It’s World Turtle Day on Tuesday (May 23), and Curve Lake First Nation Cultural Centre and Otonabee Conservation are raising awareness about local turtles with the installation of turtle education and trail crossing signs at Curve Lake First Nation and along the Jackson Creek Trail in Peterborough.

World Turtle Day is an annual event held every May 23rd as a yearly observance to help people celebrate and protect turtles — called mikinaak in Anishinaabemowin, the local dialect of the Ojibway language — and their disappearing habitats, as well as to encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.

According to experts, turtles are the most threatened of the major groups of vertebrates, with about 75 per cent of turtles worldwide being threatened or already extinct. All of Ontario’s eight species of native turtles are at risk of disappearing.

Mikinaak crossing signs will be mounted on kilometre marker posts along the Jackson Creek Trail, providing trail users with a QR code that connects to the Turtle Guardians Sighting Report Form at www.turtleguardians.com, where you can report sightings of any turtles spotted along the trail to help advance turtle conservation efforts.

Turtle education signs, with text and species names of Ontario turtles translated into Anishinaabemowin, will also be installed along the Jackson Creek Trail as well as at Curve Lake First Nation.

“As a result of colonization, Anishinaabemowin has lost many words, sounds, and phrases that will never be regained,” explains Anne Taylor from the Curve Lake First Nation Education Department in a media release. “That includes some of the turtle species included on these educational signs. Where possible the traditional turtle species names have been used, but new names have been created for some species based on what makes these turtles special to the Curve Lake First Nation community.”

As Anishinaabemowin is mainly a spoken language, work is underway to include QR codes that link to audio clips of Curve Lake First Nation Elders speaking the Anishinaabemowin species names so that visitors can hear the pronunciation of the local dialect.

“Otonabee Conservation is proud to be part of this project and grateful for the opportunity to share turtle education in Anishinaabemowin and English languages,” says Meredith Carter, Otonabee Conservation’s watershed management program manager.

“Otonabee Conservation is looking forward to continued collaboration with the Curve Lake First Nation to incorporate Anishinaabemowin names into educational signage at more Conservation Areas,” adds Jessie James, manager of conservation lands.

Many turtles are on the move from May to July looking for nesting sites, and they can often be seen crossing roadways. About half of the turtles hit by cars are adult females on their way to lay eggs.

Watch for turtles on roads and help them across if it is safe to do so. You can find information on helping turtles cross the road on the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre’s website at ontarioturtle.ca.

If you find an injured turtle, call the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre at 705-741-5000.

Maroon, white, and bright blue never looked as good together as they did Monday (May 22) as fans of the Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough Petes feted their hockey heroes under a flawless sky.

The community celebration at Quaker Foods City Square in downtown Peterborough — held less than 24 hours after the hometown side edged the London Knights 2-1 to claim its 10th J. Robertson Cup — drew some 500 raucous supporters of the club.

Following the screening of a video highlighting past Petes’ championships that was projected on a 16-foot video wall, the crowd patiently sat through the obligatory speeches from area political representatives. However, when Petes players were introduced by name before walking a gauntlet with fans jammed tight on both sides, the energy level ramped up considerably.

Among the more exuberant was Charlene Avon, who grandson JR Avon plays centre for the Petes and, with his teammates, will travel to Kamloops, B.C. later this week to do battle in the 103rd Memorial Cup Canadian junior hockey championship.

Asked her reaction to the Petes’ championship win, Avon posed a question of her own.

“Can you not tell from the smile on my face?” she said, adding “It’s absolutely beautiful and we’re going to Kamloops, and we’re going to win it all.”

“It doesn’t get better than this. You can feel the rise in everyone’s spirits. What a way to send the guys away to Kamloops. They’re going to remember this and they’re going to know that we’re with them.”

An attendee at every Petes’ home game and a more than a few road games, Avon will make the trip to Kamloops to cheer on her grandson.

Like Avon, season ticket holder Fred Delahey was at the Memorial Centre for the championship-clinching game. He says the atmosphere “was electric … everybody was jumping around and hooting and hollering.”

Looking ahead to the Memorial Cup — the Kamloops Blazers, the Seattle Thunderbirds, and the Québec Remparts will also vie for storied championship trophy — Delahey is cautiously optimistic.

“They’ve got a fair shot at it,” he says. “If they continue to play like they’ve been playing, who knows? They’re on the dance floor.”

Meanwhile, doing some tandem cheerleading were Angele and Samantha Westlake.

“We couldn’t be more proud of the boys and our community — how we’re all coming together to celebrate them today,” said Angele. “They worked so hard. They never gave up. When they were down in some of the games, they fought back.”

Samantha admits to having been worried during the Petes’ remarkable playoff win, which saw the club win best-of-seven series against the Sudbury Wolves, the Ottawa 67s and the North Bay Battalion before taking out the Knights.

“It was so nerve wracking but the boys pushed through,” Samantha said. “There was no quit. They deserve this so much.”

A season ticket holder for eight years now, Ted Dawes said he never saw the Memorial Centre look and feel like it did during game six.

“Sudbury in four (games) and then Ottawa in six and North Bay in seven and London in six. Those were not easy series. This is great today for the city. It’s been a long time since we had something like this and it’s great to have it back.”

A long time indeed. Prior this championship, the Petes last wore the Ontario Hockey League crown in 2006 when they defeated the same London Knights. As for the Memorial Cup trophy, the Petes last claimed that prize in 1979 — the one and only Canadian championship ever won by the club.

Jace Reil, who plays for the U13 Petes, is too young to have any recollection of that but he’s just fine with living in the moment.

“I hope they do really good … I think they’ll do good,” said Jace when asked how he feels the Petes will fare at the Memorial Cup.

Surveying the Quaker Foods City Square, Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal — appropriately attired in a Petes jersey — liked what he saw and heard.

“This is a great shot in the arm for the city,” said Mayor Leal, who took in the championship win with his son Braden. “It’s a major positive thing for the community. Last night (Sunday) at the Memorial Centre, (there were) 4,100 people — you could not put another body into the PMC. The atmosphere was electric.”

“I give full credit to (former) mayor Diane Therrien and her council who made the strategic decision to build a public square in downtown Peterborough,” Leal added. ” I’ve had some other mayors visit me and take a tour of the square here because they would like to replicate it in their downtowns.”

Echoing Mayor Leal’s excitement over the public space’s use was city councillor Matt Crowley.

“This is exactly the kind of event that we want here,” he said. “It’s the perfect venue for something like this. Now, with the Petes going to Kamloops for the Memorial Cup and the (Peterborough) Lakers coming back in a week and a half, it’s a great thing.”

While it’s not yet official, Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) executive director Terry Guiel said it’s “90 per cent certain” that a community watch party will be held in the square in conjunction with the Petes’ first Memorial Cup game.

That contest takes place at 6 p.m. on Saturday (May 27) at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops against the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds.

Last Friday (May 19), game five of the Peterborough-London series was screened in the square by Porter Sound, sponsored in part by kawarthaNOW. While welcoming the collaboration with the city that made that happen, Guiel said for that partnership to continue moving forward “we need to make sure the red tape is out of the way so we can have impromptu special events like this and we don’t need 90 days to fill out a form.”

“The community needs a space like this,” Gueil said. “It makes a city a livable, enjoyable place. We have diehard fans of the downtown but there’s also a large demographic that’s new to Peterborough. We need to introduce them to the downtown as well as reintroduce people who haven’t come downtown in awhile.”

Fans can catch the Memorial Cup games on OHL Live, TSN, Freq 90.5, Oldies 96.7 and Classic Rock 107.9.

Those interested in travelling to Kamloops to cheer on the Petes will have to make their own arrangements, with the Petes strongly encouraging fans to arrange tickets through the Sandman Centre or other official sources as capacity is limited at the Sandman Centre.

The Peterborough Petes defeated the London Knights before a sold-out hometown crowd at the Memorial Centre on Sunday night (May 21), winning the OHL championship and the J. Roberston Cup for the 10th time in the team’s history, and the community is invited to celebrate along with the Petes on Monday afternoon in downtown Peterborough.

The Petes, who won the game 2-1 to take the best-of-seven series in six games, also defeated the London Knights in their last OHL championship 17 years ago, when they swept the Knights in four games to advance to the Memorial Cup where they placed fourth.

A community celebration of the Petes’ historic win will take place on Victoria Day from 3 to 6 p.m. at Quaker Foods City Square in downtown Peterborough, the same location as the community watch party for Friday’s game five in London, which the Knights won forcing a sixth game in Peterborough.

At Sunday night’s game, goalie Michael Simpson led the way to Peterborough’s victory by stopping 36 of 37 shots.

The game remained scoreless in the first period, with Petes rightwinger Avery Hayes opening the scoring in the second period. London tied it up in the second period before Petes forward Tucker Robertson scored what would be the Petes’ winning goal. After the game, Michael Simpson was awarded the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as the 2023 OHL Playoff’s most valuable player.

As OHL champions, the Petes qualify to compete for the 103rd Memorial Cup in the Canadian Hockey League national championship series, which they have won once in 1979. The series begins on Thursday (May 25) in Kamloops, B.C., with the national championship game scheduled for Sunday, June 4th. Along with the Petes, the Kamloops Blazers, the Seattle Thunderbirds, and the Québec Remparts will be vying for the cup.

The Petes’ first game takes place at 6 p.m. on Saturday (May 27) at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops against the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the second time since 2017 by defeating the Winnipeg ICE in five games on Friday night.

Fans can catch the Memorial Cup games on OHL Live, TSN, Freq 90.5, Oldies 96.7, and Classic Rock 107.9. Those who are interested in travelling to Kamloops to cheer on the Petes will have to make their own arrangements, with the Petes strongly encouraging fans to arrange tickets through the Sandman Centre or other official sources as capacity is limited at the Sandman Centre.

A community celebration of the team’s victory takes place from 3 to 6 p.m on Monday at Quaker Foods City Square in downtown Peterborough where the Petes will display the J. Roberston Cup.

A 16-foot screen will be set up by Porter Sound to highlight the season’s best plays and there will be official championship merchandise, face painting, and opportunities for food and refreshments from local vendors.

The formal program begins at 3:45 p.m. with remarks from dignitaries, players, staff, and executives, official championship merchandise, face painting, and opportunities for food and refreshments from local vendors.

The event will include an official championship photo of the entire Petes team with community members, so fans are encouraged to wear maroon and white. While the event is free, parking will be extremely limited as a large crowd is anticipated.

The Peterborough Petes – pride of the #OHL in 2023!#OHLChampionship | @PetesOHLhockey pic.twitter.com/hxJfoM968N

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 22, 2023

Whatever our differences, there are two things — live music and sports fandom — that more often than not bring us together for a shared experience.

The latter did the trick Friday night (May 19) at the Quaker Foods City Square in downtown Peterborough as some 400 people gathered to take in game five of the best-of-seven Ontario Hockey League championship final between the hometown Peterborough Petes and the London Knights, livestreamed from Budweiser Gardens in London.

Before a 16-foot video wall provided by Porter Sound, Petes fans of all ages gathered, many perched in lawn chairs with extra blankets and travel mugs. Despite a light rain that began to fall with under 10 minutes left in the third period, most stayed put to watch the Petes fall to the Knights by a score of 4-1.

With the loss, the Petes still lead the series 3-2 with game six scheduled for this Sunday night (May 21) at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Game seven, if needed, will be played the following night in London (another community watch party will take place if the Knights force a game seven).

While Friday night’s game was the main attraction, what also impressed those who spoke with kawarthaNOW, one of the event’s media sponsors, was the use of the downtown public space for a unique community experience.

“This is perfect — this is exactly what this space is intended for,” raved Sean McCarthy, a diehard Petes fan who has missed but a few home games during the club’s remarkable playoff run.

“I’ve been to Buffalo Bills tailgate parties … that’s what this reminds me of,” McCarthy added. “It’s exactly what Peterborough needs right now. What’s great is when you look around at this crowd, you see people from all walks of life. All ages — kids, adults, whatever. They’ve all been brought together and united by this fabulous playoff run.”

Sharing the watch party experience were Melanie Clapper and Kevin Holland. They arrived at the square at 1:30 p.m. — six hours before puck drop.

“We’re big fans … we go to every Petes game,” said Clapper.

“I didn’t really expect them to beat Ottawa (in an earlier playoff series) but I’ll take it,” added Holland.

Clapper was impressed by the watch party set up, saying that “more things like this” would represent a good use of the public space.

Also taking in the experience was Ashley Woollacott of Ennismore, joined by her kids and their friends. She too liked what she saw and heard.

“I think it’s amazing,” Woollacott said. “We need to bring the community together and liven up downtown. Sport is one of many things that brings people together.”

Arguably the biggest smile seen was worn by Hillary Flood, vibrancy manager for the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Association (DBIA). In partnership with the City of Peterborough and the Peterborough Petes, the DBIA conceived of, and organized, the watch party in just a few days.

“This started as an idea on Monday and from that idea, through the woodwork, the community came together to make it happen,” said Flood. “The Quaker Foods City Square is a space for gathering; a space for community. When this idea came across our desk, we jumped on it. We couldn’t see a celebration not happening for our Petes.”

With the name of the DBIA game being to bring foot traffic to the downtown core, Flood says the square, and events held there, check that box in a big way.

“This is re-introduction to our downtown core in a whole new way. When we think about a community watch party, it’s a perfect example of a positive intervention — a place-making intervention that transforms what would otherwise have been an empty space into a space for community gathering.”

Key to the event’s success, and its viability from a cost perspective, was the involvement of Porter Sound, which provided the 16-foot high-definition video wall on which the game was livestreamed from the TSN feed.

“It’s something that was never available in this area — if you wanted the technology you would have to pay major money to bring it in from a major city,” said Bill Porter.

“What a great way to display this new technology that’s here, teaming up with the DBIA and the city to show the Petes in the playoffs. We’re really excited to be able to come here to the square. We hope we can do a lot more with the city and the DBIA.”

Completed in fall of last year at the site of the former Louis Street parking lot, the Quaker Foods City Square hosted ice skating throughout the winter season and recently became the new home of the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market that will operate every Wednesday and Saturday until October 28th.

Consultation, planning and design work for the $6.4-million project began in late 2016 but construction didn’t start until early in 2021.

Key funders of the project included the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) which provided $750,000, the City of Peterborough which contributed $677,909, and the DBIA with a $50,000 donation.

Last September, Peterborough city council approved a naming rights agreement with PepsiCo Foods which, through its Quaker brand, will pay $240,000 over 15 years for the city square’s name.

There were no injuries following a fire on Thursday night (May 18) at the Wolfe Street encampment in downtown Peterborough, although there was extensive damage and one person was displaced.

At around 11:50 p.m. on Thursday, police and fire crews responded to a report of multiple temporary structures on fire in the Rehill overflow parking lot.

On arrival, fire crews observed multiple small structures fully involved, with fire extending to adjacent temporary structures located on Dalhousie Street.

After accounting for all occupants, fire crews quickly brought under the blaze under control. However, fire and related damage to the structures and their contents was extensive.

There were no reports of any injuries, although one occupant was displaced. Police did not lay any charges.

The fire is sure to provoke discussion at Peterborough city council’s meeting on Tuesday night, when council will decide whether to approve an earlier decision by general committee to support a city staff report recommending modular temporary housing be built at the Wolfe Street site.

At the meeting, council will hear from delegations, including from residents and businesses neighbouring the Wolfe Street encampment.

Peterborough police are continuing to investigate after a Lakefield business owner lost $15,000 last Thursday (May 11) when contractors hired to repave a parking lot did not complete the work.

Since then, police have been made aware of two more incidents believed to be the same group of people, who offer to do driveway and pavement repairs.

The sales technique is aggressive and both residents and businesses have been approached. The work has been unsolicited and has sometimes begun before an agreement has been reached.

Two suspects in the originally reported Lakefield incident both had Irish accents.

Police have released photos of the suspects and the vehicles used in the incidents.

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

For the second year in a row, Ontario Parks has collaborated with Hamilton craft brewery Collective Arts Brewing to produce a limited-edition specialty craft beer, with a portion of sale proceeds again supporting reforestation work at Balsam Lake Provincial Park in Kawartha Lakes.

Trail Loop is a honey lager, brewed with locally sourced honey, with five per cent alcohol by volume. Collective Arts Brewing describes the light-bodied brew as having “floral notes, both on the nose and on the palate,” with a “balanced dry finish that makes this beer incredibly drinkable.”

Founded by Matt Johnston and Bob Russell in 2013, Collective Arts Brewing is a grassroots craft brewery that “fuses the creativity of craft beverages with the inspired talents of artists from around the world.”

Last year, the brewery also collaborated with Ontario Parks to produce a limited-edition India pale ale called Field Guide. Sales of that beer raised almost $6,000 for the Balsam Lake reforestation project, which aims to plant as many as 1,000 trees at the provincial park, located along the Trent-Severn Waterway a few kilometres southwest of Coboconk.

Like many provincial parks in southern Ontario, Balsam Lake’s forests have been affected by the emerald ash borer. The reforestation project is inoculating healthy black ash trees to protect them against the invasive insect, as well as planting native tree species such as white birch, white cedar, and white spruce to fill in the gaps left by dead and dying ash trees. The project is also removing invasive species like Scot’s pine and buckthorn that are damaging the ecosystem’s overall health.

“The team at Balsam Lake Provincial Park is grateful to be the recipient of this collaboration,” says park superintendent Mike Cappello in a media release. “It’s heartwarming to know that Ontarians from across the province will have a hand in restoring our beautiful forest. The reforestation project is helping us to bring diversity back into the habitat that nurtures species and park visitors alike. We look forward to planting even more trees this year as we work toward rebuilding this special and treasured green space.”

Described as “a tribute to the trails that weave through Ontario’s provincial parks and the people who explore them,” the Trail Loop can design features artwork by Toronto artist Gosia Komorski, who also designed the artwork for last year’s Field Guide IPA.

Komorski has a special connection with Balsam Lake Provincial Park, having spent her childhood summers camping there as well as at other provincial parks, which she now revisits with her own daughter. The Trail Loop can design includes trilliums, thistle, and other native plants as well as bees.

The limited-edition beer is now available for purchase at select grocery stores across the province (it will be available at The Beer Store later in May) and online at Collective Arts Brewing’s website at collectiveartsontario.com, where you can also purchase exclusive Trail Loop merchandise featuring Komorski’s artwork, including a Nalgene water bottle and a hat, with proceeds also going to the Balsam Lake reforestation project.