Residents 80 years of age and older receiving their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the COVID-19 immunization clinic in Peterborough on March 21, 2021. (Photo: Jeannine Taylor / kawarthaNOW)
Peterborough Public Health has announced additional COVID-19 vaccine clinics have been added to the provincial booking system from today (April 19) until Friday, May 13th.
All appointments must be made through the provincial booking system, online at covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/ or by phone at 1-833-943-3900. Walk-in appointments are not available.
The clinics include first and second doses for children aged five to 11, first, second, and third doses for those 12 and older, and fourth doses for those 60 and older as well as residents who are First Nation, Inuit, Metis or their non-Indigenous household members who are 18 or older.
Advertisement - content continues below
Elgibility for third and fourth doses are at least 12 weeks (three months) after the previous dose, except for those ages 12 to 17 who are eligible for third doses at least six months after their seccond dose.
Here are the clinic dates, times and locations from April 19 to May 13:
Clinics for residents 5-11
Tue Apr 19 from 2 – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Fri Apr 22 from 2 – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Mon Apr 25 from 3 – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Wed Apr 27 from 3 – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Clinics for residents 12+
Tue Apr 19 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Thu Apr 21 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Buckhorn Community Centre (1782 Lakehurst Rd., Buckhorn)
Fri Apr 22 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Mon Apr 25 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Tue Apr 26 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Wed Apr 27 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Thu Apr 28 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at North Kawartha Community Centre (340 McFadden Rd., Apsley)
Fri Apr 29 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Mon May 2 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Tue May 3 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Wed May 4 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Thu May 5 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Norwood Community Centre (88 Alma St., Norwood)
Fri May 6 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Mon May 9 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Tue May 10 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Wed May 11 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Thu May 12 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Cavan Monaghan Community Centre (986 County Road 10, Millbrook)
Fri May 13 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Healthy Planet Arena (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough)
Advertisement - content continues below
Masks are required to be worn at all clinics.
The health unit says additional clinics for the month of May will be added within the next few weeks.
For the current vaccine clinic calendar, visit the Peterborough Public Health website at peterboroughpublichealth.ca
Even though it’s spring, Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory for the southern greater Kawarthas region for Monday evening (April 18) into Tuesday morning.
The advisory is in effect for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.
Precipitation will likely begin as rain early Monday evening before changing over to snow, with 4 to 8 cm of snow expected by Tuesday morning before changing back to rain.
Advertisement - content continues below
Above-freezing temperatures in areas along the shore of Lake Ontario may limit snowfall accumulation there, especially on surfaces such as roads and sidewalks.
Locally higher snowfall accumulations may occur over areas of higher terrain, including the Oak Ridges Moraine where temperatures will be slightly cooler.
Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow.
Francis Harris, a 45-year-old mother of three, disappeared without a trace from her Apsley-area home on April 21, 1972. The mystery of her disappearance remains unsolved 50 years later. (OPP-supplied photo)
Fifty years after his mother disappeared without a trace from her Apsley-area home, Rod Harris is still hoping to solve the mystery of her disappearance.
On Friday (April 22), Rod is hosting a candlelight vigil in memory of Francis Muriel Harris, who has been missing since April 21, 1972. The vigil takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the parking lot of the North Kawartha Community Centre off McFadden Road in Apsley. Rod is asking people to bring their own battery-operated candles and chairs.
Rod was 13 years old when he returned home from school at 3:40 p.m. to discover his mother was not at their home on Highway 28 just south of Apsley in North Kawartha Township.
Advertisement - content continues below
The unexplained disappearance of Francis has been documented over the years — including by Ryan Scott, a licensed private investigator who volunteers with Please Bring Me Home, a Canadian non-profit dedicated to helping families find missing loved ones. Over the summer of 2021, Scott published a three-part series on the case in Apsley Backroads magazine.
On the morning of Friday, April 21, 1972, the 45-year-old mother of three travelled with her 42-year-old husband Stan for one of his regular physiotherapy appointments at 9:30 a.m. in Peterborough. After leaving the appointment, they stopped in Lakefield on the way back to Apsley, where Stan went to the bank and Francis went to the post office.
A witness reported seeing the couple together in the family car on Highway 28 later that morning. Stan said the couple ate lunch together before he left for his job at the Department of Highways (now the Ministry of Transportation) by 1 p.m., although witnesses claimed seeing his car (along with another car) at the family’s home during that afternoon — a report Stam denied.
VIDEO: The Mystery of Francis Harris – Missing Since 1972 (1977 “Code 10-78” episode)
Francis was never seen again. Her husband — who reported her missing three days later — claimed she had abandoned the family, although many of her possessions (including her purse) remained in the family home. Subsequently, there were many rumours about the couple, including infidelity in the marriage.
In 2012, police received a tip that prompted them to spend three days examining the vacant land that was once the site of the family home (it had burned down in 1990 and is now where the Apsley Veterinary Services is located). Ground-penetrating radar and heavy machinery found nothing.
On April 21, 2020, the Ontario Provincial Police issued a media release stating they were continuing their investigation into Francis’s disappearance and included a forensic artist sketch of what she may have looked like in 1992 at the age of 65 if she were still alive. Today, she would be 94 years old if she were still alive.
Advertisement - content continues below
Her husband Stan, who had always maintained he was not involved in her disappearance, passed away in June 2021 at the age of 92.
Anyone with information about this case can contact the Peterborough County OPP at 705-742-0401 or 1-888-310-1122 (case #20090023). Anonymous tips can be made to Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at stopcrimehere.ca.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Please Bring Me Home’s tip hotline at 226-702-2728.
In 2020, the Ontario Provincial Police released a sketch of how Francis Harris might have looked like in 1992 at the age of 65 if she was still alive. Her husband Stan, who passed away in 2021, always maintained she had abandoned the family and he was not involved in her disappearance. (OPP-supplied image)
Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes is seeking citizen sciencists to help the volunteer-led group map out significant trees. In February, five sycamore trees in Lindsay were given heritage status by Forests Ontario. (Photo courtesy of Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes)
The Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes is issuing a call for local residents to join them as citizen scientists.
The volunteer-led community group, whose goal is to protect and enhance the urban canopy in settlement areas of Kawartha Lakes, is launching a community project on Earth Day to develop a digital map of significant trees.
The group is holding a launch event from 3 to 4 p.m. on Friday (April 22) at the Fleming College Arboretum on the Frost Campus in Lindsay.
Advertisement - content continues below
Volunteer citizen scientists will learn how to judge whether a tree is noteworthy or significant based on its size, age, species, or historical connection. They will also learn how to add a tree and its location to an online app that also records the species and other identifiers.
“This is an easy way for people with a passion for the environment to help us identify and preserve our noteworthy or significant trees while participating in a global initiative,” says Ruth Cameron, a volunteer with Canopy Project Kawartha Lakes, in a media release.
“All it takes is a smartphone and the iNaturalist app — you share your photo observations with your fellow naturalists and the community does the rest.”
To RSVP or learn more about citizen science, email Ruth Cameron at SigTreesCKL@gmail.com.
This story has been updated to correct the email address.
The Peterborough-Kawartha riding association of the Ontario NDP has announced Jen Deck as its approved nomination candidate for the 2022 provincial election.
Deck is a teacher and the Occasional Teacher President of the Kawartha Pine Ridge Teachers’ Local of the Elementary Teachers Federation Ontario (ETFO).
“Jen is committed to campaigning on a bold and progressive agenda that responds to the climate crisis, income inequality, and increased investments in our public services,” reads an email to members of the riding association.
Advertisement - content continues below
The Peterborough-Kawartha riding association will hold a nomination meeting to elect the provincial candidate on Zoom at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 28th.
If Deck is confirmed as the NDP candidate for Peterborough-Kawartha, she will be challenging incumbent Dave Smith of the Conservatives, Greg Dempsey of the Liberals, Robert Gibson of the Greens, Tom Marazzo of the Ontario Party, and Dylan Smith of the None Of The Above Party.
This story has been updated with the name of the local candidate for the Green Party of Ontario.
At a launch event on April 14, 2022, Wes Ryan of the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts performs "No Elevator to Success" in a stairwell of Peterborough's decommissioned King George Public School, the site of Public Energy Performing Arts' 'Erring at King George' multidisciplinary arts festival running from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
Where many saw an old building that had long outlived any future useful purpose, Bill Kimball saw an opportunity to bring that space back to life.
In 2018, the executive director of Public Energy Performing Arts in Peterborough approached the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board to enquire if the former King George Public School in East City could be made available for a performance and visual art showcase he had in mind.
Fast forward to this past Thursday (April 14), when details of ‘Erring at King George’, billed as Peterborough’s largest multidisciplinary arts festival, were revealed by Kimball at a launch attended by artists and arts supporters as well as a number of event sponsors, kawarthaNOW among them.
Bill Kimball, executive director of Public Energy Performing Arts, speaks to the media and invited guests during a launch event on April 14, 2022 for the ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival, which runs from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
Share on Bluesky
Set to take place the first two weekends in May at the former school at 220 Hunter Street East (at Armour Road), Erring at King George will see artists perform or display their work using all three floors of the building, converting former classrooms, the gymnasium and even stairwells into a stage for their combined talents.
“You’ve got to have a space that has numerous rooms — a place that you might get lost in,” said Kimball, noting the former school fits the bill perfectly. “You need an empty building and there aren’t too many of those around. I had heard that King George was being closed, so I approached the school board and asked ‘Can we do this after it’s closed?’ This has been in the works for four years.”
The festival runs Friday, May 6th to Sunday, May 8th, and again from Friday, May 13th to Sunday, May 15th, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets for each day of the festival range in price from $5 to $30 in increments of $5 and can be purchased in advance online at eventbrite.ca/e/311827001957. Tickets will also be available at the door.
All three floors of the decommissioned King George Public School at the corner of Hunter Street East and Armour Road in Peterborough’s East City, will be used for multidisciplinary art installations and performances during Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’, which runs from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15, 2022. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
Share on Bluesky
Kimball noted this is the third Erring event held in Peterborough. The first took place in 1996 on the upper floors of the Hunter Street East building that is now home to the Gordon Best Theatre. The second, Erring on the Mount, was held in 2014 at what is now The Mount Community Centre. Kimball pointed out the success of both events, particularly the latter, made staging the event yet again a no-brainer.
“In 2014, we had more than 2,000 people file through in three days,” he said, noting that while the location has changed, the premise remains very much the same. “This event will is very much based on that experience. The artists take over an entire building, and fill every nook and cranny.”
“The idea is to give artists a challenge — something new to do — and to give audiences a new way to experience art. Something that’s not like a theatre or an art gallery. Theatre can be staged anywhere. Art can be put anywhere. That’s what this is about.”
At a launch event on April 14, 2022, artist Brian Nichols works on a puppet theatre stage at the decommissioned King George Public School in Peterborough’s East City, the site of Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival running from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
As for the word ‘erring’ in the festival’s name, Kimball explained it can be used in two ways.
“One is the modern version, which is to make a mistake — that might happen here, who knows?” he laughed. “The other definition of ‘erring’ is more old-fashioned, which is to wander or to get lost. You’re wandering … you’re getting lost in this building, getting lost amongst among the art.”
That will present no challenge for the festival, with more than 70 artists participating through the mediums of visual art, film, multimedia, dance, theatre, music and spoken work poetry. While most are based locally, some are coming from as far away as British Columbia. A complete list of installations on view during the festival and scheduled performances is available at publicenergy.ca/erring-at-king-george-festival-schedule/.
At a launch event on April 14, 2022, Thomas Vaccaro of the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts performs “No Elevator to Success” in a stairwell of Peterborough’s decommissioned King George Public School, the site of Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival running from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
Each installation and performance takes full advantage of the former school’s rustic interior and ambience. However, one of those installations — One Day In December, a film written and produced by Rob Fortin and Susan Newman with filmmaker LA Alfonso — leans heavily on the former school’s unique physical position as an eyewitness to local history.
On Monday, December 11, 1916 at 10:20 a.m., an explosion at the Quaker Oats plant — the result of a spark from a grinder igniting grain dust — abruptly shattered the morning calm. The explosion and subsequent fire, which burned for several days, took 24 lives. At King George Public School, then only three years old, students whose classroom windows faced the south witnessed that event and its aftermath.
“We decided we would try to present that morning from the point of view of a fictional teacher in the classroom and the students, who would have been in the middle of doing whatever you do on a normal school day,” Newman said. “We called it One Day In December because it was just an ordinary day until ‘BOOM.’ It’s a look at an everyday occurrence with just everyday people and the impact that something like that can have.”
“One Day In December”, a film written and produced by Rob Fortin and Susan Newman with filmmaker LA Alfonso about the 1916 catastrophic explosion and fire at the Quaker Oats factory in Peterborough, will be screened as part of Spirit Week during Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’, which runs from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15, 2022. (Photo: Toronto Archives)
Newman and Fortin wrote five songs for One Day In December, with the original plan being to present their piece as a live performance in the classroom. When that became impossible to do because of COVID restrictions at that time, it evolved into a film project at the suggestion of Alfonso.
The film features Marsala Lukianchuk as the teacher and the choral group from the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s upcoming production of Annie as the students. Not seen on film but clearly heard is a choir from Kaawaate East City Public School.
“We made the classroom look like it did in 1916,” Fortin said. “How often do you get the chance to tell a story and recreate it in the very place that it happened? It was like ‘Wow.’ You really felt the ghosts.”
Artist Brad Brackenridge peers through the eye socket of his giant Edward Lear puppet head on April 14, 2022 at the decommissioned King George Public School in Peterborough’s East City during a launch event for Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival, which runs from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
One Day In December will be projected on multiple screens in one of those classrooms as part of Erring at King George’s Spirit Week, an immersive travelling theatre work written and directed by Kate Story where “a charming and mysterious custodian” will lead audiences throughout the building (and outside at times) where they will encounter scenarios inspired by actual events and people who worked and studied at the school.
Along with Fortin, Newman, and Alfonso’s film, Spirit Week will feature Daniel Smith, Jenn Cole, Nicole Malbeuf, Kelli Marshall, The McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet, Norah von Bieberstein and Sahira Q, and Ryan Kerr.
Spirit Week takes place for one hour at the beginning of each day of the festival (6 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 p.m. on Sundays) and requires a separate ticket that must be purchased in advance at eventbrite.ca/e/311791545907. Tickets, which range from $10 to $30 in increments of $5, also allow access to the entire Erring at King George festival for that day, so there’s no need to purchase an additional ticket for the festival itself.
Diane Lloyd, chair of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, speaks during the April 14, 2022 launch event for Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival, which runs from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. Public Energy approached the school board four years ago to see if the decommissioned King George Public School in Peterborough’s East City could be made available for a performance and visual art festival. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
Share on Bluesky
Among the many who attended Thursday’s launch was Diane Lloyd, chair of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. She said the former school “is a perfect venue for what they are doing here.”
“There’s a school exactly like this in New York that has become an arts centre,” she said, pointing out that would be more difficult to do with King George. “In New York, there are all sorts of people who support the arts. It would take community support to do it here. But having this open again and having people come back is wonderful.”
As to what will become of the former school property after the Erring event, Lloyd won’t commit to an answer. However, she said the board “values the heritage aspect of this building.”
Peterborough city councillor Henry Clarke (middle), who went to King George Public School as a child, was one of the guests attending the April 14, 2022 launch event for Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival, which runs from May 6 to 8 and 13 to 15. (Photo: Andy Carroll)
Also on hand Thursday were a few King George alumni, including long-time city councillor Henry Clarke as well as Peterborough real estate agent and event sponsor Jo Pillon — the latter having someone shoot a video of her in the gym doing a cartwheel where, many years ago, she did likewise as a member of the school’s gymnastics team.
In addition to the installations and scheduled performances, two panel discussions will be held during the festival.
“King George, Kaawaate” will examine the juxtaposition of two side-by-side buildings — the former King George Public School and the recently constructed Kaawaate East City Public School that replaced it — and consider how we can work toward decolonization of artists, educators, and treaty people.
“The Art of Accessibility” will celebrate the “bravery” required to disrupt the status quo and make change for diversity, equality, and accessibility, and discuss how the education system and the culture it serves create barriers and how those barriers can be overcome.
Public Energy Performing Arts’ ‘Erring at King George’ multidisciplinary arts festival will transform the decommissioned King George Public School in Peterborough’s East City into a performance and visual art space for the first two weekends of May 2022. (Image courtesy of Public Energy)
Temporary signage in the window of the new Jethro's Bar + Stage at 137 Hunter Street West in downtown Peterborough. The live music venue, in the former location of The Sapphire Room cocktail lounge, will open on April 22, 2022. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
Downtown Peterborough will soon have another live music venue.
Peterborough musician Kayla Howran announced on Thursday (April 14) that her family is opening Jethro’s Bar + Stage at 137 Hunter Street West, between Water and George streets.
It’s the former location of The Sapphire Room cocktail lounge and is next door to The Food Forest restaurant.
Advertisement - content continues below
According to Howran, Jethro’s Bar + Stage will open Friday (April 22) with live music all weekend.
The opening weekend line-up includes Melissa Payne at 9 p.m. on Friday, Blue Hazel from 5 to 7 p.m. and Jack Marks at 9 p.m. on Saturday, and Little Fire from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Peterborough's Blue Hazel (Cailtin O'Connor and Meisha Browne) bring their harmonies to the Black Horse in downtown Peterborough on Good Friday. (Photo: Bryan Reid)
Every Thursday, we publish live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, April 14 to Wednesday, April 20.
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.
Saturday, April 23 (postponed from April 16) 2-4pm - PMBA presents HBH ft Chris Hiney, Al Black, JP Hovercraft ($100 for table of 4, $150 for table of 6 by e-transfer to . All proceeds help musicians in need)
Ganaraska Hotel
30 Ontario St., Port Hope
(905) 885-9254
Saturday, April 16
2pm & 8pm - Boneyard (no cover)
Coming Soon
Friday, May 6 8pm - Nickola Magnolia Band "Broken Lonesome" album release party ($20 in advance at www.eventbrite.ca/e/302379895407)
Saturday, May 14 8pm - Best in Show: Show in Best ft SJ Riley, Adam Tario, Lisa Canivet, A Dubz ($13.75/$20)
Graz Restobar
38 Bolton St., Bobcaygeon
705-738-6343
Saturday, April 16
7:30pm - Kelly Burrows
Coming Soon
Friday, April 22 7:30pm - Jam Night hosted by Margaret Weikmann
Saturday, April 30 7:30pm - Montana Sky
Advertisement - content continues below
Kelly's Homelike Inn
205 3rd Street, Cobourg
905-372-3234
Saturday, April 16
4-8pm - Wicklow
The Locker at The Falls
9 Lindsay St., Fenelon Falls
705-887-6211
Thursday, April 14
8pm - Karaoke w/ Ross Burgoyne
Mainstreet Landing Restaurant
1939 Lakehurst Road, Buckhorn
(705) 657-9094
Thursday, April 14
7-10pm - Ty WIlson
Saturday, April 16
7pm - Karaoke
Coming Soon
Thursday, April 21 7-10pm - Ty WIlson
McGillicafey's Pub & Eatery
13 Bridge St.. N., Hastings
(705) 696-3600
Thursday, April 14
7-10pm - Karaoke
McThirsty's Pint
166 Charlotte St., Peterborough
(705) 743-2220
Saturday, April 16
9pm - Live music TBA
Murphy's Lockside Pub & Patio
3 May St., Fenelon Falls
(705) 887-1100
Thursday, April 14
7pm - Open Mic w/ David Evans
Saturday, April 16
7:30pm - Joe Kelly & Jason Lynn
Advertisement - content continues below
Pie Eyed Monk Brewery
8 Cambridge St. N., Lindsay
(705) 212-2200
Coming Soon
Friday, May 27 7-11:30pm - Music At the Monk 2 ft Looking For Heather, Phil Heaslip, Cassie Noble, Nathan Truax, SJ Riley ($10 in advance at www.eventbrite.ca/e/273028785447)
Three of the 119 decorated envelopes and postcards that Peterborough writer Erica Richmond and North Carolina artist and author Shannon Fitzgerald received from 52 people from 11 different countries around the world during for their "The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19" project during the first 18 months of the pandemic. A book about the project is set to be released on April 20, 2022. (Photos: The Mail Art Stories Project @mailartstories / Instagram)
Peterborough writer Erica Richmond is about to release a book featuring mail art collected during the first 18 months of the pandemic.
Richmond collaborated with artist and author Shannon Fitzgerald of Hillsborough, North Carolina on The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19, which showcases 119 decorated envelopes and postcards received from 52 people from 11 different countries around the world.
Mail art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, began in the 1960s when artists sent postcards inscribed with poems or drawings through the mail rather than exhibiting them. It has since developed into a global movement that continues today.
Advertisement - content continues below
Richmond, founder of Open Sky Stories in Peterborough, partnered with Fitzgerald of Bold Moves Studios in April 2020 to ask people to share their stories of life during the pandemic, by mailing pieces of art with the suggested addition of three words or phrases.
“Early in the first lockdown, I sat in my house and contemplated how I might be able to help others who were feeling isolated and scared around the world,” Fitzgerald says in a media release. “That’s how the idea for this project was born.”
Over the next 18 months, Richmond and Fitzgerald mailboxes became “vessels of heartache, celebration, and much desired connection,” according to the media release.
“In all the stories that were shared, there was an overwhelming cry for connection that often felt met by this simple act of sending mail to complete strangers,” Richmond says.
Peterborough writer Erica Richmond (top right) and North Carolina artist and author Shannon Fitzgerald are releasing a book called “The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19,” which features 119 decorated envelopes and postcards received from 52 people from 11 different countries around the world during the first 18 months of the pandemic. (Supplied photos)
While some of the submissions were from people experienced with mail art, others were creating it for the first time.
Richmond and Fitzgerald received submissions from people who became pen pals during the pandemic and chose to participate together, from a family who created mail art as a team, and from a young boy and his grandmother who were missing each other.
The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19 will be released on Wednesday (April 20) and can be purchased through Amazon, openskystories.com, or boldmovesstudio.com. The book will also soon be available through any bookstore through the independent publishing platform IngramSpark.
The Ontario Provincial Police has provided previously unreleased details of the February 18, 2020 murder of 18-year-old Alex Tobin in Omemee, as well as video and photos of the suspects, including these two men captured fleeing the scene of the crime. (Photo courtesy of Tobin family / screenshot of OPP-supplied video)
Police investigating the unsolved murder of 18-year-old Alex Tobin in Omemee in the City of Kawartha Lakes have released new details about the crime and video footage of suspects.
The Ontario Provincial Police held a virtual media conference on Thursday (April 14) where they provided previously unreleased details of the murder, along with video and photos of two suspects fleeing the apartment building at the time of the murder as well as three suspects at a Scarborough park believed to be discarding evidence connected to the murder.
On February 18, 2020 at around 1:07 p.m., Tobin was shot in his girlfriend’s apartment at 36 King Street East in Omemee, a small apartment building located across from Omemee Foodland, and later died in hospital.
Advertisement - content continues below
Share on Bluesky
Detective Inspector Chris Josiah, major case manager with the OPP Criminal investigation Branch, said police have since recovered the firearm, during an unrelated investigation, they believe was used to kill Tobin.
“We are looking for the public’s help to identify the person who shot Alex,” Josiah said. “It was known that Alex was involved in the illegal sale of marijuana.”
“Through the investigation, my team and I have learned that, following Alex’s shooting, two suspects were captured on video leaving the building and fleeing the area. We believe that the suspects were from the Greater Toronto Area and attended Alex’s residence to purchase marijuana.”
VIDEO: Suspects in February 18, 2020 murder of Alex Tobin
The two suspects then left the area in a motor vehicle on Highway 7.
The first suspect is described as a black male with braided hair and of average height. He was wearing a blue, hooded sweatshirt, a ‘Moose Knuckle’ winter coat, and black Nike-brand ‘Air Force One’ running shoes.
The second suspect is described as a black male, who was wearing a blue hooded winter jacket. He wore prescription eyeglasses with uniquely shaped frames.
Advertisement - content continues below
In a March 3, 2020 video released by police, three suspects in a black Audi sedan are seen arriving at Murison Park in Scarborough. Two of the suspects get out of the car and walk into the park while carrying a blue winter jacket and a garbage bag, where they are believed to have discarded evidence connected to Tobin’s murder.
Police are seeking the public’s help to identify the owner of the black Audi sedan and the two suspects in the video. They have released photos of the three suspects obtained during the investigation.
A $50,000 reward continues to be offered for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Tobin’s murder.
A collage of the three suspects in the black Audi which arrived at Murison Park in Scarborough March 3, 2020 to dispose of evidence from the scene of the February 18, 2020 murder of 18-year-old Alex Tobin in Omemee, (OPP-supplied photos)
The OPP is urging anyone who may have information that would assist with the homicide investigation to call the OPP’s dedicated tip line at 1-844-677-5020.
kawarthaNOW.com offers two enews options to help readers stay in the know. Our VIP enews is delivered weekly every Wednesday morning and includes exclusive giveaways, and our news digest is delivered daily every morning. You can subscribe to one or both.
Submit your event for FREE!
Use our event submission form to post your event on our website — for free.
To submit editorial content or ideas, please contact us.
