The Peterborough GreenUP Store and Resource Centre in downtown Peterborough offers many eco-friendly choices for your holiday gift giving, including locally made items that support the local economy while decreasing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from delivery vehicles. (Photo: Eileen Kimmett / GreenUP)
Are you looking from eco-friendly stocking stuffers in time for Christmas?
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Eileen Kimmett, Program Coordinator for the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre.
With weeks left until the holiday giving season, think of how your gifts meet high environmental and ethical trade, labour, and human rights standards. Whether that be to source waste-free, long-lasting, or locally made gifts, your choice can create a positive climate impact.
The GreenUP Store and Resource Centre is a unique starting point for anyone looking to support a non-profit organization, while making better purchasing decisions. Choosing the environment can be affordable, too. Low-impact stocking stuffers that range from under $5 to $25 are sure to keep you on the ‘nice list’ — for the planet and your wallet too.
Keep the environment in mind when choosing decorations or small gifts. Pictured is an example of how you can decorate your tree with homemade ornaments, and gift small and sustainable stocking stuffers that have a positive environmental impact. (Photo: Eileen Kimmett / GreenUP)
This year, GreenUP has many locally sourced items from small businesses. We’ve compiled a list of stocking stuffers at various price points below to help kick-start your journey towards an environmentally friendly holiday.
Items with an asterisk* are local makers from around Peterborough and the Kawarthas. A portion of purchases towards local makers also goes towards climate programming in the community, so it’s a win-win!
Gifts under $5
Gifts under $5 at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre in downtown Peterborough include buttons and stickers designed by local artist Brianna Gosselin. (Photo: Funagoshi Stickers)
Ornaments from EcoMum and RDR Creations
Stainless Steel Straws
Bamboo Eating Utensils, Spoon, Fork, and Knife
Beeswax Tealights from This Old Flame*
Vegetable/Flower Seeds from Urban Tomato Lady*
Shower Steamers from Milieu Market
Handmade Gift Bags and Stockings from Marie Oliver*
Buttons and Stickers from Brianna Gosselin*
* Local makers
Gifts between $5 to $10
Handmade cards, bamboo toothbrushes, and handmade soap are a few gifts between $5 and $10 you can get at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre in downtown Peterborough. Items which have no packaging, low-waste packaging, or recycled packaging are more beneficial for keeping waste out of the landfill and out of the environment. These items often also required less energy to make, resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo: Eileen Kimmett / GreenUP)
Bamboo Toothbrushes
Lip Balm from Swift Acres*
Handmade Soap from Swift Acres*
Christmas Cards from Three Tree Cottage* and Brianna Gosselin*
Handmade Cards from Anita Clifford* and Ella Mollie*
Handmade Key Chains from Spruce Moose*
Birch Baby Diaper Balm, Baby Lotion, or Shampoo Sample Packet from Birch Babe*
* Local makers
Gifts between $10 to $15
Gifts between $10 to $15 at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre in downtown Peterborough include liquid wildflower honey from Swift Acres in Apsley, whose apiary is surrounded by wildflower fields and backs onto Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. (Photo: GreenUP)
Small Bowls/Pottery from Kristina Albright*
Shampoo Bar from Birch Babe*
Lip Tint from Birch Babe*
Lotion Bar and Cucumber Soap from Milieu Market
Handmade Soap from Purple Urchin
Natural Deodorant from Swift Acres*
Knitted Pocket Animals from RDR Creations*
Spork from Ahimsa Eco
Honey from Swift Acres*
Maple Syrup Tasting Trio from Red Mill*
Beeswax Candles from This Old Flame*
Herbal/Medicinal Tea from Community Medicine Garden*
* Local makers
Gifts between $15 to $20
Gifts between $15 to $20 at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre in downtown Peterborough include Unpaper Towels from Peterborough-based Cheeks Ahoy. These rewashable single-ply cotton flannel cloths can replace single-use paper towels and napkins. (Photo: GreenUP)
Coffee from Birds & Beans, Rapids End*, Old Rail
Beeswax Jar Candles from Swift Acres*
Bath Salts from Purple Urchin
Black Pepper and Birch Muscle Rub from Purple Urchin
Beeswax Food Wrap from Abeego, Lake Reflections Apiary*
Chocolate Face Mask from Purple Urchin
Mittens and Hats from RDR Creations* and Brianna Gosselin*
Mascara Set from Birch Babe*
Hand/Body Butter from Sweet Flowering Wellness*
Unpaper Towels from Cheeks Ahoy*
3in1 (Shampoo/Conditioner/Body Wash) Kids Starter Kit from Myni
* Local makers
Gifts between $20 to $25
Gifts between $20 to $25 at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre in downtown Peterborough include one-of-a-kind “Beerings” (earrings made out of beer cans) by Peterborough maker Keetarella. (Photo: Keetarella)
Christmas Cards (five pack) from Jackson Creek Press*
Earrings made out of beer cans from Keeterella*
Candles from Swift Acres*
* Local makers
Choosing gifts from local makers is good for Peterborough’s local economy as well as the environment. (Photo: Joon Kim)
When you choose to buy sustainable products, you are helping to reduce your impact on the environment and are helping to mitigate climate change. When you choose to buy local, waste-free, and handmade, you directly support the planet.
The GreenUP Store and Resource Centre is located at 378 Aylmer Street North in downtown Peterborough between Hunter and Simcoe Streets and online at shop.greenup.on.ca.
Beginning December 14 until December 23, the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre will have extended hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day between Monday and Saturday (closed on Sundays). We hope to see you soon!
This story was published in partnership with Peterborough GreenUP.
Ray Leighton, co-founder of Hip Vodka, is the new owner of Black's Distillery in Peterborough's East City. (Photo courtesy of Ray Leighton)
Black’s Distillery in East City is under new ownership and, for those who with a penchant for vodka with a unique flavour twist, that’s good news indeed.
From the outside looking in, much remains the same at the location at 99 Hunter Street East on the corner of Mark Street. In fact, the Black’s Distillery name is being retained, and the familiar gin, vodka, rye, barley, cassis, and cherry whisky liqueur offerings remain in supply and available.
What’s now new is Hip, a relatively new but increasingly popular kid on the vodka block. The brand has taken up residence at the distillery, offering vodka in mango, watermelon, and bubble gum flavours, each in a bottle that, yes, has a unique hip-like shape.
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Hip Vodka was launched in early 2017 by friends and then business partners Ray Leighton and Dave Robinson. While the latter “has gone a different route,” Leighton tells kawarthaNOW he is staying the course, guiding the brand to its fair share of the crowded liquor market.
The acquisition of Black’s Distillery from founder Robert Black, and the planned opening of another location in Pickering, is part of the effort that also sees Hip Vodka products being shipped to the United Kingdom, St. Kitts-Nevis, Cameroon, and Jamaica, and domestically to Alberta, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island.
“My goal is to build the brand of Black’s, to build the brand of Hip, to support local, and to grow the business,” explains Leighton. “Hip is a global brand but I want to keep building and promoting the culture of the Black’s brands. That helps Hip and it also helps Black’s.”
“I didn’t want to change the name — Black’s has been there since 2018. A lot of people know it. There’s a lot of synergy there. We have different product audiences but it’s good to have both. Our brand is one segment of the market. The brands provided by Robert Black have a different market segment. This is good for both brands.”
According to co-founder Ray Leighton, Hip Vodka is a “fun brand” offering vodka in unique flavours including mango, watermelon, and bubble gum. (Photo courtesy of Hip Vodka)
A resident of Port Perry, Leighton settled on Peterborough as the location of a brick ‘n’ mortar outlet for Hip Vodka products due to its relatively close proximity to his home. He says locating at an existing distillery is a huge bonus.
“To build a distillery from scratch takes an extremely long time,” he says. “You’re dealing with the government and, as anybody who has ever dealt with the government knows, it takes quite awhile to get things done.”
“I’ve always liked Peterborough,” Leighton adds. “I like the small town community that’s starting to grow. There are a lot of positives there. Being in Peterborough allows me some uniqueness — that I’m building something and hopefully, as I build it, the community supports it.”
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Noting that since Black’s is a distillery, Leighton says patrons can sample existing Black’s products as well as Hip’s lineup of vodkas along with its Hip Gin Silver.
“We just recently hosted a small event there, Cocktails And Chaos, for about 25 women who wanted a night out,” says Leighton. “They learned about charcuterie and cocktail drinks. It was pretty successful.”
“Black’s will continue providing a location to buy products, but I want to grow it to become a small event place. We can only handle 20 to 30 people but it’s a great landing spot for a small party.”
A promotion for Hip Vodka outside Black’s Distillery at 99 Hunter Street East, on the corner of Mark Street, in Peterborough’s East City. (Photo courtesy of Ray Leighton)
Reflecting on how far his venture has come, Leighton says the initial focus was on standing out as unique in the very crowded alcohol market.
“The first thing that attracts people is the branding — the design and the attraction of the packaging,” he says, adding “With alcohol, that starts with the bottle itself. My partner (Robinson) and I came up with the design.”
“As for the name, I wanted it to be simple. I looked up ‘hip’ in Urban Dictionary. Basically, it means cooler than cool. I like to think of us as that. It’s a fun brand. This is not the product you’re going to have a cigar with. We’re not a fine Scotch. We are a very fun brand. We want you to have a party.”
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With the Hip brand already having gone global, Hip Vodka is produced at multiple distilleries and shipped in batches. Meanwhile, the marketing of Hip apparel via the website is another revenue stream. Leighton says a non-alcoholic Hip Caesar mix, branded as Cajun Candy, will soon be available at Sobeys stores as well as at Black’s Distillery.
Hip’s Pickering location, says Leighton, will open in December or early January, followed in the latter half of January by a soft launch at Black’s Distillery, with the date yet to be determined.
“We’ll be distilling half our product in Peterborough and the other half in Pickering. The Peterborough location is the flagship. Pickering is not a destination distillery — it will be more of a retail store.”
Under Ray Leighton’s ownership, Black’s Distillery’s will continue to function as a distillery as well as a retail outlet to buy products, but he hopes to also make the location a venue for small events. (Photo courtesy of Ray Leighton)
The evolution of Hip, says Leighton, has been “such a personal journey.”
“I don’t think of it as ‘Wow, I’ve achieved this.’ I look at it as a journey, as each day I’ve got to tackle this and keep building the brand.”
“If you don’t know the alcohol space, if you don’t have good branding, you will not survive. It doesn’t matter how good the product is. Hip Vodka sells itself. That’s why I believe it’s going to be a significant player down the road as I slowly build the brand.”
For information on Hip Vodka, including a full listing of its product offerings, visit www.hipvodka.com.
Canada’s new 988 suicide crisis helpline launched at 9 a.m. on Thursday (November 30). In the Kawarthas region, calls and texts will be answered by workers with the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR).
People across Canada who are experiencing a mental health crisis — or who know someone who is — and need immediate support can call or text 988.
Similar to 911 for emergency services, 988 is an easy-to-remember three digit code where people can get free confidential and non-judgmental support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Calls and texts to 988 will be directed to a network of 39 community partners across the country that offer suicide prevention services such as counselling. Funded by the federal government, the 988 helpline is available in English and French.
In the Kawarthas region, CMHA HKPR was selected as the local provider, which means people calling or texting from an area code in Peterborough, Haliburton, Northumberland, and Kawartha Lakes will be routed to local workers at CMHA HKPR’s call centre in downtown Peterborough.
Along with the launch of the 988 helpline, CMHA HKPR has restructured its Four County Crisis (4CC) service as part of a new integrated crisis intervention service model. The Four County Crisis line at 705-745-6484 has now become the direct line for CMHA HKPR’s Safe Beds program and after-hours housing support.
Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge CEO Mark Graham (right) speaks about the new 988 suicide crisis helpline at a media event on November 17, 2023 with program and services director Tracy Graham (left) and corporate services director Ellen Watkins. (Photo: CMHA HKPR)
The Safe Beds program is a safe and supportive environment in a home setting that helps those 16 years of age and older decrease or alleviate their crisis through services that are sensitive to individual needs. If people in a mental health crisis call the former Four County Crisis line, they will receive a message to hang up and call 988.
CMHA HKPR’s new integrated crisis intervention service model also includes eight more brief services mental health workers who will be located across the four counties (brief services are quick or short-term sessions to address immediate needs).
The new model also includes moving the Safe Beds facility from a residential neighbourhood to downtown Peterborough and increasing the bed capacity with an opportunity for transitional housing.
The Salvation Army Peterborough’s Christmas Assistance Program, which helps those in need put food on the table and toys under the tree this holiday season, is facing a shortfall due to a surge in demand with more than two weeks left in the program.
Since registration opened on November 20, more than 2,000 individuals and families have signed up for the program. With registration closing on December 15, there are more than two weeks left in the program and donations have slowed.
By appointment only, registered applicants can visit the Salvation Army Temple at 219 Simcoe Street to receive a grocery store gift card for an amount dependent on their family size. Families also have access to a toy shop set up in the gymnasium where they can choose toys and stocking stuffers for children and youth under 18.
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“We’re seeing more community service and general applicants,” says Billi Balment, community family services supervisor at The Salvation Army Peterborough, in a media release. “In the past two years, there’s been an increase in single people seeking help in the latter half of the program.”
Families visiting the toy shop have shown a high interest in practical items like hats and mittens, in addition to toys and puzzles.
“We ran out of mittens last Thursday,” Balment says. “I bought 200 more, and they were gone by Friday.”
She says the Salvation Army Peterborough has a plan to deal with the expected demand for the remaining two weeks of the program, “but public support is crucial this year more than ever.”
The organization is currently seeking donations of mittens, games, puzzles, toys for ages nine to 13, and teen toiletry sets.
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“There’s still time to help — we have the Christmas parade this weekend where food and toy donations can be made,” Balment says, referring to the Peterborough Santa Claus parade on Saturday afternoon (December 2) “Volunteers from Country 105 and Move 99.7 and Chemong Home Hardware will be on hand to collect them and bring them to the church on Saturday.”
Toy and mitten donations are also accepted at the church doors on Simcoe Street.
While monetary donations are still coming in for the Christmas Assistance Program, Balment says they have slowed after an initial surge since the launch of “Hope for All Seasons” fundraising campaign in late October. The campaign aims to raise $540,000 through a mail-out fundraiser and $110,000 at Christmas kettles across the city.
Monetary donations can be mailed to 219 Simcoe St., Peterborough, ON, K9H 2H6, or made in person and at kettles across the city. Donations by phone can be made by calling 705-742-4391, ext. 257.
Lang Pioneer Village Museum in Keene will be lit by the warm glow of candles, lamps, and lanterns and decorated with pine and cedar garlands and freshly made natural centerpieces during 'Christmas by Candlelight' on December 2 and 3, 2023. The event features horse-drawn wagon rides, live music, historical stories, readings, games, visits with Santa, photos in a winter sleigh, and more. (Photo: Heather Doughty Photography)
You and your family can experience a 19th-century Christmas at Lang Pioneer Village Museum in Keene when the annual “Christmas by Candlelight” event returns on Saturday and Sunday (December 2 and 3).
Running from 4 to 8 p.m. each day, the event includes horse-drawn wagon rides around the historic village which will be lit by the warm glow of candles, lamps, and lanterns and decorated with pine and cedar garlands and freshly made natural centrepieces.
You can see how pioneers celebrated their first Christmas in the wilderness by visiting the Fife Cabin, where chestnuts will be roasting over an open fire. You can find out about traditional holiday treats in the Milburn House, where you can sample some Turkish delight, and join a traditional toast to the holiday season at the Fitzpatrick House.
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As the Carpenter Shop, you can learn the history of the toy maker and, at the Cider Mill, find out about the nutcracker and why it has its iconic shape and sample some sugar plums. You can visit the Cheese Factory to listen to the story of the mammoth cheese ball. In the Aabnaabin Gallery, you can discover how the Michi Saagiig survived and thrived in the winter months.
Live music includes the Note-a-Bells performing Christmas tunes with hand bells in the Jacquard Loom Interpretive Centre, hymns and carolling in the Glen Alda Church, and traditional shanties and Christmas songs performed by Glen Cardus and Fiddling Jay, who will also share the story of the Flying Canoe.
You can also listen to a reading of the traditional Christmas tale “Twas the Night Before Christmas” in the Print Shop. On Sunday only at 7 p.m., there will be a live nativity scene complete with animals and a choir presented by the Keene United Church.
Visit with Father and Mother Christmas during ‘Christmas by Candlelight’ on December 2 and 3, 2023, at Lang Pioneer Village Museum in Keene. (Photo: Heather Doughty Photography)
A selection of early Christmas gift ideas will be on display at the General Store, and you can find unique tree ornaments and gifts at the Museum Shop. Tickets will be available for a Christmas raffle with items including a one-of-a-kind Jacquard carpet bag made on Lang’s own Jacquard loom.
You can visit with Father and Mother Christmas and have your family Christmas photo taken in a winter sleigh. You can also participate in some reindeer games including wooden tandem skis, snowshoes, and sled races.
You can warm up by the wood-burning stove in the kitchen of the Keene Hotel, which will be serving treats and hot drinks. Stop by the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building for ham and savoury on a bun, or get some freshly popped kettle corn from Ben’s Kettle. Food and drink items are available for an additional fee.
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Admission for Christmas by Candlelight is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors 60 and older, $7 for children and youth aged five to 14, and free for children under five. Family admission is also available for $40 (for two adults and up to four youth ages two to 14). You can purchase tickets in advance from the museum’s online shop, but advance tickets are not required.
In the spirit of the season, Lang Pioneer Village Museum is asking visitors to bring one or more non-perishable food items to donate to the Otonabee-South Monaghan Food Cupboard, which you can drop off in the Museum Shop.
The most-needed non-perishable food items include peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned plain pasta sauce, canned pork and beans, canned soup (both hearty and condensed types), canned vegetables, pasta, rice, canned tuna, and cereal.
The Trinity Community Centre at 360 Reid Street includes beds donated by Peterborough Regional Health Centre to One City Peterborough, which is operating the winter overnight drop-in space for up to 45 people every night from 8 p.m. to 8 p.m. until the end of March with funding from the City of Peterborough. The centre will also offer a daily daytime drop-in space from 1 to 5 p.m. year-round beginning December 1, 2023. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Just in time for the cold weather, a new community hub in Peterborough for people experiencing homelessness opened on Tuesday night (November 28).
The Trinity Community Centre, located at the former Trinity United Church at 360 Reid Street, provides a winter overnight drop-in space for up to 45 people every night from 8 p.m. to 8 p.m. until the end of March. The new winter overnight drop-in space replaces the City of Peterborough’s 30-bed overflow shelter program, which was operating at the Peterborough Public Library.
One City Peterborough is operating the Trinity Community Centre, which will also offer a daily daytime drop-in space from 1 to 5 p.m. beginning Friday (December 1). The daytime service, which will be available year-round, will replace the One Roof Community Centre daytime drop-in program at 99 Brock Street that will close on November 30.
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Open to anyone, including those who need access to resources or connections to community programs, the daytime drop-in space will initially provide light snacks with the goal of developing a full meal program in the near future. The Trinity Community Centre will extend its hours during severe weather events to provide people experiencing homelessness with shelter from the elements.
The Trinity Community Centre is a collaboration between the City of Peterborough, One City Peterborough, the United Way Peterborough and District, and the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network (PPRN).
The City of Peterborough is providing One City with $900,000 each year for three years to operate the winter overnight drop-in space and the year-round daytime drop-in centre. The United Way Peterborough and District provided One City with $200,000 in federal homelessness funding for renovations to the building.
Washrooms and showers being installed in the Trinity Community Centre on November 1, 2023. They are located in the stage area of the auditorium at the former Trinity United Church at 360 Reid Street in Peterborough. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
PPRN bought the church property last year after the church congregation, experiencing low attendance numbers and facing severe repair costs for the building, voted to disband. While the property wasn’t publicly listed for sale, PPRN learned of its availability and entered negotiations to purchase it.
“Both the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network and former members of the now disbanded Trinity United Church are pleased with the progress made by One City Peterborough, as they work to realize the vision of a community hub, serving those without a place to call home,” says PPRN chair Steve Kylie in a media release from the City of Peterborough.
“The centre not only offers short term respite from the challenges of living without shelter, employment, and the resulting lack of well-being, but also provides help in finding more permanent shelter, employment opportunities, and holistic support on a path to increased re-integration and participation in the community,” Kylie adds. “The Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network, working closely with the former Trinity United Church congregation and more recently with One City Peterborough, has resulted in the former church property becoming available for transformation into its new life in service of the community.”
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The Trinity Community Centre includes new washrooms and showers as well as a new HVAC system, along with beds donated by Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Other resources to be offered include a small storage option for personal belongings, on-site laundry facilities for the cleaning of bedding, harm reduction and safer use supplies, and an outdoor gathering space with privacy fencing. Hygiene items, wound care kits, and food and drink will also be provided as they’re available.
The winter overnight drop-in space will run until the end of March, and will reopen again next October 1 for the 2024-25 winter season. In addition to the winter overnight drop-in space, the city’s emergency shelter network operated by community partner agencies offers 127 shelter beds.
The Instagram reel posted by Nectar Co. founder Rose Terry that went viral with over 10 million views featured a Goddess Oval Ring in gold, holding pieces of a pregnancy test cap and gold flakes. With the reel's wide viewership, the Peterborough-based business has doubled its number of orders for custom keepsake jewellery, with orders coming in from acround the globe. With the business growth, Terry is planning to outsource more of her product and hire additional support. (Photo courtesy of Nectar Co.)
Peterborough keepsake jewellery business Nectar Co. recently had an Instagram reel go viral with more than 10 million views in just a few short weeks, keeping founder Rose Terry busy to meet the new demand with orders coming in from around the globe.
In the reel, Terry smashes the lid of a pregnancy test, before showing off a custom gold band ring with gold flakes speckled in the blue stone that was crafted out of the lid. At the time of this writing, the reel posted in early October had over 10 million views, over 460,000 likes, over 33,000 shares, and over 600 comments.
“It’s a testament to how universal the symbol of a pregnancy test is,” Terry says. “Whether someone carried that pregnancy to full term or had a miscarriage or an abortion, so many people can relate to the moment of seeing a positive pregnancy test.”
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Pregnancy tests are not the only mementos Terry transforms into jewellery on the Otonabee hobby farm where she runs Nectar Co. She creates costume earrings, pendants, rings, and beads using preserved breastmilk (even if it is expired), locks of hair, cremated ashes, umbilical cords, placentas, dried flowers, or other materials that document a time, place, or memory.
The viral reel — which Terry notes has doubled the company’s orders — comes just after Nectar Co. celebrated one year in business in October. Though Terry, a young mother of two, has always been an artist and jewellery maker, she explains that she only began thinking about keepsake jewellery after the birth of her second child.
Completely self-taught, Terry began by crafting pieces made from her own breastmilk by using a preservation technique to turn it into a powder. It then gets ground and mixed with a jeweller’s resin to make the stone.
“For so many women, breastfeeding is about so much more than feeding,” Terry says. “It’s about the connection with your child and all your hard work, energy, effort, and the experience. Whether that’s a week or four years, it’s a really important experience for a mother and their child. I definitely resonated with it, and I think that’s why so many other women resonate with it as well.”
After crafting a piece for herself, Terry had more and more friends reaching out to request their own breastmilk jewellery. In grieving the loss of a friend who was very close to her, Terry felt it important to also offer memorial pieces, using ashes to create the stones.
Though it might seem a niche product and certainly not something you can find in just any jewellery shop, breastmilk jewellery has been around as long as at least two decades and is increasingly growing in popularity. But Terry, who has an education in art history, knows that keepsakes themselves are not a new phenomenon.
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“If you look back hundreds of years, keepsakes — memorial keepsakes specifically — have been around for such a long time,” Terry says. “People would keep a lock of hair in a ring with the date of a death on it, and that is not unusual if you look back in human history. It is completely human nature to have keepsakes and to wear it like jewellery.”
Art history is not the only experience Terry draws from in running Nectar Co. Now a professor of business at Fleming College, Terry spend eight years working with the Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas, where she has not only held positions in marketing and communications but also developed programs and delivered workshops for local entrepreneurs and business owners.
“That was an excellent foundation for me because I was able to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes, so I knew what I was getting myself into when launching this business,” she says. “Because I had created so many programs for entrepreneurs and start-ups, I was able to use the things I had already done and then anticipate the next steps.”
A Halo Heirloom Charm Necklace created with cremation ashes. Nectar Co. founder Rose Terry explains that her collection is not about the product and jewellery so much as it’s about the memories those keepsakes hold and the stories that they symbolize, whether joyful or sad. Being trusted with her customer’s stories is one of the most special aspects for Terry. (Photo courtesy of Nectar Co.)
Even before the viral reel introduced Nectar Co. to a wide audience of new clients, Terry used her business and marketing knowledge — and worldwide shipping — to attract customers from as far as the United States, the UK, Switzerland, and Germany.
The customer sends Terry their valued keepsake, she crafts it, and sends it back within 12 to 20 weeks. Her customers can shop from Nectar Co.’s curated collection of styles and stone shapes, then customize the pieces with their keepsakes and include elements like shimmer or colour flakes. Customers can detail a very specific design they have in mind, or they can simply pass along the keepsake for Terry to come up with an original, one-of-a-kind creation.
“I’ve had women tell me that just the act of gathering the ashes and designing the keepsake was healing for her after losing her loved one,” says Terry. “It’s not like jewellery where you just pick a ring up off the counter. You’re designing it from beginning to end, so it’s a very intentional process that can be very healing for people.”
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Stories of healing are just some of the many stories Terry is trusted with when creating the custom pieces. Though a lot of the stories are joyful, with customers documenting their first pregnancies or preserving flowers from their wedding, others are more emotionally challenging.
Terry recalls an especially powerful one from a mother who combined the breastmilk from feeding one child and the ashes of another.
“Keepsakes oftentimes are about the story or the emotion, and it’s not actually about the physical object,” says Terry. “It’s about the story behind it or what it means.”
A mother of two, Rose Terry founded Nectar Co. after the birth of her second child. An artist her whole life, Terry was inspired to create keepsake jewellery after her journey of breastfeeding and from her grief in losing a close friend. She began by making breastmilk jewellery for herself, before friends began asking for their own. Terry is wearing the Mini Halo Round Stone Pendant Necklace. (Photo: Elbonita Photography)
Customers are also able to send other items that are meaningful to them, like sand or stone from a special place. One customer chose to include breastmilk and crushed SickKids Bravery Beads to document their stories.
“I truly believe that keepsakes are one of the most important things that you can ever own because it’s so personal,” Terry says.
Alongside her own jewellery, each day Terry wears her grandmother’s ring, so she also appreciates the value of having a story to pass on between loved ones.
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“We like to have memories and stories to pass down to our children,” Terry says. “I think that’s what’s so powerful about keepsakes — people can have them and wear them, but then they can pass them down and they can tell the story behind it, and then that can be an heirloom in their family.”
With Nectar Co.’s pregnancy test cap Instagram reel going viral (which encouraged Terry to celebrate with a bespoke cake from Millbrook’s Heck Yes! Cake), Terry is looking to hire another hand to support the influx of business.
In its growth, Nectar Co. will also be responding to the most common inquiry by expanding the collection to feature more unisex pieces, like a more “masculine” pendant and rings with a thicker band.
Nectar Co. founder Rose Terry celebrated 10 million views on her Instagram reel by getting a custom cake from Millbrook’s Heck Yes! Cake and showing off her Goddess Dangle Oval Earrings made from her own breastmilk. Nectar Co. jewellery can also be made using locks of hair, cremated ashes, umbilical cords, dried flowers, and more. (Photo courtesy of Nectar Co.)
Terry recognizes that the healing or pride one gains from keepsake jewellery is not exclusive to women, and the process of designing the keepsake can be just as empowering for male customers.
“Truly my goal is to help someone heal or to empower them in their journey and so it feels amazing that I can be a small part of that journey for them,” says Terry.
A custom Celeste Pear Stone Twist Ring holding dried flowers and silver flakes. With Nectar Co., customers can customize their keepsake jewellery in various shapes, styles and designs, choosing exactly how they want their memories held in the piece, or they select the details they want included and founder Rose Terry can design the one-of-a-kind keepsake. (Photo courtesy of Nectar Co.)
Drummer and harmonica player Al Black (left) with the house band for the Jethro's Blues Jam on November 26, 2023, featuring Sean Daniels on keyboards, Jeremy Spencley and Bryan Landry on guitar, Richard Connolly on bass, and Pineapple Frank Barth on trombone. Along with fellow musicians Rob Foreman and Brandon Humphrey, Black has been hosting the free blues jam every Sunday afternoon at Jethro's Bar + Stage in downtown Peterborough. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
The problem with best-kept secrets is they should never have been a secret in the first place. Take, for example, the weekly late Sunday afternoon Blues Jam that regularly sees Jethro’s Bar + Stage at 137 Hunter Street West in downtown Peterborough filled to near capacity.
Those in the know come to Jethro’s around 3 p.m. each Sunday, vying for a coveted seat. Over the next three hours, their diligence is rewarded in the form of a live music experience that, while wholly unrehearsed, is a refreshing treat rooted in the inevitable spontaneity that results. No judgment — just unabashed joy.
The Jethro’s Blues Jam is not without its Pied Piper. Al Black has been the guy since he, along with fellow Peterborough musicians Rob Foreman and Brandon Humphrey, was asked by owner Kayla Howran to organize and host the event on a weekly basis.
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Besides playing drums with a host band of seasoned musicians and serving as emcee, Black is in perpetual motion, arranging for any music performance newbies that darken the door to take a turn on the stage.
“When I was young, I dreamed of playing with the older guys and that happened,” says Black, adding “Now I’m one of the older guys.”
“Getting up in front of people was the scary part for me. When I was in school, we did public speaking. I was terrified. It takes a few times for you to forget about that and just play. A lot of people can’t do it. They can’t get over that hurdle and they never get to play in front of an audience.”
The Jethro’s Blues Jam is a weekly opportunity for novice performers both young and old to get on stage. William MacCurdy and Maddy Hope, both 15 years old and both drummers, show up on a regular basis at the Jethro’s Blues Jam and provide the backbeat for a few songs. (Photos: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Getting novice performers over that hurdle is one of the goals, and benefits, of the Jethro’s Blues Jam.
“What’s really great is everybody on stage is so supportive of one another,” Black says. “I tell the young people that get up to play ‘We’ve got your back. We’re going to make it as easy as we can for you’ and we do that.”
William MacCurdy and Maddy Hope, both 15 years old and both drummers, show up on a regular basis and provide the backbeat for a few songs.
“I’m pretty sure my dad (guitarist Mike MacCurdy) read something on Facebook about it — he brought me here,” says William, adding he “watched at first” but soon, buoyed by Black’s encouragement, he was in the onstage mix.
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Maddy, meanwhile, followed her music teacher’s advice “to get exposure. I just love everything about it. I was really nervous but you get used to it.”
Both William and Maddy have a huge fan in Black.
“Sometimes it’s a little rough, sometimes it’s amazing, but that’s how it works,” Black says. “You’ve got to stick your neck out and take some chances. It takes a lot of courage to get up and perform. I admire the young people that get up to play. The same with older players who come out, be they retired or whatever, and say ‘I’ve always want to do this.’ It’s the same deal.”
Trent University student Maggie Sabyan has been coming out to the Jethro’s Blues Jam for a few months now, relishing the opportunity to sing in front of an audience. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Trent student Maggie Sabyan has been coming out to the jam for a few months now, relishing the opportunity to sing in front of an audience.
“Whenever I can find someone else to play with me, I’ll sing,” she says. “I live in student housing and I have roommates. This is the only time I get to fully perform. This is the only time when the noise is acceptable. To get to do this every week is incredible.”
“I’m terrified every single time,” Maggie admits. “I’m horrified at the fact that people are going to witness it but, at the same time, it’s incredible to get to play with people experiencing the same moment.”
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Caitlin O’Connor, meanwhile, is a singer of the more seasoned variety, having performed with different local bands. Gifted with a singing voice that lends itself to the blues, she’s been coming to the jam “for months now” for the opportunity “to spread out and play with different people.”
“You learn to pick up and hold on and get through,” she says, adding “You learn to wing it and go with whatever happens on stage. It might not be the most perfect thing, but it’s real.”
“It’s magic. You get to share the stage with legends and with people who are just beginning — all different levels of experience, from one to 10. If you’re not having fun, you are not doing it right. If you’re too focused on the perfect note, this shows you that it’s more about connecting with your audience. Look around. This is community driven. It’s family.”
Along with novice performers, seasoned musicians like Caitlin O’Connor also frequent the Jethro’s Blues Jam for the opportunity to perform with other musicians. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Lynn Morris has been part of that family since the Blues Jam started. The widow of the late Al Kirkcaldy, who booked acts for the Holiday Inn’s gazebo patio and brought many American blues acts to Peterborough, says she is “a huge music fan.”
“I like afternoon things (as opposed to evening shows) but it’s the calibre of the entertainment that brings me out,” she says. “You never know who’s going to show up. Some days are really good, some not quite as good, but it’s very well supported. Some days it’s even busier than this.”
Morris is referring to the November 26th jam, where the house band opening and closing the proceedings was comprised of Black along with Sean Daniels on keyboards, Jeremy Spencley and Bryan Landry on guitar, and Richard Connolly (who made the trip from Lindsay) on bass. On trombone — yes, there’s a trombone — was Pineapple Frank Barth.
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Also taking a turn on stage were brothers Rico and Marcus Browne (who perform with Sam and Ryan Weber in The Weber Brothers, with Marcus also a member of Emily Burgess & The Emburys), playing guitar and drums respectively. Previous jams have seen similar seasoned musicians and singers join in, including Kim Doolittle, Nicholas Campbell, Carlos del Junco, and Black’s Jackson Delta bandmates Rick Fines and Gary Peeples, to name a few.
No one is paid. At the foot of the stage was a tip jar — “The difference between margarine and butter” as Black put it — that, by 6 p.m., was stuffed with bills. While the cash is appreciated, the musicians aren’t there for the money — Black in particular.
“This has been a labour of love for me,” says Black. “When younger players started coming out, I was blown away by the talent. I always have been but here I am, at ground zero. Maddy and William are talented beyond their years and there are so many singers that have incredible potential. It has been a joy.”
The Jethro’s Blues Jam every Sunday afternoon at Jethro’s Bar + Stage in downtown Peterborough is a labour of love for organizer Al Black, a well-known drummer and harmonica player in Peterborough’s music community. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Black is hoping he can spread the word about the Jethro’s Blues Jam and get even more local talent on the stage.
“The jam has always been word of mouth,” he points out. “I want more people to know about it.”
Opened by Kayla Howran in April 2022 at the location of the former Sapphire Room, with Ennismore fiddler Melissa Payne headlining the first show, Jethro’s Bar + Stage has been a good news story during a time when so many Peterborough live music venues have closed, the Historic Red Dog being the latest to shut its doors.
A musician herself, Howran saw a void and moved to fill it, with the pub home to regular live music from Thursday to Saturday night along with the Sunday afternoon blues jam. To stay up to date on who’s performing when, visit Jethro’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jethrosbar.
Musician Kayla Howran opened Jethro’s Bar + Stage in April 2022 to provide another live music venue in downtown Peterborough. The venue features regular live music on Thursday to Saturday nights, along with the blues jam on Sunday afternoons. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
With a capacity for 675 students, Kaawaate East City Public School at 250 Hunter Street East in Peterborough opened its doors for the first time on September 7, 2021. (Photo: Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board)
It’s only been open for a little over two years, but Kaawaate East City Public School in Peterborough is already facing overcrowding, with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board proposing moving some of the students to another school as of next September. The school board also has a proposal to manage expected overcrowding at both Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School.
“We continue to experience significant growth across our schools in the City and County of Peterborough,” reads a message to affected families. “While we are pleased that our schools continue to be a destination of choice for families, our growth within schools has been uneven. This has led to critical overcrowding in some schools and extra space in others.”
While the school board will begin “a broad review of secondary and elementary school boundaries and family of school groupings in the new year to identify long-term strategies to manage this growth,” the board says it needs “to manage immediate enrolment pressures” at the affected schools.
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The school board is forecasting that Kaawaate East City Public School, located at 250 Hunter Street East beside the former King George Public School it replaced, will have 847 students next year, and it only has capacity for 675 students. The original capacity was based on the Ontario Ministry of Education’s funding model for new schools when it was built.
Although a fourth portable classroom was placed at the school to accommodate increased enrolment this year, the school board says there is no more room for portables and all special-purpose rooms in the school, other than the library, have already been converted to regular classroom spaces. While there is space in the now-closed King George and Armour Heights Public School buildings, the school board says those buildings aren’t an option.
“The King George and Armour Heights Public School buildings have been empty for several years and would require significant investment to bring them to necessary standards for students,” reads a school board document.
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Located in the same building at 1885 Sherbrooke Street West, Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School are both forecast to be over capacity next year.
Crestwood Intermediate School (Grades 7 and 8) is forecast to have 320 students next September with capacity for 184, while Crestwood Secondary School (Grades 9 to 12) would be at 101 per cent capacity with 769 expected students.
The school board says the costs of installing two portable classrooms at the site to address capacity issues would cost around $540,000 because of required electrical upgrades.
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As a short-term measure to address the capacity issues at Kaawaate East City Public School, which are expected to continue over the next 10 years, the school board is recommending the school’s Grade 7 and 8 French immersion students attend Adam Scott Intermediate School effective next September.
For Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School, the school board is recommending that Grade 7 students from Kawartha Heights Public School and Grade 7 students from Westmount Public School in the English stream would attend James Strath Public School for Grades 7 and 8 effective next September.
Grade 7 students currently attending Crestwood Intermediate would remain at the school and then attend Crestwood Secondary School.
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For the proposed changes affecting Kaawaate East City Public School, the school board held a public meeting at the school last Thursday (November 23). For proposed changes affecting Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School, the school board is holding public meetings at Westmount Public School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 30th and at Kawartha Heights Public School at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 4th.
After gathering community feedback, a summary report and recommendation for Kaawaate East City Public School will be presented to school board trustees at their meeting on Tuesday, January 23rd, with a summary report and recommendation for Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School to be presented to school board trustees at their meeting on Tuesday, February 27th.
More information about the proposed changes is available at the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board website at www.kprschools.ca.
The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra will perform its annual holiday concert at Showplace Performance Centre on December 2, 2023 with "Believe" featuring award-winning Canadian soprano Ariane Cossette singing beloved classic arias and the orchestra performing popular arrangements of Christmas carols and holiday favourites. (Photo: Huw Morgan)
The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating the holiday season with “Believe” at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (December 2).
Award-winning Canadian soprano Ariane Cossette will join the PSO for the annual holiday concert, which will feature seasonal tunes receiving the full orchestral treatment as well as beloved classic arias.
Tickets are $40 for adults and $12 for students for all seats and are available in person at the Showplace box office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, at the door one hour before the concert begins, or online anytime at showplace.org (student tickets are only available online).
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“We will be including lots of music for the season, including popular arrangements of Christmas carols and holiday favourites as well as some great music by opera composers,” says the PSO’s music director and conductor Michael Newnham.
That includes “Je Veux Vivre” from the 1867 opera Roméo et juliette by French composer Charles Gounod, “Musetta’s Waltz” from the 1896 opera La bohème by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, and “Ah, fors’è lui” from the 1853 opera La traviata by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.
The PSO will be welcoming soprano Ariane Cossette to join them for “Believe.” Originally from Trois-Rivieres in Quebec, Cossette is currently a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio in Toronto.
Award-winning Canadian soprano Ariane Cossette performing in the Canadian Opera Company’s Free Concert Series at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in Toronto. (Photo: Karen E. Reeves / Dragonfly Imagery)
Cossette is a graduate of Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and Université de Montréal. She also holds a Bachelors in Voice Performance from Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
“Her aerial and powerful timbre with a tight vibrato, her stage presence, and her dynamic vocal lines immediately catch the viewer’s attention,” wrote Benjamin Goron about Cossette’s performance as Micaëla in La tragédie de Carmen at Université de Montréal in April 2022.
In early 2023, she won second prize in the Louis and Christina Quilico Awards and, more recently, first prize at the National Capital Opera Competition in Ottawa. As a concert soloist, she has performed with the Conservatoire’s Orchestra, with Choeurs Eternels in France, and with Orchestra Toronto.
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“I was fortunate to meet and work with Ariane last spring in Toronto,” Newnham says. “She is most certainly a talent to watch and I am very happy that she accepted our invitation to appear with us.”
The PSO will also be performing holiday-themed pieces including Christmas Overture by British-Sierra Leonean composer and conductor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor — not to be confused with the 19th-century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, after whom he was named.
Coleridge-Taylor is believed to have written the piece in 1911, the year before his tragic death at the age of 37 from pneumonia, but it wasn’t published until 1925, when Sydney Baynes arranged the piece for orchestra. A grand and festive overture with prominent brass, the composition mixes the Christmas carols “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,” “Good King Wenceslas,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” with some original melodies Coleridge-Taylor is believed to have written for a children’s play called The Forest of Wild Thyme by Alfred Noyes, although it was never staged with the music.
VIDEO: “Christmas Overture” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Orchestre La Fosse Ô Lyon
Other pieces will include the overture to the 1841 opera Nabucco by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, British conductor Leopold Stokowski’s orchestral arrangement of “Sheep May Safely Graze” by Johann Sebastian Bach, and Canadian composer Kevin Lau’s lively and festive arrangements of Christmas carols including “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Jingle Bells.” “Believe” will conclude — as is the PSO’s tradition — with an audience sing-along.
“The PSO’s holiday concerts are among my favourites every year,” Newnham says. “This is due to the very special atmosphere in our orchestra amongst the musicians, as well as our always very warm and enthusiastic audience.”
“Believe” begins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 2nd at Showplace Performance Centre at 290 George Street North in downtown Peterborough. Note: there will be no pre-concert “Meet the Maestro” chat before this concert.
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