of health care in west Northumberland County, are encouraged to review the expression of interest form and related frequently asked questions document, which are available on the hospital’s website at nhh.ca/AboutNHH/BoardofDirectors.
encoreNOW for March 10, 2025 features (from left to right, top and bottom) Glass Tiger at Lindsay's Academy Theatre, Foley's Irish Pub at Peterborough's Showplace, Vivian Chong's "Blind Dates" at Peterborough's Market Hall, "Silent Sky" at the Peterborough Theatre Guild, Carroll Baker at the Academy Theatre, and Peterborough Performs V at Showplace. (kawarthaNOW collage)
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 Glass Tiger in concert at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, Foley’s Irish Pub’s return to Showplace, Public Energy’s presentation of Vivian Chong’s Blind Dates, Silent Sky on the Peterborough Theatre Guild stage, Carroll Baker’s musical goodbye in both Peterborough and Lindsay, and multi-music act Peterborough Performs V supporting local shelters and homelessness initiatives.
Glass Tiger bringing its classic hits to Lindsay’s Academy Theatre
VIDEO: “Someday” – Glass Tiger
There are album debuts, and then there’s the first studio offering from Glass Tiger in 1986.
The Thin Red Line was, and remains, in a league of its own, still gifting the Newmarket-sprung rock band a hectic touring schedule and the adoration of fans across the country.
Featuring the hit singles “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” and “Someday” — both of which cracked the top 10 south of the border — the album attained quadruple platinum sales status and brought the band three 1986 Juno Awards. If lead singer Alan Frew et all stopped there and then, they could still look back on a wildly successful music career.
But Glass Tiger didn’t stop, with 1988’s Diamond Sun and 1991’s Simple Mission producing more hit songs in the form of “I’m Still Searching,” “Animal Heart,” “Rhythm Of Your Love,” and “My Town” — the latter a still striking vocal collaboration with Rod Stewart.
On Friday (March 14) at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, Glass Tiger will no doubt bring the same energy it brought to Del Crary Park in August 2023 when it headlined Peterborough Musicfest before a huge crowd.
While many bands of yesteryear feature a revamped lineup that maybe includes an original member, Glass Tiger remains mostly intact some 40 years on, with Frew getting it done with guitarist Al Connelly, bassist Wayne Parker, and keyboardist Sam Reid still by his side. Therein lies the reason Glass Tiger sounds as fresh as the day they first performed.
For the Lindsay show, billed as a “one-of-a-kind retrospective” of Glass Tiger’s music and part of a new tour extending into mid-April, Glass Tiger will be joined by special guest Erica Ehm. Anyone who watched MuchMusic back in the day will well remember the popular VJ. As the opener, Ehm will be sharing MuchMusic memories, retro video clips, and engaging with the audience.
All things Irish regaled as only the Foley family and friends can
Fiddlin’ Jay Edmunds, Ron Kervin, and 4 Front (Theresa Foley, Sheila Prophet, Norma Curtis, and Terry Finn) performing at Foley’s Irish Pub in 2018. (Photo courtesy of Theresa Foley)
The annual celebration of all things Irish is upon us once again, this year’s proceedings augmented by this being the bicentennial of the Peter Robinson Irish emigration to these parts.
As such, green beer will flow at pubs across the city where Irish songs will fill the air as good cheer abounds. Nowhere will that be more evident than Showplace’s Cogeco Studio where, on Sunday (March 16), Foley’s Irish Pub returns with performances, at 2 and 7 p.m.
Presented annually by the Foley family, this is a party in every sense of the word — a fun time greatly accentuated by the storytelling gifts of Hugh Foley who, as seanchaí (the Irish word for storyteller), regales his audience with tales of Irish heroes, battles, saints and other aspects of Irish life he’s picked up from his treks to the home country.
“I take true facts and then I just embellish them a little bit,” said Foley in a pre-show interview with kawarthaNOW back in 2020. “Everyone going out on or around St. Patrick’s Day expects to hear the Irish songs. What will really surprise them at our show are the stories. People are absolutely amazed.”
That said, those expecting Irish songs won’t be disappointed with the Foley Celtic Band — Fiddling Jay Edmunds, Ron Kervin, Glen Caradus, Andrew Martin, Sheila Prophet, Theresa Foley, Norma Curtis, Bridget Foley, Amelia Foley and others — very much in the mix.
For those of Irish descent, and those wanna-be claimants of Emerald Isle roots, this is the place to be on St Patrick’s Day Eve.
While matinee performance is sold out, tickets are still available for the 7 p.m. show. Tickets cost $30 ($15 for students) at www.showplace.org.
Advertisement - content continues below
Tour de force that is Vivian Chong in the Public Energy spotlight
VIDEO: “Blind Dates” by Vivian Chong (Theatre Passe Muraille promo)
When you have a reputation as one of Canada’s leading presenters of the performing arts, the pressure is on to deliver.
Peterborough’s Public Energy has certainly brought it for its 31st season — a wholly satisfying journey that continues on Thursday, March 20 at Market Hall in the form of Blind Dates.
Emanating from Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille, the show was created by, and features, award-winning playwright, author, comic, artist, singer-songwriter and dancer Vivian Chong who shares stories of her mishaps, crushes, and relationships as she wrestles with how others perceive her blindness, and how she has refused to settle in any aspect of her life.
Chong is truly a tour de force. Her novel Dancing After Ten won the U.S. Library Journal Award and was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award in 2020. Two years later, her performance in Dancing with the Universe saw her nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award as performer of the year. Over the last five years, Chong has toiled as an audio description consultant for theatre, graphic novels, and children’s picture books.
Promising to be both poignant and hilarious, Blind Dates just had its world premiere at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille. Securing a performance in Peterborough is quite a coup for Public Energy but, then again, that’s nothing new for the performing arts presenter that, since it was founded as Peterborough New Dance in 1994, has made the presentation of innovative and thought-provoking performances the norm as opposed to the exception.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. performance cost $5 to $50 on a sliding scale, with a $25 suggested price, and can be ordered online at www.markethall.org. Note that this is a blind-friendly production.
True story of a brilliant female astronomer at the Guild Hall
VIDEO: “Silent Sky” promo
Are the lights ever off at the worn but venerable Guild Hall in Peterborough’s East City?
It would seem not, as its tenant, the Peterborough Theatre Guild, rolls seamlessly from one play into the next, that ongoing creative process continuing Friday, March 21 when Silent Sky opens at the Rogers Street venue.
Directed by Guild veteran Bea Quarrie, Lauren Gunderson’s play relates the true story of American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, whose discovery of how to effectively measure vast distances to remote galaxies led to a shift in our understanding of the scale and nature of the universe.
However, when Leavitt began work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she wasn’t allowed, as a woman, to touch a telescope or even express an original idea. She instead charts the stars with other women “computers” for an astronomer who tracked their work in “girl hours.” As she pursues her research in her free time, Leavitt takes measure of her life, all while trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love.
In Quarrie, the Guild has entrusted one of its most beloved ambassadors to again direct and, in turn, she has entrusted the lead role to Lindsay Unterlander — by far her most challenging role to date. Silent Sky also stars Lyndele Gauci, Kevin O’Neill, Laura Lawson, and Lela Fox-Doran, with Lisa Dixon as assistant director.
As Quarrie recently told kawarthaNOW, Silent Sky is “a life-affirming play. It’s historically based, but it lifts you up at a time when we all need that — something positive, something that makes you feel like you’re part of a bigger plan. It’s about what makes us human.”
That sounds like a pretty good way to spend a few hours.
Performance dates are March 21 and 22, 27 to 29, and April 3 to 5 at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on March 23 and 30. Tickets cost $30 for adults, $27 for seniors, and $20 for students, and can be purchased by calling 705-745-4211 or ordered online at www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com.
Advertisement - content continues below
“Canada’s First Lady of Country Music” Carroll Baker headlines One Final Tour
VIDEO: Carroll Baker in Nashville (1979)
As a youth growing up in Nova Scotia, Carroll Baker’s music interest was anchored in rock ‘n’ roll, her fiddler father’s prediction that one day she’ll love country music falling on deaf ears.
Fortunately for country music fans across North America and beyond, a move to Toronto when she was 16 saw a homesick Baker develop a love for the genre. Now, 55 years on, Baker is widely and rightly hailed as “Canada’s First Lady of Country Music.”
With more than 20 number one hits spawned from 14 albums, Baker has indeed earned that billing. Along the way she took home five Juno Awards as Country Female Vocalist of the Year.
From 1970 to 1982, the kid who would never like country music recorded 31 consecutive charting country music singles. In 1992, her induction to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame was topped 16 years later when she was made a Member of the Order of Canada.
Baker is now on the road for what’s billed as One Final Tour, backed by her band Bakerstreet.
While Baker will be performing in both Peterborough and Lindsay, her 7 p.m. show on Monday, March 24 at Showplace in downtown Peterborough is already sold out. However, a few seats still remain for her 7 p.m. show the following evening (March 25) at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre. Tickets are $71.50 and are available at www.flatoacademytheatre.com.
Multi-act Peterborough Performs back for a fifth time on March 26
VIDEO: “Hot Rod Daddy” – Nicholas Campbell (Peterborough Performs, 2023)
When David Goyette and I sat down over coffee in late 2019 to discuss the possibility of organizing and presenting a live music-based fundraiser for United Way partner agencies working on the front lines of homelessness, we presented Peterborough Performs as a one-off that would benefit the current United Way campaign.
On March 5, 2020 — just before COVID darkened venues around the globe — Peterborough Performs was held at Showplace, featuring 16 local music acts performing simultaneously on the main theatre stage and in the lower-level lounge. The end result saw about $25,000 raised and music lovers go home well satisfied.
It’s with no shortage of humility that I’m grateful the United Way has seen fit to make what was a one-off a regular event on its busy campaign schedule, with the fifth Peterborough Performs set for Wednesday, March 26 from 7 to 11 p.m., again at Showplace. Better still, my friend David is still heavily involved as a founding patron and sponsor.
This time around, 14 acts will take to both stages — the full lineup can be viewed at www.uwpeterborough.ca/peterborough-performs — with a related silent virtual auction set to go live on March 12. When the last note is played, thousands of dollars will be added to the $110,000 that Peterborough Performs has raised for local shelters and emergency housing initiatives.
David and I started something special, and for that we feel pretty good, but it’s not lost on either of us that the remarkable generosity of local musicians, financial and in-kind sponsors, and supporters of live music, and the support of United Way staff and volunteers, has kept the momentum going since in a very big way.
Tickets for Peterborough Performs V: Musicians United To End Homelessness cost $50, but buy two and the cost drops to $40 per ticket. Visit the Showplace box office or order online at www.showplace.org.
Advertisement - content continues below
Encore
From the It’s About Time We Started Feeling Warmer File, Peterborough Musicfest has made its first concert announcement of 2025, confirming Millbrook’s Serena Ryder will open the 38th Del Crary Park summer concert series June 28. Better still, Musicfest executive director Tracey Randall says half of the 16 series dates have been filled, with more concert announcements coming soon, including what she terms “a doozy” for closing night on August 16. In the meantime, the search for volunteers to help on concert nights will begin soon. Visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca for updates. If you like music and enjoy helping people have a great time, there really isn’t a better way to enjoy a summer evening on the shores of Little Lake.
If you’re a fan of local music, or are just curious about what’s going on musically in the city and region, be sure to follow the Facebook groups Peterborough’s Music Scene and Kawartha Musician. The administrators do a great job posting videos, both current and from yesteryear. I mention these sources as a complement to kawarthaNOW’s nightlifeNOW, which weekly publishes the most comprehensive listing of local and regional music, theatre and arts events to be found anywhere on the social media landscape. Bottom line? We’re exceptionally well-served in terms of knowing who’s playing when and where.
Mark Carney was elected the leader of the federal Liberal Party and Canada's next Prime Minister on March 9, 2025. A federal election may be called in the next few weeks. (Photo: Liberal Party of Canada)
With Mark Carney now the leader of the federal Liberal Party and Canada’s next Prime Minister and with a national election looming, local eyes have turned towards the status of a Liberal candidate for Peterborough.
Carney won the first ballot for the leadership on Sunday (March 9) in a landslide, receiving almost 86 per cent of the vote, compared to eight per cent for former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, 3.2 per cent for former house leader Karina Gould, and three percent for Frank Baylis.
An economist and former governor of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, the 59-year-old Carney has never been elected to political office and does not hold a seat in the House of Commons.
Advertisement - content continues below
This has raised speculation that a federal election will be called sooner than later — possibly even before Parliament is scheduled to return on March 25.
First, however, Carney needs to be sworn in as prime minister by Governor General Mary Simon, and then he needs to appoint a cabinet.
With a federal election likely imminent, people are asking who the federal Liberals will run in the new Peterborough riding (formerly Peterborough-Kawartha) to take on Conservative incumbent Michelle Ferreri.
Advertisement - content continues below
kawarthaNOW reached out to the Peterborough Federal Liberal Association, which provided the following statement:
“Our Peterborough Federal Liberal Association has seen a significant surge of interest in supporting a local Liberal candidate and volunteering for the next election campaign since the leadership process began. Now with the proven and steady leadership of Mark Carney, we are excited to help deliver change for our community and our country.”
“The Liberal Party of Canada is still in the process of reviewing and approving a local Liberal candidate, and they are the ones who determine the call of a nomination meeting. The local association looks forward to a nomination meeting being called shortly.”
As for the other two major parties, Heather Ray was chosen as the federal NDP candidate for Peterborough in January. The federal Green Party has also not yet selected a nominee for Peterborough.
Canadian violinist Erika Raum will join the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra as a guest artist for the second time to perform Sergei Prokofiev's "Violin Concert, No. 1" during the orchestra's "Spring Sunrise" concert at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough on March 29, 2025. (Photo: Margaret Malandruccolo)
The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is welcoming the arrival of spring with a nature-inspired concert on Saturday, March 29.
Update March 28, 2025 – Due to an expected ice storm that could result in dangerous driving conditions and power outages, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra has cancelled the March 29th concert. The concert will be rescheduled at a later date.
With Canadian violinist Erika Raum as a special guest for the evening, “Spring Sunrise” will bring an evening of rejuvenating, iconic compositions to Showplace Performance Centre.
“This time of year, sometimes spring is here and sometimes it really isn’t, but either way we can try to put ourselves mentally there,” says PSO music director and conductor Michael Newnham.
Advertisement - content continues below
Share on Bluesky
The main work of the evening is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, which is called his “Pastorale Symphony.” Completed in 1808, the music is known as program music, meaning it renders a narrative for the listener. In this piece, it depicts a character’s longing for the countryside.
The music begins by embodying the excitement of going to the countryside — which Newnham compares to the happiness experienced when heading to the cottage — while the longer second movement depicts the scene of walking alongside a brook.
“The music is echoing all the things you might hear, see, or feel, including this feeling of water flowing in the brook, and then there’s a beautiful imitation towards the end using woodwind instruments of different birds,” describes Newnham, referring to the birds Beethoven himself labelled as a nightingale, a cuckoo, and a quail.
VIDEO: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 – Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
The music continues as the character comes up to a village celebration, though it gets interrupted as a large storm bursts through.
“You can hear the thunder and this power of nature in Beethoven’s orchestra and then, almost as quickly as it came, it dissipates, and then you hear this beautiful melody of a bird singing,” Newnham explains. “It then becomes a general feeling of rejoicing that everything is back to where it should be.”
“This symphony is an absolutely great description of how we are tied to the world, to nature, and to our planet, but also how storms come and go — and maybe that’s important to us now politically.”
Newnham describes the work as “liberating,” noting Beethoven’s ever-present appreciation for the natural world.
“Beethoven was a great lover of nature,” he says. “He loved nothing more than go out for a long walks in the countryside around Vienna, and you can really feel that in this music.”
Advertisement - content continues below
Share on Bluesky
During “Spring Sunrise,” Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony will be paired with Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Another piece that tells a story, the concerto’s opening was composed in 1915 and inspired by Prokofiev’s love affair with writer and poet Nina Meshchersky.
Though he temporarily shelved it to compose his opera The Gambler, Prokofiev completed the concerto in 1917 during the country’s revolutions. Despite the turmoil, the year was thought to be the composer’s most accomplished.
Given the state of affairs, however, his First Violin Concerto did not premiere until 1923 at the Paris Opera, and when it did, it was not met with rave reviews. In fact, Prokofiev was already considered to be the “enfant terrible” of Russian music at the beginning of the 20th century.
VIDEO: Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 – Lisa Batiashvili with Berliner Philharmoniker
“He was there trying to upset all the old rules, and he had a very spiky way of writing music,” Newnham says. “He was new and, at the same time, he had this great lyrical talent for beautiful melodies. His music sometimes has this feeling of nostalgia, longing, and an incredible beauty.”
Despite the initial less-than-ideal reviews, it didn’t take long for opinions on the concerto to change and for it to ultimately become a hit.
“It’s just magical, and it feels like it is about this magical world with a fairy tale type of feeling,” Newnham says. “He uses the orchestra in a different way than composers did before. He gets different sounds that seem strange and uses the violin doing fiendishly difficult things.”
Advertisement - content continues below
Share on Bluesky
To take on the challenge, Erika Raum is joining the PSO as guest violinist. With a distinct musicality and tone, Raum has been playing professionally since the age of 12 and got her rise through the ranks after taking first place at the 1992 Joseph Szigeti International Violin Competition in Budapest. Since then, she has been a guest artist for orchestras across Europe and Canada.
The concert will mark the second time the Canadian violinist is joining the PSO, following a 2016 performance of a violin concerto written by her mother, oboist and composer Elizabeth Raum.
“She’s an amazing violinist and I’ve done other work with her since then, so she’s one the soloists I really love working with,” says Newnham. “I asked her to join us for the Prokofiev concerto because it’s very spring-like to me, and she was really enthusiastic about getting involved.”
VIDEO: Carrabré’s “Chase the Sun” conducted by Michael Newnham
“Spring Sunrise” will open with a musical composition originating closer to home and modern times with a piece by Juno Award-nominated T. Patrick Carrabré, a Métis composer originally from Winnipeg.
A survivor of the Sixties Scoop (the forced mass removal in Canada of Indigenous children from their families into the child welfare system), Carrabré has since reclaimed his identity and now uses his music to reflect his complex identity. In 2021, he was recognized as the Classic Composer of the Year by the Western Canadian Music Awards.
Carrabré was inspired to compose Chase the Sun by commuting both ways between Brandon and Winnipeg in Manitoba, which Newnham likens to the experience of driving down Highway 401 as the sun is setting.
Advertisement - content continues below
Share on Bluesky
“It’s one of those days you can imagine the sun is shining straight in your eyes as you’re driving. You can’t really see anything and anybody and it’s during rush hour so everyone’s going 120 kilometres,” Newnham says. “This short piece instills this frantic energy.”
Choosing to pair the piece, which Carrabré composed in 1996, with Beethoven and Prokofiev — each separated by nearly a century — was a deliberate choice on Newnham’s part.
“When we do pieces that belong to the repertoire or were written 200 years ago or 100 years ago, we try to also find ways of showcasing other music that’s from our own time and our own country just to show how there’s some connection,” he says.
Juno-nominated Métis composer T. Patrick Carrabré’s piece “Chase the Sun” will be the opening composition for the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s “Spring Sunrise” concert at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough on March 29, 2025. (Photo via T. Patrick Carrabré website)
“Spring Sunrise” begins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at Showplace Performance Centre at 290 George Street North in downtown Peterborough. A pre-concert “Meet the Maestro” talk takes place at 6:45 p.m., where Newnham will introduce audiences to the music they will experience during the concert.
Single tickets are $33, $48, or $55, depending on the seat you choose, with student tickets costing $12 for all seats. Tickets are available in person at the Showplace Box Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, and one hour before the concert, or online anytime at showplace.org.
For more information about the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s 2024-25 season, visit thepso.org.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s 2024-25 season.
Isabelle Summers, a geographic information systems technician with Kawartha Land Trust (KLT) for the 2024 field season, looks up at a sugar maple that's estimated to be between 180 and 200 years old in KLT's newly protected MapleCross John Wolfe Forest Preserve. (Photo: Sam Clapperton / Kawartha Land Trust)
Kawartha Land Trust (KLT) has announced it has created a new private nature reserve by protecting 751 acres of forested property in Peterborough County.
The MapleCross John Wolfe Forest Preserve is located around 10 kilometres north of Norwood, adjacent to a 4,800-acre block of the Peterborough County Forest and within the Crowe River subwatershed.
This reserve is KLT’s third-largest property, after its Hammer Family Nature Preserve (established in 2023) and Big (Boyd/Chiminis) Island (established in 2015).
Advertisement - content continues below
KLT executive director John Kintare shared his hope for the newly protected property with kawarthaNOW.
“My hope for this incredible property is that it remains as a place where a wide variety of plant and animals thrive in diverse habitats, that it continues to serve as essential carbon sink on our landscape, that it keeps providing clean air, soil and water to our region, and that it serves as an inspiration to our community of what they can achieve for nature in the Kawarthas,” he said.
According to a media release from KLT, the property was owned by the Wolfe family who “dutifully cared for their land for decades.”
Along with a 280-acre mixed hardwood forest that consists primarily of sugar maple, red oak, and ironwood, Kawartha Land Trust’s newly protected MapleCross John Wolfe Forest Preserve is home to a significant creek that flows into a wetland before continuing south to Beloporine Creek in Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township. (Photo: Kawartha Land Trust)
When John Wolfe passed away, the executors of his estate listed the property for sale. After receiving and turning down offers from industrial developers who intended to clear the forested land, they reached out to Kintare a year ago.
“They realized that they would prefer to see the property remain in its natural state, but they needed a commitment from KLT quickly,” said Kintare, noting the Wolfe family lowered the asking price by $300,000.
KLT’s purchase of the property was funded by partial donation and by support from donors and funders, including the MapleCross Fund (established in 2017 by Dr. Jan Oudenes and Dr. Isobel Ralston to protect and restore Canada’s natural environment by supporting organizations engaged in land conservation), the Echo Foundation, and the Natural Heritage Conservation Program — Land Trusts Conservation Fund Grant Programs.
Advertisement - content continues below
“Through collaboration and the collective effort of the Wolfe Family, amazing donors, funders, and volunteers, we were able to protect nature in Peterborough County,” said Kintare.
All of the property within the MapleCross John Wolfe Forest Preserve is considered deep habitat or interior forest.
According to KLT, in a time of increased fragmentation of forest ecosystems in southern Ontario, the protection of interior forest habitat is essential for species that require large and unbroken tracts of natural land to survive and thrive, including black bears, moose, white-tailed deer, and fishers, among many others.
Sam Clapperton, Kawartha Land Trust’s land research coordinator, at MapleCross John Wolfe Forest Preserve. (Photo: Kawartha Land Trust)
“Walking beneath the vast canopy of trees, I couldn’t help but feel the immensity and richness of this land,” shared Sam Clapperton, KLT’s land research coordinator, in a statement.
“Quiet moments in the early dawn revealed shy forest birds, while the sound of the creek made me pause to listen. The air feels full of life, and the preserve is just that — alive with flourishing wetlands that are home to beavers and waterfowl, forests of oaks and maple, and small clearings where pollinators hover above native wildflowers. Every step further into this sprawling forest reminds me that this place is more than just land — it’s a sanctuary and a piece in the larger puzzle of natural habitat on the landscape where nature can thrive.”
The reserve is comprised of several forest types, the largest being a 280-acre mixed hardwood forest that consists primarily of sugar maple, red oak, and ironwood. The nature preserve also features a red oak forest, cedar forest, and a stand of planted red pines. It is also home to a significant creek that flows into a wetland before continuing south to Beloporine Creek in Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township.
Advertisement - content continues below
The property is surrounded on three sides by a block of the Peterborough County Forest. By protecting the property, KLT is ensuring this contiguous forested land is not fragmented.
“As we approach KLT’s 25th anniversary, I’m continually reminded that this organization began when several people came together with an idea and a goal to protect and care for nature in the Kawarthas,” Kintare said. “Over two decades later, the original spirit and intent carries on.”
Founded in 2001, KLT is a charitable land conservation organization that now protects 44 properties that include 8,100 acres of ecologically diverse lands, some of which are open to the public to hike or enjoy nature. As a private nature reserve, the MapleCross John Wolfe Forest Preserve is not open to the public.
kawarthaNOW.com offers two enews options to help readers stay in the know. Our VIP enews is delivered weekly every Wednesday morning and includes exclusive giveaways, and our news digest is delivered daily every morning. You can subscribe to one or both.
Submit your event for FREE!
Use our event submission form to post your event on our website — for free.
To submit editorial content or ideas, please contact us.
