A Bancroft woman has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after an assault early Thursday morning (August 10).
Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, officers with the Bancroft Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to an assault in the town of Bancroft.
One person was found with serious injuries. Police have not released any details about the nature of the assault or the victim’s condition.
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Police arrested and charged 43-year-old Heidi Brethour of Bancroft with attempted murder.
The accused women is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville on Thursday.
This story has been updated to correct the surname of the accused woman. The accused woman’s surname is Brethour and not Breathour as originally supplied by police.
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Mayor Jim Martin, and AON Inc. president and CEO Brad Smith prepare to officially break ground on the new 128-bed long-term care home to be called "Station Place" in the village of Havelock in Peterborough County during an event on August 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen)
It was more than a decade in the making, but the ground was officially broken Wednesday (August 9) for a new 128-bed long-term care home to be called “Station Place” in the village of Havelock in Peterborough County.
The groundbreaking ceremony, which took place at the facility site at 628 Old Norwood Road, was attended by Brad Smith, president and CEO of AON Inc. — which is developing the project and will operate the facility — along with AON Inc. vice president Ray Barlow, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark, and Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Mayor Jim Martin.
All members of current and past township councils were also present to celebrate the occasion, along with many of the community advocates and supporters who lobbied for the facility.
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It was over 10 years ago that the township acquired the property for a long-term care home. Since then, the property has been rezoned, water and sewer services have been installed to the property lot line, and engineered drawings for the facility have moved through the building review and approval process.
“Breaking ground on this 128-bed long-term care project has been a long time coming and we’ve had to overcome a significant number of challenges along the way,” said Mayor Martin. “I am extremely happy the day is fast approaching. Our residents, and those in the surrounding area, need a modern long-term care facility that provides high quality care, where they can live out their years with dignity and have their support network of family and friends close by.”
Earlier this spring, the township selected AON Inc. as long-term care facility development and operating partner following a request for proposal process. AON Inc and the Ministry of Long-Term Care subsequently entered into development and funding agreements.
“This project will have a significant positive impact on our community during construction, and once completed, will create a lasting economic impact with the creation of 120 new jobs,” Mayor Martin added.
Many of the community advocates and supporters who lobbied for a long-term care facility in Havelock attended the official groundbreaking ceremony on August 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen)
Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top performing at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio in 2015. Brothers Chris and Geoff Dahl of London, Ontario, known for their Blues Brothers tribute, will perform a free-admission tribute concert to ZZ Top at Peterborough Musicfest on August 12, 2023. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen via Wikimedia)
Peterborough Musicfest presents Fandango – ZZ Top Tribute
When: Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 8 p.m. Where: Del Crary Park (100 George St. N., Peterborough) How much: Free admission
Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets (lawn chairs are available to rent). VIP seating available for sponsors. No smoking, alcohol, or pets permitted. There’s no public parking at Del Crary Park, but there’s neighbourhood street parking nearby and ample parking in downtown Peterborough.
Back in the early 1990s, two brothers from London, Ontario acted on their shared love of the blues, performing and recording with a number of blues, R&B, and pop music acts.
They learned well, sharing the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, BB King, the late Jeff Healey, and the Downchild Blues Band, to mention but a few.
1994 brought the question ‘Can two talented real-life brothers, both singers and multi-instrumentalists, do justice to the sound and unique persona of the late John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd — The Blues Brothers — and make a living from the venture?’
Chris and Geoff Dahl could and did, subsequently taking their Soul Brothers show on the road, headlining at festivals and arenas around the world and, in 2005, teaming up with producer Bernhard Kurz to create and perform as part of the the R&B tribute musical comedy I’m A Soul Man.
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But another question arose — if it worked once, why not again?
On Saturday (August 12) at Del Crary Park, the answer will be clear as the Dahl brothers, joined by drummer Perry Weido, perform as the ZZ Top tribute act Fandango. Admission to the 8 p.m. Peterborough Musicfest concert is free.
Sporting the trademark full beards, sunglasses and costumes so closely identified with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, the Dahl brothers actually launched their tribute to the Texas trio about the same time as their Blues Brother tribute.
VIDEO: Chris & Geoff Dahl performing as the ‘Soul Brothers’ Blues Brothers tribute
As Fandango, they joined the cast of Legends Alive, a touring rock and pop music concert production that played before audiences across Canada and the United States. They also enjoyed short residencies in Las Vegas and Myrtle Beach.
While the brothers put most of their energy into their Soul Brothers show, Fandango was never out of the picture, ready to be repurposed and revived as circumstances dictated. Fandango (the band’s name is a nod to ZZ Top’s 1975 album of the same name) is now back in earnest, playing venues, casinos and festivals across North America.
Audiences are treated to ZZ Top’s blues-infused hits and captivating stage presence, reminding them why ‘that little band from Texas’ was widely heralded as the coolest band in the world.
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Formed in 1969 in Houston by guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard came into the picture a year later.
Over the next 50 years, the trio remained intact, with Hill’s death in 2021 ending that remarkable run. By that time, ZZ Top had earned the distinction of being the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music.
Starting in 1971 with ZZ Top’s First Album, the trio recorded and released 15 albums, selling an estimated 50 million albums worldwide. In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while Gibbons, in 2015, was named the 32nd greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
VIDEO: “Gimme All Your Lovin” – ZZ Top
VIDEO: “Sharp Dressed Man” – ZZ Top
VIDEO: “La Grange” – ZZ Top
VIDEO: “Tush” – ZZ Top
Although ZZ Top’s albums Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975) produced the singles “La Grange” and “Tush”, which gained extensive radio airplay, the band enjoyed its greatest commercial success after Gibbons and Hill rebranded ZZ Top in 1979 with a new musical direction and image, featuring sunglasses and matching chest-length beards.
They established a more mainstream sound and rose to international stardom with their records Eliminator (1983) and Afterburner (1985), producing music videos for their hits “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs” that gave them mass exposure on television channel MTV.
But for all their talent as musicians, ZZ Top was, and remains, a band that is meant to be experienced live. Showmen in every respect, Gibbons and Hill were in perfect sync with one another and their music. Now Hill’s big shoes are being filled by longtime band guitar tech Elwood Francis and ZZ Top is still touring, co-headlining this summer with Lynyrd Skynyrd on The Sharp Dressed Man Simple Man Tour.
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Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert and the entire 2023 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2023 season.
Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Kawarthas region for Thursday (August 10).
The severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Peterborough County, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, southern Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands.
Conditions are favourable for the development of dangerous thunderstorms late Thursday morning into the afternoon that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts up to 90 km/h, damaging nickel size hail, and heavy rain with amounts approaching 40 mm.
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A line of thunderstorms is expected to continue tracking southeast on Thursday while strengthening in intensity. The primary threat with these thunderstorms is large hail. This line is expected to move out of the area Friday afternoon.
Very large hail can damage property, break windows, dent vehicles and cause serious injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles. Water-related activities may be unsafe due to violent and sudden gusts of wind over bodies of water.
If you hear thunder, then lightning is close enough to be dangerous. Emergency Management Ontario recommends that you take cover immediately if threatening weather approaches.
Wild raspberry (Rubus idaeus), called Miskomin in Anishinaabemowan, produces berries similar to the cultivated ones you find in grocery stores. They are delicious fresh or in various jams or jellies. As well, a mild tea can be brewed from the plant's leaves. (Photo: Jessica Todd / GreenUP)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Lili Paradi, Communications Manager, GreenUP.
As a settler in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, I’ve come to appreciate the diversity of vegetation that makes this area unique. I am reminded that traditionally, foraging wild or cultivated plants helped supplement the pantry, formed the base of our medicines, and connected people to their local environment.
In this article, I will reflect on and offer up an interpretation of the 10 principles of foraging from ‘The Honorable Harvest’ in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.
Before using these principles to guide your foraging practice, please remember that there are rules in place for foraging on properties that are not your own and to be familiar with laws or guidelines from local conservation authorities and your municipality.
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1. Ask permission of the ones whose lives you seek. Abide by the answer.
A key part of asking permission is to learn best practices. Research can help you better understand when, how, and where to forage.
Check out Ontario Nature’s Northern Forest Foraging Guide to learn about plants like cedar (Thuja occidentalisor) and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
2. Never take the first. Never take the last.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), called Ajidamoowaanow in Anishinaabemowin, is a heat-tolerant plant that is good for cutting, fresh or dried. It was used as a traditional medicine by Indigenous peoples because of its astringent properties and its leaves can be added to salad or brewed as tea. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild / GreenUP)
In June, I picked a few leaves from a common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) plant growing close to home, realizing that there were only a few in the area. As I intended to brew it in a tea, I picked less than I thought I needed.
Wait until the middle of the prime season and you will allow the first plants that pop up to grow and ensure the last to grow are able to drop their seeds for the next generation.
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3. Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Minimizing harm may look like planting edible native plants in your own backyard instead of harvesting where others do. Plant edible native plants, like wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum), which can be found at gardening centres and nurseries like Ecology Park’s Native Plant & Tree Nursery.
For me, this principle is used when I forage for garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate), an invasive species that when removed from the environment, creates space for native plants to grow. When processed, garlic mustard makes a great pesto!
4. Take only what you need and leave some for others.
Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), called Ode’imin in Anishinaabemowin, is a native plant to Ontario that produces tiny, edible berries with wonderful flavour. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild / GreenUP)
Resourcefulness and sustainability go hand in hand.
If we take what we need — for example, the leaves of the burdock (Arctium) for tea instead of the whole root — this minimizes harm to the plant and allows for the plant to regrow.
5. Use everything that you take.
Canadians produce 50 billion kilograms of food waste every year, with this waste contributing to overall global greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing waste and only taking what you will consume is important while foraging, too. The cattail (Typha) is one plant where you can use all of its parts for various purposes.
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6. Take only that which is given to you.
A staff member at GreenUP gifted me a few mulberries (Morus alba) from a tree that had been dropping ripe berries. The flavour was akin to vanilla, the interaction a memory ingrained in my mind.
Plants often cycle through years of plenty and years of scarcity. The staff member only brought over that which they could reach or that fell into their hand, leaving the rest for other species to eat.
7. Share it, as the Earth has shared with you.
Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), is an edible herb native to Europe. Since its introduction to Ontario, it has spread throughout the province as an aggressive forest invader that threatens biodiversity. When processed, garlic mustard leaves make a great pesto. (Photo: GreenUP)
A Peterborough resident who picked fiddleheads (from an ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris) from their land intended to share this edible (when cooked!) fern and raise money for their education.
I purchased about two pounds from them this past spring, knowing that I wouldn’t finish them all, and shared them with friends and loved ones to pass on the love of foraged wild plants.
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8. Be grateful.
As David Suzuki said, “The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity — then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer explains in Braiding Sweetgrass thatm in her interpretation of Indigenous Knowledge, wild strawberries are a gift of nature rather than a commodity that you can find at the grocery store.
9. Reciprocate the gift.
A young Peterborough resident attends an Orchard Stewardship event led by GreenUP, Nourish, and supported by the City of Peterborough and points out an apple growing from a community tree. (Photo: Laura Keresztesi / GreenUP)
Planting edible infrastructure can be a way to give back to the environment while promoting forage and harvest. The Peterborough Orchard Stewards is a new volunteer-led project that will create opportunity for our community to forage.
Alongside community members, GreenUP, Nourish, and the City of Peterborough are tending to apple, pear, and cherry trees that will eventually grow fruit to be picked by stewards and community members in years to come.
10. Sustain the ones who sustain you, and the Earth will last forever.
Crab apple trees outside Trinity Centre in Peterborough. While crab apples are too tart to eat raw, they have an intense apple flavour when cooked. Because they have a high pectin content, they are also great for jam and jellies. Remember to ask for permission before foraging on private property. (Photo: Szilvia Paradi)
Foraging can be a way to re-acquaint ourselves with nature. Understanding the names and uses of local plants means we learn to appreciate and protect them.
Foraging can be an honourable thing that invites us to mindfully interact with the urban environment for years to come.
The 29-year-old driver of this vehicle was seriously injured in a single-vehicle collision on Highway 115 in Peterborough on August 9, 2023. (OPP-supplied photo)
One person was seriously injured in a single-vehicle collision on Highway 115 in Peterborough on Wednesday afternoon (August 9).
Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency crews responded to the collision, which happened near the Parkway when a northbound vehicle left the roadway, rolled over across the grass median separating the north and southbound lanes, and came to rest in the southbound lanes.
The 29-year-old driver of the vehicle was transported to Peterborough Regional Health Centre and was later airlifted to a Toronto-area trauma centre.
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The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
Highway 115 southbound lanes are closed between The Parkway and County Road 28 while police document the scene.
The Highway 115 closure will remain in place into Wednesday evening while police continue the investigation.
Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency crews at the scene of a serious single-vehicle collision on Highway 115 in Peterborough on August 9, 2023. (OPP-supplied photo)
Burton Lee, executive director of business operations for the Peterborough Petes, is leaving the organization on August 15, 2023 for a position in North America's new professional women's hockey league, expected to begin play in January. (Photo: David Pickering)
Burton Lee is leaving the Peterborough Petes organization for a position in North America’s new professional women’s hockey league.
The Petes’ executive director of business operations for the past eight years, Lee first joined the Petes in 2013 as director of communications and game operations. He previously worked for the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League, where he set up the Sting’s ticket sales department. Prior to that, he worked for almost a year for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.
Lee has accepted a position as director of game operations and fan experience within the hockey operations department of the upcoming new professional women’s hockey league, which resulted from a recent merger of the Professional Hockey Federation and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. The as-yet-unnamed league is expected to launch with six teams, three in the U.S. and three in Canada, with play beginning in January.
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Financed by Mark and Kimbra Walter, the league’s board members include tennis icon Billie Jean King, sports executive Ilana Kloss, and Los Angeles Dodgers president Stan Kasten. Retired hockey player and four-time Olympic gold medallist Jayna Hefford, chairperson of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, is also involved in the league.
“I am looking forward to contributing to one of the most exciting projects in the sport industry, working alongside a renowned ownership and executive team to establish the new professional women’s ice hockey league,” says Lee in a media release.
“The Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises have initiated something truly special for the hockey world,” Lee adds. “I am excited to work alongside a team led by Jayna Hefford, and to use the knowledge and experience I’ve gained in Peterborough to help fans across North America and around the world experience elite hockey in a new way.”
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While Lee’s last day with the Petes will be on Tuesday (August 15), he will continue to reside in Douro-Dummer with his partner Heather (a teacher at Adam Scott Intermediate School) and their two children Louie and Lottie, and will remain actively involved in the community.
“His innovative and progressive ideas spawning some major changes in our business model have helped the Petes organization make huge strides, and Burton’s team is regarded as one of the best and most respected in junior hockey,” says Petes President Dave Pogue.
“Although we will greatly miss Burton’s talent, leadership, and — most of all — his second-to-none work ethic, we are very excited for him to be able to take on new challenges with his next career move,” Pogue adds.
The cast of "Little Shop of Horrors" in rehearsal at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre. The award-winning horror-comedy rock musical first staged off-Broadway in 1982 runs for 27 performances from August 11 to September 3, 2023. (Photo: Sam Moffatt)
Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre is closing its summer season with a reinvented production of the award-winning horror-comedy rock musical Little Shop of Horrors, running for 27 performances from August 11 to September 3.
Directed by the Capitol’s artistic director Rob Kempson, the production stars Amir Haidar as Seymour, Tahirih Vejdani as Audrey, Tyler Murree as Mr. Mushnik, Michael De Rose as Orin, Chris Tsujiuchi as Audrey II, Michelle Yu as Crystal, Taylor Lovelace as Ronnette, Sierra Holder as Chiffon, with Joel Cumber as puppeteer and musicians David Schotzko, Gabriela Laconsay, and Matt Ray performing live music.
“For me, Little Shop of Horrors is the ultimate in camp classic — which feels like the perfect tone for a mid-summer musical,” Kempson says in an August interview with Keith Tomasek for Stratford Festival Reviews. “Our approach to everything at the Capitol is the spirit of reinvention though, so this will be a Little Shop unlike any that you’ve seen or heard before. The goal is to honour the parts of the legacy that speak to us now, without feeling bound by those traditional approaches.”
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Original premiering off-Broadway in 1982, the musical is loosely based on the cult low-budget 1960 black comedy film of the same name directed by Roger Corman and notable for a young Jack Nicholson’s small role in the film as a masochistic dental patient (he was 23 years old at the time).
With music by Alan Menken and lyrics and a book by Howard Ashman, the musical follows a hapless florist shop worker named Seymour, secretly in love with his co-worker Audrey, who finds and raises a mysterious plant. After naming the plant Audrey II after his secret love, he discovers it feeds on human blood and flesh.
Menken composed the music for Little Shop of Horrors in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop, and early Motown. The Grammy-nominated score includes several well-known tunes including the title song, “Skid Row (Downtown)”, “Somewhere That’s Green”, and “Suddenly, Seymour”.
The musical “Little Shop of Horrors” is loosely based on the cult low-budget 1960 black comedy film of the same name directed by Roger Corman and notable for a young Jack Nicholson’s small role in the film as a masochistic dental patient. (Screenshot)
The musical has since become popular with community theatre groups because of its relatively small cast. A theatrical version of Little Shop of Horrors was released in 1986, directed by Frank Oz starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Green, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, and the voice of Levi Stubbs as the flesh-eating plant. It received two Academy Award nominations, one for best original song and one for best visual effects.
“Most people know Little Shop from the 1980s movie or a community production,” director Kempson says in a media release. “I wanted to create a fresh, full-scale version for the Capitol, bringing in some of the country’s most talented actors, designers, and musicians to make our biggest show of the summer an unforgettable night at the theatre.”
Several of the cast and crew in the Capitol’s production have connections with the Stratford Festival. Tahirih Vejdani (Audrey) has appeared in Stratford Festival productions including HMS Pinafore and Treasure Island, costume designer Joshua Quinlan worked on this year’s drama Casey and Diana, and lighting designer Michelle Ramsay worked on Women of the Fur Trade. Choreographer Genny Sermonia has appeared in several Stratford Festival productions, including West Side Story, and choreographed Gypsy on now at the Shaw Festival.
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Along with Quinlan, Ramsay, and Sermonia, other creatives behind the scenes include Jeff Newberry (music direction), Haneul Yi (assistant music direction), Deanna H. Choi (sound design), and Brandon Kleiman (set design).
Kleiman, who previously designed the sets for the Capitol productions 9 to 5: The Musical and most recently The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom, is a multiple Dora Award nominee and two-time winner. This summer, his set design can also be seen in Rent at the Stratford Festival and The Sound of Music at Thousand Islands Playhouse.
“The set design for Little Shop embraces the world of the mid-century horror slash b-movies, from which the original film and musical took its inspiration as well,” Kleiman says. “From there, I’ve turned up the volume on the shapes and colours because our horror movie is also a campy musical comedy with a heart of gold. The story is outrageous and the design has to follow suit.”
Brandon Kleiman’s set design for “Little Shop of Horrors” at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre. The award-winning horror-comedy rock musical runs for 27 performances from August 11 to September 3, 2023. (Renderings: Brandon Kleiman)
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“Some highlights for Port Hope audiences will be the four puppets we use to Audrey II to life,” Kleiman adds. “As well, I hope seeing the live band above the shop will be a thrill — all the music is live.”
Little Shop of Horrors runs at the Capitol at 20 Queen Street in Port Hope from August 11 to September 3. Evening performances take place at 8 p.m. on Friday, August 11th (preview night) and Saturday, August 12th (opening night) as well as August 16 to 19, 23 to 26, and August 30 to September 2. Matinee performances take place at 2 p.m. on August 14, 15 and 16, 19 and 20, 22 and 23, 26 and 27, 29 and 30, and September 2 and 3.
Tickets are $48 ($40 for those under 30) plus fees and are available in person at the Capitol box office (open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday), by phone at 905-885-1071, or online at capitoltheatre.com.
Puppeteer Joel Cumber (who also is part of the ensemble cast) holds one of the four puppets used to bring flesh-eating plant Audrey II to life in the Capitol Theatre’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” running for 27 performances in Port Hope from August 11 to September 3, 2023. (Photo: Sam Moffatt)
Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts updates the media on August 8, 2023 on a stabbing incident in downtown Peterborough late the previous night that resulted in the death in hospital of a man in his late 20s. (kawarthaNOW screenshot of YouTube video)
Peterborough police have released the name of the victim in a homicide that happened late Tuesday night (August 8) in the downtown core.
At around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, police received a call for service from the George and Charlotte Street area.
Officers arrived to find a man in his late 20s suffering from a stab wound. The man was transported to Peterborough Regional Health Centre where he succumbed to his injury.
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On Friday (August 11), police identified the victim as 27-year-old Jacob Jansen of Peterborough. Police released his name with the permission of the family.
“We understand that this incident will lead to questions about safety in the area,” said Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts at a media conference on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Peterborough. “We absolutely understand those concerns and want to reassure residents that our officers are working diligently to determine what happened and to identify, find, and arrest the person responsible.”
Betts confirmed the incident was captured by closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras police recently installed in the downtown core. On Wednesday morning, officers also searched Fleming Park in the Brock Street and Aylmer street area as part of the investigation.
Police continue to search for a suspect. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Peterborough police crime line at 705-876-1122 x555. If you prefer to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.
VIDEO: Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts
This story has been updated with the name of the victim.
Taking place on August 19 and 20, the 2023 Buckhorn Festival of the Arts features the works of more than 70 artists across 10 acres at the Buckhorn Community Centre and the Festival Park and includes a Special Exhibit called "Home & Away" as well as the Buckhorn Fine Art Award, an Amateur Art Competition, a family-friendly Art Activity Zone, live musical entertainment, and food and drink. (Photo courtesy of Buckhorn Festival of the Arts)
For nearly five decades the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts has been an award-winning and much-anticipated annual event, located amongst the pines in the beautiful Kawarthas landscape.
Now in its 46th year, the festival is returning to the Buckhorn Community Centre at 1782 Lakehurst Road from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 19th and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 20th for a full weekend of live music, food, connection, and — of course — lots of art. Admission to the event is by donation.
This year’s festival will include artwork from more than 70 artists spread across 10 acres both inside the Buckhorn Community Centre and outside in the Festival Park. The artwork on display and available for purchase represents a wide range of disciplines and mediums including painting (oil, acrylic, resin, encaustic, and watercolour), photography, ink and graphite, wood turning, mixed media, fused glass, textiles, jewellery, sculpture (stone, glass, metal, and soapstone), and more.
“Forest” is a display of fused glass artwork by returning artist Heather Salzman, one of more than 70 artists participating in this year’s Buckhorn Festival of the Arts on August 19 and 20, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Buckhorn Festival of the Arts)
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Since its founding as a wildlife art festival in 1978, the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts has grown into a world-class arts festival, with new artists juried into the festival each year to join the many alumni creatives who have been in the line-up for decades. Among the many new artists this year are landscape photographer John Yates and wildlife and landscape artist Harvey Bodach.
Making the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts a truly interactive experience for art enthusiasts, all the featured artists will be on-site throughout the entire weekend.
“Visitors have the opportunity to engage with the artists themselves, rather than just the artwork,” explains Meghan Arnott, the festival’s Signature Event Co-ordinator. “It provides guests with the chance to question the artists about where their inspiration originated from or how they got started, unlike when attending an art gallery where they just get to look and learn about the medium itself.”
Internationally renowned Buckhorn-based wildlife artist Michael Dumas in studio working on his 2017 oil painting “Looking Out” featuring an eastern phoebe in a flour mill. Dumas is one of 10 artists who will be featured in the Special Exhibit “Home & Away,” an exhibit that focuses on the important role of the nature artist in fostering a concern for and understanding of the natural world, especially in an increasingly urban and technological society that often disconnects people from nature. (Photo courtesy of Michael Dumas)
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For the first time in three years, the Special Exhibit feature is returning to the festival with “Home & Away,” an exhibit that celebrates Regionalism, an art movement with a focus on the natural world that began with Romanticism and continued to evolve both in the U.S. and Canada in the 20th century. Today, Regionalism focuses on the important role of the nature artist in fostering a concern for and understanding of the natural world, especially in an increasingly urban and technological society that often disconnects people from nature.
The “Home & Away” exhibit encompasses 10 artists with a range of works that record the natural world and our place in it, depicting the environment as landscape and the flora and fauna within it as a document for posterity. Those 10 artists include the internationally recognized and award-winning Buckhorn-based wildlife artist Michael Dumas, one of the founders of the festival, and fellow internationally known and award-winning artists W. David Ward, David Foyn, and George Raab — all four of whom first began work on the exhibit back in 2020 when the pandemic hit.
“This year, it is time to tell the story of what we’ve been doing all these years and why we’ve been doing it,” says Ward. “We look forward to the most memorable Buckhorn Festival of the Arts yet.”
“Escarpment Limestone Nook with Lynx Preparing for Winter Hunt” by Harvey Bodach, one of several new artists participating in the 2023 Buckhorn Festival of the Arts on August 19 and 20 at the Buckhorn Community Centre. (Photo courtesy of Buckhorn Festival of the Arts)
Also returning to the festival for the first time in four years is the Buckhorn Fine Art Award. Sponsored by long-term festival volunteers the Wagstaffe family, the $500 award is given to an adult artist, pursuing an education in visual arts at a recognized Canadian art institution, who demonstrates community involvement and is in need of nurturing and support.
Extending the recognition of emerging artists and those just starting out, there will also be an Amateur Art Competition on display throughout the weekend to encourage teens, adults, and seniors to develop their creativity.
Competition classes include teenage, novice, and hobby artist, with winners chosen by a judging panel of art and education representatives and chaired by the Buckhorn Fine Art Competition Committee. Winners will be awarded at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday in the Festival Park.
The Buckhorn Festival of the Arts also features an Amateur Art Competition on display throughout the weekend to encourage teens, adults, and seniors to develop their creativity. Competition classes include teenage, novice, and hobby artist. (Photo courtesy of Buckhorn Festival of the Arts)
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“The competition helps to recognize and support the further development of the amateur’s artistic ability and provides them with an opportunity to learn from the experience of being judged and critiqued, as well as by being given advice by a team of professional artists,” Arnott says. “It showcases each individual’s creative style, design, and techniques.”
If that’s not enough creativity for you throughout the weekend, talented musicians will also be performing all weekend long, setting a musical backdrop while visitors browse the impressive artworks.
Visitors will be greeted upon entry at the door by tsymbaly (hammer dulcimer) musician Vladimir Gorodkin. Performers on Saturday include Brooke Averill, Radio Flyer, and Bridget Foley, while Sunday’s lineup includes Mike Graham, Down the Rabbit Hole, and Justin Maki.
Along with browsing the work of professional artists, both children and adults can nurture their own artistic creativity by participating in a variety of interactive art activities at the family-friendly Art Activity Zone in this year’s Buckhorn Festival of the Arts on August 19 and 20, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Buckhorn Festival of the Arts)
The festival weekend also features a family-friendly Art Activity Zone with interactive art activities for both children and adults, along with fine food and beverages available for purchase.
There is ample parking including special needs parking, with a free shuttle from the upper parking lot, and accessible washrooms with change tables. Note that no pets are allowed, except for service animals.
For the full line-up of artists being featured in the 2023 Buckhorn Festival of the Arts, visit www.buckhornartfestival.ca. Preview some of the artwork that will be on display and for sale by following the festival on Instagram and Facebook.
The 46th Buckhorn Festival of the Arts on August 19 and 20, 2023 at the Buckhorn Community Centre is a weekend of the arts, live musical entertainment, food, a Special Exhibit, an Art Activity Zone, an Amateur Art Competition, and more. (Poster courtesy of Buckhorn Festival of the Arts)
This branded editorial was created in partnership with the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
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