Martin Boyce in 2019. He was 21 years old when he participated in the Stonewall Riots (also known as the Stonewall Uprising) in New York City's Greenwich Village of June 28, 1969. The riots are widely considered a watershed event that transformed the gay liberation movement and the 20th-century fight for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in the United States and in Canada. (Photo: James Emmerman)
Martin Boyce, one of a handful of surviving activists of the Stonewall Riots, will be speaking at Fleming College in Peterborough on Tuesday (April 18) as part of his ‘Courage to Stand Up’ tour presented by the International Day of Pink, a worldwide anti-bullying and anti-homophobia event held annually during the second week of April.
The Stonewall Riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began at the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 — a year where “homosexual acts” were illegal in every U.S. state except Illinois.
Patrons of the Stonewall and of other Greenwich Village 2SLGBTQ+ bars along with neighbourhood street people fought back when the police became violent. The riots are widely considered a watershed event that transformed the gay liberation movement and the 20th-century fight for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in the United States and in Canada.
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A New York City native, Boyce came out at the age of 18 and, at the age of 21, was a regular at the Stonewall Inn when the Stonewall Riots (also known as the Stonewall Uprising) took place. Following the riots, he continued to participate in activism, completed a degree at Hunter College in New York City, and opened a restaurant in The East Village.
Boyce will be speaking about his involvement in the Stonewall Riots and answering questions from 4 to 6 p.m. on April 18 in the Whetung Theatre at Fleming College’s Sutherland Campus at 599 Brealey Drive.
The event will also include performances by Peterborough drag artist Betty Baker and singer-songwriter Evangeline Gentle, and information tables and exhibits featuring the history of Stonewall and the 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement in Canada will be on display in the main foyer from 3 to 6 p.m.
VIDEO: “Stonewall Uprising”
This event is open to the public and everyone is welcome to attend.
Tickets are free, although you can choose to pay $5, $15, or $30 for a ticket with funds donated to International Day of Pink.
A 43-year-old woman has died as the result of a single-vehicle collision in Trent Lakes late Friday afternoon (April 14).
The collision happened at around 3:50 p.m. on Friday on County Road 507 north of Catchacoma, about halfway between Buckhorn and Gooderham.
Peterborough County OPP closed County Road 507 between Beaver Lake Road and Baldwin Bay Road for several hours to document the scene.
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On Saturday evening, police announced a 43-year-old woman from Highlands East Township in Haliburton County has been pronounced dead as a result of the collision.
Police have not released the identity of the victim.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Anyone who may have witnessed or has video/dash camera footage of the collision and who has not yet spoken with police is asked to contact the Peterborough County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Petroglyphs Provincial Park in North Kawartha Township contains the largest known concentration of ancient Indigenous petroglyphs (rock carvings) in Canada. The park's visitor centre features displays about the petroglyphs and their spiritual significance to the Ojibway (Nishnaabe) people. (Photo: Ontario Parks)
Beginning May 27, you can reserve an advance day-use vehicle permit for Petroglyphs Provincial Park in North Kawartha Township.
The park is one of 20 additional provincial parks that will adopt the service this year, bringing the total to 57 parks across the province. Algonquin, Balsam Lake, and Presqu’ile are the other provincial parks in the greater Kawarthas region that already use the service.
As of Saturday, May 27th, visitors can book a daily vehicle permit for Petroglyphs Provincial Park up to five days in advance online at reservations.ontarioparks.com, reducing the time spent registering when they arrive so they can spend more time enjoying the park. Reserving in advance also helps guarantee access to the park, especially during busy periods like weekends and holidays. At-park permits will continue to be sold, subject to availability.
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Located at 2249 Northey’s Bay Road off Highway 28 near Woodview, Petroglyphs Provincial Park contains the largest known concentration of ancient Indigenous petroglyphs (rock carvings) in Canada, depicting turtles, snakes, birds, humans, and more. This sacred site is known as “The Teaching Rocks”.
The park’s visitor centre and store, called the Learning Place, is managed by Curve Lake First Nation and features displays about the petroglyphs and their spiritual significance to the Ojibway (Nishnaabe) people. The petroglyphs are covered by a protective building, with interpretive plaques and guides at the site. Photographing and videotaping the rock carvings themselves is not permitted for spiritual reasons, and dogs are not allowed inside any of the buildings.
The park also features the bright blue-green McGinnis Lake, one of only a handful of meromictic lakes in Canada. A meromictic lake has layers of water that do not intermix. The lack of intermixing of lake waters means almost no oxygen reaches the deepest layer of the lake, where few if any organisms can survive. Because it is relatively undisturbed, the sediment at the bottom of a meromictic lake is important for researching tracing past changes in climate at the lake.
McGinnis Lake at Petroglyphs Provincial Park is one of only a handful of meromictic lakes in Canada. A meromictic lake has layers of water that do not intermix, creating a unique and fragile ecosystem. (Photo: Wikipedia)
Note that swimming is prohibited at McGinnis Lake to protect the lake’s fragile ecosystem.
Along with hiking trails and picnic tables and a picnic shelter, there are also great opportunities for wildlife viewing at Petroglyphs Provincial Park. The park borders the Peterborough Crown Game Reserve, and birds such as gray jays, wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, and various types of hawks are visible in the summer.
The park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except during the spring and fall when it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays except for holiday Mondays. No vehicle access is allowed after 4 p.m., and all vehicles must exit before gates close at 5 p.m.
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Provincial parks in the greater Kawarthas region
Parks in the greater Kawarthas region include Balsam Lake near Kirkfield, Emily near Omemee, Ferris near Campbellford, Kawartha Highlands north of Buckhorn, Lake St. Peter north of Maynooth, Mark S. Burnham in Peterborough, Petroglyphs near Woodview, Presqu’ile near Brighton, Silent Lake near Apsley, and Algonquin Provincial Park — the most popular provincial park in Canada with more than 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometres of streams and rivers.
A concept drawing of the new Trent River crossing in Campbellford in the Municipality of Trent Hills. (Illustration courtesy of Northumberland County)
Northumberland County is hosting a public information session on April 26 where members of the community can view updated designs of the proposed new Campbellford bridge and surrounding road network improvements.
In 2017, Northumberland County received approval from the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to proceed with the design and construction of a second Trent River crossing in Campbellford in the Municipality of Trent Hills. As part of the project, improvements will be made to the surrounding road network. A environmental assessment was completed, which included numerous studies from before 2008 until 2016.
The design stage of the project was initiated in spring 2019, which included various site investigations and studies and development of the preliminary design. In the summer of 2020, a public information session was held to share the preliminary design and seek input on options and opportunities for improvements.
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“The Trent River Crossing is a generational project for the community, respecting the importance of the history and heritage of the Trent River and surrounding community,” states Denise Marshall, Northumberland County’s director of public works, in a media release. “Community input has led to the design of vibrant gathering places and enhanced community connections with the river and the community.”
The new 188-metre bridge will include two road lanes, pedestrian sidewalks and bicycle lanes, five spans, and four piers.
Surrounding road network designs will include a roundabout at the Grand Road/Alma Street intersection, a pathway between the roundabout at the Grand Road/Alma Street intersection and the Trent River to allow pedestrians and cyclists to pass along the Trent River and under the bridge, access on the east side via Second Street with an overpass over Saskatoon Avenue, and additional improvements to the surrounding road network including the addition of cycling lanes and intersection improvements.
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Updated designs of the new bridge and surrounding road network improvements will be presented at an information session on Wednesday, April 26th at Campbellford Masonic Hall (53 Front St., Campbellford).
“From the beginning, community engagement has been a vital part of this development process,” Marshall says. “Feedback from residents and businesses has helped shape new opportunities for improvements for the bridge design and the connecting road network.”
The information session takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m. Members of the public will have an opportunity to view a presentation and displays on the updated design, ask questions, and share further feedback.
“We are excited to share the detailed design based on extensive consultation and the input we have received to date,” Marshall adds. “This design will reduce traffic backups on Grand Road and improve the safety of pedestrians near the bridge and proposed round-about.”
Environment Canada and the Province of Ontario have issued a special air quality statement for the southern Kawarthas region for Friday afternoon (April 14) due to the possibility of deteriorating air quality.
The special air quality statement is in effect for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.
Hot and sunny conditions are expected to cause increasing ground-level ozone concentrations Friday afternoon in the above regions.
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Moderate-risk Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) values are possible throughout Friday afternoon, with the potential of short-term high-risk AQHI values for a couple of hours.
Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors, and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.
If you are experiencing symptoms, such as coughing or throat irritation, consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous outdoor activities until the special air quality statement is lifted. Exposure to air pollution is particularly a health concern for people with heart or breathing problems, those with diabetes, children, and elderly people.
Melissa Payne is performing with her full band (Emily Burgess, Ryan Brown, Caitlin O'Connor, and Brandon Munro) at the Gordon Best Theatre in downtown Peterborough on Saturday night to celebrate the release of her new single "So Real", with East Coast singer-songwriter R.C. Stanley opening. (Photo: Mary Zita Payne Photography)
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, April 13 to Wednesday, April 19.
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).
The female suspect in a theft of cash from an apartement in a condominium building on Heritage Way in Lindsay on April 12, 2023. (Police-supplied photo)
Kawartha Lakes police are asking for the public’s help to identify a woman suspected of stealing cash from a Heritage Way residence in Lindsay on Wednesday (April 12).
Police report the suspect walked into a condominium building on Heritage Way at around 1:30 p.m.. She then entered multiple apartments before being escorted out of the building by a tenant who found her inside their apartment.
Another resident of the building heard her door open. Thinking it was someone else, she called out with no response. A short time later, she found that a quantity cash had been stolen from her wallet.
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The suspect is described as a white female approximately 5’6″ tall, with long curly brown hair and a thin build,
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Kawartha Lakes Police Service at 705-324-5252.
You can also submit an anonymous tip though Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at khcrimestoppers.com.
The female suspect in a theft of cash from an apartement in a condominium building on Heritage Way in Lindsay on April 12, 2023. (Police-supplied photo)
In 2022, the City of Peterborough with support from GreenUP and various community partners planted more than 600 trees in the east end for the city's urban forest strategic plan. This year, GreenUP is launching an initiative with a goal of planting 360 trees to make three of the first 'little forests' in Peterborough, each roughly the size of a parking space. (Photo: Tegan Moss / GreenUP)
As the adage goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now. Let’s dig in, Peterborough!
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Laura Keresztesi, Program Coordinator, NeighbourHOODs.
The City of Peterborough has committed to have at least a 35 per cent urban tree canopy by 2051 to meet climate targets. Urban tree canopy is the layer of trees, leaves, branches, and stems covering public and private lands, and includes woodlands, trees along streets, in parks, cemeteries, and in backyards.
According to Nicky Partridge, urban forest technologist with the City of Peterborough, “establishing a canopy cover goal in the official plan and urban forest strategic plan helps recognize the importance of the urban forest and the benefits it provides to our community. Setting a tree canopy goal helps prioritize policies and practices related to urban forest management and community stewardship, which will then better support the protection and enhancement of the urban forest.”
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In short, the 35 per cent target will ensure the long-term protection, maintenance and enhancement of the urban forest.
“With approximately 80 per cent of the city’s urban forest being located on private property, it is important that existing trees are maintained and that we increase tree planting efforts across the community,” Partridge says.
To help Peterborough meet this target, our community will need to look at new opportunities on private land to help achieve 35 per cent canopy cover in Peterborough.
Miyawaki forests absorb more carbon than standard afforestation projects because they grow more quickly, are denser, and are more diverse. (Graphic: Little Forests Kingston / 1000 Island Master Gardeners)
Enter ‘little forests’. The concept is simple: like humans, trees live in communities. Trees will thrive when planted alongside complementary species, in healthy soil teeming with life.
Guided by an afforestation method developed by botanist Akira Miyawaki, GreenUP is introducing a project to create little forest ecosystems on private properties. Planting with the Miyawaki method accelerates tree growth compared to leaving deforested land untouched. Little trees that are planted will become a mature forest habitat in 15 to 20 years.
The method speeds up restoration efforts by including species that would naturally exist in the landscape without human impact. Placed in close proximity to one another, the trees interact with different plant layers and each other to support growth.
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To grow a little forest in Peterborough-Nogojiwanong, the first step is to select a mix of canopy, subcanopy, understory, and ground cover trees and plants from a list of species indigenous to the Lake Simcoe Rideau Ecoregion.
Then, prepare the soil and plant the trees and plants densely (three plants per square metre). Next, cover the ground with mulch to protect the soil and roots.
Trees will require tending by us through the first few years but will soon grow to support each other after that. They will become a thriving forest ecosystem, even in our urban environment.
The Miyawaki method mimics the way a forest would regrow itself if humans stepped away. Only native species that would occur naturally in that area without humans, given the specific climate condition, are planted. (Photo: Laura Keresztesi / GreenUP)
These little forests will give back to our community many times over by increasing biodiversity, producing breathable air, enriching resilient soil, and supporting carbon capture.
“Trees provide many environmental, economic, cultural, and societal benefits such as improving air quality by absorbing carbon, mitigate flooding by intercepting storm water, reducing energy use requirements and costs, as well as promoting physical and psychological health and well-being,” Partridge explains.
“It is critical to recognize and manage the urban forest as a key element of the city’s green infrastructure,” she adds. “Employing new strategies to plant more trees on private property is key to moving forward.”
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Little forests are popping up in cities all over Canada. Within Ontario, Little Forests Kingston is working to bring a 3-30-300 tree equity to Kingston — every child can see three trees from their window, live in a neighbourhood with at least 30 per cent canopy, and live within 300 metres of a greenspace — all while inviting the community to participate in planting projects.
In a recent article by Canadian Geographic, Guelph-based landscape architect and ecologist Heather Schibli outlines how she centres her life around little forests by tending to her little backyard forest, while working to develop a virtual platform showcasing appropriate areas where little forests can be planted.
With all this inspiration, GreenUP is enthusiastic to start a little forest project here in Peterborough. We are looking for community champions that will help us make this project, and our city’s climate goals, a reality.
In a little forest, a diverse selection of 30 or more native species that includes canopy trees, sub-canopy trees, arborescent trees (small understory trees), and shrubs, are carefully chosen to be planted in a bed of richly amended soil, and then mulched. In Peterborough, forests like Jackson Park are examples of what a mature woodlot could look like. (Photo: Jessica Todd / GreenUP)
GreenUP’s goal is to plant 360 trees to make three of the first little forests in Peterborough, each the size of three parking spaces (roughly 40 square metres each). To be successful, the project will require $5,000 in donations by the end of May.
Allowing the urban tree canopy to flourish requires community support. A little community effort and investment now can allow projects like these to grow and sustain themselves for many years to come.
Ziysah von Bieberstein has been selected as Nogojiwanong-Peterborough’s second poet laureate.
The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) and the City of Peterborough made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon (April 12).
Ziysah will serve in the honorary position — established in 2021 to recognize the excellence and outstanding achievements of local professional poets (both print/page and spoken word) and to enhance civic identity — from April until September next year.
In their role as poet laureate, Ziysah will create and present four new works for various official civic occasions, as well as undertake a legacy project, and a community-initiated program of special events and activities to promote literacy, poetry, local arts, culture, and community identity. They will receive an honorarium of $2,000 and be featured in EC3’s National Poetry Month programming in April.
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Described as “a parent, poet, community cultivator, and unsettled settler who works to connect us to our imaginations, our responsibilities, and each other,” Ziysah co-founded Take-Out Poetry, which offers made-to-order typewritten poems from a bicycle-drawn cart. Their writing has appeared in various magazines and anthologies as well as in their self-published collections, Hineini (2007), Ayd (2015), and consents+/=/- severances (2020).
Co-founder of the Peterborough Poetry Slam, multiple-year team member and Peterborough poetry slam champ, Ziysah has competed and represented Peterborough at national poetry slams in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Toronto. In addition, Ziysah has performed and facilitated workshops across Turtle Island.
Past director of New Canadians Centre Peterborough, Kawartha World Issues Centre, ReFrame Film Festival, and the Trent Queer Collective, Ziysah is currently working as an editor, coach, and consultant while completing their next poetry manuscript.
Poet Ziysah von Bieberstein. (Supplied photo)
Ziysah was selected as poet laureate through a multi-step competitive process by a committee including well-recognized academics, poets, and spoken word artists. The selection was reviewed and endorsed by the City of Peterborough’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.
During the selection process, three candidates were shortlisted, participated in an interview, and presented their work to the selection committee. The other two finalists were accomplished artists Niambi Tree and Wes Ryan.
“The selection committee was deeply impressed by the power and beauty of Ziysah von Bieberstein’s language, their ability to speak about challenging issues and complex ideas in a creative and poetic voice, the mesmerizing quality, authenticity and strength of their performance, and the emotional range of their work,” read a media release from EC3. “This artist makes everyone feel like each poem is for them. Clearly an accomplished artist with a wide range of experience, Ziysah has a remarkable ability to connect individuals to larger world issues.”
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Ziysah takes over the poet laureate role from Sarah Lewis, an Anishnaabe Kwe (Ojibwe/Cree) spoken word artist from Curve Lake First Nation who was selected Peterborough’s first poet laureate in 2021. Along with Justin Million, Ziysah was a finalist for the inaugural poet laureate competition.
“I am deeply honoured and grateful to all who have recognized the vitality of poetry in creating this position, and to the foundational voice of our first poet laureate Sarah Lewis,” Ziysah says. “My vision for the coming year is to hold space for the kind of poetry that can lure us from our caves of isolation back to the warmth of a shared fire.”
Dr. Jenn Cole, a mixed-ancestry Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe, associate professor at Trent University, and director of Nozhem First People’s Performance Space, was a nominator of Ziysah for poet laureate.
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“Hearing Ziy at readings and community events has deepened my connection to Michi Saagig territory and allowed me to imagine more livable futures for all,” Dr. Cole says. “Ziysah’s work speaks across generations, to human and non-human life, with playfulness, momentum and a sense of celebration,.”
Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal will introduce Ziysah at the beginning of the April 24th city council meeting.
“A poet laureate is a reflection of our values as a community,” Leal says. “Through poetry, we’re inspired and encouraged to reflect on our lives and the life of our community. The arts community is a key part of the cultural, social, and economic vibrancy of Peterborough. Thank you to Ziysah, our new poet laureate, for helping to elevate the awareness of the arts in our community and for bringing the arts into our civic life.”
'Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible?', a 'ready to print' exhibit about the Holocaust created by Jerusalem-based Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, on display at the National Chengchi University of Taiwan. The Beth Israel Synagogue Congregation is bringing the exhibit, which is intended for mature viewers, to Peterborough on April 17 and 18, 2023. (Photo: Yad Vashem)
To mark Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel on April 18), the Beth Israel Synagogue Congregation is hosting an exhibition called ‘Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible?’ on April 17 and 18.
Also known as the Shoah (the Hebrew word for “catastrophe”), the Holocaust was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered an estimated six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, comprising around two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.
Last fall, the Beth Israel Synagogue Congregation brought a Holocaust education photo exhibit designed for teenage viewers to Peterborough. While the exhibit included real stories of children’s lives during the Holocaust, it omitted any graphic and violent content.
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Both teenagers and adults visited the exhibit, and many adults who provided feedback said they wanted to learn more about the Holocaust, as violent and horrifying as it was, and to understand how it could ever have happened.
Created by the Jerusalem-based Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, ‘Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible?’ is an exhibit that explains how hate was allowed to spiral into an unprecedented systematic genocide aimed at annihilating all Jewish people.
The exhibit’s panels feature explanatory texts, original photographs, art and documents, as well as quotes from the victims, survivors, and rescuers. The exhibit addresses all major historical aspects of the Holocaust, beginning with Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe and ending with the liberation of those few Jews still alive in concentration and extermination camps.
Hungarian Jews being “selected” for either forced labour or the gas chamber on the ramp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau in German-occupied Poland around May 1944. The photograph is part of the collection known as the Auschwitz Album, the only surviving visual evidence of the process leading to mass murder at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The album was donated to Yad Vashem by Lili Jacob, a survivor who found it in the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp in 1945. (Anonymous photographer / public domain)
Unlike last fall’s exhibition, ‘Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible?’ contains violent and graphic content and is intended for mature viewers.
“The showing of this particular exhibit in Peterborough is very timely,” reads a media release from the Beth Israel Synagogue Congregation. “Statistics Canada lists Peterborough as having had the second highest rate of reported hate crimes out of all metropolitan areas across the country in 2021. Peterborough’s hate crime rate had already increased by 126 per cent between 2019 and 2020. While this all very scary, there is reason to believe that the caring and welcoming folks in our community can reverse these trends.”
With the Ontario Ministry of Education making Holocaust education mandatory in schools starting in Grade 6 this fall, this exhibit can also provide parents and other adults with the information necessary to discuss the topic with children.
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‘Shoah: How was it Humanly Possible?’ will be available for viewing from 2 to 8 p.m. on Monday, April 17th and Tuesday, April 18th in the lower hall of Beth Israel Synagogue at 775 Weller Street in Peterborough. There is no admission cost.
In addition to the exhibit, the Beth Israel Synagogue Congregation is also hosting two other Yom HaShoah events. There will be a commemorative candle lighting service from 6:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday April 17th, and a webinar entitled “Fight or Die: 80th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising” will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18th.
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