Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 525 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 5 to 700.
Of Ontario’s 34 health units, 1 is reporting a triple-digit increase (Toronto with 120 cases), with 13 reporting double-digit increases — Peel (60), Windsor-Essex (60), Hamilton (42), Niagara (41), York (30), Simcoe Muskoka (21), Durham (19), Middlesex-London (19), Waterloo (19), Brant (19), Halton (14), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (11), and Ottawa (10) — and 8 reporting no new cases at all.
Of the new cases, 70% are people who have not been fully vaccinated (62% have not received any doses and 8% have received only one dose) and 17% are people who have been fully vaccinated with two doses, with the vaccination status unknown for 12% of the cases.
Hospitalizations have increased by 110 to 336, but this increase may be in part due to underreporting since last Friday (when 343 hospitalizations were reported), as more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data to the daily bed census over the weekend. The number of ICU patients has decreased by 2 to 158 and the number of ICU patients on ventilators remains unchanged at 93.
Ontario is reporting 5 COVID-related deaths, but 3 of these occurred more than 2 months ago and are being reported today as part of a data clean-up, so there were 2 new COVID-related deaths yesterday.
Over 20.7 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 31,176 from yesterday, with more than 9.9 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 19,228 from yesterday, representing just over 67.2% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from July 31 – August 30, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from July 31 – August 30, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, and the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from July 31 – August 30, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered and the green line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 3 new cases in Peterborough and 3 additional cases resolved, with the number of active cases decreasing by 1 to 22.
There have been 2 new COVID-related hospitalizations in Peterborough and 1 new ICU admission.
Numbers are unavailable for Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, Northumberland, and Hastings Prince Edward as the respective health units only issue reports on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Numbers for Tuesday will be included in Wednesday’s update.
There are currently 75 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 1 from yesterday, including 40 in Hastings Prince Edward (19 in Belleville, 10 in Central Hastings, 7 in Quinte West, 2 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 1 in North Hastings), 22 in Peterborough, 9 in Kawartha Lakes, and 4 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,690 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,646 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,229 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,175 resolved with 58 deaths), 969 in Northumberland County (948 resolved with 17 deaths), 127 in Haliburton County (126 resolved with 1 death), and 1,269 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,217 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.
Children participating in a four-week pilot of the Kawartha Youth Orchestra's Upbeat! Downtown after-school music program in 2019. The free program, designed for children living in Peterborough who are interested in music but face barriers to accessing music education, will run from September to June with COVID-19 safety protocols in place. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Youth Orchestra)
As part of the Kawartha Youth Orchestra’s commitment to removing barriers to music education for children, the non-profit organization is launching a free after-school music program in September for children living in Peterborough who would otherwise not have access to music education.
The program, called ‘Upbeat! Downtown’, is funded by an Ontario Trillium Grow Grant and will run three times per week inside of All Saints’ Anglican Church Parish Hall at 235 Rubidge Street in downtown Peterborough.
This year, Upbeat will be taking 30 students aged eight and nine years old, along with siblings close in age. If everything goes smoothly, the program will expand next fall to include 60 students between the ages of six and 18.
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Upbeat will run after school every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., beginning on September 13 and running until June.
Alexander Cannon, Kawartha Youth Orchestra’s artistic director and Upbeat’s lead teaching artist, says the program aims to recruit children from schools nearby to All Saints. If the child goes to school nearby, they can participate in a volunteer walking program as safe after-school transportation to All Saints.
“For folks who are close and qualify for the program, we safely get your child from their school to our program, and then the family is responsible for picking up their child at the end of the day,” Cannon tells kawarthaNOW.
Alexander Cannon is Kawartha Youth Orchestra’s new artistic director and Upbeat’s lead teaching artist. Cannon is a music educator, orchestral conductor, and trumpet player. Cannon grew up with two trained musicians as his parents, and is passionate about giving children the kind of access to music education he had. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Youth Orchestra)
The program is fully subsidized, so there are no fees. Along with safe transportation from school to Upbeat, the program includes an instrument loan, supplies, and a daily health snack. Children do not need any prior musical experience to participate.
To fill the program’s 30 spots, school teachers, principals, and administrators can recommend children for the program who they feel would benefit the most. In addition, parents can register their children by filling out and submitting an application form at kawarthayouthorchestra.org/join-upbeat-downtown/.
Cannon says the spots are filling up very fast, and there will likely be a waitlist for the program. Nevertheless, he encourages parents to register their children and join the waitlist since some families might move away and some children may leave the program during the year.
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According to Cannon, Upbeat will be a fun, ensemble-based program to expose participating children to music and foster their curiosity. The children enrolled will do some learning on the xylophone and will also learn to play the violin.
“It’s about creating whole people,” Cannon remarks.
When children arrive at Upbeat every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, they will be greeted with a snack. Then they will spend 10 to 15 minutes of “centring time” gathered in a circle, where they will talk about their days, prompted with questions like, “What is one exciting thing that happened during your day today?”
VIDEO: Upbeat! Downtown Peterborough (2019 pilot)
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students will then spend time learning the beginning basics of music theory. Then they will have a session on their violin until the end of the program at 5:30 p.m.
On Wednesdays, Cannon says they mix things up a bit for students to keep the program exciting and interactive. Instead of music theory, students will partake in a music listening session. Then a special guest will demonstrate an intrument or perform for the kids.
“I’m going to try to find the most unusual instruments from different places,” Cannon says. “The ultimate goal of all this is exposure to foster curiosity.”
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Although the Ontario Trillium Grow Grant is supporting the program for its first few years, Kawartha Youth Orchestra still needs community support.
“One of our big mandates is going to be fundraising so we can make it beyond the three years of the grant,” Cannon explains.
Donations are not the only way you can support the Upbeat program. According to Cannon, you can also volunteer to help with the snack program, transportation, and checking kids in and out at the beginning and end of each day. Volunteers are heavily vetted and require background and police checks.
The Kawartha Youth Orchestra’s rehearsal space at All Saints’ Anglican Church Parish Hall, where the Upbeat! Downtown after-school music program will take place three times a week between September and June, has ample space to support physical distancing requirements during the pandemic. All participants will also be required to wear masks, only removing them when playing a wind instrument. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Youth Orchestra)
“The more we build up our volunteer base now, the better this is going to run a year from September,” Cannon notes. “After this initial year of getting our foothold, we do expect the program to grow drastically. Going from 30 to 60 is going to be a big leap for next year.”
While Upbeat is a new and exciting addition to Kawartha Youth Orchestra’s programming, they are also excited to continue their existing orchestra programs.
Kawartha Youth Orchestra ensembles, which are partially subsidized but require a tuition fee, exist on three levels: junior, intermediate, and senior. Each level requires a different degree of playing experience.
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Cannon is looking forward to welcoming students back to the ensemble program in person this fall. He says although the Kawartha Youth Orchestra did a fantastic job of keeping their ensembles going virtually throughout the pandemic, they are looking forward to resuming in-person activities in September.
As long as pandemic conditions don’t take a dramatic turn for the worse, the orchestra has received the go-ahead from Peterborough Public Health to return in-person rehearsals with COVID restrictions and protocols in place.
These include a requirement to wear masks (except for those who must remove them when playing a wind instrument) and remaining under 50 per cent capacity of their rehearsal space at All Saints’ Anglican Church Parish Hall.
Kawartha Youth Orchestra is a non-profit organization committed to offering youth in the Kawarthas region an opportunity to learn symphonic music and perform. Along with the Upbeat! Downtown program the organization has junior, intermediate, and senior ensembles, each of which requires a different degree of playing experience. The orchestra recently received the go-ahead from Peterborough Public Health to resume in-person rehearsals, although with pandemic restrictions in place. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Youth Orchestra)
Fortunately, All Saints’ Anglican Church Parish Hall is large enough to accommodate physical distancing.
Cannon says the pandemic has shown how vital the arts and community are, especially the social benefits that come from performing music in a group.
“The sense of community and communication that one gets from a music ensemble setting has clearly been missed,” he remarks. “People are looking forward to getting back to it.”
Although limited spots are available for the Upbeat! Downtown program, the Kawartha Youth Orchestra encourages those who are interested to apply and be placed on a waitlist in case there are any openings during the year. (Graphic courtesy of Kawartha Youth Orchestra)
“I hope the pandemic has made people aware that it’s part of their health care and humanity to be part of something like this,” Cannon says.
“In an artistic setting, there is this sense of humanity. There’s something that feeds us in a way that nothing else can.”
Cannon notes that although their organization is called the Kawartha Youth Orchestra, it’s not just about orchestral music.
For example, they plan to spend two months of their second term working on chamber music and composition with their senior orchestra this year.
Kawartha Youth Orchestra programs require financial support to fund their rent, staff, sheet music, and instrument supply costs. Instrument donations and word-of-mouth support are non-monetary ways you can support the non-profit.
Those interested in joining one of the Kawartha Youth Orchestra ensembles can visit the Kawartha Youth Orchestra website at kawarthayouthorchestra.org, where you can also volunteer or donate to support the Upbeat program of the ensemble programs.
Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist Laila Biali brings her pop-infused jazz to The Barn at Westben in Campbellford, with two performances on the evenings of September 17 and 18, 2021. She will be accompanied by her husband Ben Wittman on drums and George Koller on bass. (Photo: Edith Maybin)
Of all the accomplished musical artists that Brian Finley and Donna Bennett have brought to Westben in Campbellford, it’s a pretty safe bet that few have been as tickled to headline that venue as the multiple award-winning Canadian jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter Laila Biali.
A few years back, Biali’s husband Ben Wittman had a gig at Westben, playing drums for a performance by jazz singer Heather Bambrick. Presented with what she recalls as “a rare night off,” Biali took in the performance with the couple’s young son.
“We put a picnic together, piled into the car, and off we went,” she recalls. “The drive alone was beautiful as we got closer and closer to our destination, but nestled in the midst of this totally rural, bucolic landscape was a world-class stage, complete with a concert grand piano. To have a concert grand in addition to such an exquisite natural environment — well, that’s almost unheard of.”
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“It’s like a New York City concert hall in the middle of the woods and all this farmland,” adds Biali, who knows about New York City concert halls, having performed at the city’s famed Carnegie Hall.
“I asked Ben and Heather after the show, ‘How can I get a gig there? What do I have to do?’ I said to my agent that maybe at some point we can approach them, but we didn’t have to wait long. They approached us and here we are, and for two nights no less. Not one. We get two. I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Biali will perform at The Barn (6698 County Road 30 North, Campbellford) at 7 p.m. on both Friday, September 17 and Saturday, September 18, as part of Westben’s fall festival. Tickets are $50 for adults, $48 for seniors, and $20 for those under 20 (plus HST) and can be purchased online at westben.ca/concerts21/laila-biali or by calling 705-653-5508.
VIDEO: “Sugar” – Laila Biali
Joining the Vancouver native will be her husband Ben Wittman on drums and George Koller on bass.
“Ben and I met touring with [American singer] Paula Cole in 2007 and have been working together ever since,” says Biali. “Because it’s so comfortable and we have so much history, we can take a bunch of risks. You never quite know what’s going to happen.”
“That’s not only really fun for us but it’s fun for the audience too. We play a type of jazz that I like to think of as super-accessible for someone who’s a bit of a jazz skeptic. It’s all about presenting a show that is dynamic and fun and engaging.”
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That approach has worked exceptionally well for Biali who has played some very big stages, from the aforementioned Carnegie Hall to Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. The two Westben gigs are part of her current tour of Ontario, with additional performances scheduled for Quebec and British Columbia as well as south of the border.
“Touring is my happiest place — I was starved during the pandemic,” admits Biali. “The road, to a large degree, is home for us. We’re most comfortable when we’re on planes and in hotels and on stages. We just love it. Obviously it’s way more complex now than it ever was. But as long as it can be done safely, if we can be out there sharing music and still be abiding by guidelines, we’re thrilled.”
Like many musicians, Biali is only fulfilled when she can perform in front of a live audience
VIDEO: “Revival” – Laila Biali
“Sharing my music live with an in-person audience is really my M.O. That’s why I do what I do. For me, music is all about the connection. The songs, in my mind, don’t really take flight until they’re shared live.”
With eight albums to her credit, Biali has plenty to share. That catalogue of recorded work includes her self-titled 2018 album that brought her a 2019 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, and two Juno award nominations in the same category — in 2011 for her second album Tracing Light and, just this past April, for her latest album Out Of Dust.
“I’ve definitely gone through times when I have had a little bit of an identity crisis, where I feel I’m too jazz for pop and too pop for jazz, where I’m somewhere in the middle and I don’t have a home,” says Biali.
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“What the Juno award win really did was affirm that in the big J jazz world there’s so much room for play. I think that’s why you see more and more people coming back to jazz, even people who don’t think they like jazz. They’re discovering artists who are presenting a type of jazz they can relate to a little more easily. The award was affirmation that I have a home in the world of Canadian jazz. That means a great deal to me. Still, it was totally unexpected. I was just thrilled to be nominated and then bowled over when they called out my name.”
That Biali has been, and remains, one of the leading lights on the Canadian jazz landscape and beyond is even more remarkable when one considers that jazz wasn’t the music genre she seemed destined to one day master. Playing piano at a young age, she gravitated towards classical music with the “dreams of going to Juilliard [in New York City] and becoming a concert pianist” — until she suffered an injury as a teenager.
“I was injured in a car accident when I was about 15,” she explains. “We were rear-ended on the highway and it did a number of my neck. My right arm became more limited due to fusion. Around the time that all happened, I was introduced to jazz.”
VIDEO: “Got to Love” – Laila Biali
“Jazz felt a little bit like the rebound boyfriend while I was still grieving my first love of classical music. I actually didn’t love it [jazz] initially. It was really complex and I didn’t understand it. It was like a new language. The idea of making up music, making up a solo, was terrifying to me.”
That aside, “a few key moments” won Biali over to the genre.
“First, I discovered a community in jazz. Classical music was really a solitary practice, especially as a piano player. I wasn’t part of a band. Jazz was an invitation into a community. I fundamentally just love people so getting to share music with people and other players was so exciting.”
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“Second, I heard a musician who blended the worlds of classical music and jazz. That was very exciting to me and helped me bridge the two worlds. It helped me feel like I could find my way with this unfamiliar genre.
“Another experience I had that clinched the whole thing for me was I heard a piano player at the Montreal Bistro in Toronto. He was playing songs by Radiohead and Bjork and David Bowie and it blew my mind because those are artists I love. I thought if you can import pop and mainstream music into jazz, bring the richness of jazz harmonies to the accessibility and brilliance of those artists, it was like having my cake and eating it too. I felt I had found my place. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since — a pop and jazz mix.”
That has worked out exceptionally well for Biali. Besides headlining festivals and venues around the world, singing background vocals for Sting’s 2009 DVD A Winter’s Night: Live From Durham Cathedral, and touring with the likes of Chris Botti and Suzanne Vega, in 2020 she was awarded SOCAN’s Hagood Hardy Award for excellence in jazz, instrumental or world music. In addition, there’s her ongoing hosting of Saturday Night Jazz on CBC Radio 2.
VIDEO: “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell – Laila Biali
Biali says her latest album Out Of Dust provides full evidence of her progression as a singer.
“When I sang on Introducing The Laila Biali Trio [her 2003 debut album], I wasn’t owning the vocal component yet. I was sitting at the piano trying to sing. Now the vocals are really front-and-centre — the primary means by which I connect with my audience.”
“I’ve become more and more at home with who I am as a jazz crossover artist. Pop has almost traditionally been a dirty word in the jazz world, where if you’re too pop you’re seen as a bit of a sell-out or not really legitimate. I love mainstream music and I love pop as it informs my sound. I’m now far more unapologetic about that and owning it.”
Laila Biali’s awards and honours include a Juno for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, SOCAN Music’s Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting, and top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. She was also the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards as SOCAN Composer of the Year and Keyboardist of the Year. (Photo: Julia Hembree)
“The music business can be ageist, but jazz is not,” adds Biali, who marked her 40th birthday in 2020. “There’s still a child-like spirit to what I do and, in that sense, the 20-year-old me is always there. As I’ve gotten older and matured, I’ve been able to settle into who I am as an artist with more confidence, more experience and more stories to tell. I think the result has been an improved product rather than one that has deteriorated with age.”
“My work feels like play but, make no mistake, I’m applying for grants all the time. I’m at my computer far more than the piano. I’m a businesswoman — an entrepreneur really. That keeps me tethered to reality.”
“But music has been my passport to the world and resulted in the fulfillment of my bucket list dream item of working with Sting. Performing in a country you never imagined you would even visit has been another pinch-me moment. I don’t take anything for granted, whether that’s in Beijing or in Campbellford.”
For more on Laila Biali, visit her website at lailabiali.com. For more about Westben’s fall festival, visit westben.ca/events.
This story has been updated to correct a misquote.
The Boardwalk Board Game Lounge in downtown Peterborough has over 550 games to play and also offers food and drink. Co-owners and brothers Connor and Dylan Reinhart opened the business after visiting board game lounges in other cities. Connor, who is a chef, and Dylan, who is an educator, grew up in Peterborough playing board games with their family. (Photo courtesy Boardwalk Board Game Lounge)
Connor and Dylan Reinhart, brothers and co-owners of the Boardwalk Board Game Lounge in downtown Peterborough, know that everyone has a different comfort level at this stage of the pandemic.
Even though they are again offering indoor dining and game play under step three of Ontario’s reopening plan, Connor and Dylan have decided to also keep their patio and at-home options running so everyone has a way to enjoy the Boardwalk’s games and food.
People who are comfortable doing so can again come inside to play games from the Boardwalk’s library of over 550 games, while enjoying food and drink from the game lounge’s menu. The brothers are doing everything they can to ensure their customers feel safe.
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Inside the game lounge, tables are spaced six feet apart and hand sanitizer is available at every touch point. Since games are now quarantined for 24 hours after they are played, Connor and Dylan have invested in extra copies of their most popular games to ensure they are always available for guests who want to play them.
The brothers have worked hard to ensure their customers’ experience is as similar as possible to how it used to be pre-pandemic while also being as safe as possible.
“If someone who is a little less supportive of our restriction comes in and is a little inconvenienced because we’re taking these extra steps, it’s better to have them complain than to have any single person feel uncomfortable or unsafe in our space,” Dylan tells kawarthaNOW. “We’re getting positive feedback. We’re seeing that people are grateful we are taking these steps and going above and beyond.”
As well as games, Boardwalk Board Game Lounge offers in-person dining and takeout. Co-owner Connor Reinhart, a Red Seal certified chef, brings his cooking expertise to the business, offering customers a delicious menu, including items like this popular mac-and-cheese dish. (Photo courtesy Boardwalk Board Game Lounge)
Dylan adds it’s been heartwarming to welcome guests back inside the Boardwalk space after more than a year of various pandemic-related closures.
“It’s so nice the games are getting played,” he says. “It’s so nice to see people coming together and playing together in a way that we haven’t been able to do over the past year.”
Throughout the past 16 months, the Boardwalk has found other ways of connecting its customers, both with their board games and with their food. This past spring, Dylan and Connor reopened their patio and signed up for Skip The Dishes and Uber Eats to offer guests takeout. Both options remain available for customers even though guests can now play and eat inside as well.
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The brothers first added the patio last summer when the government only permitted outdoor dining experiences. According to Dylan, they tried to capture as much of the original Boardwalk experience as possible while taking into account outdoor factors such as wind and weather.
“We thought very critically from a table perspective,” Dylan explains. “What kind of tables are going to be the best for playing games on as well as eating and drinking on? We thought not only about how we would build a patio, but how we would build a patio that works for us.”
As the brothers did not want to give up the board game component of their business, so they went through their game library to choose patio-friendly games only. For example, they opted not to offer games that used cards, which could easily blow away in the wind. While there were 20 games available to play on the Boardwalk’s patio last year, Connor and Dylan have doubled the number this year by weatherizing more games.
Boardwalk Board Game Lounge co-owners Dylan and Connor Reinhart have weatherized a selection of games to be played outdoors on their patio. Although all of their games are already laminated, they have selected board games that do not uses cards that can easily blow away. Dylan brings his experience as an outdoor educator to the business by teaching people to play the games in a smart and fun way. (Photo courtesy Boardwalk Board Game Lounge)
Since all of the patio games are protected against the elements, this has allowed the brothers to also offer “messier” food items on the patio. Some of these options, such as tacos, have remained on the menu for indoor dining, and Dylan says he expects them to remain as permanent menu items.
With more people staying at home during the pandemic and looking for something fun to do, Dylan and Connor also decided to expand their retail selection of games. Although they always had a few of their most popular games available for purchase at the lounge, they decided to offer even more games for sale.
Dylan says they began to offer contactless delivery right at the onset of the pandemic, before it became common. They also built an e-commerce platform into their website for online ordering. These changes were crucial in helping the business make it through the provincial lockdowns.
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“We were constantly out-performing our retail sales and seeing more people buying and then returning to buy more,” Dylan explains. “It helped us keep the lights on and keep surviving, so on the other side of all this, we can still be here for people to come and play games while they eat and drink.”
This past spring, Connor and Dylan launched another pandemic option for guests who want to have a board game experience but from the comfort of their own home. On the fourth Monday of every month, the Boardwalk hosts a virtual game night called the ‘Roll & Write Club’.
“A roll-and-write game is a type of game where you do something like rolling dice or flipping cards — some randomizing element — and, based on that, you write something on a piece of paper,” Dylan explains. “They’ve been a very popular style of game. They’re typically portable. They’re typically puzzle-y.”
The Boardwalk Board Game Lounge offers the Roll & Write Club with a virtual game night on the first Monday of every month. Roll-and-write games are small and portable games that involve players rolling dice and marking the results on sheets of paper or erasable boards. (Photo courtesy Boardwalk Board Game Lounge)
According to Dylan, roll-and-write games work well for virtual play, so they are a great way to replicate the in-lounge game experience when customers couldn’t come inside to play.
“We thought there was a cool opportunity for us to use them to give people the opportunity to come together and play games together again even if we couldn’t operate the same space,” he says.
Every month, the Boardwalk selects a featured roll-and-write game that club members will play together over Zoom. The Boardwalk team explains how to play the game, and then everyone participating will play at least one complete game together.
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People can opt-in for the Roll & Write Club at three different levels. Level one includes the virtual game night and a print-off scorecard. Level two includes a laminated scorecard and a snack and a drink. Level three includes a snack and drink as well as a full copy of the featured roll-and-write game. It’s an option that has proved so popular than Dylan and Connor have continued to offer it even though the lounge is open again for in-person play.
“We’re excited about continuing to flesh out this idea of the Roll & Write Club, which has been a fun thing for us,” Dylan says. “We’re starting to think about what that kind of concept looks like in a post-COVID world when people can come inside and play.”
Dylan and Connor recognize that, although they are taking every measure to keep their customers safe when they come inside the lounge to play and eat, not everyone feels comfortable doing so. So the brothers are continuing to offer customers the choice to play games inside, outdoors, or in their own homes.
In addition to indoor and patio dining, Boardwalk Board Game Lounge offers take-out through Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats. (Photo courtesy Boardwalk Board Game Lounge)
“We’re doing our best to offer as many varied experiences as we can so that, whatever way people are comfortable having a Boardwalk experience, they can,” Dylan says.
Dylan adds he and the rest of the Boardwalk team are eager to welcome customers back to the lounge. During the provincial lockdowns, board games continued to be released and the Boardwalk has a lot of new games in their library for customers to try.
“We’re thankful for all the support we have received over the past couple of months,” Dylan says. “We’re grateful for any support anyone provides by having those experiences with us in the months and years to come.”
Located at 261 George Street North in downtown Peterborough, the Boardwalk Board Game Lounge is open from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Friday and 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. To learn more about the café and board game lounge and to browse their online retail selection of games, visit their website at www.boardwalkptbo.ca, where you can also find links to their social media channels.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 694 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 7 to 695.
Of Ontario’s 34 health units, 2 are reporting triple-digit increases (Toronto with 121 and Peel with 104), with 12 reporting double-digit increases — York (98), Windsor-Essex (74), Hamilton (74), Ottawa (44), Durham (38), Niagara (20), Simcoe Muskoka (16), Halton (16), Eastern Ontario (14), Waterloo (14), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (13), and Middlesex-London (12) — and 4 reporting no new cases at all.
Of the new cases, 69% are people who have not been fully vaccinated (58% have not received any doses and 11% have received only one dose) and 24% are people who have been fully vaccinated with two doses, with the vaccination status unknown for 7% of the cases.
Hospitalizations have increased by 12 to 226, but (as is always the case on weekends) more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for yesterday’s daily bed census, so the number of actual hospitalizations is likely higher. The number of ICU patients has increased by 2 to 160 and the number of ICU patients on ventilators has decreased by 5 to 93. There were no new COVID-related deaths yesterday.
Over 20.7 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 17,767 from yesterday, with more than 9.9 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 11,692 from yesterday, representing just over 67.1% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from July 30 – August 29, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from July 30 – August 29, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, and the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from July 30 – August 29, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered and the green line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 33 new cases to report over the weekend, including 18 in Hastings Prince Edward, 12 in Peterborough, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no new cases in Haliburton.
An additional 26 cases have been resolved in the region over the same time period, including 12 in Hastings Prince Edward, 10 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, and 1 in Northumberland.
The number of active cases has increased by 9 in Peterborough, by 6 in Hastings Prince Edward, and by 1 in Northumberland, and has decreased by 8 in Kawartha Lakes.
There are currently 76 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 8 since August 27, including 40 in Hastings Prince Edward (19 in Belleville, 10 in Central Hastings, 7 in Quinte West, 2 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 1 in North Hastings), 23 in Peterborough, 9 in Kawartha Lakes, and 4 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,687 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,642 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,229 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,175 resolved with 58 deaths), 969 in Northumberland County (948 resolved with 17 deaths), 127 in Haliburton County (126 resolved with 1 death), and 1,269 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,217 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.
Members of the Edwards family with palomino mare Calypso with her 10-week-old daughter, who were found at their property a week after going missing from the Chambers' farm in Douro-Dummer Township on August 22, 2021. Despite an extensive search, the Chambers has been unable to find the horses until they were found on the Edwards' property, located three kilometres to the southeast. (Photo courtesy of Carol Edwards)
Two horses that were missing for a week from a farm in Douro-Dummer Township in Peterborough County have finally been found safe and sound and reunited with their owners.
Last Sunday (August 22), a 12-year-old palomino mare named Calypso and her 10-week-old foal went over a stone fence at a 200-acre farm owned by the Chambers family and disappeared. The mare, who had been rescued from Alberta, and her foal had only been at the farm — located Forbes Lane between Hall’s Glen and Warsaw south of Stoney Lake — for less than a week when they went missing.
Over the following week, the Chambers family — with the help of neighbours and others — conducted an extensive search of their property and adjoining areas but were unable to find any sign of the horses.
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One of the horses’ owners, Jenny Chambers, had posted about the missing horses on Facebook. While her post was shared over 1,200 times, no local media outlet had published a story about the missing horses until kawarthaNOW did the following Sunday (August 29).
Shortly after kawarthaNOW published the story and shared it on Facebook, Carol Edwards posted in the comments that her family had found the horses on their 500-acre property, located around three kilometres southeast of the Chambers’ farm as the crow flies.
To get to the Edwards’ property, the equine mother and daughter would have crossed the Indian River and made their way through thick forested areas, so they likely walked a much greater distance than three kilometres.
The Edwards family helped keep Calypso and her 10-week-old foal on the property using a pail filled with grain until the Chambers family could arrive to retrieve the two horses. (Photo courtesy of Carol Edwards)
The first sign the horses had been located was when Carol’s husband phoned her to say he had found horse droppings on their property. Carol, who wasn’t home at the time, told him they were likely from the missing horses and the horses needed to be located and contained.
“My husband and son Luke went back to our property to check on it and found the horses there,” Carol tells kawarthaNOW. “They were comfortable grazing there. We figure they were there for maybe three days.”
After Carol arrived home with her other son Clayton and his girlfriend Sam, the Edwards family used a pail of grain to encourage the horses to stay on the property. Meanwhile, Carol contacted the Chambers family to let them know about the horses.
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After the Chambers arrived, the two families worked together to corral the horses — but it wasn’t easy. While the foal had a halter on when it ran away from the Chambers’ farm, Calypso did not.
“They were essentially chasing the horses in the field until they got a lead on the colt,” Carol says. “The horses got spooked, as they do, and ended up running back to our gate where Clayton was able to grab the lead and hang on to the colt.”
Unfortunately, just as Clayton was passing the lead to a member of the Chambers family, the lead broke and both horses took off running again.
Calypso and her 10-week-old foal. Also pictured are members of the Edwards family, including Luke (in the orange shirt) and Clayton (in the blue cap) who helped corral the horses, along with Clayton’s girlfriend Sam and owner Jack Chambers (behind the horse). (Photos courtesy of Carol Edwards)
However, Carol’s son Luke was able to entice Calypso with a pail of grain and, while she was feeding, he slipped a halter over her head and clipped the lead on.
With the help of the neighbouring Cooper family, who keep cattle, the families were able to lead both the horses to a corral until they could be loaded onto a horse trailer to be taken back to the Chambers’ farm.
“Funny what can happen on a Sunday afternoon,” Carol says. “It was a neat way to meet neighbours.”
For her part, Jenny Chambers was grateful for the Edwards family’s help.
“Our real live heroes,” she commented on Facebook. “Thank you for finding our girls today.”
With all COVID-19 mass immunization clinics offered by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit closing as of Friday (September 3), the health unit is now offering mobile vaccination clinics in communities across Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.
The mass immunization clinics at the Lindsay Exhibition, Fenelon Falls Community Centre, and in Haliburton are already closed, with the remaining three mass immunization clinics in Cobourg, Campbellford, and Minden closing this week. Here are the remaining dates for those three clinics:
Cobourg Community Centre (750 D’Arcy St., Cobourg) – 1 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31 and Wednesday, September 1
Campbellford and District Curling and Racquet Club (381 Front St. N., Campbellford) – 1 to 6 p.m. on Monday, August 30 and Thursday, September 2
Minden Community Centre (55 Parkside St., Minden) – 1 to 6 p.m. on Friday, September 3
Anyone born in 2009 or earlier is eligible to get vaccinated at any of the clinics with either their first or second dose, with both walk-ins and appointments available. Bring your Ontario health card.
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After Friday, September 3, anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine can get one at the following mobile clinics:
Haliburton – Tuesday, August 31 from 5 to 8 p.m., Youth Wellness Hub (12 Dysart Ave, Haliburton)
Grafton – Wednesday, September 1 from 4 to 8 p.m., Haldimand Memorial Arena (10766 County Rd 2, Grafton)
Hastings – Thursday, September 2 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., EarlyON at Hastings Civic Centre (6 Albert St. E., Hastings)
Cobourg – Thursday, September 2 from 4 to 6 p.m., Northumberland Mall east parking lot by the LCBO (1111 Elgin St. W., Cobourg)
Cobourg – Friday, September 3 from 4 to 6 p.m., Northumberland Mall east parking lot by the LCBO (1111 Elgin St. W., Cobourg)
Grafton – Tuesday, September 7 from 1 to 3 p.m., EarlyON in Grafton Community Centre (718 Station St., Grafton)
Codrington/Brighton – Thursday, September 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Brighton Fire Station #2 (1256 County Road 27, Codrington)
Pontypool – Thursday, September 9 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., drive-through clinic at Kawartha Lakes Fire and Rescue Station #8 (287 John St, Pontypool)
Roseneath – Friday, September 10 from 3 to 6 p.m., Alnwick Civic Centre (9059 County Road 45, Roseneath)
Hastings – Saturday, September 11 from 9 a.m. to noon, EarlyON at Hastings Civic Centre (6 Albert St. E., Hastings)
Kirkfield – Saturday, September 11 from 10 a.m. to noon, Kirkfield Fire Hall (16 Munroe St, Kirkfield)
Mariposa – Saturday, September 11 from 10 a.m. to noon, drive-through clinic Kawartha Lakes Fire and Rescue Station #11 (552 Eldon Rd., Little Britain)
Castleton – Sunday, September 12 from 3 to 6 p.m., Castleton Sports Fields (150 Cemetery Rd., Castleton)
Grafton – Saturday, September 25 from 1 to 3 p.m., EarlyON at Grafton Community Centre (718 Station St., Grafton)
No appointment is necessary at any of the mobile clinics.
For more information and for future mobile clinics, visit the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit website at hkpr.on.ca/2021/07/30/vaccination-clinics/.
In addition to the mobile clinics, people can get COVID-19 vaccinations at selected pharmacies in Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton. To find the closest pharmacy to where you live, visit covid-19.ontario.ca/vaccine-locations and enter your postal code.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 740 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 2 to 688.
Of Ontario’s 34 health units, 2 are reporting triple-digit increases (Toronto with 141 and Hamilton with 106), with 14 reporting double-digit increases — Windsor-Essex (90), Peel (63), York (63), Durham (33), Middlesex-London (32), Ottawa (31), Waterloo (29), Halton (26), Niagara (24), Simcoe Muskoka (15), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (15), Eastern Ontario (10), Hastings Prince Edward (10), and Huron Perth (10) — and 5 (4 of which are in northern Ontario) reporting no new cases at all.
Of the new cases, 66% are people who have not been fully vaccinated (57% have not received any doses and 9% have received only one dose) and 26% are people who have been fully vaccinated with two doses, with the vaccination status unknown for 8% of the cases.
Hospitalizations have fallen by 129 to 214, but (as is always the case on weekends) more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data to the daily bed census, so the number of actual hospitalizations is likely higher. The number of ICU patients has decreased by 4 to 158 and the number of ICU patients on ventilators has risen by 11 to 98. There have been 2 new COVID-related deaths since yesterday, including 1 in a long-term care home.
Over 20.7 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 29,695 from yesterday, with more than 9.9 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 19,449 from yesterday, representing just over 67% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from July 29 – August 28, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from July 29 – August 28, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, and the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from July 29 – August 28, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered and the green line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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Numbers are unavailable for Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, Northumberland, and Hastings Prince Edward as the respective health units do not issue reports on weekends.
For Saturday (August 28), the Ontario data shows 10 new cases for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, 3 new cases for Peterborough Public Health, and 1 new case for Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. Regional numbers for Saturday and Sunday will be confirmed in Monday’s update.
As of August 27, there are 68 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, including 34 in Hastings Prince Edward (17 in Belleville, 9 in Quinte West, 6 in Central Hastings, 1 in Prince Edward County, and 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto), 17 in Kawartha Lakes, 14 in Peterborough, and 3 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,675 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,639 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,227 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,165 resolved with 58 deaths), 967 in Northumberland County (947 resolved with 17 deaths), 127 in Haliburton County (126 resolved with 1 death), and 1,251 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,205 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.
Calypso, a 12-year-old palomino mare, and her 10-week-old foal have been missing since August 22, 2021. The horses, who had been at the Chambers' 200-acre farm on Forbes Lane south of Hall's Glen for less than a week, went over a stone fence and haven't been seen since, despite an intensive week-long search. (Photo: Jenny Chambers / Facebook)
The story of two horses who ran away from their farm and remained missing for a week despite an extensive search has a happy ending.
Shortly after kawarthaNOW published our story (below) about the horses, a neighbouring family who found them contacted the owner.
Calypso and her 10-week-old foal are safe and sound and will be reunited with their owner. (Photo: Carol Edwards / Facebook)
Original story
Two horses, including a 10-week-old foal, remain missing a week after they ran away from a farm on Forbes Lane between Hall’s Glen and Warsaw south of Stoney Lake.
Calypso, a 12-year-old palomino mare, and her foal went over a stone fence last Sunday morning (August 22) on the 200-acre property owned by the Chambers family.
The family had only had the horses at their farm for a week. Prior to that, the horses were in Belleville after Calypso — presumably pregnant at the time — has been rescued at an Alberta auction.
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Jenny Chambers posted on Facebook on the day the horses went missing, and has regularly been updating her post with progress on the search. Her post has been shared more than 1,200 times.
The Chambers’ 200-acre property, which is located along the Indian River and densely forested with little pasture, is surrounded by other farms, trails, and Otonabee Region Conservation Authority land.
The search began last Sunday on the property by foot, by ATV, and by drone, and was widened this week to include neighbouring areas, including the shorelines of Indian River and trails. The missing horses have been reported to the OPP and neighbouring farmers and other property owners have been advised, with many searching trails and fields in the area.
Volunteers with the Ontario Mounted Special Service Unit are among those who have been searching an extensive area for the missing horses over the past week. Searches, which have also been conducted on foot, by ATV, and by drone, have found no sign of the two horses. (Photo: Ontario Mounted Special Service Unit / Facebook)
In the middle of the week, the Ontario Mounted Special Service Unit — a highly trained horse-mounted volunteer group involved in search and rescue, emergency response, and more — joined the search.
All the search efforts have proved fruitless so far, with searchers finding no signs of the missing horses.
Calypso is described as being friendly but cautious. She was not haltered when she left the farm. The foal, who is black with a white patch on the forehead and one white sock, was haltered.
Anyone who sees the horses is asked to call or text 705-930-2984.
The location of the Chambers’ farm, from where the two horses went missing on August 22, 2021. (Graphic: Google Maps)
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