Young Northumberland entrepreneurs can kickstart their dreams this summer of owning and running their own businesses.

The Business & Entrepreneurship Centre Northumberland (BECN) is calling on young innovators, creative minds, and kids with a passion for entrepreneurship to apply for the “My Future My Career” kids’ entrepreneurship program.

The free program helps children and youth, ages eight to 14, launch or grow their own business during the summer break. The BECN offers business guidance and provides participants with a small micro grant of up to $500 to help fund their business expenses.

“The My Future My Career program launched in 2021 and has helped 32 youth begin their entrepreneurship journey so far,” noted Kailyn Coupland, Northumberland County business development co-ordinator, in a media release.

“Children who participate in the program will have access to free support to help launch or grow their business and will have the opportunity to showcase their business at our youth entrepreneurship showcase at the end of the summer.”

Each summer, Staples in Cobourg hosts the youth entrepreneurship showcase, which is similar to a trade show. The event, which runs from this year from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, August 14, features young business people from the BECN’s two youth programs, including the “My Future My Career” program and the “Summer Company Program” — which is a similar program for high school and post-secondary students. Community members can stop by the event to check out the services and products and support the younger generation of entrepreneurs.

The BECN strives to be Northumberland’s leading source for small business support. It connects entrepreneurs with information, strategy, resources, education, networking, and micro grant opportunities to help business owners succeed. The BECN offers multiple student-based programs, such as those above, and supports various school partnerships throughout the community.

For more information and to apply for the BECN’s “My Future My Career” kids’ entrepreneurship program, complete an online application by June 18 by visiting northumberland.ca/en/becn/kids-business-start-up-program.aspx.

Successful applicants will be notified on June 21. There is a competitive process and,due to the availability of funds, not all applicants will receive a micro grant, the BECN noted.

The application is geared to children who are keen on entrepreneurship. The microgrant will help support costs such as marketing, supplies, and equipment.

“This program is a great opportunity for children to begin the entrepreneurship journey and potentially prepare for the next available youth program, Summer Company,” the BECN notes on its website. “Fostering the entrepreneurial spirit, the program will help provide the confidence for kids to start or continue their own business venture.”

The BECN is a service delivered by Northumberland County in partnership with the provincial government.

You don’t often go on vacation expecting to make friendships so strong that you lean on them through the toughest of times. But, for Millbrook resident Kristy Hiltz, that’s exactly what’s happened.

For the fifth year in a row, Hiltz has sold hundreds of seedlings, plants, and produce in support of a family she met by chance on a diving trip to the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador in 2018.

It was there that Hiltz — a veterinarian who owns Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital in Peterborough — and her husband David McNab learned that one of their “absolutely excellent” diving instructors, Christian, was working strenuous hours on the week-long cruises to financially support his 18-month-old daughter Johanita, who needed treatment for a brain tumour.

“It just killed me that we were down there on a boat having the time of our lives, with people who were acting happy and pointing out whale sharks, when the reality of their lives couldn’t have been more different,” recalls Hiltz. “Christian was working himself into the ground with superhuman efforts to save his daughter. He would have done anything and, in fact, was pushing himself so far beyond his limits.”

Initially, Hiltz, McNab, and the other vacationers who were on the cruise donated money to the family to take away some of the financial burden, but even after returning home, they continued to stay in touch.

“We ended up really connecting with this family,” says Hiltz. “We’ve stayed with them several times, and their children, honestly, are like our grandkids. We’ve become extremely close.”

Thing got even worse for Christian during the pandemic when travel was restricted, as diving instructors lost all of their income and his family’s savings were being depleted to pay for Johanita’s medical bills.

At the time, Hiltz was already a “gardener to the extreme” who says she gets in over her head every spring when she gets her seed catalogue. Always ending up with a surplus of plants, she knew she didn’t want to throw them out, so she started selling them and donating the proceeds to Christian and his family.

“I decided I’ll just sell these extra vegetables and plants and I’ll actually grow more, just as a thing to do, and then try to raise some money for these folks,” she says. “And that’s what I did.”

Over the years, Hiltz has has used her large garden plot and greenhouse to grow and sell everything from heirloom seedlings to raspberry canes, many different types of cherry tomatoes, varieties of pepper plants and hot peppers, broccoli, corn, cabbage, beets, zucchini, and more.

In her first year, Hiltz raised over $3,000 for Christian’s family and, though every September she tells herself she won’t be doing it again, she continues to do so year after year. This year she’s already raised $1,800 for Johanita, who is now seven years old and has completed her chemotherapy.

“She’s just an extraordinary kid with a ready laugh,” says Hiltz. “She needs ongoing speech and language therapy as well as physical therapy, so we shifted from trying to raise money for her chemotherapy treatments to raising money for these treatments that help her to engage more fully in her life.”

VIDEO: Johanita and her mother in Ecuador (video by David McNab)

One year, Hiltz also donated some of the proceeds to the New Canadians Centre, as Hiltz and McNab are regular supporters of the organization.

The couple is well known for their philanthropic work, including helping to bring Syrian refugees to Canada, raising funds for earthquake medical relief in Turkey and Syria, supporting a young female farmer in Kenya and the education of her adopted son, and more.

In 2021, McNab — a retired OPP officer — received the YMCA Peace Medal for his acts of kindness towards other and, in 2023, was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Peterborough and was also inducted into Peterborough’s Pathway of Fame.

As for Hiltz, she has raised more than $10,000 for Christian’s family in the past five years, with both her and McNab reaching out to their social media networks for support.

“They have been supportive in so many different ways, helping Johanita and through other fundraisers we’ve done,” Hiltz says. “Facebook friends always will come out and help and it’s always so fun to deliver those plants to them. They’re so excited about getting them in the ground, and then having their first tomato harvested — it’s so exciting all season long.”

One person purchased seeds for little planters which were then distributed as gift goodies following a baby shower. Similarly, another buyer purchased a plant after losing her own child to cancer.

“This was a very meaningful way for her to help out a child and a family who’s experiencing the same thing that she and her family have,” says Hiltz.

Hiltz and McNab’s good deeds have come full circle, too. Through helping Johanita, they have deepened their relationships with others that had been on the cruise.

Hiltz has also been in a situation where she needed the help of someone she hardly knew, and that person didn’t give it a second thought.

“We’re been so blessed with the people that we’ve met,” Hiltz says. “We just see so much of the worst in people (in the news), but there’s lots of good out there too. Sometimes you do see it, and meet extraordinary people who just reach out, make sacrifices, and help people out they’ve never met.”

Hiltz and McNab never seem to stop giving back. She will soon be launching another fundraiser by selling her pottery. Proceeds from the sale of the bowls and mugs will be split between the Brock Mission Primary Care Clinic and the Farley Foundation, which helps low-income pet owners. The latter will be done in memory of her friend and fellow veterinarian Dave Heaton, who passed away in March.

“My favourite way to give is an intersection of (monetary donations and volunteerism) — giving my time and energy to raise money for the various causes I support,” Hiltz says.

“I think the act of service — be it in volunteering or in fundraising — is the best way to build bridges between people, communities, and even countries. It is in the act of service to others that we forge the bonds that connect us all.”

Environment Canada has issued a frost advisory for the northern Kawarthas region for Wednesday night (May 29).

The frost advisory is in effect for northern Peterborough County, northern Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands.

Patchy frost is possible overnight on Wednesday as temperatures fall to single digits near the freezing mark.

Environment Canada recommends taking preventative measures to protect any frost-sensitive plants and trees.

With a presence during the upcoming Cobourg sidewalk festival and a 1980s-themed prom night on the bill, Northumberland Pride is gearing up for a colourful and busy June, with several activities to mark Pride Month.

The new organization is hoping for a successful series of events, and is already impressed by the embrace it has received from the Cobourg and Port Hope communities.

“The most exciting, and the most important, part of this year’s Pride events in Northumberland has been the overwhelming community engagement and support we have received as a new, local not-for-profit looking to bring community engagement on LGBT2QIA+ issues and programming,” Jason Schmidt, chair of the board for Northumberland Pride, told kawarthaNOW.

“In 2024, we have received a community grant from the (Municipality) of Port Hope and sponsorships of various forms from over 30 local businesses,” Schmidt said. “Further, we have partnered with the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, the Cobourg DBIA, The Mill Restaurant, Cultivate, Critical Mass: A Centre for Contemporary Art, and Sounds of the Next Generation to plan this year’s events.”

Schmidt said 2024 has already been an exciting year for Northumberland Pride. For example, in February, the group partnered with the Hibernate Festival to bring Shania Twink to the Ganaraska Brewing Company in Port Hope. In April, Northumberland Pride teamed up with the Capitol Theatre for an evening of music and discussion with Lucas Silveira.

The entertainment picks up again in June with “an exciting line-up of events for all ages to celebrate,” Schmidt said.

During June, Northumberland Pride will be hosting the following events:

Saturday, June 1

Northumberland Pride is partnering with the Cobourg DBIA to hold its third annual day time family Pride event within the Cobourg King Street Pride Sidewalk Festival with games, bouncy castles, treats, face painting, a photobooth, and other activities.

As part of the Downtown Cobourg Pride Festival, Northumberland Pride and the DBIA are organizing a Pride parade at 11 a.m. The parade route begins at the Cobourg Police Station on King Street West and ends at Victoria Park on Division Street.

Also, as part of the Downtown Cobourg Pride Festival, there will be a Northumberland Pride stage, sponsored by Dr. Kate Everdell, Cultivate, Furby Books in Port Hope and Let’s Talk Books in Cobourg. It will feature musical performances by Lady Bird and Melissa Payne, drag performances by Oliver Klozoff, Babe Kelly, Sanjina, and Rocker Klozoff, drag story time and a DJ.

Thursday, June 6

Northumberland Pride is once again teaming up with the Capitol Theatre for Pride at the Capitol, hosted by Juice Boxx from Canada’s Drag Race. Tickets are available at capitoltheatre.com/events/pride-at-the-capitol/.

Friday, June 7

Northumberland Pride hosts “Back to the ’80s Pride Prom”, an adult, costume-encouraged social event in partnership with The Mill Restaurant in Cobourg. The party features drag performances, prizes, specialty cocktails and more. Tickets are $45 and available at eventbrite.com/e/895610905327.

Saturday, June 8

Northumberland Pride is partnering with local youth, the Capitol Theatre, Sounds of the Next Generation, and Critical Mass to host Cirque De Slay, a circus-themed youth evening Pride event by, and for, local youth between the ages of 13 and 25. Tickets are available at capitoltheatre.com/events/northumberland-pride-presents-cirque-de-slay-youth-pride.

Also as a part of the Cirque De Slay event, there will be a drag 101 workshop for youth between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart in Cobourg. To register for the workshop, email Shannon Oliver at shannon@olivertalents.ca.

“Accessibility is particularly important to Northumberland Pride, and we are pleased to be able to confirm that the family and youth events are totally free of charge,” Schmidt said, adding the Northumberland Pride family Pride event has grown steadily since it began in 2022.

“We estimate that there were about 400 people in attendance in 2023, and we expect many more this year as this year’s family Pride is being held as part of the Cobourg Downtown Pride Festival,” he said.

When it comes to the Pride parade, the group is expecting local dignitaries, representatives of a broad range of local community organizations, members of the public school board community, and others to join the walk.

“Numbers are hard to predict but it will definitely be the biggest, proudest Pride parade Cobourg has yet to see,” Schmidt said.

Asked about the best possible outcome for Pride Month, he said it would be “continuing to develop and enhance meaningful partnerships with local organizations and (to) extend Northumberland Pride’s engagement with our local community into programming during all 12 months of the year.”

The Kawartha Art Gallery (KAG) has received an additional $150,000 financial boost for 2024 from the City of Kawartha Lakes — one which will allow the gallery to move into its own space in downtown Lindsay later this year.

Currently located on the second floor of the Lindsay branch of the Kawartha Lakes Public Library at 190 Kent Street West, the gallery intends to rent the building at 19 Cambridge Street South, across from the Cambridge Mall. Owned by Linborough Property Corp, the building with its 3,000-square-foot main floor space was constructed in the late 19th century, when it was as a livery stable.

“With the gallery remaining in its current space, it impedes not only our growth, but the growth of the library,” reads a business case that Kawartha Art Gallery executive director Susan Taylor presented to city council on April 9. “To shift to a location with more foot traffic, space, and control will fundamentally change the operations of KAG.”

At that meeting, Taylor asked council for an additional $500,000 over the next three years, on top of the city’s existing funding of $150,000 over three years that began in 2023.

“This three-year investment allows KAG to build its staff and move into a new space, achieving a level of stability and increased/diverse revenue sources,” the business case reads, adding that the funding will allow the gallery to also hire additional staff, develop a strategic plan, and meet the growing demand for gallery programming.

With additional financial support from the city, the gallery would move into its new location in September. The City of Kawartha Lakes is currently conducting a feasibility study for a new cultural centre, and the gallery will have the option to relocate into the centre when it is completed.

“We have been given the flexibility of either moving into the centre or consider a hub and spoke model where we will have a satellite presence in the centre, in addition to our core new space,” reads the business case.

At its April 30th meeting, council approved a staff recommendation to transfer $150,000 to the Kawartha Art Gallery in 2024 from the city’s 2023 surplus of $3.2 million, and to accommodate the gallery’s additional funding request of $150,000 in 2025 and $200,000 in 2026 in future budgets, with annual reporting to council by the gallery.

“We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of the City of Kawartha Lakes,” said Taylor in a media release on Tuesday (May 28). “This funding will allow us to give back even more to our community, through exceptional exhibitions, expanded educational programs, and investment in community outreach initiatives. And perhaps most significantly, it will allow us to realize a space of our own in downtown Lindsay.”

“Council is proud to support the arts, culture and heritage sector in Kawartha Lakes,” Mayor Doug Elmslie said. “We believe that keeping creativity and our traditions alive is very important. Supporting the KAG at this time is crucial as they work to make art more accessible for everyone. We’re excited about the opportunities this investment will bring to our community.”

PDF: Kawartha Art Gallery Business Case
Kawartha Art Gallery Business Case

The Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre Foundation is inviting Northumberland residents to help support local palliative care by joining the organization’s board of directors.

The foundation is extending an open call for “dedicated and passionate individuals” as it expands its board of directors. Those who are suitable are community-minded leaders who can bring a variety of expertise and skillsets to help guide and support Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre’s mission.

Trish Baird, CEO of the Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre Foundation, said those who lend a hand are making a valuable contribution to the community.

“Volunteering for the Ed’s House foundation board is a deeply rewarding experience because it allows individuals to play a crucial role in raising the much-needed funds that ensure Ed’s House can continue providing exceptional end-of-life care,” Baird told kawarthaNOW.

“Our board members often express that the most fulfilling part of their service is witnessing the profound impact their efforts have on residents and their families. Being part of a compassionate team dedicated to supporting such an essential community resource makes every contribution meaningful,” Baird added.

The foundation plays a crucial role in supporting Community Care Northumberland’s (CCN) Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre, and the delivery of hospice palliative care programs for Northumberland County.

According to a media release, those serving on the board of directors have the unique opportunity to make a positive difference in Northumberland County. Those who become board members will contribute their skills and expertise to support and enhance fundraising for hospice palliative care programs, collaborate with a diverse group of professionals and community members dedicated to making a difference, and help shape the strategic direction and ensure the sustainability of fundraising efforts.

The foundation is interested in community members who have experience with board and governance, legal issues, fundraising and donor relations, and communications and public relations.

To download an application form, visit edshouse.northumberlandhospice.ca/foundation-board/. For any questions about the application, email Baird at t.baird@commcare.ca or call 1-866-514-5774.

“We welcome applicants from all across Northumberland County and are committed to building a board that reflects the diversity of our community,” the media release noted. “Our work ensures that individuals in our community receive compassionate and comprehensive care during some of life’s most challenging moments.”

The foundation strives to ensure that everyone in Northumberland County has access to compassionate end-of-life care, surrounded by family, friends, and a caring community.

Ed’s House offers services such as the palliative care community team and visiting hospice, in partnership with the 24/7 end-of-life care and support provided at the hospice care centre. Hospice services are offered at no cost to clients and their families. Featuring a home-like environment, residents, relatives, and friends have access to all amenities at Ed’s House including a dining room, living room, quiet space, spiritual room, a kitchen and an outdoor space, along with shower and laundry facilities.

Located in Cobourg, Ed’s House opened in the fall of 2020. In addition to providing a comfortable setting to receive palliative care, the centre serves as a centralized “hub” for CCN’s interdisciplinary hospice services team by providing caregiver support, palliative outreach and education, health system navigation and grief and bereavement supports.

A 36-year-old Mississauga man is facing charges after he was injured by a homemade explosive at an Algonquin Highlands home last Friday (May 24).

At around 5:04 p.m., Haliburton Highlands Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were called to assist fire and emergency services at a home on Comak Crescent in Algonquin Highlands, around 38 kilometres north of Minden, after a man suffered an injury from a homemade explosive device. The man was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Neighbours were evacuated and the OPP’s explosive disposal unit recovered and secured additional explosive substances and devices from the home. Police say there are no explosive substances or devices remaining at the location that pose a threat to public safety.

As a result of the police investigation, 36-year-old Kevin Brown from Mississauga was arrested and charged with making or possessing explosives for an unlawful purpose and breach of recognizance.

Police are continuing their investigation and are asking anyone with information call Haliburton Highlands OPP at 1-888-310-1122. If you prefer, you can submit information anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

“The OPP takes all threats to public safety seriously and provides resources necessary to assess and respond to the threat,” a media release reads. “If you have information about a possible explosive device, call 9-1-1 and provide as much information to police as possible about the threat.”

Drivers can expect traffic delays and detours in downtown Peterborough as road surface repair work takes place on some begins in late May or early June and continues until next fall.

The work will take place on the following roads:

• George Street North from Hunter Street West to Sherbrooke Street
• Water Street from Brock Street to Simcoe Street
• Brock Street, Simcoe Street, and King Street between George Street North and Water Street
• Brock Street from Water Street to Sheridan Street
• Sheridan Street from Brock Street to Hunter Street West

The City of Peterborough has hired IPAC Paving Limited to complete the required work, which will begin in late May to early June, with the work scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2025.

The type of work being completed includes milling of existing asphalt (road resurfacing), base asphalt repairs as necessary, installation of hot mix surface asphalt, concrete curb and gutter removals and re-installations, resetting of water main valve boxes, application of pavement markings, and more.

Curb repairs and structure adjustments will involve flagging operations and lane shifts for 10 to 15 days for the work on George Street North and Water Street, and five to eight days for the work at other sites. Milling and paving operations will involve short-term road closures with posted detours for two to four nights per site.

While access for local traffic and businesses will be maintained during flagging operations, lane shifts, and road closures, local traffic may experience delays within the construction areas.