Campbellford Memorial Hospital is located at 146 Oliver Road in Campbellford. (Photo: Campbellford Memorial Hospital)
Campbellford Memorial Hospital has implemented temporary visitor restrictions on its inpatient unit in response to increased respiratory illness activity within the hospital and the surrounding community.
As of Monday (January 5) and until further notice, inpatient visits are limited to one visitor at a time per patient. Hospital officials say the precaution is intended to help reduce the risk of illness transmission and protect patients, visitors, and staff.
The hospital is also asking anyone who is experiencing respiratory symptoms or feeling unwell to postpone visits to the inpatient unit until they no longer have any symptoms.
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“These temporary precautions are intended to reduce the risk of transmission and protect the health and safety of our patients,” said Heather Campbell, vice-president of patient care and chief nursing executive, in a media release. “We appreciate the cooperation and understanding of our patients, their families, and the community during this time.”
The hospital is also reminding visitors that masking is always required on the inpatient unit. Masks are available upon entry to the hospital and must be worn throughout the visit.
For people who are unable to visit in person, the hospital continues to offer virtual visits, with staff available to help arrange virtual visits as needed.
The hospital says it will continue to monitor respiratory illness trends in collaboration with public health officials and will adjust visitor precautions as conditions change.
Paul S.B. Wilson passed away on January 5, 2026. (Photo: Julie Gagne)
kawarthaNOW has learned that Peterborough sports legend and former city councillor Paul Strachan Bird (PSB) Wilson has passed away at the age of 86.
He died in hospital from an illness on Sunday (January 4), just over two weeks from his 87th birthday, with his wife Gillian and daughter Robyn at his side.
Wilson is best known as Trent University’s founding athletic director, a position he held for 36 years until he retired in 2002, and as a passionate promoter and supporter of local sports. He also spent three terms as Town Ward councillor on Peterborough city council starting in 1985 and, later on, hosted a regular talk show on YourTV Cogeco.
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Wilson was inducted into the Peterborough & District Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the University of Toronto’s Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Pathway of Fame Peterborough and District in 2016.
In recognition of Wilson’s contribution to sports at Trent University, a building at the Trent Athletics Centre was named in his honour in 2002.
“Paul’s unwavering code of fair play, his belief that sport and fitness opportunities should be available to all, and his firm conviction that involvement in athletics contributes greatly to the well-bring of the individual and the community, are the foundation on which the athletics program at Trent University have been built,” reads a plaque at Trent University.
In 2015, Trent University unveiled the PSB Wilson Lounge in the upper level of the Trent Athletics Centre in his honour.
A portrait of Paul S.B. (PSB) Wilson hangs in the Trent Athletic Centre at Trent University, where Wilson served as athletics director from 1966 to 2002. (Photo: Trent Alumni Association / Facebook)
Born in Orpington, England on January 20, 1939, Wilson came to Canada in 1960 and studied at the University of Toronto where he played with the men’s rugby squad. As team captain, he helped the Varsity Blues earn four straight Ontario titles, and led the league in scoring in all four of those seasons.
He was also an important part of the university’s squash team during the 1963-64 academic year. When he graduated from Trinity College in 1964, he was named the recipient of the George M. Biggs Trophy, which is awarded to the male student-athlete who contributed most to the university in the areas of leadership, sportsmanship, and performance.
In 1966, Wilson married Gillian Watson and, a month later, the couple moved from England to Peterborough where he brought his skill and love of squash, rugby, and cricket to Trent University, becoming the university’s first athletic director and founding Trent Excalibur Rugby. He also established varsity soccer, hockey, basketball, football, and the squash program, developing the first squash facilities in the community at Trent University.
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Two years after Wilson took the position as athletics director, 67 per cent of Trent University students were participating in athletics. A PSB Wilson Fund for athletics and recreation and a PSB Wilson Bursary Endowment Fund were later established.
Throughout his career, Wilson also supported the growth of rugby at the high school and university levels and in community leagues. He contributed countless volunteer hours as a referee, tournament organizer, and official at schools throughout the region, and organized many local squash tournaments and international rugby tours.
He also continued to participate in sports, playing for the Peterborough Pagans rugby team for 10 years including 1967 when they won the Ontario Intermediate Championship.
Paul Wilson being interviewed for the Peterborough & District Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. (kawarthaNOW screenshot)
Wilson was a six-time city champion in squash and twice provincial champion in his age group. During his squash career, he was a finalist in Canadian, U.S., and World Masters squash championships and, in 1993, received Squash Ontario’s highest honour, the Special Achievement Award, for his contributions as a player, coach, and administrator.
Wilson was also a well-respected local politician and was elected as Town Ward councillor from 1985 to 1997, while also serving on the Trent University board of directors.
“Paul’s decade of service on city council was marked by a civility combined with a constructive sense of humour to the workings of council,” reads his induction to the Peterborough Pathway of Fame. “His contribution to the well-being of Peterborough citizens is legendary.”
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In his later years, Wilson also volunteered his time as a talk show host on Cogeco YourTV, participating in over 50 broadcasts a year. His ongoing “Truly Local Conversations” show saw him interview many prominent Peterborough residents.
Wilson was inseparable from Gillian who, shortly after moving to Peterborough, became immersed in the Peterborough Theatre Guild and was herself inducted into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame in 2003 for her contributions to the performing arts.
Trent University also recognized her for her contributions to the university with a tribute wall in the Trent Athletics Centre alongside her husband’s. The couple both served as residential dons for Lady Eaton College for a number of years.
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“I am so lucky to live in Peterborough,” Wilson said in a 2023 interview with the Peterborough & District Sports Hall of Fame. “This community has been so good to me.”
Wilson is survived by his wife Gillian, his children Robyn (and Neil) and John, and his grandchildren Farrah, Summer, and Sacha. A celebration of his legacy will be held in the spring, with details to be announced. In Wilson’s memory, donations can be made to the PSB Wilson Fund for Athletics and Recreation at Trent University or the Lakefield Animal Welfare Society.
The original version of this story has been updated to correct Paul Wilson’s age and birth date, with additional updates to include service information and a link to his official obituary.
A 13-year-old Peterborough boy is facing multiple charges following a disturbance at Lansdowne Place Mall in Peterborough on Friday afternoon (January 2).
Peterborough police say officers were called to the mall at around 4:15 p.m. on Friday after a confrontation between two groups of youths that began outside the mall and continued inside before being broken up by mall security. By the time officers arrived, several of those involved had fled the area.
Police later located several of the young people a short distance away who matched descriptions provided to officers, and identified a 13-year-old boy in the group as having earlier threatened another young person.
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Officers took the boy into custody and searched his backpack, where they located and seized a knife. Police say the accused teen was bound by a peace bond requiring him to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, and had been prohibited from trespassing on mall property.
As a result of the investigation, the 13-year-old was charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and disobeying a court order.
The accused youth was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on February 10.
All-female comedy ensemble Girls Nite Out will be returning to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough on January 16, 2025 to kick off their 20th anniversary year with a stand-up and improv show called "Winter Extravaganza!" Pictured from left to right back to front are Karen Parker, Jennine Profeta, Diana Frances, Jordan Armstrong, and Elvira Kurt, along with special guest Linda Kash, who will be joining Girls Nite Out the day before her milestone birthday. (Photo: Dahlia Katz)
There will be plenty to celebrate when the women of Girls Nite Out return to the stage at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough on Friday, January 16. Not only will the comedy troupe be kicking off their 20th anniversary year, but they will also be marking a milestone birthday for special guest performer Linda Kash.
Featuring an all-star lineup of Elvira Kurt, Jennine Profeta, Diana Frances, Karen Parker, and musical accompanist Jordan Armstrong, Girls Nite Out is an all-female comedy ensemble that was originally conceived by Profeta — a Second City alumna and Bobcaygeon resident — and Sarah Quick, artistic director of Bobcaygeon’s Globus Theatre, where the show was first performed during the professional theatre company’s second season.
Since then, Girls Nite Out has toured across Canada — including regular annual performances at Globus Theatre — with a revolving cast of Canadian Comedy Award Winners and CBC comedy regulars, including Profeta and most recently Kurt, Frances, and Parker.
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Profeta found that, early in her career, she would frequently be asked if women could be funny — despite a long tradition of acclaimed female comedians beginning with the likes of Ethel Merman, Lucille Ball, Carol Channing, Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, and Carol Burnett.
“We don’t have to answer that question anymore, but (Girls Nite Out) is what happens when you have a room full of mostly women and you take away the element of the guys — because comedy is historically very patriarchal,” says Profeta.
“It’s different, but I think what we’ve discovered is just more loving and there’s more heart to it when we remove that element of making it very male-centric. The guys are welcome to come, but they have to join us on our ride rather than us hitching on to theirs.”
Diana Frances, Jennine Profeta, and Elvira Kurt performing on stage during Girls Nite Out, an all-female comedy show returning to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in Peterborough on January 16, 2026. The show begins with stand-up comedy by Kurt, followed by improv games and a “talk show” that invites audience members to share their humorous or touching anecdotes in a safe space. (Photo: Dahlia Katz)
Over 20 years of doing Girls Nite Out, the women have toured across Canada to much acclaim. Though the show has taken on various formats over the years, it now follows a structure with Kurt doing a stand-up routine to warm up the crowd before she is joined by the other women for various improv games. In the second half, Kurt hosts a “talk show” inviting audience members to share their stories.
“I think we very quickly learned that people love the improv, and they love when they can see themselves on stage,” Profeta says. “That’s something we definitely gravitated towards and have shone more of a spotlight on.”
With the whimsical and spontaneous audience participation, no two shows have been the same over the past two decades. This, Profeta says, is one of the reasons for the show’s longevity and why audiences return again and again.
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“The people that come out and the stories they share — they’re the ones that make it interesting and dynamic every time,” Profeta says. “We just love our audience. We love the women that tend to come out to this thing. A lot of times we get people that we wouldn’t expect to be so open and sharing, but I guess a glass of wine will do that for you.”
Though the women of Girls Nite Out have acted out improvised versions of humorous audience anecdotes, they have also heard intimate stories of grief and illness from audience members.
“I think for a lot of people that come and join us on stage, there is a bit of a therapeutic element,” Profeta explains. “We’ve had a lot of women on stage that have been recently widowed, and it’s their first time out of the house and they just want to talk.”
As Jordan Armstrong provides musical accompaniment, Jennine Profeta, Karen Parker, Linda Kash, Diana Frances, and Elvira Kurt wave to the audience at the end of a Girls Nite Out show at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough on January 16, 2025. Since it was first performed at Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon two decades ago, the all-female comedy ensemble has been touring across Canada to much acclaim. (Photo: Dahlia Katz)
While the goal is to find humour and make people laugh, Profeta notes Kurt always takes “such good care of people” when they join the comedians on stage.
“It’s really wonderful to be sitting on the other side of the stage and just watching her sit with people and having a moment, acknowledging them and what they’re going through, and still finding the funny in a way that is not offensive or alarming. It’s just very healing — it’s very healing for all of us.”
Though Profeta knows some audience members may be anxious about being “picked on” during a stand-up comedy show, there’s nothing to fear when it comes to Girls Nite Out.
“We poke fun, but it’s not about making fun of anybody or making somebody look bad,” Profeta says. “When people come to the show, they want the spotlight on them and they know we’re going to take good care of them.”
“It’s great to have that element of fear just removed from the equation. Our comedy can be something very different. It’s not about being mean — it’s being positive and celebratory as opposed to taking people down.”
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For their official 20th anniversary celebration, Girls Nite Out will be returning once again to Bobcaygeon to kick off Globus Theatre’s 2026 professional theatre season on Friday, May 8. While details are still being finalized, Profeta says there are some very special surprises in the works for that show.
“I’ve always wanted to extend an invite to anybody who’s ever performed under the Girls Nite Out banner to come and join us, so we’re putting the word out,” she says. “We’re not sure how many or who (will respond), because a lot of our performers have gone on to work in Los Angeles or abroad.”
Among others, past performers include comedian, actress, and musician Lauren Ash, who is best known for the role of Dina Fox in Superstore, Ashley Botting, who writes for This Hour has 22 Minutes, and Kristeen Von Hagen, who is a comedy writer with credentials including writing for Michael Bublé at the Juno Awards.
Linda Kash (right) joins Karen Parker and Jennine Profeta for a Girls Nite Out comedy show at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough on January 16, 2025. She will once again be the special guest when the all female comedy ensemble returns to the Market Hall on January 16, 2026, when they will also be celebrating Kash’s milestone birthday. (Photo: Dahlia Katz)
Profeta adds that her own husband Dave Pearce — a comedian, writer, and improv artist known for co-founding Slap Happy Improv and writing for CBC and who is a regular performer at Globus Theatre — likes to point out that he was also a Girls Nite Out performer, when he stepped in for a scheduled female comedian when she was unable to go onstage at the last minute.
Well in advance of the spring show at Globus Theatre, Girls Nite Out will present “Winter Extravaganza!” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 16 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
Along with being the first show of their 20th anniversary year, “Winter Extravaganza!” will also mark the January 17 milestone birthday of acclaimed Peterborough actor, director, comedian, and improv educator Linda Kash, who has been a regular Girls Nite Out special guest over the years.
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“We love Linda, and we know Peterborough loves Linda,” Profeta says. “She’s such a great performer and teacher and she gives so much to the community that we wanted to have an opportunity to celebrate her on stage as well.”
“She’s just such a great person and she’s such a great community builder, so she just fits in really well with all of us and it just makes it so much more fun and more special to have her here.”
Tickets for the January 16th Girls Nite Out comedy show at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre are on sale for $39 ($29 for seniors and $24 for students) and can be purchased online at www.markethall.org.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for snowfall across much of the Kawarthas region on Monday (January 5).
The special weather statement is in effect for Kawartha Lakes, southern Peterborough County, and Northumberland County.
Snow will begin early Monday morning with total snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 cm before tapering off Monday afternoon. There will be reduced visibility at times in heavy snow.
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Travel will likely be challenging, with roads and walkways difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.
“Although modest snowfall amounts are expected, the timing of this snow will be problematic,” Environment Canada states.
“Because the holiday season is now behind us and traffic patterns should be closer to normal, this snow is expected to have more of an impact on the Monday morning commute.”
A 22-year-old Chatham man is dead after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 401 west of Brighton on Saturday night (January 3).
At around 10:40 p.m., Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a collision involving two vehicles and a pedestrian on Highway 401 near Cochrane Road in Cramahe Township.
According to police, a vehicle was parked close to the median in the westbound lanes and the pedestrian was struck in the eastbound lanes.
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The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Highway 401 between Big Apple Drive and County Road 30 was closed for around six hours while police investigated and documented the scene.
Police are continuing to investigate the collision. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has dashcam footage from the area at the time of the incident is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122, referring to incident number E260012392. Tips can be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
Baby Emma (with first-time parents Hayley and Nate of Port Hope) and Baby Theo (with first-time parents Jessie and Mathew of Cambray) were both born on January 1, 2026. Emma was born at 12:02 a.m. at Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg and Theo was born at 8:47 p.m. at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay. (Photos courtesy of Northumberland Hills Hospital and Ross Memorial Hospital)
Two families in the Kawarthas region rang in the new year with the arrival of their first babies, with one arriving just a little later than anticipated and the other a few weeks ahead of schedule.
At Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg, the first baby of the new year arrived just after midnight.
Baby Emma was born at 12:02 a.m. on January 1 to Hayley Boivin and Nate Hladysh of Port Hope. Weighing 6 pounds and 7 ounces and measuring 19 inches long, Emma is the couple’s first child.
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Hayley said she and Nate initially expected an earlier arrival, but as the day progressed, they began to suspect their daughter might be a New Year’s baby after all.
“She just made it into the new year,” Hayley said, adding the couple felt “excited, happy, and a bit overwhelmed.”
She thanked Dr. Awad and Dr. Smith, anaesthetist Dr. Radonich, and nurses Alyssa, Tori, and Kristen “for all of their care and attentiveness.”
As part of hospital tradition, Emma went home with a personalized gift basket prepared and donated by hospital staff and volunteers.
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Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay also helped welcome a New Year’s Day baby to the world — and, unlike Baby Emma, his arrival came much sooner than expected.
Weighing seven pounds and one ounce and measuring 21 inches long, Baby Theo was born at 8:47 p.m. on January 1 to parents Jessie and Mathew of Cambray.
Jessie said Theo’s due date was still weeks away when she went into labour early in the morning after New Year’s Eve. Just over 12 hours later, “my little sweetheart arrived.”
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Despite being nervous, first-time mother Jessie said the experience was reassuring from start to finish and praised hospital staff for their care and support.
“From the minute we walked in the door and were greeted, to the staff cleaning our room, everyone has been fantastic,” she said. “Our nurse stayed an extra two hours to see the birth through. It feels like we’ve been at home — it’s been very comforting.”
As for first-time dad Mathew, he joked that he is looking forward to the future when Theo can help out on the family farm.
Peterborough police are investigating after an off-duty police officer discharged a privately owned firearm inside of a west-end home on New Year’s Eve (December 31).
At around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, officers were called to the home in the Ireland Drive and Ravenwood Drive area after a report that a firearm had been discharged inside the home. The bullet from the firearm then struck and entered a neighbouring home.
No one was injured in either home in the incident.
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Police say the individual who discharged the firearm was an off-duty Peterborough Police Service officer. Police seized the firearm that was discharged, which they say is not a service-issued firearm and is legally owned by the officer.
“This is understandably a very troubling incident, and the Peterborough Police Service is thankful that no one was injured,” said police chief Stuart Betts in a media release. “Any further details will be released when available.”
The police investigation is still ongoing and no charges have been laid at this time.
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On Monday (January 5), the Peterborough Police Service advised that members of its professional standards unit and senior investigators have been assigned to the incident and have engaged an independent third party to examine the firearm.
“This incident is being investigated as any other incident that may have criminality associated to it, and investigators are consulting with the Crown Attorney’s office regarding the circumstances,” reads a police media release.
“With the appropriate safeguards in place and external agencies engaged, the Chief did not identify a conflict of interest in being able to complete this investigation internally, which is in keeping with the provisions of O. Reg. 401/23, under the Community Safety and Policing Act.”
The original version of this story has been updated with additional information released by the police on January 5.
More than 40 local, national, and international documentary films will be shown at the 2026 Reframe Film Festival, with in-person screenings at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre and Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Nogojiwanong/Peterborough from January 30 to February 1 and a online screenings across Canada from February 3 to 8. (Collage: ReFrame Film Festival)
“Artistic expression in the service of truth that can be so magical and so impactful.”
That’s how Eryn Lidster of the ReFrame Film Festival describes documentary film, adding that viewing documentaries is a “powerful experience” everyone should have.
“I think its power comes from exploring the fuzzy line between creativity and reality,” Lidster says. “When engaging with documentaries, you are creating space for an experience to change your life.”
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As ReFrame’s creative director, Lidster played an important role — alongside the festival’s volunteer programming advisory committee — in curating the lineup of more than 40 international documentaries that will be screened when the festival returns to downtown Nogojiwanong/Peterborough from January 30 to February 1, with in-person screenings at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre and Showplace Performance Centre, and virtually across Canada from February 3 to 8.
“The programming advisory committee is meant to be a reflection of the ReFrame community, so nothing is off the table when it comes to their reactions to the films, and everyone is coming to the conversations from a different perspective, with different interests and experience,” says Lidster.
“Of course, we talk about things like the filmmaking and whether the content is informative, but I think the most important thing we consider is how the films make us feel. I think that is the best indicator of the impact a film can have for our community and impact is always the goal.”
Eryn Lidster, creative director of the ReFrame Film Festival, speaks to the audience at the opening of the 20th annual documentary film festival in 2024. With the help of a volunteer programming advisory committee, Lidster curated the lineup of more than 40 social and environmental justice documentaries that will be screened during the 2026 ReFrame Film Festival from January 30 to February 8. (Photo: Esther Vincent, courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Lidster says the benefit of having a dedicated programming advisory committee means there is always someone to offer support because the films “can be so emotionally overwhelming.” Focused on social and environmental justice, each film can confront inequalities, spotlight harsh realities, and celebrate resilience.
“Just like during the festival, community is so important to maintaining our capacity to take action,” Lidster says. “The committee is like a mini ReFrame in a lot of ways. We bring different ideas and opinions to our conversations around the films — sometimes we disagree, we try to take on a new perspective, and we learn a lot.”
According to Lidster, the support that committee members show for one another is important when choosing films for the festival, because “When we feel held by a community, we often make the braver choice.”
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Along with selecting the lineup, the committee also helps audiences find the films they might be interested in by dividing the lineup into collections based on subject matter or style. Lidster says the titles for these collections emerge as the committee notes the connections and themes of the films.
“There are some themes and subjects that will always be core to ReFrame as a social and environmental justice festival — like art and climate change — but they take on a slightly different flavour every season,” Lidster explains. “Finding the words to articulate those particular connections is one of my favourite parts of the programming process.”
The first collection, called “A Thousand Words,” explores the ways in which text and image connect us, divide us, and shape how we see the world. It includes films like The Librarians, which spotlights the unlikely defenders who fight for intellectual freedom sparked by book banning in Texas, and The Longer You Bleed, a film exploring how war becomes spectacle in the age of endless scrolling through the eyes of displaced Ukrainians in Berlin.
VIDEO: “Woolly” trailer
The “Art Beat” collection highlights growth and resistance powered by art. This theme is explored across social justice issues like aging in Silver Screamers, which follows a group of seniors who defy stereotypes by creating a horror film, and human rights, as seen in Queer as Punk, a film about a trans man and his punk band who plays gigs and protest on the street of Malaysia where being LGBT is criminalized.
“Flora & Fauna” dives into stories about relationships developed with fellow living beings, like Woolly, a film about life on a Norwegian sheep farm as it’s passed on to the next generation, and Yanuni, which tells the story of an Indigenous leader who confronts the personal cost of resistance during a fight to save the Amazon.
The collection “Sharp Angles” is made up of films whose documentary craft invites a new perspective on people, events, and experiences. Each to Their Own World offers intimate insight into the lives of deaf people who were raised with spoken English, while Wind’s Heritage follows 68-year-old Mohammad Wali Gandami, the last living craftsman who knows the techniques of building and repairing Iran’s ancient windmills.
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“Windows In” features human stories that peek into intimate communities to share expanded viewpoints. Included in the collection are Agatha’s Almanac, about a 90-year-old woman who defies modernity by maintaining a solitary existence on an ancestral farm where she cultivates heirloom seeds, and Night Watches Us, an exploration of the tragic death of 23-year-old Nicholas Gibbs, a Black Montreal man who fell victim to police brutality.
Lastly, the “Women Everywhere” collection is a series of films showcasing women speaking out, sharing their stories, and standing up for their rights, freedoms, and each other. The collection includes Zurawski V Texas, about a group of women who band together to sue the state of Texas after being denied abortions, and Writing Hawa, about three generations of Hazara women from an Afghanistan family who aspire to emancipate themselves from patriarchal traditions.
“By the time we have narrowed down the program from the hundreds of films we consider every year, I truly love all the films in the lineup for different reasons,” says Lidster, noting it’s one of their “favourite things” to recommend a film based on a person’s interests.
VIDEO: “Silver Screamers” trailer
“If you care deeply about bodily autonomy, don’t miss Zurawski V Texas,” Lidster says. “If you’re into the mood for something light-hearted, you’ve got to see Silver Screamers.”
For those who have “stood on the picket line,” Lidster recommends a documentary made by Ottawa-based historian and filmmaker Lauren Stoyles, who grew up in Peterborough.
A short film about the 80 women of Fleck Manufacturing in Huron Park in southwestern Ontario who walked off the job in 1978 to fight for better wages, safer working conditions, and unions security, They Called It the Butcher Shop: The Fleck Strike in Images is one of several films made by local filmmakers.
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These local films complement the national and international films screening at the festival that also share stories and experiences of resilience.
“Aside from the vitality for the arts community, that connection between local, national, and international filmmaking communities provides education, collaboration, and inspiration,” says Lidster. “I think it is also vitally important that we stay connected with communities featured in these international films, especially those experiencing violence.”
Lidster points out that, by bringing together documentaries from around the world on common themes, ReFrame reflects the interest in environmental and social justice that people share no matter where they live.
VIDEO: “The Longer you Bleed” trailer
“Within the context of the climate crisis, these folks are our neighbours too, they are affected by our action and inaction,” Lidster explains. “Add to this the direct connections to people here, our physical neighbours, through personal experiences, family and friends, shared history and culture, and the similarities in fights for justice happening everywhere — these stories are not as far away as they may seem.”
Whether you’re watching a local film or one made on the other side of the world, whether you’re watching stories about human rights or climate justice, or whether you’re attending a film in person or watching it from your own home, Lidster hopes you feel “empowered” after every screening.
“Whether it’s feeling enraged or inspired or just that you are not alone, I hope the festival gives us all what we need to face the challenges that come our way,” Lidster reflects. “I hope we all take action, small or large, throughout the year until we are back together again.”
VIDEO: “Yanuni” trailer
There are four festival pass options currently on sale, including a $145 hybrid pass that allows access to all in-person and online film screenings, a $120 all-access in-person pass, a $75 watch-with-a-friend virtual pass, and a $60 single virtual pass. The hybrid and in-person passes also provide access to all ancillary performances, workshops, exhibits, discussion panels, and Q&As related to this year’s lineup.
Tickets for individual films, both in person and online, are also available for $15 or pay what you can. They can be purchased in advance online or, for in-person screenings, at the door at Market Hall or Showplace 15 minutes prior to each screening.
For festival passes and tickets and to see the full lineup for the 2026 ReFrame Film Festival, visit reframefilmfestival.ca.
VIDEO: “Wind’s Heritage” trailer
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2026 ReFrame Film Festival.
Artist Mickaela Baker with the mural she created on both sides of the entrance to the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR) office at 466 George Street North in downtown Peterborough. CMHA HKPR comessioned the work with the purpose of creating a welcoming and inclusive entryway for people accessing mental health care. (Photos courtesy of CMHA HKPR)
With shades of violet and orange and an underlying nature theme, a colourful mural is now adorning both sides of the entrance to the Peterborough office of the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR).
On Tuesday (December 30), CMHA HKPR unveiled the mural by local artist Mickaela Baker, which the non-profit organization commissioned with the purpose of creating a welcoming and inclusive entryway for people accessing mental health care at CMHA HKPR’s location at 466 George Street North.
“The idea for the instalment of a mural at our George Street office entrance began with staff discussions at our internal equity and inclusion council about making CMHA HKPR spaces more welcoming for our diverse client population,” Kerri Kightley, CMHA HKPR director of programs and services, told kawarthaNOW.
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“Initially, the idea was to improve a person’s experience of the front lobby by reducing the physical barriers, like doors, to accessing support,” Kightley added. “While removing doors was not possible, making the existing doors more beautiful and welcoming was our next best idea.”
Creating a welcoming atmosphere is essential when people access mental health care, CMHA HKPR noted in a media release.
“A thoughtfully designed environment can help reduce anxiety, foster a sense of safety, and signal that everyone is respected and valued. This mural reflects the resilience of the people we serve and the care our teams extend to those who walk through our doors. The new doorway serves as a visual reminder that mental health matters and that support is available.”
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The physical environment plays “a critical role” in how people feel when they reach out for help,” added CMHA HKPR CEO Ellen Watkins. “This project is about more than art — it’s about creating a space that feels safe, inclusive, and supportive. We are so grateful to work with Mickaela Baker to bring this vision to life.”
The mural is intended to serve as a symbol of knowledge, hope and belonging, while “reinforcing CMHA HKPR’s commitment to making decisions guided by the needs and voices of the people we serve.”
By partnering with local artists, CMHA HKPR said it aims to strengthen its community connections and demonstrate its commitment to listening to, learning from, and truly seeing the people the agency supports as a mental health organization.
As for Baker, she has painted murals for other local businesses and organizations, including a large mural in the cultural room at the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough.
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