Every Thursday, we publish live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 8.

If you’re a pub or restaurant owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our nightlifeNOW editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com. For concerts and live music events at other venues, check out our Concerts & Live Music page.

With the exception of karaoke, we only list events with performing musicians. Venues may also host other events during the week (e.g., dancing, DJs, comedy shows).

With the cold weather here along with a smattering of snow, our collective thoughts will soon turn to the Christmas season, and the insanity associated with having so much in so little time. But since 2000, a treasured respite from the craziness has provided thousands of people with a most welcome break while raising thousands of dollars for Peterborough’s YES Shelter for Youth and Families.

‘In From The Cold’ returns on Friday, December 8th and Saturday, December 9th, again taking up residence at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough. Tickets for either 8 p.m. performance are now available at a cost of $25 ($30 for cabaret seating) and can be ordered online at markethall.org.

Featuring seasonal music that one would be hard pressed to hear anywhere else, the annual benefit concert — co-founded by local musicians John Hoffman, Susan Newman, Rob Fortin, and Curtis Driedger — has raised close to $170,000 for the Brock Street shelter’s provision of its programs, with last year’s result of $19,963.43 the highest one-year total to date.

Just as they were back in 2000, Newman and Fortin are in the mix once again, performing with Hoffman as the trio Carried Away.

Joining them, as they have year after year since, will be multi-instrumentalists Driedger and Michael Ketemer, Celtic harpist Tanah Haney, and the 28-voice Convivio Chorus.

In From The Cold, recounts Newman, started quite by accident.

“Rob had this kind of party trick he could do — drop D tuning on the guitar and doing a medley of Christmas carols: I Saw Three Ships, Good King Wenceslas, Joy To The World,” she says.

“We were at dinner at John and Holly’s,” Fortin adds, referring to Hoffman and his wife. “It was around Christmas time. John and Susan started playing along and it was like ‘Boy, this sounds nice.’ That was it. We thought we had better try this out on the public.”

That they did, not at Market Hall but at the Peterborough Memorial Centre as part of the Festival of Trees entertainment lineup.

“It was nice but the sound was what you’d expect in a cavernous arena with trees in it,” recalls Newman, noting their post-show thoughts turned to “doing one night at Market Hall” with Driedger in the mix.

“Right around the same time (the summer of 1999), we were involved with the production of The Devil and Joseph Scriven at 4th Line Theatre. I set a bunch of Scriven’s poems to music and assembled a small choir of eight singers. That became the Convivio Chorus.”

Noting “all the essential elements” of In From The Cold were set at that first show, Fortin says making it a fundraiser for YES was agreed upon. At the time, it was a not-for-profit agency without a home.

“Later on, I remember (then YES executive director) David Haw saying at In From The Cold that this (the proceeds) ‘is our food budget.’ Once you realize you’re a line of their budget, you’re kind of obliged to do it. You don’t want to pull that. It takes on a life of its own. It’s something that has to happen.”

“John’s main objective was to play some music he liked with people he likes and have a nice show. I credit him with the idea of giving (the proceeds) to YES. I remember thinking ‘Let’s do it for the Prince of Wales music program’, which was hanging on by the skin of its teeth, but then John mentioned YES. We thought that was perfect.”

Better than perfect, according to YES executive director Aimeé Le Lagadec, who, having been appointed to that position in January 2022, attended her first In From The Cold concert last year.

“To think that, during the busy holiday season, enough people came out and showed us support, and showed all of the performers support, raising $20,000 over a couple of nights, is just astounding,” she marvels.

“We have the emergency shelter, but we also have an outreach team and we have transitional housing, so $20,000 goes a long way supporting those programs and the staff operating them, creating safe spaces for our youth and families.”

“Another big impact now is the cost of food. We’re having a really tough time keeping our shelves stocked with food. Folks can’t afford to buy their own food, so they can’t afford to give to Kawartha Food Share. That, in turn, means Kawartha Food Share can’t give to us. We’re having to increase our food budget in order to keep up with the demand in the shelter and our food cupboard for the community.”

Not lost on Le Lagadec is the fact that Hoffman, Newman, and Fortin could have opted to change the beneficiary of In From The Cold proceeds at any time but have not.

“To say that we’re thankful and grateful … well, there really aren’t any words,” she says. “A little tiny spark — maybe a lived experience that one of them had or someone they knew had — has led to a 23-year run of them supporting us.”

“It’s a beautiful thing — everything from the décor to the people. The whole atmosphere really sets the tone for the holiday season; a tone of giving and a tone of togetherness.”

As for what the audience will experience this time around, the trick according to Newman is to deliver what has worked so well while “keeping it interesting and alive for us” and fresh for returning supporters.

“For Carried Away, we’ve dug up songs by Canadian songwriters. We’re doing an original song of mine (set to a Robert Louis Stevenson Christmas poem), one by Ron Hynes (‘I’ll Be There Christmas Eve’), and one by Roy Forbes (‘Ring The Bells At Midnight’).”

The trio will also perform the 18th-century English carol “Gloucestershire Wassail” and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” from My Fair Lady, the latter a song that speaks more to the cause than the season.

“All I want is a room somewhere far away from the cold night air,” says Fortin, quoting a lyric. “It’s quite a powerful song in the context of what the evening is all about.”

Meanwhile, the Convivio Chorus will perform eight songs, four of which are the New Hebrides hymn “The Christ Child’s Lullaby,” “Star Of Wonder” written by Terre Roche of The Roches, the Peter, Paul and Mary standard “A Soalin’,” and the Swedish carol “Jul Jul Stralanded Jul.”

In addition, the Driedger-led Claveers will sing “Christmas Maybe,” and Hoffman, joined by Haney, will perform an instrumental medley of two Swedish songs traditionally sung to mark St. Lucia’s Day on December 13th.

“People will again hear instruments they don’t hear all that often,” adds Newman. “Michael plays the concertina, the hammered dulcimer, the recorder, and the tin whistle, and he always works up a fingerstyle guitar solo piece. There’s Tanah on the harp, and John brings in mandolin, bouzouki, and fiddle.”

VIDEO: “In From the Cold” – A Film By Rodney Fuentes (2017)

However, one thing that won’t be tinkered with is the “kitchen party vibe” that has been a trademark of In From The Cold since day one.

“I think the feeling in the room is what brings our audience back year after year,” assesses Fortin. “What we hear from our audience is this is a way of celebrating this time of the year that is ours. We own this. Music brings us together to have this moment.”

“So many say to us ‘Our Christmas season starts with In From The Cold.’ There are people I know only from the concert. We’re continually bumping into people who say ‘You don’t know us but we come to your show every year.'”

Newman notes the relatively low ticket price is another constant, and for good reason.

“We probably could have made more money for YES over the years, but it was really important to us to keep it affordable,” she says, noting “Everybody is laying out so much money at Christmas as it is.”

“Come in from the cold — the feeling of community in the room is the magic. It’s really special.”

While In From The Cold sponsors are still in the process of being procured, so far they include IG Private Wealth Management Adam McInroy and Associates, Wild Rock Compassion Project, and kawarthaNOW, a longtime supporter of In From The Cold.

For In From The Cold tickets, visit markethall.org. For more information about the services of YES Shelter for Youth and Families, visit yesshelter.ca.

This story has been updated with a correction that the Convivio Chorus will perform eight songs, including the four songs listed.

If you’ve spent any time at all in Peterborough over the last few years, you’ve probably come across a sign or artwork created by graphic designer Jeffrey Macklin at some point or another. After all, with their vibrant colours and bold, thought-provoking words, his designs demand attention.

Known through his business Jackson Creek Press, Macklin is a relief (letterpress) printer, mixed media artist, and freelance graphic designer whose work has been featured in dozens of exhibits and shows across the Kawarthas. His work can also be found around town, calling attention to local and global issues and advertising fundraisers and events.

But his contributions in Peterborough aren’t only creative, as Macklin can often be found building the city’s community of artists by facilitating workshops, opening his home to studio tours, and organizing artists’ events meant to connect people through a shared love of art.

“It’s important that art is not a secret,” Macklin explains. “I’m making art all the time, and I want other people to as well. It’s often one of the best ways to express yourself.”

Though Macklin has spent the majority of his life in Peterborough, he continues to be constantly inspired by it, with many of his creative inspirations gained by walking and biking around the city.

“It’s a pretty amazing place in many ways,” he says. “I’m a lifetime cyclist so I ride the trails all the time. The quality of life as a person who lives downtown Peterborough is pretty great — I’m footsteps away from anything, but I’m also ten minutes away from the country in any direction.”

Macklin is so enamoured with the city that, when he began freelancing 14 years ago, he even named his company after one of his favourite places.

“Having places like Jackson Park at our fingertips is a real blessing,” the artist says. “With the beautiful cedars and the creek running through, it’s a real respite for people, myself included. My children played in the creek when they were babies.”

Long before his children ran through the park, Macklin himself did so while spending his childhood in Peterborough after moving there at a young age. By the time he went to high school, Macklin had already developed an interest in typography and logo design. His talent and passion were nurtured by his “amazing” art teacher, Roberta Patterson, with whom he continues to maintain contact.

“I’ve always been a maker, always been a doodler,” he recalls. “It became a thread through my life for sure.”

Macklin moved away from Peterborough for a brief time in the mid-1980s to study design at Sheridan College. There, he was a part of the last cohort that didn’t use computers, which, he explains now, ultimately had an impact on his work.

“It kind of informs my career a little bit in that, sure, I still use computers — I learned to use them right off the bat and have used computers my whole life — but there’s something about things that are handmade in a graphic design way.”

At the time, Macklin wasn’t even practising printmaking yet, but was focused instead on drawing and painting. Then, 22 years ago, he came across a proofing press he moved into the garage he still has on Bonaccord Street before he took a course on letterpress printing — a form of relief printing where ink is applied to text or an image on a raised surface and then paper is pressed directly against it to transfer the text or image.

Though he’s acquired and let go of several in the past, Macklin currently has two presses in his possession, the second being a Nolan he got recently, which sits in the kitchen of his Downie Street apartment. He prints using wood and lead type, with images from hand-carved linocut, to create his own style of artwork.

“I use words as visual triggers, so I love the letter forms and I love the impact of words,” says Macklin. “The power of the word imbued with the letterpress aesthetic is what really gets me.”

The other key to his work, Macklin explains, is colour.

“I love putting complementary colours up against each other,” he notes. “It really is a process of having the words, figuring out how I can make them interesting, choosing the letter forms and assembling them, locking them in, inking them, and printing.”

Macklin’s works were recently on display for the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour, where he welcomed guests into his home studio — something he is willing to do even more if it means helping emerging artists having more access to a printing press.

“I invite people to just reach out to me if they want to come and give it a shot,” he says. “I can show them the ropes. I’ve always shared the press with people and if somebody’s into it, I’m interested in bringing them into the family.”

To further inspire the community, the artist has been a regular facilitator of graphic design, book binding, and printmaking workshops and classes with the Art Gallery of Peterborough, Electric City Culture Council, and Artspace Peterborough. He has also taught at Fleming College and the Haliburton School of Design. This summer, he was also one of the speakers at a workshop for BIPOC and 2SLGBQ+ artists applying for the Electric City Culture Council’s grant program for individual artists.

Macklin explains workshops like these are one of many ways the city shows support of Peterborough’s range of artists.

“Peterborough has such a vibrant art scene, with an artist-run centre (Artspace), an art gallery, a major league music scene,” Macklin points out. “There’s dance and the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, we have theatre coming out the yazoo — The Theatre on King and the (Peterborough) Theatre Guild. For a small town, we’ve got a lot going on. Peterborough is a great place for artists.”

Macklin himself plays no small role in Peterborough’s celebration of art. He’s not only finished a 12-year run on the board of Artspace, but he has also been part of the monthly First Friday Peterborough art crawls and, in the past few years, has organized Focus Fair, an artisan sale for crafters, artists, and makers to sell their creations.

“It has a broad range of makers because the barriers to entry are low, with low table fees,” Macklin says of Focus Fair. “We try to open up space for new makers all the time so that people take a chance on their artwork and feel good about it — because it’s a big ask for someone to put the artwork out into the world.”

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Focus Fair returns to the Theatre on King in downtown Peterborough on Saturday, December 9th and Sunday, December 10th for its 19th year. Artists interested in participating can email focusfair@gmail.com.

Macklin explains Focus Fair not only gives new artists an opportunity to share their work, but it creates unity among the artists.

“I’m always an advocate for artists advocating for themselves,” he says. “Putting a bunch of artists together in a room is only going to be a win. Lots of artists work solo and independently and in a very cut-off way, so it’s a chance for people to see other people’s work, network, and find collaboration opportunities.”

In addition to being an advocate for the arts, Macklin is also passionate about creating space for queer men in the region to connect with one another. Last September during Pride Week, he hosted an evening of film, poetry, and photography called “I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror” at Dreams of Beans Café.

This past September, he hosted a dance for men called “Frottage” at the café, and is hosting “Frottage 2.0” there on Friday, December 15th.

“For a long time, Peterborough had the rainbow romp as a dance for everybody — there’s also been a long history of women’s dances — but I felt like there was a gap as there wasn’t a men’s dance,” Macklin says, explaining the event is open to all men and masc-identifying people.

“I’m just trying to create a scene,” he explains. “There are so many beautiful little spaces downtown that deserve to have things going on in them.”

To view and purchase Macklin’s artwork, visit www.jacksoncreekpress.ca and follow Jackson Creek Press on Instagram and Facebook.

This story has been updated to correct the date for “Frottage 2.0” and to correct an error in Jeffrey Macklin’s name in the feature photo cutline.