ReFrame Film Festival creative director Amy Siegel and festival director Jay Adam pictured in 2019. (Photo: ReFrame Film Festival)
The ReFrame Film Festival in Peterborough has announced both festival director Jay Adam and creative director Amy Siegel will be leaving the non-profit organization.
“All of us here at ReFrame are sad to say farewell to these fiercely wise, highly skilled, and beloved staff, and we are deeply appreciative of the vision and stability they have contributed to
the ReFrame Film Festival during their tenure,” reads a statement from the festival’s board.
“As with all things, change is inevitable, and we are honoured to have worked alongside Jay and Amy, and we wish them all the best in the next phases of their careers and lives.”
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Adam was the festival manager for the 2018 ReFrame Film Festival, and assumed the new role of festival director in August 2018 following the departure of festival executive director Krista English who, along with co-founder Carole Roy, launched the first film festival in 2005 as the “Travelling World Community Film Festival.”
A graduate of the Documentary Media MFA Program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University), Siegel was announced as the festival’s creative director in July 2018.
Adam will be leaving the organization in September, and the festival’s board of directors is now seeking applications for festival director. The position, which reports to the board, is the lead administrator of the festival that oversees finances, fundraising, community and outreach partnerships, and recruitment of contract staff and volunteers.
The deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 2. For more information, visit reframefilmfestival.ca/careers.
Siegel will be curating the program for the January 2023 festival, together with the programming committee, before leaving in late fall. Applications for the creative director position will be announced at a later date.
After working for years as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer with some of the world's most celebrated circus companies, Montreal's Hallarsen (Ben Nesralla) is returning to his folk singer-songwriter roots steeped in the traditions of old-time, bluegrass, and country music. Hallarsen is performing at the Black Horse in downtown Peterborough on Wednesday, August 24. (Promotional photo)
Every Thursday, we publish live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, August 18 to Wednesday, August 24.
If you’re a pub or restaurant owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our nightlifeNOW editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com. For concerts and live music events at other venues, check out our Concerts & Live Music page.
Canadian country music artists Shawn Austin and Elyse Saunders perform at Del Crary Park on August 20, 2022 in the final concert of Peterborough Musicfest's 35th season. (kawarthaNOW collage of promotional photos)
When: Saturday, August 20, 2022 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.
For the longest time, the closing night act for Peterborough Musicfest’s 2022 summer season was a work in progress; so long you can bet more than a few thought “TBA” was the name of the act scheduled to perform.
While the music genre to be featured at the season finale was listed as country, that was all known for certain as the clock ticked down to the final hurrah.
Well, good things still come to those who anticipate — very good things with not just one but two of Canada’s fastest rising and hardest working country music artists set to share the spotlight.
On Saturday, August 20th at Del Crary Park, Peterborough Musicfest welcomes Shawn Austin and Peterborough native Elyse Saunders to close out its 35th season. Admission to the 8 p.m. concert, as always, is free.
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A two-time Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Rising Star nominee (2019 and 2021), Vancouverite Shawn Austin began his musical journey as an independent artist before releasing his debut single “Paradise Found” in 2017. That song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Canada Country chart, serving notice that Austin was a talent who promised great things.
In 2018, Austin’s self-titled debut EP, featuring the singles “Get Me There” and “You Belong,” was released. Capitalizing on his early momentum, he released the single “What Do I Know,” which attained the number seven spot on Canada Country and was included on his 2020 EP The Little Things.
Austin, whose music has been streamed a remarkable 23 million times, arrives in Peterborough fresh off the June 2022 release of Planes Don’t Wait, his fourth EP, and the singles “Tailgate To Heaven,” featuring American country artist Chris Lane, and “Get You.”
VIDEO: “Tailgate To Heaven” – Shawn Austin featuring Chris Lane
In an August 2021 interview with Nanci Dagg of Canadian Beats Media, Austin touched on “Tailgate To Heaven,” which is nominated as Single of the Year for the 2022 CCMA Awards presentation this September in Calgary.
“We (he and Chris Lane) were actually were going to do a different song together, but Chris heard what we had done with Tailgate to Heaven and asked to be part of it,” recounted Austin, adding “Of course, without hesitation, we said yes.”
“I hope people hear the song and are reminded of a time or person that holds a special spot in their heart,” Austin says.
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Key to Austin’s upward trajectory was his August 2021 signing with Nashville-based Big Loud Records and its Canadian imprint Local Hay Records. The impact of that, both currently and potentially, hasn’t been lost on Austin.
“I think it’ll be a complete game changer,” he says. “It’s two very strong teams coming together to make one. With all the combined expertise and resources, I feel Local Hay will offer new opportunities that might have taken much longer to achieve before. From really working to solidify my place in the Canadian market, it’s starting to become an option to venture into the U.S. market at some point.”
“Now we put our head down and get down to business. From recording new music, to raising the bar on the live show, to simply leveling up the project as a whole, I think the next few years will be controlled chaos in the best way.”
The response to his music, says Austin, has been “surreal.”
“I feel very lucky and very privileged to do what I love as a career. The fans have made me who I am and allow me to continue pushing the bar to my limits and beyond, so that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
VIDEO: “Get You” – Shawn Austin
Meanwhile, to say Elyse Saunders is excited to open for Austin is an understatement. In an August 11 Facebook post, she wrote “I AM PUMPED to be sharing the stage with the amaaazinngg Shawn Austin!!”
Saunders has fully realized her long-ago-set goal of being a major force on the country music landscape, having covered the route from her home base of Toronto to Nashville studios so many times she could probably walk it backwards.
A four-time Country Music Association of Ontario award nominee, including 2021 nominations for Female Artist of the Year and Rising Star, Saunders single “Free” was a Top Five finalist in the 2021 CBC Toyota Searchlight song competition.
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“I wanted to write a summer anthem song,” said Saunders of Free in a June 2021 interview with kawarthaNOW.
“I was really inspired by my hometown of Peterborough, growing up there and the times of being a teen and feeling a little more free of responsibilities — a time when weekends are most important to you. I wanted to capture those moments. I love nature and the simple things in life, and I wanted to put that into lyrics.”
Included on Saunders’ latest EP Free, nominated for a 2022 CMAOntario award, is her latest single “Genes.”
VIDEO: “Free” by Elyse Saunders
On the strength of earlier released singles “Wine Down” and 2022 CMAOntario award-nominated Sunshine “State Of Mind” — both of which garnered considerable radio air play and have helped bring more than 2.5 million streams her way — Saunders’ powerful vocals and engaging stage presence have brought her to some big stages, including Boots & Hearts and at the Sunfest Country Music Festival in BC.
“I’ve been doing this for so long that it’s just part of my life … I don’t really know any different,” said Saunders, whose music journey began in earnest close to 15 years ago when she released her debut self-titled album I’m On My Way after working closely with Peterborough-based country songwriter Cyril Rawson.
“Where I start to pinch myself is when these successes come or I reach major goals. It’s a reminder to me that it’s pretty amazing to be able to have this gift and be able to help people’s lives in some way through music. It’s pretty cool that I get to do this.”
VIDEO: “Genes” by Elyse Saunders
“I’ve just scratched the surface,” Saunders adds. “I feel now is the time that I’ve graduated. Now I get to shine.”
Dan Swinimer, a CCMA Award-nominated producer who has worked with Saunders, couldn’t agree more.
“A producer is only as good as the song and the artist they are producing and Elyse Saunders is a dream come true,” he said. “She has profound natural talent combined with the rare work ethic needed to stand out in a very crowded music industry … I hope the world discovers what I already know. Elyse Saunders is a star.”
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Win VIP passes to MusicFest!
As a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest, kawarthaNOW.com is giving away VIP seats to every one of this summer’s concerts.
While the concerts are free to all, VIP seats are not available to the general public — only to festival sponsors. You are guaranteed a chair near to the stage for the best view.
The giveaways are exclusive to subscribers to our weekly e-news. For your chance to win, sign-up to our weekly e-news at k-n.ca/subscribe.
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 16 free-admission concerts during its milestone 35th anniversary season, each staged Wednesday and Saturday nights at Del Crary Park in downtown Peterborough.
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 or the entire 2022 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
Shelagh Grant, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 82, was an award-winning author, historian, Arctic expert, and avid canoeist who was involved in the founding of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough and was a long-time supporter.
The family of Shelagh Grant, the late award-winning author and historian who was part of the original team involved in the founding of The Canadian Canoe Museum, has donated $250,000 for the new museum currently being constructed beside Beavermead Park in Peterborough.
Born in Montreal in 1938, Grant moved to the Toronto area where she completed a degree in nursing. After her husband Jon joined Quaker Oats in 1974, the couple moved to Peterborough where Grant studied history at Trent University, going on to earn a master’s degree.
One of Canada’s internationally acclaimed experts on the Arctic, Grant received multiple awards for her writing including Polar Imperative – A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America. In 1997, she received the Northern Science Award (the first female historian to be awarded the medal) and was later awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society HMS Erebus Medal, the Governor General’s Polar Medal, and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society Bernier Medal.
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In the 1980s, through her work as an adjunct professor of Canadian studies at Trent University, Grant became part of an advisory committee that was instrumental in establishing the Canadian Canoe Museum and bringing the late Kirk Wipper’s Kanawa canoe collection to Peterborough. Along with her husband Jon, Grant was also an avid canoeist and the couple paddled many of Canada’s northern rivers. The couple continued to support the museum over the years, with Jon also serving on the museum’s board of directors.
Grant died in July 2020 of esophageal cancer at the age of 82.
“The Grant family honours Shelagh Grant’s love of the North, its land, peoples, rivers, and rapids with this $250,000 gift,” says her husband Jon in a media release. “Shelagh’s vision and committee work helped to guide The Canadian Canoe Museum in its early stages. This gift recognizes the canoe as a unifying legacy, from the First Peoples’ travel to today’s recreation, which is an important part of our rich and unique heritage.”
Avid canoeists, Shelagh Grant and her husband Jon Grant paddled many of Canada’s northern rivers. (Photo: David Goslin)
The Grant family’s donation will be recognized in The Loft of the new museum, a central community gathering space that will be located on the second floor just outside the Knowledge and Research Centre in the museum’s atrium.
With this donation, the museum has now raised 93 per cent of the $40 million in capital costs for the new museum, which is scheduled to open in summer 2023. For more information about the new museum and to make a donation, visit www.canoemuseum.ca/ways-to-support.
A 78-year-old Alberta man is dead after the motorcycle he was driving crashed on County Road 21 in Cramahe Township in Wednesday afternoon (August 17).
At around 2:30 p.m., Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a collision involving a motorcycle that occurred on County Road 21 near Walker Road, around nine kilometres north of Colborne.
As a result of the collision, the driver of the motorcycle was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger on the motorcycle was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries.
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Police have since identified the driver as 78-year-old Patrick Lamping of Lavoy, Alberta.
County Road 21 was closed between Walker Road and Pogue Road for several hours while police documented the scene and gathered evidence to help determine a cause for the crash.
The police investigation into the collision is continuing.
A rain garden in Peterborough boasting beautiful pollinator friendly plants like Swamp Milkweed, Great Blue Lobelia, and Purple Coneflower. (Photo: Hayley Goodchild / GreenUP)
Another column about rain gardens? You betcha! After all, what’s not to love about a garden that supports the health of the local watershed and wildlife, reduces flooding, and enhances the curb appeal of your home, school, or business?
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Hayley Goodchild, NeighbourHOODS and Residential Programs Coordinator.
For those new to the concept, rain gardens are bowl-shaped gardens that take in stormwater runoff from nearby hard surfaces, such as a roof or an asphalt driveway. The plants and soil clean the rainwater by filtering out pollutants. Rain gardens come in many shapes, sizes, and styles, depending on the specifics of your space and your personal gardening style.
This week, we’re sharing five things you may not know about rain gardens.
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1. Rain gardens don’t need a lot of water
Rain gardens are often dry. Unlike a pond, which holds water throughout the year, rain gardens are designed to temporarily store water until it can be absorbed into the ground.
Ideally, water in a rain garden will drain within 24 to 48 hours of a heavy rain event. During the summer, established rain gardens can go many weeks without water.
The best part? Fewer mosquitoes in your garden!
2. Rain gardens divert water from storm sewers
Watching diverted rainwater collect is half the fun of a newly planted rain garden. (Photo: Jenn McCallum / GreenUP)
An average residential rain garden in Peterborough can divert about 1.5 cubic metres of water from the storm sewer system each year. That’s roughly the same volume as 9.5 bathtubs.
Keep in mind that bath water in Peterborough is treated before being returned to the Otonabee River, but roof runoff isn’t. Without treatment, runoff carries garbage and pollutants straight into the watershed.
By sending rainwater to a rain garden, you can harness the power of soil and plants to filter pollutants as water soaks into the ground. Imagine the potential for the watershed if more homeowners, schools, and businesses installed rain gardens on their properties. That’s a lot of bathtubs.
Rain gardens also help us adapt to the impacts of climate change, which include more precipitation in shorter amounts of time. They do this by reducing the amount of runoff the municipal stormwater system has to manage during heavy storms.
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3. Rain gardens are fun!
Rain gardens provide wonderful entertainment.
As soon as you install one, you’ll fly out the door at the first hint of rain to watch the bowl fill and recede. Trust me!
4. You can include trees in your rain garden
This River Birch is thriving in a rain garden at Jimaan’ndewemgadnong Pocket Park in downtown Nogojiwanong/Peterborough. (Photo: Geneviève Ramage / GreenUP)
You can incorporate trees into your rain garden if your space allows.
It’s important to build your rain garden outside the canopy of any existing trees to protect their roots. However, there’s no reason why you can’t plant a new tree in your rain garden. Planting trees is critical for adapting to climate change, especially since extreme weather events can damage the urban tree canopy.
Some of our favourites include River Birch (Betula nigra), Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.). These native trees and large shrubs are well-suited to the variable moisture conditions found in rain gardens and add height and year-round interest.
You can customize your rain garden with many native plants and trees so it becomes uniquely yours.
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5. You can get financial help to install a rain garden
Eligible homeowners can receive up to $1,000 from the City of Peterborough to install a rain garden at home. That’s wild!
In addition to the subsidy, you get to enjoy all the secondary benefits that rain gardens offer, such as butterfly visits and the envy of your neighbours. Plus, GreenUP is partnering with the City of Peterborough to provide applicants with consultation visits and customized advice.
A rain garden on Welsh Street in Peterborough. The native shrubs and trees in the garden have deep-growing roots that absorb the rain and provide habitat for pollinators. Rain gardens are designed with both an inlet and an outlet, often using stone such as pea gravel or river stone. (Photo courtesy of GreenUP)
The application process begins with an eligibility assessment. Once you’re pre-approved, you will receive resources and support to design your own unique garden. Additionally, applicants can take advantage of up to two site visits by GreenUP staff during the design and installation process.
One of these visits is required and must take place during construction. The other visit can be used at a time of the applicant’s choosing, for additional advice on garden design, application support, maintenance or plant selection.
The subsidy covers the costs of plants, soil, mulch, rock, and other non-equipment expenses incurred while building a rain garden. The subsidy can also be used to hire a landscape contractor for design and/or construction, if desired.
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It’s not too late to reap the benefits of a rain garden and receive a subsidy this year. For more information about the Rain Garden Subsidy program, visit www.peterborough.ca/raingarden, or direct questions to Hayley Goodchild at hayley.goodchild@greenup.on.ca or 705-748-3238 ext. 213.
GreenUP can help you source plants suitable for your rain garden. Visit the Ecology Park and speak to our staff in the Native Plant & Tree Nursery during our hours of operation, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday.
Peterborough singer-songwriter Mark Beatty's song "If You Know About Love" has won the latest round of the Don Skuce Memorial Music Collective songwriting contest. (Photo supplied by Mark Beatty)
If patrons of the Peterborough Musicians Benevolent Association show this Saturday afternoon (August 20) at Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews in downtown Peterborough detect some extra spring in Mark Beatty’s step, there’s a simple explanation.
Beatty, who will front his band House Brand at the monthly live music showcase, recently learned he is the fifth round winner of the Don Skuce Memorial Music Collective songwriting contest.
One of 20 entrants in this round, Beatty’s original song “If You Know About Love” caught the judges’ attention in a big way and, as such, will now be recorded by Peterborough producer James McKenty before being sent for final mixing and mastering by Greg Wells at his Los Angeles-based Carousel Studios.
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Wells, a Peterborough native and Grammy Award-winning record producer, founded the collective and its associated songwriting contest in 2020 with his longtime friend and musician John Crown.
The concept was simple: support Peterborough musicians in much the way that the longtime owner of Ed’s Music Workshop did for decades before he died in June 2018 at age 66 after a long battle with cancer.
Since launching the initiative, nine songs have now been chosen for the full Wells’ treatment — a service that would cost local musicians thousands of dollars otherwise and, for all intents and purposes, be well out of reach. Once Wells has done his thing, each musician retains full rights to, and ownership of, his or her recorded song to do as he or she pleases.
Beatty, who also performs solo (most recently at the Black Horse Pub), says the message of his winning song is “love is work, but it’s good work.”
“You’ve got to take the good with the bad, push through it and work together,” Beatty explains. “I believe love is an action. It’s not a noun. It’s an action word. Love is something that you have to do.”
AUDIO: “If You Know About Love” by Mark Beatty
If you know about love you know talk is cheap,
If you know about love you know the lies are deep,
If you know about love you can help me sing this song,
If you know about love you know right is sometimes wrong.
If you know about love, if you know about love, if you know about love you know about me.
If you know about love you know about give and take,
If you know about love you know there’s promises you make,
If you know about love you take the ups with the downs,
If you know about love you know it always comes back around.
If you know about love, if you know about love, if you know about love you know about me.
If you know about love you know time is on your side,
If you know about love there is nothing you can hide,
If you know about love there’s a smile upon your face,
If you know about love nothing and no-one can take its place.
If you know about love, if you know about love, if you know about love you know about me.
The Don Skuce Memorial Musician’s Collective is the brainchild of music producer and Peterborough native Greg Wells (middle) who, along with fellow musician and long time friend John Crown (right), shaped the concept into reality. Local producer James McKenty (left) records most of the winning songs free of charge before sending them to Wells for final mixing and mastering in his Los Angeles studio. (Photos by Wayne Eardley except for Greg Wells)
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For his part, Wells says Beatty’s song “just felt great from the very first bar.”
“It felt like (a type of song) we had not already picked (in previous judging rounds), so that made it stand out. But I could tell he really knows what he’s doing. It’s beautiful — it’s really moving.”
“This (contest) isn’t about ‘It’s the best song and all the other songs are bad’,” Wells notes. “That’s not at all what I’m saying. I’ve had trouble picking one song in the past. At one point I picked three songs. John (Crown) has kind of forced me to pick one. Mark’s song is a standout for lots of reasons. I really look forward to hearing what the final version of it becomes.”
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Beatty, who has entered each round of the contest, admits that submitting an entry “is so hard for me.”
“I’ve written more than 3,000 songs. Most of them are crap — they kind of have to be, right? So I’m not always the best person to judge what is good. (Peterborough musician) Bobby Watson says there are two kinds of songs: there are good songs and there are bad songs. If somebody likes something you’ve done, you can say ‘Hey, that’s a good song.'”
Beatty’s first impression of “If You Know About Love” was “it was OK,” adding that if he spends more than five minutes on a song and it doesn’t feel it’s going anywhere, he sends it to the scrap pile.
“Songwriting should never be work,” Beatty says. “I don’t get really artsy fartsy about my songwriting. I’m very matter of fact about it. People say ‘Oh, you’re born with a talent for this.’ Well, yeah, maybe so but someone else has a talent for fixing cars. Everyone has a certain thing they’re good at.”
VIDEO: “Must Be The Gypsy in Me” by Mark Beatty performed by House Brand
If you’ve guessed that a guy who has written some 3,000 songs has a method behind his madness, you guessed right. Beatty says his approach is not unlike that applied by Andy Partridge, formerly of the English rock band XTC.
“I watched a documentary on him and he was describing how he writes songs,” Beatty recalls. “When he got to that part, my girlfriend and I looked at each other and it was like ‘That’s what I do.’ The term that he (Partridge) uses is synesthesia. The best way I can describe is it’s kind of like Rorschach for the ears. Sometimes I’ll put my fingers on the fret board on my guitar and go ‘Oh, that’s an interesting sound I just created there.'”
“Then I might find another chord that goes with it. That starts to conjure up images because you get a feel. If it’s a minor chord, it’s ‘OK, this is going to be sad or angry or something.’ It lets you do like a stream of consciousness thing. It lets images and words and phrases bubble up. That’s kind of how I wrote this song.”
Call it what you want but it’s worked for Beatty, who self taught himself to play guitar in his early teens. He recalls “These things started coming out of me. I was like ‘Hey, I really like this.’ I found something that worked for me. (Late Peterborough musician) Buzz Thompson was my cousin, so you could say this (music) is in my blood a bit.”
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Not unlike Wells, Crown, and a host of Peterborough musicians past and present, Beatty has nothing but good memories of his encounters with Skuce, a guitar luthier and musician who always made the time to help musicians who wandered into his store at the corner of Park and McDonnel streets. Like many people, Beatty too has a “funny Don story.”
“I had one of the original Ovation guitars when they first came out back in the ’70s,” he recalls. “It had an accident. The head stock got completely decapitated from the guitar. The guitar fell down some stairs and it severed right off.”
“So I took it Don. He looked me and said ‘You know what you do with this? You take the guitar and you cut the top off it and it’s an excellent oil pan for your car.’ I’m was like ‘That’s not funny.’ We always joked about that when I saw him.”
The Don Skuce Memorial Music Collective was created in 2020 to honour Don Skuce, the longtime owner of Ed’s Music Workshop in Peterborough and highly reputed guitar luthier who died in June 2018 at age 66 after a long battle with cancer. (Photo: John Gearin)
Two years in, Well says despite the vast distance from Los Angeles to Peterborough, he still feels “as connected to the whole thing as I did the night I was talking to John (Crown) on the phone coming up with this concept.”
“I think about Don all the time. I have pictures of him in my recording studio. I have a picture of him under the Telecaster — his favourite guitar that he let me buy from him in the last year that he was alive. His spirit is a big one and it’s around a lot of people.”
“Don, like me, got excited about people doing music. It’s that simple. It’s got nothing to do with anything else other than people listening to music, watching people playing music, or trying to play music. The world is definitely a better place with music in it. Don was all about that.”
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Wells says he’s toying with the idea of producing a compilation album feature contest-winning songs at some point, or at least a streaming playlist.
“I’d love there to be celebration like ‘Look at what we’ve compiled — amazing, local songwriters and artists.’ I’m not trying to do that, but I’m thinking in my head what song is going to complement what we already have. That’s part of what I’m listening for.”
In the meantime, the next round of the songwriting contest is now open with the submission deadline being midnight January 31, 2023. The winning entry will be revealed exclusively by kawarthaNOW on February 15, 2023.
Entry details, as well as audio recordings of each round winning song to date, can be found at donskuce.com where entrants can also upload their MP3 file entries.
Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien appeared on The Dean Blundell Show on August 17, 2022 to speak to the reaction to her f-bomb laden tweet about the Romana Didulo followers who tried to 'arrest' Peterborough police officers the previous weekend. (kawarthaNOW screenshot)
Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien’s f-bomb laden tweet in response to Saturday’s incident at the Peterborough police station has gone viral.
On Tuesday (August 16), Therrien commented on the incident, which saw a group of around 30 followers of self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” Romana Didulo arrive at the police station with the intent of “arresting” police officers — only to see three of their group get arrested and police seeking two other suspects in an assault on a counter-protester.
“I hate giving airtime/spotlight to these imbeciles,” Therrien wrote in part on her personal Twitter account. “Here is my comment: fuck off, you fuckwads.”
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By Wednesday afternoon, that tweet had received almost 16,000 likes, over 2,500 retweets, and over 1,800 quote retweets, with “Mayor of Peterborough” trending on Twitter in Canada and the story appearing on the home page of Reddit. As well as local media, the National Post, CTV News, the Toronto Sun, BlogTO, and more have reported on the tweet. She was also interviewed by guest host Susan Bonner on CBC Radio’s As It Happens.
This is not the first time Therrien’s tweets have attracted national attention. In April 2021, when Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston MPP Randy Hillier and People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier travelled to Peterborough to attend an anti-lockdown rally while Ontario was under a stay-at-home order, Therrien tagged both politicians in a photo of herself with the caption “Stay TF home” — with TF a common abbreviation for “the fuck.”
People have been asking me to comment on the events of the past weekend in #ptbo. I hate giving airtime/spotlight to these imbeciles. Here is my comment: fuck off, you fuckwads. ???????
As with Tuesday’s tweet, the “Stay TF Home” tweet resulted in a range of reactions either supporting Therrien or criticizing her for her choice of language. It led in part to former Peterborough mayor Paul Ayotte filing a complaint against Therrien for contravening the City of Peterborough’s code of conduct and the city’s social media policy. The city’s integrity commissioner later exonerated Therrien in a 24-page report.
On Wednesday afternoon, Therrien was invited on The Dean Blundell Show on YouTube to speak about the reasons for Tuesday’s tweet and the reaction to it. Caryma Sa’d, who covered the Saturday incident in Peterborough on social media, was also a guest.
“There were some people who were so offended by that — the same people who fly the ‘Fuck Trudeau’ flags,” Therrien said, referring to her Stay TF home tweet from last year.
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“I have a master’s degree. I can talk to you in a scholarly fashion when I need to, but this is not a group of scholars we’re dealing with,” she added, referring to the participants in Saturday’s incident. “It’s been over two years of this kind of protest … these people come to Peterborough, or Ottawa, or wherever it may be, with the explicit stated intent to cause disruption, to cause harm to people, to disrupt our downtown, to arrest our police officers, to prevent people from living their normal daily life.”
“These people exist in this delusional world, exacerbated by this sense of entitlement, because they’re not used to be called out for their bullshit. Frankly, not enough politicians call them out on their bullshit. We’re all somehow afraid to drop an f-bomb.”
“It’s lunacy that these people would come to Peterborough to try to arrest our police officers and then be upset that there are consequences for their actions,” Therrien said. “That’s a long way of saying that’s where the tweet came from. I did not anticipate this level of interest in it.”
“You’re front page news,” Blundell replied. “You know when they play the breaking news sounder? It’s like you expect something major to come. It was like ‘Breaking news! Peterborough mayor insults an entire group of idiots.'”
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“Peterborough is such a fabulous community of progressive people,” Therrien said. “Progressive people are in Peterborough but we get dragged down by these dimwits who are pushing these wild conspiracy theories and this ideology that they’re somehow oppressed when they’re not.”
“So it’s not only embarrassing, it’s infuriating because again it does damage to the city, not just our reputation but to our businesses, to families that want to come downtown but feel unsafe because they know that these people are going to be maybe blockading the street or doing whatever insane behaviour they’re doing.”
Asked about when she realized what was happening on Saturday, Therrien said she was aware of the planned protest as a member of the police services board, and was receiving updates from the police while she had family visiting her on the weekend.
“My assistant Deborah … she said ‘People are asking you to comment’, and I don’t think this tweet was what she had in mind. But she also knows me well enough to know that this was the likely scenario.”
Therrien also talked about the negative reaction to her tweets, with Blundell referring to the “hypocrisy” of Tom Marazzo, an organizer of the so-called Freedom Convoy who ran as the Ontario Party candidate for Peterborough-Kawartha in the last provincial election, who called Therrien an “unhinged bully” on Twitter because of the language in her tweet.
I absolutely don’t agree with what these people did. I think their leader is a lunatic. What is as concerning to me is the conduct of the unhinged bully who gets away with despicable, hypocritical behaviour and is never challenged by the municipal council. They protect her.
“They don’t like women generally, and especially women that have an opinion, and that’s how it manifests,” Therrien said, something that S’ad agreed with.
“Fundamentally they are authoritarian and regressive, and that shines through whenever there is push back,” S’ad said.
“I think it’s very telling that the three progressive women councillors in Peterborough — myself included, councillor (Kim) Zippell, councillor (Kemi) Akapo — none of us are running for re-election,” Therrien said. “We have no support from our male colleagues for the most part and that’s a broader trend that we’re seeing throughout Canada. Young women want to be involved, but it’s an immense load to carry, and you feel largely alone while you are doing it and you don’t have support.”
Apart from the negative reaction to her tweet, which included a man calling her a “whore” in an email, Therrien said people have been mainly supportive.
“People have been super supportive of this tweet and saying ‘Thank you for being authentic’ and ‘Thank you for caring about the community’, and ‘Thank you for being an honest politician’, and the fact that is such a foreign concept is problematic.”
In the Globus Theatre production of Norm Foster's "Screwball Comedy," Katherine Cappellacci plays a plucky woman trying to break into the male-dominated world of newspaper journalism in the 1930s in competition with Jack Copland as an arrogant ace reporter. The play runs for 11 performances from August 17 to 20 at the Lakeview Arts Barn in Bobcaygeon. (Photo: Rebecca Anne Bloom / Globus Theatre)
For the final play of its 19th summer season, Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon is presenting acclaimed Canadian playwright Norm Foster’s homage to the zany comedies of the 1930s, appropriately entitled Screwball Comedy.
Globus Theatre presents Screwball Comedy
When: August 17-20 and 23-27, 2022 at 8 p.m.; August 20 and 25, 2022 at 2 p.m. Where: Lakeview Arts Barn (2300 Pigeon Lake Rd., Bobcaygeon) How much: $42.50 theatre only; $85 dinner theatre
Written by Norm Foster, directed by James Barrett with Mark Whelan, and starring Katherine Cappellacci, Sarah Quick, James Barrett, and Jack Copland. For tickets, call the box office at 705-738-2037 or order online at www.globustheatre.com.
The play opens on Wednesday (August 17) and runs for 11 performances until August 27 at the Lakeview Arts Barn at 2300 Pigeon Lake Road in Bobcaygeon.
Set in 1938, the play follows newly laid-off perfumier Mary Hayes as she tries to break into the male-dominated world of newspaper journalism.
Fed up with the lacklustre results from his star reporter Jeff Kincaid, editor-in-Chief Bosco Godfrey sets up a competition between the egotistical Jeff and the plucky Mary. He assigns both of them to cover the society wedding of Chauncey Diddle. If Jeff writes the better story, he gets to keep his job. If Mary wins, she will replace the ace newshound.
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Screwball Comedy stars returning Globus actors Katherine Cappellacci (That’s Amore) as the budding reporter hoping to make a name for herself, Sarah Quick (Real Estate, Buying the Moose, Knickers! A Brief Comedy, Funny Farmers, Shirley Valentine) and James Barrett who perform a cast of secondary characters, and Jack Copland, a newcomer to the Globus stage, as the star reporter.
The play is directed by Barrett, who is also Globus’s artistic producer and has directed and performed in a long list of Globus productions including Meet My Sister, The Three Musketeers, Do You Take This Man?, Fanny Hill, Educating Rita, Kitchen Witches, Talking Heads, Knickers! A Brief Comedy, The Woman in Black, Glorious, The 39 Steps, Harvest, ‘Till it Hurts, The Men Commandments, Shirley Valentine, and Stones in His Pockets.
Globus veteran Mark Whelan, who is the play’s assistant director, says the play is full of snappy period dialogue and outrageous characters and humour.
Globus Theatre founders Sarah Quick and James Barrett in a scene from Norm Foster's "Screwball Comedy." Quick and Barrett, who also directs the play assisted by Mark Whelan, perform a cast of secondary characters. (Photo: Rebecca Anne Bloom / Globus Theatre)
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“I love this play because of the language of the period,” Whelan explains. “We’re revisiting the era of big band, fedoras, Babe Ruth, radio dramas, and high-stakes newspaper competition. Audiences can expect laughter and frivolity on this nostalgic journey through time to the style, wit, and optimism of the 1930s.”
Screwball Comedy will be performed at 8 p.m. from Wednesday, August 17 to Saturday, August 20 and again from Tuesday, August 23 to Saturday, August 27, with additional matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 20 and Thursday, August 25.
A optional three-course table d’hôte menu is available at 6 p.m. prior to every evening performance (reservations required). All dinners are now sold out, although a waiting list is available and theatre-only tickets are still available for all dates.
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Tickets are $42.50 for the show only, or $85 for dinner and the show (all dinners are now sold out). To get your tickets, call the box office at 705-738-2037 or order online at www.globustheatre.com.
Globus Theatre is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization mandated to provide professional theatre to residents and visitors in the Kawartha Lakes, making top quality Canadian theatre accessible to all.
For the first time since the pandemic began, an in-person awards ceremony will be held for the 2022 Peterborough Business Excellence Awards. The awards ceremony will return to Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough on Wednesday, October 19. (Photo: Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce)
The Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce has announced the finalists for the 19th annual Peterborough Business Excellence Awards and the recipients of the Businesswoman of the Year awards, with an in-person awards ceremony to be held this fall for the first time since the pandemic began.
Once again, the chamber is partnering with the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough to present the Businesswomen of the Year Awards and with the Peterborough County Federation of Agriculture to recognize the Peterborough County Farm Family of the Year.
The 2022 awards event will take place in person on the evening of Wednesday, October 19th at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough, with a pre-show party at The Venue. Tickets for the in-person event, which will also be livestreamed for free on YouTube, are available for $50 (plus HST) until September 19, and $60 (plus HST) thereafter. Tickets are available at pkexcellence.ca/tickets.
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Awards will be presented in move than 20 categories, including the prestigious Business Citizen of the Year award.
Along with the finalists for the Peterborough Business Excellence Awards, the recipients of the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough Businesswomen of the Year Awards have been announced: Brenda Ibey of Avant-Garden Shop for entrepreneur and Alicia Dafoe of Village Dental Centre for organization.
The chamber also announced the recipients of its annual 4-Under-40 Profiles (Dr. Nicole Edgar of the Peterborough Centre of Naturopathic Medicine, Michael Gallant of Lett Architects Inc., Chad Hogan of Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, and Caitlin Smith of ReCreate Space), the recipient of this year’s New Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Faheem and Fardos Mohammadzada, owners of Brothers Pizza), and the recipients of the Business Student Leadership Prizes (Jehan Mahboob of Trent University and Aiden Rice of Fleming College).
Here is the complete list of award finalists, in alphabetical order, and the already announced awards:
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