Desmond Vandenberg, who bought The Black Horse Pub at 450 George Street North in downtown Peterborough in 2018, put the property up for sale in August 2023. (Photo: REALTOR.ca)
The Black Horse Pub in downtown Peterborough is under new ownership.
After almost six years at the helm, current owner Desmond Vandenberg and his wife Maria have sold the popular eatery and live music venue at 450 George Street North — but he assures patrons that the new owners will continue the pub’s legacy including live music.
“Maria and I are pleased to announce it will be business as usual at the Black Horse as the business transitions to the new owners,” Vandenberg says in a media release. “We look forward to introducing Sajen (Ganeshalingam) and his family to the Peterborough community.”
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“The new owners are young energetic entrepreneurs who plan to continue The Black Horse’s long-standing legacy of supporting the Peterborough arts scene,” Vandenberg adds. “Sajen has expressed his intention to have music remain a key part of the restaurant.”
Vandenberg and his wife purchased the Black Horse in May 2018 for close to the $850,000 asking price from then-owner Ray Kapoor, who was retiring with his wife Nancy Kerr. A graduate of Trent University, Vandenberg bought pub after Parkview Home’s bid to purchase the property for redevelopment fell through.
Last July, Vandenberg put the property on the market with an asking price of $1.2 million.
Since purchasing the Black Horse Pub in 2018, owner Desmond Vandenberg has continued the pub’s tradition of hosting live music every night of the week. (Photo: REALTOR.ca)
“It has been five years,” Vandenberg told kawarthaNOW at the time. “A couple of those years were COVID, which was a real challenge, but we have done some things. The way the music gets played, how people can hear it and enjoy it.”
“So five years later, we’re thinking ‘Yup, we’ve done a lot.’ Now it feels like the right time for somebody else to come in and bring some fresh ideas to another level.”
The final selling price of the property is unknown.
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“Peterborough is an amazing community and we want to thank all of those who have supported us during this adventure,” Vandenberg says. “Our customers, staff, and performers have all contributed to making the last six years more rewarding than we possibly could have imagined. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time at The Black Horse, despite the challenges that COVID presented.”
“The Black Horse has been and will continue to be a friendly, charming place to enjoy a meal, drinks and live entertainment. Maria and I intend to continue our appreciation of the atmosphere and camaraderie of The Black Horse, albeit from more relaxed seats.”
The Black Horse Pub is located in the historic Morrow Building at George and Brock streets, which was built by local architect John Belcher in 1875 and designed in the French Second Empire style. While the post office was an early tenant, subsequent tenants included the Peterborough Club, the YMCA, the Inland Revenue Service, George Mathews Meat Packers, and the Peterborough Light and Power Company. In 1995, the building was restored by Mark Porter.
One summer when the Warming Room in Peterborough shuttered the windows and locked the doors for the season, Christian Harvey learned some people who dropped in had nowhere to go until winter came again.
While they had a place to rest and find respite from the cold when temperatures dropped, they would be on the streets for the remaining months when the centre was closed. It was about seven years ago when One City Peterborough realized it needed to expand its scope beyond providing the Warming Room and outreach services.
“We needed to start to get into housing,” said Harvey, executive director of One City Peterborough, in a recent interview with kawarthaNOW.
“We had, at that time, a generous landlord who was wanting to work with us to make this happen. So (the landlord) basically bought a house and allowed us to use it to house people and that was sort of our beginning,” he said. “Since that time, we’ve grown quite a bit.”
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One City Peterborough is non-profit charitable organization supporting people who have experienced homelessness and/or criminalization towards their full inclusion into the community. The organization now owns seven houses, five of which are designated for people transitioning from homelessness, and two that serve people upon their release from prison.
One City’s supportive housing program is designed to provide housing and community for people struggling with chronic homelessness and disengagement.
“We also started basically a non-profit property management business (which is) part of who we are,” Harvey explained. “There were landlords who wanted to be involved in the quest of ending homelessness but didn’t have the resources and/or skillsets to provide housing supports for tenants.”
“We partner with those landlords, and they hire us to property manage their homes. When we take those over, we focus those on individuals coming out of homelessness.”
One City Peterborough now manages six houses through arrangements with landlords.
One City Peterborough executive director Christian Harvey is a long-time social advocate. As a deacon at St. John the Evangelist in Peterborough, he was previously a youth worker and was instrumental in the establishment of the Warming Room as well the original One City Peterborough employment pilot. (Photo: Christian Harvey)
In total, at the time of the interview, One City provided housing for 49 people. In addition to providing its tenants with a range of supports, One City also works with external organizations, including Fourcast Addiction Services, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre, as well as volunteers.
They collectively provide residents with help maintaining housing, connecting with the community, accessing health services, furthering their education, increasing their well-being, and supporting their individual goals.
“Everyone who is in our house is supported by someone,” Harvey said. “Some of them are supported by our staff, and (for) some of them we manage the properties but we partner with other agencies to offer the supports.”
The houses are somewhat like a rooming house but they’re more intimate — most of them are four-bedroom homes or smaller. Harvey said they began with larger properties but quickly realized those weren’t as ideal. Since the organization strives to provide a sense of belonging and a community for its residents, this worked better in smaller houses.
“We don’t want people to feel warehoused in their house,” he noted.
Residents have their own bedroom and share the amenities such as the kitchen and washrooms.
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“Each home is a little bit different,” Harvey said. “We really try to have the homes …. self-determinant in a lot of ways. We may start with an individual and then build that home around the individual. That will set the tone.”
The “rules” vary from home to home, as tenants set their own boundaries that work for their particular homes.
“We focus on individuals who are coming out of homelessness, many of whom are coming from outdoors, who are living outdoors …. and allow them to have a say about who’s living in those homes.”
There’s no set time limit for how long residents can stay in the homes. While One City used to consider the program as transitional housing, the organization realized there weren’t places people could transition into in the current rental and housing market.
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One City Peterborough’s supportive housing program works for a few reasons, Harvey said. The fact that One City owns the properties and provides the supports avoids some of the issues that can arise between service providers and landlords.
Secondly, since One City owns homes, “it takes houses off the market” and makes them available for those needing housing, said Harvey about the benefit of the model.
“So many of those who we support are left out of the market entirely. They will never be competitive in a rental market that has such low vacancy rates.”
“By removing these houses from the market, we are focusing them on individuals, and it becomes less about making a profit and more about making sure people are housed,” Harvey explained.
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“We believe housing is a right,” One City states on its website.
One City’s supportive housing program is currently at capacity. When vacancies arise, the organization looks to existing tenants who may want to move to another house, and/or to other people who need somewhere to live and are accessing other One City supports, such as the winter overnight program and daytime drop-in program at Trinity Community Centre or outreach services.
Harvey said One City would love to be in a position to buy a house a year, but it doesn’t receive government funding to pay the wages of the people who provide supports to the homes’ residents.
“We do it all through our own fundraising,” he pointed out.
The average cost of supporting an individual in the supportive housing program is approximately $250 per month.
To learn more about One City’s supportive housing program or to make a donation towards the costs of running the program, visit www.onecityptbo.ca/housing.
Landlords interested in leasing a property to One City for the supportive housing program can contact One City’s housing director Michael Vanderherberg at mvanderherberg@onecityptbo.ca to learn more about how the program works.
Monique Mojica and Barry Bilinsky perform in "Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment", presented by Nozhem First Peoples Performance Place and Public Energy Performing Arts at Trent University on March 8 and 9, 2024. (Photo: Jillian Sutherland)
In March, Nozhem First Peoples Performance Place and Public Energy Performing Arts are presenting a limited-run performance by Toronto’s Chocolate Woman Collective that explores a dark time in the not-too-distant past when “Indians” were considered freaks and exotics.
Written and performed by Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock) along with Barry Bilinsky (Metis/Cree), Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment reveals the ways in which things that are sacred in Indigenous societies became profaned for entertainment and profit.
For around 100 years beginning in the mid 19th-century, “freak shows” not only exploited people who had physical disabilities or unusual conditions or talents, but displayed people who were non-white as “undiscovered” humans. While the freak shows began as far back as the 16th century, they became extremely popular in the Victorian era both in the U.K. and the U.S., where they were presented as sideshows at travelling circuses, amusement parks, and more and continued into the 1940s.
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In Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment, Mojica draws upon her own family’s experiences with the freak show. During the 1930s, Mojica’s mother and aunt — who would later become the founders of New York’s Spiderwoman Theater — worked the sideshow at the Golden City Amusement Park in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, New York.
Their tipi was next to the sword swallower, the bearded lady, and those with physical anomalies who performed as “freaks”. The two women posed in buckskins and feathers for the tourists and danced for the Boy Scouts.
“I started to look at sideshow and freakshow because I knew that my mother had been in a sideshow as a child, and my family had performed in the sideshow,” Mojica recalls. “So I started to look at some of the rage, resistance, shame, that my mother carried, and that she had passed on. And where I carry my mother’s shame, where I carry my mother’s rage. My mother uses that word, ‘freak’. She still says, ‘They’re lookin’ at me. They’re lookin’ at me like I’m a freak’.”
VIDEO: “Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment” trailer
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Set during the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment highlights the juxtaposition between Indigenous people being very visibly displayed to settlers as freaks and exotics while that same settler society was trying to make Indigenous culture and heritage invisible, including through the deliberate concealment and erasure of the evidence marking their presence on the landscape — effigy mounds and earthworks that were not only brutally excavated and looted but also used as race tracks and amusement parks.
“Mojica mocks and topples colonial ways of knowing, historically so entwined with ethnographic harm and spectacle, while she plays with the stability of the colonial gaze in a staggeringly savvy way,” observes Jenn Cole, artistic director of Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space. “She also presences Indigenous (specifically Guna/Rappahannock) ways of knowing, ancestors, and earth mounds, and she models modes of ethical witnessing in ways that have changed me.”
Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 8th and Saturday, March 9th at Nozhem First Peoples Performance Space at Trent University. Tickets are sold on a sliding pay-what-you-can scale from $5 to $50 and are available in advance at eventbrite.ca/e/i722219216117.
Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock nations) performing in “Izzie M: The Alchemy of Enfreakment”, presented by Nozhem First Peoples Performance Place and Public Energy Performing Arts at Trent University on March 8 and 9, 2024. Mojica has created land-based, embodied dramaturgies, and taught Indigenous Theatre in theory, process, and practice throughout Canada, the US, Latin America, and Europe. (Photo: Jillian Sutherland)
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
An annual tradition for the past 36 years, the 2024 Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival is taking place on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, offering a weekend of sweet events in town and at the Sandy Flat Sugar Bush. Family fun activities including syrup-making demonstrations, maple taffy making, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and more. The festival is one of the many activities taking place in the Kawartha region while the sap runs during late winter and early spring. (Photo: Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival)
Did you know that Canada produces 85 per cent of the world’s maple syrup? That makes this the sweetest time of year because maple season is boiling up in the greater Kawarthas region.
Launching with an official “tapping in” ceremony this weekend, the season includes the annual Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival on March 9 and 10, and culminates in early April with the Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival and Maple Weekend celebrations across the region.
Maple syrup season kicks off when maple sap begins to flow during late winter and early spring, caused by the alternating pressures from freezing temperatures between -10°C and 0°C at night, and warmer temperatures between 0°C and 10°C during the day. When the temperature is no longer fluctuating, or the warmer temperatures cause the buds to swell, the sap stops flowing.
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While the date of the first sap run is unpredictable, maple syrup producers expect it to begin soon since we’ve already been experiencing above-freezing daytime temperatures. On Saturday (March 2), members of the Haliburton-Kawartha Maple Syrup Producers Association heralded the coming of the season with a ceremonial first tapping at Schalk Maple Farm just east of Fenelon Falls, home of the Schalk family and Hungry Bear Maple Syrup.
Following the official launch of maple season, producers across the region are offering everything from tours and behind-the-scenes of operations to maple tastings and pancake breakfasts. From the Maple Magic excursion offered by Haliburton’s Yours Outdoors to Wintergreen Maple Products & Pancake Barn in Minden (3325 Gelert Road, Minden), and guided tours at Millbrook’s Red Mill Maple Syrup (1232 Deyell Line, Millbrook), there are sweet family fun activities that can be booked on sugar bushes across the region right up until the end of April (or whenever the sap is no longer running).
One of the biggest maple syrup events in the Kawarthas is the annual Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival, taking place this year just before March Break on Saturday, March 9th and Sunday, March 10th. The 36th annual festival will provide a slew of fun and sweet activities sure to give you a sugar rush. Hop on a free shuttle bus to Sandy Flat Sugar Bush (500 Concession Road 3 West, Warkworth) between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for syrup-making demonstrations, maple taffy, log-sawing contests, horse-drawn sleigh rides ($3 per person), and live entertainment.
At the centre of Warkworth’s maple syrup tradition is the Sandy Flat Sugar Bush, which was started by William R. Losie who tapped maples in the 19th century. In the early 1970s, George and Alice Potter purchased the property and began making syrup, and were the first to open Sandy Flat to the public. Today, owners Chris and Robin Clark are continuing the legacy and stewardship of Sandy Flat Sugar Bush. (Photo: Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival)
For $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under, visitors can get pancakes and sausage served with Warkworth Maple Syrup as a fundraiser for the Warkworth Community Service Club. Entry to the sugar bush costs $5 per person (free for children under two).
In the village during the weekend, Maplelicious has even more ways to celebrate the season with an artisan fair at the town hall (40 Main St., Warkworth), indoor mini golf with lunch bar at St. Paul’s United Church (60 Main St., Warkworth), a beer garden from Fogorig Brewery (30 Main St., Warkworth), an art exhibit from textile artist Sheree Rasmussen at the Arts and Heritage Centre of Warkworth (35 Church St., Warkworth), and a storybook walk and live entertainment on Main Street. For more information and a full schedule, visit warkworthmaplesyrupfestival.ca.
The delicious festivities happening at Sandy Flat Sugar Bush don’t stop there, as they have lots planned for the remainder of maple season. Every weekend in March, the sugar bush is open for wagon rides, live music, horse drawn carriage rides, maple taffy, baby goat photos, and more. Visit sandyflatsugarbush.com/24-events/ for the scheduled line-up.
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Maple celebrations will continue into April with the free Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival on Saturday, April 6th and Sunday, April 7th. Returning for its 27th year, the festival is located 30 kilometres east of Lindsay in Durham Region, where families can tour Harlaine Maple Products and hop on a bus to the sugar shack. Learn all about making the sweet treats and current production methods while on a historic bus tour, or learn about past techniques from native and pioneer displays.
Other events at the bush and in town include live entertainment, petting zoos and pony rides, bathtub races, and a vendor market. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. For more information and a full schedule of events visit the Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival website at maplesyrupfestival.ca.
That same weekend, the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association is presenting Maple Weekend, when many producers offer free samples of fresh maple syrup, host pancake breakfasts, offer tours of the bush, and show the process of making fresh, quality maple syrup.
The production of maple syrup can be traced back to Indigenous peoples, who were the first to harvest the sap of maple trees to create a syrup for medicinal purposes and to preserve meat and who shared the process with European settlers. Maple taffy tasting is one of the many fun activities taking place at Sandy Flat Sugar Bush during the annual Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival on March 9 and 10, 2024. (Photo: Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival)
Participating maple syrup producers in the Kawarthas region include:
At the School of Trades and Technology at its Sutherland Campus in Peterborough, Fleming College offers various welding programs, including introductory welding courses as well as a Welding Techniques program and a Welding and Fabrication Technician program. (Photo: Fleming College)
In a move to prepare people who have disabilities for careers in the skilled trades, partners have unveiled an accessible welding program at Fleming College in Peterborough.
Junior Achievement of Northern and Eastern Ontario (JA-NEO) and the Council for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) recently announced the launch of the accessible welding program, which is aimed at increasing opportunities for people who have disabilities to pursue work in the trades.
The program launched last Tuesday (February 27) at Fleming College.
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In partnership with Employment Ontario and Fleming College, the goal is to expand the number of people with disabilities employed in the trades, by providing them with accessible training and support.
“By breaking down barriers to entry, the program aims to empower community members with disabilities to secure meaningful employment in the skilled trades industry,” a media release noted.
“We are thrilled to launch this innovative program in partnership with the CPD, Employment Ontario, and Fleming College,” said John McNutt, JA-NEO president and CEO. “By fostering inclusivity and accessibility in the skilled trades, we can unlock the potential of individuals with disabilities and strengthen our workforce.”
The accessible welding program is a collaborative effort between JA-NEO and CPD, and leverages “their respective expertise in workforce development and disability advocacy.”
The program encompasses a specialized curriculum and tailored support services. It’s intended to equip students with both the skills and confidence needed to thrive in the welding profession.
“We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their career aspirations, regardless of disability,” said Rachel Quilty, CPD representative, in the media release.
“Through the accessible welding program, we aim to dismantle barriers and create pathways to success for individuals with disabilities in the trades.”
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The partners said the accessible welding program represents a significant step towards building a more inclusive and diverse workforce in the skilled trades sector.
“By fostering collaboration and innovation, JA-NEO, CPD, Employment Ontario and Fleming College are leading the way in creating opportunities for all individuals to thrive in the workforce.”
Overall, in Ontario, there are 144 skilled trades. There were 91,634 apprentices active in the province as of April 3, 2023, according to the Ontario government.
The province announced in December 2023 a substantial investment in key programs to prepare young people for in-demand jobs in the skilled trades, which includes welding. According to an article published by Immigration News Canada, welding is among the 20 most in-demand skilled trade jobs in Ontario.
Previously known as JA Peterborough, Lakeland, Muskoka, JA-NEO aims to inspire young people to realize their potential and make a positive impact in their communities. JA-NEO collaborates with educators, volunteers, and organizations to deliver hands-on, immersive, and digital learning experiences.
The organization is committed to ensuring accessibility and inclusivity through programs that help youth build transferable skills in work readiness, financial health, and entrepreneurship.
A former Cobourg public school principal, who had previously been convicted in 1993 of a sexual assault against a student, is facing an historical sexual assault charge from the same time period.
Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have arrested and charged 78-year-old Douglas Kennedy of Peterborough with sexual assault related to an incident alleged to have occurred between 1988 to 1991 while the accused man was a principal at Camborne Public School north of Cobourg.
Police began an investigation on November 16 last year after the victim, who was a student at the school at the time and known to the accused man, reported the incident to police.
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More than 30 years ago, Kennedy was convicted of sexually assaulting a male student at the school over a three-year period from 1988 until 1991. According to media reports at the time, the boy was assaulted at Kennedy’s school office, his home, and his cabin. In June 1993, Kennedy was sentenced to two years less a day to be served in a provincial institution.
While prosecutors had asked for a sentence of three to five years in a federal penitentiary, the justice hearing the case said “exceptional circumstances” affected the final sentence, referring to a beating with a baseball bat that Kennedy had received from the student’s stepfather, resulting in two broken legs.
In relation to the historical sexual assault charge, Kennedy is due to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice at a future date.
“There is no stature of limitations on sexual offences and a report can be made to police at any time, regardless of how much time has passed,” reads a media release from the Northumberland OPP. “If you do not wish to make a report to police or need more time and support to make that decision, there are community partners available to help.”
Anyone who has any information about the incident is asked to call the Northumberland OPP at 1-888-310-1122. If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.
Trevor Hosier at Lindsay's Old Gaol Museum, home to his Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum until it closed for good in 2017. On April 13, 2024, Hosier will be hosting a 'Photographs and Memories of Rock and Roll Legends' exhibit raising funds for local mental health initiatives. The exhibit will feature more than 150 photographs of famous musicians, songwriters, and related personalities including some previously on display at the Youngtown museum but most never before exhibited publicly. (Photo: Ryan Rogers)
Back in early 1977, Detroit-born musician Bob Seger told us lyrically that “rock and roll never forgets” but, for years now, Trevor Hosier has done his damnedest to make sure we never forget rock and roll.
A lifelong love for all things associated with the music genre has taken the 67 year old on a remarkable journey, from countless backstage encounters with fabled musicians, to the 2007 opening of his Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum in Omemee (Neil Young’s childhood home town) and its subsequent relocation to Lindsay, and now to an exhibition of more than 180 one-of-a-kind photos of musicians and songwriters he has met.
On Saturday, April 13th at The Lindsay Lounge at 68 McLaughlin Road in Lindsay, ‘Photographs and Memories of Rock and Roll Legends’ will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. With pay-what-you-can admission of $5, $10, or $20 at the door, all proceeds will support local mental health initiatives.
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While some of the over 150 photos at the exhibit were on display at Youngtown in Omemee before it closed in 2014, and then from 2015 to 2017 when Youngtown relocated to Lindsay’s Old Gaol Museum, most of the images — shot by Hosier, his wife Brenda, and their son Stephen — have never been exhibited before publicly.
The benefactor of the exhibition proceeds speaks to Hosier’s lifelong vocation as a counsellor.
A long-certified member of the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals, he’s provided, for 43 years now, an open ear and sound advice to clients dealing with a variety of challenging struggles.
One of the photos that will be on display at Trevor Hosier’s ‘Photographs and Memories of Rock and Roll Legends’ exhibit is of Canadian multi-instrumentalist Eric “Garth” Hudson, best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in 1986, Rick Danko in 1999, Levon Helm in 2012, and Robbie Robertson in 2023, Hudson is the last living original member of the Band. (Photo courtesy of Trevor Hosier)
Despite having scaled back his work hours since 2019, Hosier is no less committed to making a positive difference in the lives of his clients.
While work is work, feeding his passion for the subject of his lifelong infatuation is fun — a journey for which the seed was planted more than six decades ago in Scarborough at a birthday party held for Marcia Hamilton, a Grade One classmate.
“They played Chubby Checker’s The Twist and I won the (dance) contest,” laughs Hosier, adding “I had the moves.”
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“The collection really started around 1964 with my buying of Beatles stuff,” Hoiser recalls. “And I started writing letters to musicians I really liked, asking for autographs. In 1967, when I was 11, I wrote a letter to Dean Martin and he wrote back. I still have his letter hanging in my office.”
Over the ensuing years, Hosier ramped up his efforts to the point where amassing memorabilia became a bigger focus — something that led to the eventual opening of the Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum.
“Rather than investing in my retirement, I’d rather own John Lennon’s hat (that he wore for The Beatles’ last photo shoot in August 1969) or the guitar strap that Jimi Hendrix wore for a New York show,” he says.
Neil Young visiting Trevor Hosier’s former Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum in 2010 when it was located in Omemee, Young’s childhood home town made famous in the song “Helpless.” (Photo: Brenda Hosier)
When it opened, Youngtown was and remained primarily a tribute to Neil Young, whose family moved to Omemee in late August 1949 when he was almost four years old, and lived there until 1953 when the family moved to Winnipeg. Neil’s father, author and journalist Scott Young, later returned and live in the area until he died in 2005.
While Hosier counts Lennon’s hat among the most prized items that came into his hands, he says a guitar he picked up from Young during a 2009 trip to California is equally special. And then there’s Young’s piano that he gifted to Hosier in 2011 and today resides in his living room home.
“I met Neil several times,” says Hosier. “I’ll never forget the first time I met him in 2007 backstage at Massey Hall. I had blown up my ticket really big because I wanted him to sign it.”
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“I said ‘By the way Neil, I’m opening a museum named after you. It’s going to have one of the largest Beatles collections in Canada and a bunch of stuff related to you’,” Hosier recalls. “He looked up slowly from signing for me, looked me in the eyes, said thanks and stared at me as I walk backwards for about 10 feet. He was looking at me as if he was thinking ‘I’m going to meet this guy again.'”
On October 7, 2010, Youngtown welcomed its most prominent visitor when Young not only dropped by for a firsthand look but stayed for “a good hour and a half, spending time looking at the different artifacts and photographs. There was a DVD of Elvis playing in one of the rooms. I asked Neil if he ever met Elvis and he said no. I could tell he was a little disappointed about that.”
“I told him that if ever had anything he’d like to share with the museum, that it would be a real privilege. He said ‘I’ll have a look and see what I’ve got.’ A year later, I was picking up his piano from his dad’s house.”
Trevor Hosier founded the private, volunteer-run Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum in 2006 at 45 King Street East in Omemee, only six buildings away from Neil Young’s childhood home. In September 2014, he closed the museum and put the building up for sale because of the time and cost required for its upkeep. After the museum closed, the Olde Gaol Museum in Lindsay agreed to host a much smaller version of the exhibit, which opened in March 2015 and closed in September 2017. (Photo courtesy of Trevor Hosier)
In September 2014, Hosier closed Youngtown in Omemee, moving some of the collection to the Old Gaol Museum in Lindsay and opening it to the public in March 2015 — “They gave us free space there, and I didn’t have to shovel snow or cut grass.”
When the Old Gaol exhibit closed for good in September 2017, Hosier sold off a number of collection items, including guitars signed by Young, by Buffalo Springfield, and by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. And yes, his beloved John Lennon hat also found a new home, sold to a woman in West Virginia who “paid a good penny.”
While his days of chasing down popular music icons for an autograph or donated items are in his rearview mirror, what Hosier still has plenty of are cherished memories of his many encounters.
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“A lot of times, I was just really lucky,” Hosier says of his encounters with music royalty. “I always showed my genuine enthusiasm for meeting them, realizing they didn’t have to see me. If you’re respectful, that goes a long way.”
“I never had a problem with anyone except one person. I won’t tell you the person’s name, but that was the only person who was what I would consider to be rude, uncooperative, and just not very nice at all.”
“All the others I met were a pleasure to meet with. There were a couple over the years who were tired or didn’t have time to say hello or have a little chat. I perfectly understood that the few times it happened.”
One of the photos that will be on display at Trevor Hosier’s ‘Photographs and Memories of Rock and Roll Legends’ exhibit is of American folk singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie, son of Woody Guthrie, one of he most significant figures in American folk music. Arlo is best known for his 1967 song “Alice’s Restaurant.” a satirical protest against the Vietnam War draft. (Photo courtesy of Trevor Hosier)
Now Hosier’s attention is on preparing for the Photographs and Memories of Rock and Roll Legends exhibit.
“There’ll be 22 display boards of photos,” he says, noting they were shot from about 2006 to 2019.
“Neil Young, Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman, Ronnie Hawkins, Ian Tyson, David Clayton-Thomas, Arlo Guthrie, Garth Hudson, Andy Kim, Davy Jones, Denny Doherty, Mike McCann and Robbie Lane, The Stampeders’ Leslie West, Tom Jones, Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Bruce Johnson, Peter Noone, David Cassidy, Tommy James, The Turtles, Revere and the Raiders, Billy Gibbons, Kim Mitchell … the list goes on and on.”
“It’s just one more opportunity to share some of this stuff. I just hope we can attract some people, as we did at the museum where more than 5,000 people came through. To hear stories from people about their music memories, I get real pleasure from that.”
When black bears emerge from winter hibernation there is little natural food available, so they will search for other food sources including garbage and bird feed. (Photo: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)
The Ontario government and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are reminding the public to exercise caution around black bears.
With this winter’s mild weather and lack of snow, there have been reports in some parts of the province of black bears coming out of hibernation early.
As there is little natural food available for black bears as this time of the year, they will search for other food sources including garbage and bird feed.
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The government is recommending taking simple precautions to help prevent attracting bears to your home and neighbourhood.
Store your garbage in waste containers with tight-fitting lids, and keep the garbage indoors (such as a garage or shed) if possible, waiting until pickup day to put the garbage out for collection.
Remove bird feeders for the spring and summer and offer birds natural alternatives such as flowers, nesting boxes, and fresh water.
Clean any food residue and grease from outdoor barbecue grills, including grease traps, after each use.
Keep pet food indoors.
Keep your dog on a leash, because unleashed dogs can lead bears back to owners and cause defensive bear attacks on people.
VIDEO: Be Bear Wise – Hibernation
If you encounter a black bear and it is not posing an immediate threat, you can report the bear sighting by calling the Ontario government’s toll-free Bear Wise line at 1-866-514-2327. Because of the unseasonably warm weather this year, the line is open early, from March 1 to November 30 and is available 24/7.
If you encounter a black bear and it is posing an immediate threat by showing threatening or aggressive behaviour, remain calm and call 911 or your local police department.
For more information about preventing bear encounters and what to do if you do encounter one, visit ontario.ca/bearwise
Peterborough residents looking for The Body Shop products will need to drive to the Oshawa Centre when the Peterborough location closes. For the time being, the Oshawa location will remain open along with 71 of the 105 stores in Canada. (Photo: The Body Shop Canada)
The Body Shop in Peterborough’s Lansdowne Place Mall is one of 33 stores across Canada that will close as the Canadian subsidiary of the U.K. personal care products retailer announced it was filing for bankruptcy protection on Friday (March 1).
Late last year, The Body Shop International was acquired by private equity firm Aurelius Investment and, in February, the British subsidiary went into administration, which is a form of creditor protection.
“Following the commencement of administration proceedings in the United Kingdom by its parent company, The Body Shop Canada is commencing this (notice of intention) process to obtain a stay of proceedings to provide additional breathing room while it evaluates its strategic alternatives and implements certain restructuring initiatives,” reads a media release from The Body Shop Canada.
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Included in the announcement from The Body Shop Canada was a statement that The Body Shop US Limited has ceased operations effective Friday.
Originally founded in Brighton, England in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband, The Body Shop was one of the first companies to promote “ethical consumerism,” including fair trading practices and no animal testing for its cosmetics and skin care products.
Roddick and her husband sold The Body Shop to beauty corporation L’Oreal in 2006 (Roddick died the following year), which then sold the company to Brazilian cosmetics business Natura & Co. (which owns the Avon brand) in 2017. In December, Natura sold the company to Aurelius Investment for 207 million pounds (around $355 million Canadian).
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The popular brand expanded into Canada in 1980. The Body Shop Canada sold itself to the U.K. parent company for about $26 million. The Canadian subsidiary currently has 105 store locations across the country, and recently expanded its products into 50 Shoppers Drug Mart stores.
As part of its notice of intention to file for bankruptcy protection, The Body Shop Canada is immediately commencing liquidation sales at the 33 stores that “will close in the near term.” The remaining 72 stores remain open for business for the time being, but online sales through the Canadian ecommerce store will stop.
Here are The Body Shop stores that are closing across Canada:
Tweed & Company Theatre general manager Emily Mewett and artistic director Tim Porter with their Top 100 Festival or Event award from Festivals and Events Ontario in Niagara Falls, Ontario on February 28, 2024 in recognition of the theatre company's 2023 season. Based in Hastings County, Tweed & Company Theatre owns and operates the Marble Arts Centre in Tweed and The Village Playhouse in Bancroft. (Photo: Festivals and Events Ontario)
Six festivals in the greater Kawarthas region have made the list of Festivals and Events Ontario’s top 100 festivals and events in Ontario in 2023, with four making the list for the second year in a row.
Hike Haliburton Festival, Tweed & Company Theatre, Port Hope Arts Festival, Port Hope Candlelight Festival, Bancroft’s Rockhound Gemboree, and the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts were among those presented with the award at Festivals and Events Ontario’s annual awards gala on Wednesday (February 28) in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The first four festivals also made the list last year.
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Established in 2003, the Hike Haliburton Festival is Canada’s largest hiking festival. The main festival takes place in September, with a winter edition happening in February. Along with hikes throughout Haliburton Highlands, the festival integrates arts, culture, heritage, and foodie experiences to showcase the area.
Located in Hastings County, Tweed & Company Theatre owns and operates both the Marble Arts Centre and an outdoor stage in Tweed as well as the Village Playhouse in Bancroft. Since assuming operation of The Village Playhouse from Hospice North Hastings in 2022, Tweed & Company Theatre has greatly expanded the number of theatrical events and concerts presented at the venue.
The Port Hope Arts Festival is an annual festival taking place in downtown Port Hope during August, which is arts month in Port Hope. The Port Hope Candlelight Festival is an annual holiday festival taking place from late November to early January that include projections and light displays, outdoor vendor markets, music, wagon rides, and more.
The Rockhound Gemboree, Canada’s largest gem and mineral show, takes place in Bancroft over four days every August. The Buckhorn Festival of the Arts, originally founded as a wildlife art festival in 1979, has since grown into a world-class arts festival taking place at the Buckhorn Community Centre every August.
Representatives from Hike Haliburton Festival and Buckhorn Festival of the Arts with their Top 100 Festival or Event award from Festivals and Events Ontario in Niagara Falls, Ontario on February 28, 2024. (Photos: Festivals and Events Ontario)
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