Whether you have the voice of Aretha Franklin or only sing to yourself in the shower, Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough wants you to belt it out alongside the rest of the community.

“The beautiful part about group singing, especially with all these different ages, different levels of ability, and different approaches to music, is that we can always make it work,” says organizer Anna Eidt. “We can all come together and carry each other.”

Described by Eidt as “a space for everyone intentionally infused with a high dose of queer, sparkly joy,” Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough is a volunteer-run initiative that invites community members to gather for one-off group choir events to sing favourite pop and musical theatre songs.

“I was raised in a very traditional Western choral scene, and I was feeling like that wasn’t quite the thing that I needed right now,” said Eidt, who put the first call-out to find interested volunteers to launch the initiative.

“I was hearing from other people as well that they really wanted to sing, but that they didn’t necessarily have the time or the energy or the desire to do a weekly rehearsal. They wanted to do things that were fun, relieving stress, and helping them have a sense of community.”

Eidt notes that Big Sing has not reinvented the wheel, but rather takes inspiration from other group choirs.

“Choir! Choir! Choir! for instance was a major inspiration because they get together and learn one song and have fun and belt it out,” says Eidt. “There are groups doing this all over the world now. This more informal choral or focus on pop music and musical theatre is a thing that is happening. I thought that would work for me and a lot of people around here who are feeling like they need that opportunity to sing, but that the traditional format is not quite right at this time.”

When Anishnaabe Kwe musician and educator Mshkiki Gitigaan received Eidt’s call out, she was excited for the opportunity to meet new people and come together in song in a “low-pressure environment.”

“There’s some power in our voices coming together,” Gitigaan says. “There’s a part of us that we don’t really touch very often. Having our voices come together really touches that biofield and triggers some healing in our bodies. It manifests physically to relieve that weight we’ve been carrying on our shoulders — spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.”

Eidt agrees, explaining some of the benefits of collective singing.

“Studies have shown that when people sing together regularly, their immunity improves, their sense of identity is stronger, their sense of belonging is stronger, their heart health improves. There’s a reason that every culture in human history has had these opportunities to come together and sing and include everyone in the community: because it’s absolutely essential to our wellbeing.”

According to Eidt, Big Sing will “bridge the gap” between people who read music and those who learn best by listening. Community members who show up at an event will be given a lyric sheet that is colour-coded to divide singing parts. There is a lot of repetition involved so participants can become familiar with the music.

“If you show up and you don’t know the song or you don’t know how to read music, you’ve got the lyrics in front of you, you’re probably surrounded by a couple of powerhouses, and so you can really just go with the flow and jump in as you feel able,” says Eidt.

Last summer, Big Sing hosted two events at the Jalynn Bennett Amphitheatre at Trent University’s Traill College. Upwards of 60 people, inclusive of kids, teenagers, and adults, showed up to sing Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” at the first event and Queen’s “Under Pressure” at the second.

AUDIO: “Defying Gravity” (from original “Wicked” 2003 Broadway production)

Gitigaan has also brought her drum out to lead the singers in a traditional water song, which a lot of participants had already been familiar with.

“That’s a lot more of just listening by ear and following along until you get it and then belting it out,” says Gitigaan of the water song and drum. “Including that heartbeat of Mother Earth is really important to me. I make sure that there’s some shakers available so folks can also join in on that sound. It’s really easy going and folks can take away some of that medicine with them and just incorporate other ways of seeing the world and other ways of singing together.”

Big Sing is hosting its next event on Friday, March 6 during Peterborough’s First Friday Art Crawl to sing “Defying Gravity” from the 2003 stage musical Wicked, made famous by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Grammy award-winning performance of the song in the 2024 film version.

Though it might seem a challenging song, the youth choir from the Peterborough Children’s Chorus will also be there to offer support.

“There’s some pretty fantastic and relevant message in that song and in that musical that I think are relevant to our core values, and it has stood the test of time,” says Eidt. “It’s having a moment right now, which helps our cause, but some of us have been singing this song since we were kids.”

Whether you’ve been singing “Defying Gravity” all your life or have never heard the song before, there’s a place for you at Big Sing.

“Just show up as best as you can be and fake it ’til you make it,” encourages Gitigaan. “Even if you’ve never even heard the song, just pretend like you do because we repeat and repeat. We’re not together for a very long time, but by the end of it, we all sound amazing — even folks who’ve never done this type of thing before. It’s a really magical experience.”

To make a donation to Big Sing or to ask questions about accessibility, email Eidt at annaeidt@gmail.com. You can also keep up to date with Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough @bigsingnogojiwanong on Instagram.

Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough received a grant from the United Way Peterborough & District’s 2025 Neighbourhood Fund, which supports grassroots community-led initiatives that foster connection, inclusion, and belonging.

At its next meeting, Peterborough city council will be considering two items related to the historic General Electric (GE) factory complex at 107 Park Street North in downtown Peterborough, including a staff recommendation to exclude two buildings from heritage designation and the outline of a health and safety plan for the proposed demolition of most of the buildings.

Meeting as general committee on Tuesday night (February 17), council will review a report from Blair Nelson, the city’s commissioner of infrastructure, planning and growth management, about two objections to the city’s notice of intention to designate eight of the complex’s buildings under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The report also includes a draft heritage designation by-law that would exclude two of the buildings originally considered for designation.

Objections filed to proposed heritage designation

On November 25, GEPR Energy Canada Inc., a subsidiary of GE Vernova that owns the factory complex, filed a notice of objection to the city’s proposed heritage designation. The objection followed city council’s November 4 decision to allow GE Vernova to demolish a large number of vacant buildings at the factory complex with the exception of eight buildings that would receive heritage designation.

Council’s decision to designate buildings 2, 2A, 8A, 21, 24A, 26, 28, and 30 was based on a 154-page heritage impact assessment report prepared by ERA Architects Inc. for GE Vernova. On November 6, the city’s notice of intention to designate the buildings was served to GE Vernova as the property owner and also published as a public notice.

In addition to GE Vernova’s objection, BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. — a tenant that leases buildings in the complex from GE Vernova — filed its own notice of objection on December 3, citing the hindrance the heritage permit process could place on future development and alteration on the site. All four buildings leased by BWXT — 21, 24A, 26, and 28 — were included in the city’s notice of intention to designate.

Under the Ontario Heritage Act, the City of Peterborough has 90 days after receiving a notice of objection to decide whether to uphold the notice of intention to designate by passing a by-law or to withdraw the notice. That means the city would need to make a decision on heritage designation by February 23.

Staff recommend excluding two buildings from heritage designation

According to Nelson’s report, city staff consulted with legal counsel for GE Vernova and BWXT after receiving the two notices of objection and decided to exclude two of the buildings leased by BWXT from heritage designation.

“Through this consultation, staff has determined that it is appropriate to exclude buildings 24A and 28 from the list of heritage attributes detailed in the draft heritage designation by-law despite being included in the city’s notice of intention to designate dated November 6, 2025,” reads the report, noting the neither building is “ascribed any specific heritage value.”

While legal counsel for GE Vernova and BWXT agreed to this approach, BWXT vice president of fuel and fuel handling Andy Collyer subsequently wrote a letter to city council on January 26 expressing concern with the proposed heritage designation of any BWXT building, stating that doing so “carries significant risk to our business and future in the community.”

BWXT currently employs over 400 workers in high-paying skilled manufacturing and engineering positions at its Peterborough facility.

“We want to continue to grow our operations in this community as we have done so for many years,” Collyer writes. “However, with a looming heritage designation, we do not feel that this allows us to have flexibility to modify our buildings to meet our growing business needs.”

In Nelson’s report, city staff “acknowledge that council must balance the city’s interest in heritage preservation with other interests including the community’s long-term economic sustainability” and suggest that council could recommend that buildings 21 and 26 also be removed from the proposed heritage designation “should council wish to directly address the concerns raised by BWXT” in the January 26 letter.

City staff are recommending that council proceed with the heritage designation of buildings 2, 2A, 8A, 21, 26, and 30 by passing the designating by-law (with buildings 21 and 26 excluded if council decides to do so).

If the city passes the by-law, a second 30-day objection period will begin where the by-law’s passage can be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, which will issue a binding decision to either dismiss the appeal or allow it by repealing or amending the by-law.

Report outlines proposed demolition health and safety framework

Council will also consider a report from municipal operations commissioner Ilmar Simanovskis that provides a high-level outline of a health and safety approach for the demolition of buildings at the GE Vernova site.

In October, council had directed city staff to develop the report in response to community concerns about the demolition given the long history of toxic substances used at the factory complex. City staff subsequently consulted with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), Lakeland Public Health, and GE Vernova.

“Staff understands that council’s motivation to request for additional information from GE concerning its proposed building demolitions is a desire to limit the potential risk of environmental and adverse impacts related to the fears about historic contamination and contaminants being on the site,” the report states, before providing information about which agencies could be involved in the demolition and what their regulatory authority is.

That includes the City of Peterborough’s chief building official (who will issue a demolition permit according to the Ontario Building Code Act and without the involvement of city council), MECP (which is the lead agency in ensuring GE Vernova complies with provincial environmental legislation), and Lakelands Public Health (which is the lead agency for protecting public health and, as such, would notify MECP of a health hazard complaint relating to environmental health).

In December 2025, the city, MECP, and Lakelands Public Health began meeting bi-weekly to ensure that each agency understands its roles and responsibilities, and to provide a forum to share information regarding GE Vernova’s actions.

“Although the city has no legislated authority to require the completion of a HASP (health and safety plan) before demolition is started, GE is aware of the city’s request to provide a HASP,” the report states.

“Should GE adopt a HASP approach, it is expected that it will pay all costs for the HASP in addition to any costs that may be required to retain independent third-party oversight of the process and related community consultation and engagement, if required.”

Guideline document proposed joint oversight table, including an independent environment monitor

The city staff report also includes a guideline document for a community health and safety approach, which proposes a “joint oversight table” that would include the city, MECP, Lakelands Public Health, GE Vernova, the demolition contractor, and an independent environment monitor hired by the city and funded by GE Vernova.

There could also be sub-groups established “depending on the stage and complexity of the project,” including a technical review team, as well as a “community engagement group” that addresses specific concerns of the residents, businesses, and broader community.

The guideline also describes a number of technical documents that may be required and technical controls during demolition, as well as ongoing public communication including plain-language summaries of technical documents, live data dashboards, public meetings, and a 24/7 hotline and email address.

According to the guideline documents, the proposed demolition would be conducted in four phases: pre-mobilization (when the joint oversight table would be formed and the independent environment monitor hired), early works and abatement (when hazard removals would be verified, including asbestos and PCBs), structural demolition (on a per building basis, including three-day notifications of adjacent residents), and post-demolition (where the site is stabilized).

Items endorsed by general committee on February 17 will be considered by council for final approval the following Monday, when registered delegations will be allowed to speak.

The concert by California punk rock bands The Offspring and Bad Religion scheduled at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Tuesday (February 17) has been cancelled after a structural assessment determined the facility’s roof could not safely support the added weight of major concert production equipment alongside the current snow load.

According to the City of Peterborough, an engineering review examined both the accumulated snow on the arena roof and the estimated weight of video, lighting, and sound equipment that would have been rigged from the building’s trusses for the large-scale production.

While the roof remains safe and within its load-bearing capacity under current snow conditions, officials said the additional weight associated with a major touring production of this scale — described as “beyond the normal expectations for a concert production” — would have pushed the structure beyond allowable limits when combined with the weight of the snow on the roof.

“While the City of Peterborough appreciates the disappointment and inconvenience this situation causes for people who purchased tickets to the concert, safety must be the first consideration,” the city said in a statement, noting that other scheduled activities and regular operations at the arena are not affected and will proceed as planned.

As of late January, nearly 4,000 tickets had been sold for the concert with headliners The Offspring, who last performed at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on November 9, 2022.

Ticket holders will receive full refunds, along with exclusive early access to pre-sale tickets for a special performance on February 18 at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa before tickets for the show go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday (February 13).