Millbrook’s 4th Line Theatre has launched a ‘chair-ity’ fundraising campaign where patrons can purchase naming rights for one of 400 new chairs the outdoor theatre company has purchased for its barnyard venue at the Winslow Farm.

The purchase of the new chairs follows a survey completed last year where 44 per cent of patrons expressed a desire for more comfortable and safe chairs. As part of the 4th Line’s strategic planning process in the fall, the organization’s board of directors unanimously voted in favour of the purchase of new chairs — even self-financing the purchase if necessary.

“Our audiences spoke loud and clear that, while they love theatre, they would like us to address their comfort with different chairs,” says 4th Line’s managing artistic director Kim Blackwell in a media release.

Built for stability, comfort, and durability, the new Canadian-made chairs are a composite of wood and metal that can safely hold 500 pounds. With a powder-coated steel frame built to withstand the elements, the contemporary and comfortable chairs will not fade, peel, or crack.

The new chairs will be in place for 4th Line’s upcoming season, which kicks off on June 27th with the world premiere of The Tilco Strike, written by D’Arcy Jenish and directed by Cynthia Ashperger, followed in August by a restaging of 4th Line’s flagship play The Cavan Blazers, written by Robert Winslow and directed by Kim Blackwell.

For a $200 donation to 4th Line’s chair-ity campaign, patrons can purchase naming rights to a chair, which includes a personalized engraved plaque on the chair.

VIDEO: 4th Line Theatre’s Chair-ity Campaign Launch

Brian Field — a Millbrook-based businessman, mortgage broker, co-owner of Field Day B & B, and theatre enthusiast — has stepped up to chair the campaign, which kicked off in March with a generous starting donation by Andrew and Ally Pyle and Pyle Wealth Management CIBC Wood Gundy.

“I look forward to summer evenings spent at the farm in Millbrook, being swept away to days gone by, all while learning quirky parts of the history of the area I now call home,” Field explains. “What I did not look forward to — the case of numb bum I found myself with! I am thrilled to be the ‘chair of chairs.’ Please join me in securing the comfort of 4th Line patrons, now and in the future, with your support of the chair-ity campaign.”

“To have Brian Field offer to chair the fundraising component of this project is truly gratifying,” Blackwell adds.

Both naming rights donations and smaller donations to the chair-ity campaign can be made online at secure1.tixhub.com/4thlinetheatre/online/b_don1.asp, with all proceeds supporting the not-for-profit organization.

“With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day right around the corner, buying a chair is a great gift for a loved one who has everything,” reads the media release. “It is a deeply thoughtful gift which will last for years to come.”

Tickets for 4th Line’s upcoming season can be purchased by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, or in person at 4th Line Theatre’s new Box Office location at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook.

Parks Canada is preparing for the opening of the 2023 boating season on the Trent-Severn Waterway and will be conducting spring maintenance on three swing bridges in Peterborough this week.

The bridge work includes preventative maintenance tasks like washing and greasing swing bridges, and conducting visual inspections to ensure their safe operation.

The following swing bridges in Peterborough will be temporarily closed for regular spring maintenance, weather permitting:

• Maria Street Swing Bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25th
• Warsaw Road Swing Bridge on Parkhill Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26th
• McFarlane Street Bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27th

Detour routes will be posted for all closures.

Depending on water flow conditions, navigation season on the Trent-Severn Waterway normally opens on Victoria Day and runs until Thanksgiving.

For more information about the Trent-Severn Waterway, visit www.parkscanada.gc.ca/trent.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for possible significant rainfall in Haliburton County on Saturday (April 22).

Periods of rain will move into the area later Friday afternoon or early in the evening and will continue into Friday night, with amounts near 5 mm possible.

After a brief break in the precipitation overnight, another more significant round of rainfall is expected Saturday with a further 10 to 25 mm possible by the evening.

Although these amounts are not particularly high, the area is sensitive to any additional rainfall. According to Otonabee Conservation, water levels in the Haliburton and reservoir lakes are approaching their respective full levels due to the past several weeks of sustained snow and ice melt and rainfall runoff.

There is a small possibility that up to 50 mm may fall across the northern portions of the Haliburton region. If this happens, then run-off will cause water levels and flows on the Kawartha Lakes and Otonabee River to increase more than anticipated and rapidly. Otonabee Conservation is advising residents and businesses located in flood-prone areas on the shores of the Kawartha Lakes and Otonabee River to remain vigilant.

Environment Canada’s confidence in where the heaviest rainfall will occur Saturday is still low. Rainfall warnings may be required for some regions.

Elsewhere in the greater Kawarthas region for Saturday, Environment Canada is calling for showers, at times heavy, with 10 to 25 mm of rain possible. There is a risk of a thunderstorm late Saturday afternoon and again early in the evening.

The Ontario government has provided a grant of up to $1,560,500 for the Peterborough Humane Society’s new Peterborough Animal Care Centre at 1999 Technology Drive.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith made the announcement at the centre on Friday (April 21) on behalf of Ontario infrastructure minister Kinga Surma.

“The Peterborough Humane Society has been a staple in our community providing services for more than 80 years to people of Peterborough,” Smith says in a media release. “I’m proud to say that the Government of Ontario has recognized the exceptional work that the Peterborough Humane Society does and has made this investment in a new state-of-the-art facility in our community. I’m looking forward to 80 more years of alleviating suffering, rescuing, healing, and facilitating the adoption of animals.”

The funding comes from the province’s $200-million Strategic Priorities Infrastructure Fund, announced in the 2021 budget, which provides infrastructure funding to strategic community projects and sports and recreation facilities.

According to the media release, the Peterborough Humane Society will use the grant to provide accessible outdoor spaces at the Peterborough Animal Care Centre for community engagement and to enhance nature and healthy activity, including a recreational trail system, accessible building signage, and patio spaces for outdoor leisure and corporate event purposes.

“The incredible support from our provincial government is instrumental in allowing us to achieve our programming and service goals through the completion of our new centre,” says Peterborough Humane Society executive director Shawn Morey. “This funding will help us in developing a hub not only for animals, but also for our local, and regional community members to enjoy for generations to come. We are one step closer in making this centre a premier destination for animal wellness.”

The Peterborough Animal Care Centre, which includes an animal adoption and seduction centre, a high-volume regional spay-and-neuter clinic, and the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society’s provincial dog rehabilitation centre, opened earlier this year. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday, June 24th.

Emily Martin is leaving Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough after nine years, including the last five as general manager.

Martin made the announcement to her friends on Facebook on Friday (April 21).

“I’ve been fortunate to find another arts administration position in a nearby community that will allow my family to remain in Peterborough, a city that we have come to love since we moved here in 2004,” she writes.

Martin first came to Showplace in 2014 in the position of marketing and administrative manager, following 10 years with Peterborough Musicfest including the last four as that organization’s general manager.

She became interim general manager of Showplace in July 2017, after previous general manager Ray Marshall resigned to pursue other interests. In April 2018, the Showplace board appointed her as general manager.

During her time as general manager, Martin led the not-for-profit charitable organization through the pandemic and also through a capital campaign that included the theatre replacing its old seats with new state-of-the-art seating.

According to Martin, she will continue as general manager until May 4, with Wayne Bonner stepping down from the Showplace board as past chair to act in the role while the board recruits a new general manager.

A Rotary Club of Peterborough tradition that’s been 30 years in the making is returning as an in-person event and Rotarian Bruce Gravel, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

The service club’s annual dinner and auction gala, which was held virtually over the course of the pandemic, will be held Friday, April 28th at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club off Armour Road.

With a goal of raising $25,000 for the Rise Youth Housing Program offered by the YES Shelter for Youth and Families, tickets cost $150 and are available online at bit.ly/RotaryAuction2023 until noon on Monday, April 24th. Tickets include a charitable tax receipt for $70.

Gravel, who is co-chairing the event with fellow Rotarian Amy Simpson — they’ve both been at the helm of the auction committee for 10 years — says while the virtual presentations of the event were as successful as could be expected, this is an event that’s meant to be experienced in person.

“A big part of the evening is the socializing and the camaraderie,” says Gravel, a past president of the club that meets every second Monday at the Holiday Inn in downtown Peterborough. “There’s an energy in the room and people feed off that. (Auctioneer) Rob Rusland is amazing. He works the crowd and you’ve got to be in the room for that.”

First held in 1993, the dinner and auction is one of two major annual fundraisers that club organizes. The first is the Carl Oake Rotary Swim, which was held for the 37th time this past March and has raised an estimated $1.37 million since its inception for various organizations — Easter Seals and the Five Counties Children’s Centre among them.

With a $30,000 goal, the bulk of this year’s dinner and auction proceeds ($25,000) will go to the Rising Youth Housing Program, with anything in excess of that amount going to other Rotary-supported projects.

Gravel notes that during the 10 years he and Simpson have overseen the auction committee, there have been various benefactors. For six years, proceeds were earmarked for Habitat for Humanity’s Youth Build Program and, then for two years, Homeward Bound Peterborough. Money raised last year supported the new medical centre at Camp Kawartha, which the club founded way back in 1921 as its first major project.

“Part of our club’s centennial commitment (in 2021) was to make a major donation to the Rise Youth Housing Program,” says Gravel, noting that commitment involves gifting $25,000 per year over several years.

“The program is quite unique. It’s targeted to youth, basically teenagers, who all of a sudden find themselves on their own. The goal is to keep them off the street by teaching them how to maintain a place of their own in terms of cooking, cleaning, budgeting … basically surviving on their own in a proper manner rather than being totally destitute and falling into the things that you can fall into (when that happens).”

Over the course of the past few club meetings, Rotarians have heard success stories associated with the program, notes Gravel.

“Stories of teens who were going down the wrong path — they came from broken homes or abusive or drug-addicted parents. They had to leave to save themselves. The program has taken them in and taught them life skills. They’ve turned their lives around. They’ve finished high school. They’ve gone onto college. Some are now working in various fields. These are kids who would have been on the street otherwise. The program has given them self-confidence.”

Better still, adds Gravel, YES is fully partnering with Rotary on the event, with agency representatives sitting on the planning committee, drumming up auction items, and booking two tables.

The event itself will feature both silent and live auctions, with 12 tables of items as part of the former and Rusland doing his thing for the latter, auctioning off 24 items. And new this time around, there will be live music, with a cellist and a flutist from the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra serenading the pre-dinner reception at 6 p.m.. Dinner itself will consist of three courses and wine beginning at 7 p.m.

Noting the event is an all-hands-on-deck undertaking for the club, Gravel says his fellow Rotarians not only attend in great numbers but also secure auction items.

“All service clubs are being challenged in terms of membership but they’re still vital,” says Gravel. “Size doesn’t necessarily mean effectiveness. We have dropped in membership but we’re holding steady now at around 70 members. The vitality of our club continues, whether we’re at 120 members or at 70 members. Whatever we do, we do try to make it fun.”

In the meantime, Gravel is prepared for the prospect of loading his car at night’s end with newly acquired auction items.

“While I’m running around making sure everything is going smoothly, my spouse (Frances) is running around bidding. I know we haul a lot of stuff to the auction but I never know until the end of the evening how much stuff I’m hauling home. She has her own credit card — she doesn’t need mine.”

Having served 10 years as event co-chair, Gravel says it doesn’t feel like it has been that long, noting the time has “zoomed by.”

“When you’re doing something you love, time shoots right by. It’s a fun commitment.”

For more information about other projects the Rotary Club of Peterborough is involved in, visit www.peterboroughrotary.ca. For more information about YES Shelter for Youth and Families, including the Rise Youth Housing Program, visit yesshelter.ca.

What was billed as a celebration took on a religious revival feel as grateful representatives of several local non-profit organizations publicly expressed amen for grant money received from the Peterborough Foundation.

Held at The Mount Community Centre on Tuesday (April 18) to mark the foundation’s 70th year of giving, the event saw several attendees introduce themselves and briefly explain what their provided grant money was used for before offering their unabashed thanks.

There was, and remains, plenty to be thankful for. From June 2019 to this past December, the foundation granted $242,992 to 49 organizations for capital expenditures. Each applied for grant assistance and, upon review by the foundation’s board, received all or part of the money requested.

Among those expressing thanks was Christina Skuce, director of operations for Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region that, in 2019, received $3,000 for a ramp to make its office at 300 Milroy Drive more accessible.

“Because of COVID we haven’t been able to put it in yet, but it’s going in this year,” said Skuce, noting it was the first time Habitat for Humanity had applied to the foundation for assistance. “That wouldn’t be possible without the Peterborough Foundation. We’re so thankful. I have a huge smile on my face. There’s such an energy and buzz in this room. It’s nice to see something positive.”

Equally appreciative was Chad Hogan, general manager of Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough that, in 2022, was granted $4,815 for repairs to stage back drops that over time had dried out and became brittle.

“In a post-pandemic recovery situation, it’s something that we would have had to put off for awhile but luckily, with the help of the foundation, we were able to get it installed before the doors re-opened,” said Hogan. “I see a lot of familiar faces here, but also people that I don’t recognize. I think that speaks to the breadth and diversity of the groups that have been funded.”

Meanwhile, Canadian Canoe Museum development officer Kate Kennington was on hand to say thank you for a 2022 grant of $10,000 for a “beautiful metal bench” that will be installed on the outdoor campus of the museum’s new home off Ashburnham Drive that is currently under construction.

“It’s incredible to part of such a generous community and hear of such exciting things happening,” said Kennington, adding “We were absolutely delighted to be able to submit a grant application and thrilled receive the money.”

While each benefactor had a unique story to offer, the history of the foundation, which can be traced back more than 120 years, is quite a story in itself.

It was back in 1900 that engineer Louis D.W. Magie, who worked for General Electric in the United States, moved to Peterborough to take a position with company’s Canadian subsidiary, where he remained until his retirement in 1938.

After the death of his wife, Magie married Jessie Fairweather, the daughter of William Fairweather (founder of The Fairweather Company, a leading name on the Canadian retail landscape).

With no immediate family members, Magie started to make arrangements for the provision of their estate in 1950, with the assistance of Dr. G.S. Cameron and accountant James H. Turner.

In 1953, the Peterborough Foundation was incorporated on the strength of Magie’s donation of $5,000 — a large sum at that time.

Upon Magie’s death in 1956 (his wife Jessie had died two years earlier), the couple’s estate was passed on to the foundation, for which he had named its first directors, Dr. Cameron and Turner among them.

To this day, the foundation is required to present its accounts before the Surrogate Court of the County of Peterborough, ensuring its financial statements are a matter of public record. Since its inception, the foundation has distributed more than $2 million from a capital base of just under $1 million.

Seven decades later, Nancy Martin is the board chair, having sat as a board member for 20 years.

“It was a very small group of well-known businessmen that got together and did this (started the foundation),” said Martin. “It just sort of bumped along for years and years and years. People knew about it usually by word of mouth. Just lately, having a web page and these kinds of events has let people know that we’re available to help.”

“We try to keep the application process really simple so you don’t have to have a professional fundraiser on staff to apply,” Martin added. “If anyone has questions, they can phone me. We try to keep this as close to the ground as we can.”

That said, there are some cast-in-stone requirements. For example, any money granted is for capital expenses only, not operational expenses. As well, seed funding for the development of an innovative program is considered. In addition, all applicants have to be based in the city or county of Peterborough.

As she eyed the auditorium, one word came quickly to Martin.

“It’s joyful,” Martin said. “This room is full of good news stories. There are not a lot of good news stories out there. It’s important that we get together and appreciate each other, and the work that we do.”

“My involvement is extraordinarily gratifying. There’s the nice feeling that, when you make a decision about a grant, you do so having a great deal of faith in the integrity of the (applying) organization — that they’re going to do what they say they’re gong to do. It’s a lovely thing to be able to do that but they’re the guys that are doing all the hard work.”

For more information about the Peterborough Foundation, and for application process details, visit www.peterboroughfoundation.org. This year’s application deadlines are May 1st and November 1st, the board meeting after each of those dates to review applications and make its decisions.