Both the City of Peterborough and the Town of Cobourg announced on Thursday (May 12) that Canada Day parades are returning after a two-year absence due to the pandemic.

Following ceremonies at 10 a.m. at Peterborough City Hall, the Peterborough parade — with the theme “Back Together” — will begin at noon on Friday, July 1st, departing from the intersection of George Street North and McDonnel Street before proceeding south down George Street to Morrow Park.

Local community groups and businesses are invited to participate in the parade by entering a float. For more details and to complete a float entry form, visit peterborough.ca/canadaday.

The Cobourg Canada Day parade will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 1st at the intersection of William Street and King Street before proceeding east on King Street to Victoria Park.

The Cobourg parade will be followed by opening ceremonies for the Cobourg Waterfront Festival at 1 p.m. in the Victoria Park Bandshell, with fireworks over the harbour at 10 p.m. The Cobourg Waterfront Festival, which continues until July 3 at Victoria Park and Rotary Harbourfront Park, will feature musical entertainment, art shows, food and beverages, and activities for kids.

Local businesses and community groups who are interested in participating in the Cobourg parade can complete a participation form on the Town of Cobourg website.

Peterborough police say they are “actively investigating” a complaint in connection with a protest during Jagmeet Singh’s visit to Peterborough on Tuesday (May 10) where the federal NDP leader was accosted by protesters — and are asking anyone with additional video or other information to contact them.

“Anyone seeing the video should find it disheartening, morally unacceptable, and lacking in respect each resident and visitor deserves,” said acting chief Tim Farquharson in a statement on YouTube, referring to video widely circulated on social media showing protesters verbally abusing Singh.

“Your actions and belief systems are reprehensible, unconscionable, and in some cases criminal,” Farquharson said to those involved in the incident, adding that the police “will use every investigative tool possible to deal with your actions.”

Responding to widespread criticism there was no police presence during the protest, Farquharson blamed a lack of resources.

“We are aware that, due to our staffing shortages, we’re not always able to engage in pro-active policing patrols,” he said. “We also understand that public safety is of paramount importance, and encourage residents to contact us with their concerns or any evidence that could aid in our investigations.”

Police are asking anyone with any further video or information about the incident to call the Peterborough Police Crime Line at 705-876-1122 x555 or to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a tip online at stopcrimehere.ca.

VIDEO: Acting Peterborough Police Chief Tim Farquharson

kawarthaNOW is polling readers in the greater Kawarthas region to assist us in covering the Ontario election and the positions of local candidates on issues that are important to our readers.

You can complete our brief reader poll in the window below or at www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022electionpoll.

Police are investigating a stabbing in the town of Cobourg on Wednesday night (May 11).

At 11:20 p.m., Cobourg police responded to a report of a disturbance in the area of Havelock Street and James Street West.

A man suffered a stab wound as the result of an altercation. He was transported to hospital by ambulance for minor injuries and was later released.

Brighton OPP and Durham Regional Police Service K-9 Unit assisted in the investigation.

Police believe this was an isolated event and say there is no concern for public safety at this time.

Residents who live in the area, or were present around the time of the incident, are asked to check their security cameras or dash cameras in the event that the incident was captured on video.

Anyone with information is asked to contact acting detective James Egas of the Cobourg Police Service Criminal Investigations Branch at 905-372-6821 ext. 1004, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by phone by calling 1-800-222-TIPS or online by visiting stopcrimehere.ca.

Peterborough is in the national spotlight and not in a good way, thanks to the actions of a small group of protesters who aggressively accosted federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh during his stop on Tuesday afternoon (May 11) at provincial NDP candidate Jen Deck’s campaign office.

While Singh was leaving the George Street office, protesters yelled and screamed at him, calling him a “f**king traitor”, a “lying piece of sh*t”, and told him to “go f**k yourself,” with some showing him their middle finger.

Singh addressed the incident at a media conference in Ottawa on Wednesday after a reporter asked him about the experience.

“I’ve been to Peterborough a number of times and I’ve always been really well-received and had a good time,” Singh began, before describing what he later said was one of his “worst experiences” in politics.

“There were some folks who were saying some really bad, some really horrible things. Some folks were saying ‘Hope you die’ and things along that nature. (There was) a lot of aggression and violence in terms of the behaviour and demeanour.”

The protest was organized by Roy Asseltine and Nicole Comber — owner of Peterburgers, a burger restaurant that was shut down last December for four months for violating public health restrictions — shortly after they found out Singh would be arriving at Deck’s campaign office.

“We need to get everybody down there.”

“We need to let @theJagmeetSingh know that he’s not welcome here.”

“We will not be silenced.”

“Let them know that this is our town.” (2/2) pic.twitter.com/IoapXLejVr

— Josh Kulich (@Josh_Kulich) May 11, 2022

Asseltine and Comber posted a video asking protesters to come to Deck’s campaign office, and a “call to action” was also posted on the “Hold Fast” Facebook group.

Comber livestreamed part of the protest on Facebook, and other videos taken by protesters’ were circulated on social media.

Singh received most of the harassment and verbal abuse when he was leaving Deck’s office by the front door.

6) More up close video as Jagmeet Singh left the building where you can REALLY hear the disgusting things the crowd is saying. Might not be safe for work, so watch the volume before you listen to it at. #ptbo pic.twitter.com/QjytzTayTa

— Johnny Fondue (@Eatsfood2) May 11, 2022

While Singh says he was able to get into the event and back to his vehicle “without any particular issue,” he pointed to the protest as an example of increasing polarization in Canadian politics.

“There is a level of polarization that is going on in politics which is troubling,” he said. “It shouldn’t be that someone has to be physically trained in martial arts and be able to deal with conflict to be a politician.”

He added that, while it’s “absolutely necessary for people to express dissatisfaction,” his experience was “something really troubling.”

“We should be able to disagree as a society, respectfully, maybe even angrily, but it doesn’t have to come to the point where it’s getting so polarized that people’s safety can be at risk and people are feeling these types of threats,” Singh said.

Singh added the incident made him “really worried” about his team.

“We want to encourage people to participate in politics, we want people form all walks of life to participate,” he said. “We don’t want to create a climate where it is dangerous to be in politics, where people feel their safety is at threat, or their team’s safety is at threat. That should never happen. It should never get to that point.”

Nicole Comber, owner of Peterburgers, and others from their “Hold Fast” gang came out to yell at @theJagmeetSingh in Peterborough today — and give a message that he is “not welcome”.

This small but vocal group does not represent our community.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/GnEZR3Jox1

— Tanya (@TanyaFusco) May 10, 2022

“There is a responsibility that politicians play who purposefully inflame these divisions or purposefully spread misinformation that heightens the tensions,” Singh said. “Those who things that we can stop doing, I think that we have to stop doing.”

“There is a point where expression of anger gets into a position of hatred or violence. There’s no place for that in Canada. It’s completely wrong.”

Despite previous incidents involving Asseltine and Comber, including a raucous grand reopening celebration of Peterburgers in April that led to charges under the city’s noise by-law, there was no police presence during the protest.

The day after the protest, Peterborough police posted on Twitter they were unaware Singh was in Peterborough and had received no calls for service.

“It’s disheartening to hear as we know most residents are respectful and these few are not reflective of our community,” police wrote.

PPS wasn't aware NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was in Ptbo

Since learning of the event officers reached out to Mr. Singh to discuss as there were no calls for service

It's disheartening to hear as we know most residents are respectful & these few are not reflective of our community

— Peterborough Police (@PtboPolice) May 11, 2022

Several people took to Twitter to condemn the protesters’ behaviour, including Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, who wrote Singh and Deck “deserve to live and work freely, without intimidation.”

So many times I've watched my friend @theJagmeetSingh meet hate with grace — just like he and our candidate Jen Deck did in Peterborough.

But they shouldn’t have to. They deserve to live and work freely, without intimidation.

Jen and Jagmeet, we've got your back. #ONpoli

— Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) May 11, 2022

On Wednesday evening, Singh posted his “thoughts and reflections” about his experience in Peterborough on Twitter, thanking everyone who reached out to him about the incident.

“I want to say especially say to the people of Peterborough — I have visited many times and I know your community is filled with good people who want the best for each other,” he wrote, adding later “Peterborough, I love you.”

Thank you to everyone that has reached out to me after yesterday’s incident in Peterborough.

Here are my thoughts and reflections: pic.twitter.com/Oz81q0S5du

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) May 12, 2022

After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, Peterborough’s biggest and most popular garage sale is set to return on Saturday, May 28th.

The Great Gilmour Street Garage Sale sees residents of the entire length of Gilmour Street — from Park Street to Monaghan Road — participating in the sale, often with additional sellers west of Monaghan and some on Homewood Avenue and Burrows Street.

While there’s been no official announcement, a couple of residents have told kawarthaNOW the event is going ahead this year.

First held in 1990, the sale takes place on the morning of the Saturday following the Victoria Day weekend beginning at 9 a.m. (although some people have been known to show up early) and runs until 1 p.m.

While the weather for the sale has traditionally been excellent, there’s always a chance it will be rained out. The rain date is Sunday, May 29th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The types of items you can find are what you would expect an any garage or yard sale: furniture, clothing, books, CDs, sporting equipment, paintings, bikes, appliances, electronics, baked goods, and more. But because so many residents participate in the sale, there’s a huge selection and the opportunity to find unusual, unique, or even rare items.

Prior to the pandemic, thousands of people came out every year to the Great Gilmour Street Garage Sale to find both regular and unique items at bargain prices, or to support the many non-profit organizations that also set up shop during the sale to raise funds.

In the past, organizations involved in the sale have included the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, The Parkinson Society, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Taoist Tai Chi Society, and many more.

There’s no website or consolidated listing of all the sellers and charities who are participating in the Great Gilmour Street Garage Sale. While there is a Facebook group and a Facebook page, neither have been updated recently.

kawarthaNOW will update this story when more details become available.

Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon has announced the launch of a $2 million capital campaign to purchase the Lakeview Arts Barn — and has already raised $1.1 million towards that goal.

The professional theatre company’s co-founder and artistic producer Sarah Quick made the announcement during a virtual media conference on Wednesday (May 11).

The distinctive renovated barn, known as the LAB, became the home of Globus Theatre three years after Quick and her husband James Barrett founded the theatre company in 2003. As well as being the stage for Globus Theatre productions, it also served as a venue for events such as weddings, corporate functions, fundraisers, and more.

However, while Globus Theatre — as a registered charitable organization — sustained itself during the pandemic through relief funding and donations, the commercially operated Lakeview Arts Barn faced significant financial challenges.

“We lost all of the events that keep things going — that pay for the operations along the way,” Quick said. “We remortgaged in 2020. We ended up quadrupling our debt over the course of the two years. The relief funding that came for Globus, and the ability to be able to raise funds because Globus was a charity, obviously that was not available to the LAB.”

“We knew when the third lockdown hit at the beginning of the summer of 2021 that James and I were not going to be able to sustain this financially. We knew that we had to put the LAB on the market.”

Quick explained that Globus considered three options: selling the building to a new owner and becoming a tenant, talking with the municipality about its plans for building a new cultural centre, and launching a capital campaign to pay off the mortgages, own the building outright, and complete some repairs.

After consulting with other theatre companies, industry experts, and supporters, and considering the shortcomings of the other options, Globus decided launching a capital campaign was the right solution to secure the theatre company’s future.

“We researched capital campaigns and we found out that, in order to launch a capital campaign, one should have half of the amount already secured in order to do that,” Quick said.

“This is where the amazing news comes in that makes the tears turn happy,” she added, her voice cracking. “When we asked our donors, we received a pledge of $1 million in order to launch our capital campaign.”

After announcing the pledge at a donor town hall a couple of weeks ago, Globus received an additional pledge of $100,000 — bringing the total raised to date $1.1 million of the $2 million goal.

“It’s a massive undertaking but, looking positively, we’re halfway there,” Quick said. “It means that rather than worrying about running a venue, we can concentrate on running a theatre.”

In response to a question, Quick said the building would be renamed after the theatre company as no donors so far have requested naming rights.

For more information about Globus’ “Raising The Barn” capital campaign and to make a donation, visit www.lakeviewartsbarn.com/raising-the-barn-capital-campaign.