Daisy Ridley, best known as Rey in the latest Star Wars trilogy, won't be wielding a lightsaber in her starring role in the upcoming thriller "The Marsh King's Daughter", which is being filmed at Ken Reid Conservation Area north of Lindsay on June 28 and 29. (Photo: Jonathan Olley / Lucasfilm)
Hollywood is coming to the Ken Reid Conservation Area north of Lindsay this month during filming of the upcoming suspense thriller The Marsh King’s Daughter.
Ken Reid will be closed to the public from the evening of Sunday, June 27th until the morning of Wednesday, June 30th for filming.
The road to the former beach area parking lot will be closed beginning Saturday, June 26th as production crews arrive on site. Visitors to the park on Saturday will be able to park in the main parking lot area, as well as the overflow parking as required.
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“We want to provide as little disruption to our conservation area visitors as possible, so we will be keeping Ken Reid open until Sunday evening, before filming begins for two days,” says Kristie Virgoe, director of stewardship and conservation lands at Kawartha Conservation, in a news release. “We want to make visitors aware that large trucks will be coming into Ken Reid beginning Saturday. Staff will be on site to address any concerns or answer questions from the public.”
This is the first major movie production to film at Ken Reid Conservation Area. Security will be present on site throughout the production, as well as conservation area staff.
The Marsh King’s Daughter is based on the 2017 international bestseller of the same name by American writer Karen Dionne. Directed by Neil Burger (Interview with the Assassin, The Illusionist, Limitless, Divergent, The Upside) from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, the film will star Daisy Ridley (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker, Ophelia) and Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Night Rises, Rogue One, Ready Player One, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Bloodline).
Ben Mendelsohn, pictured in the Netflix original series Bloodline for which he Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor, also stars in the upcoming thriller “The Marsh King’s Daughter”. (Photo: Netflix)
The film tells the story of Helena Petterier (Ridley), a woman who is living a seemingly ordinary life with her husband and young daughter but is hiding a dark secret from her past: her father Jacob Hollbrook (Mendelsohn) is the infamous ‘Marsh King’, a survivalist who kept Helena and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. After Hollbrook escapes from prison, and knowing he will hunt for her and her family, Helena is forced to confront her past and use the very skills her father taught her to keep her family safe.
The Marsh King’s Daughter is filming across Ontario during the summer, with key scenes being filmed at Ken Reid.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming the cast and crew of The Marsh King’s Daughter to Ken Reid Conservation Area and to Kawartha Lakes,” Virgoe says. “Our conservation areas and the entire region offers tremendous potential for the film and television industry. We’re excited to be able to host this production and look forward to the local and regional economic development potential these types of productions can provide.”
Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival in Peterborough from June 23 to 27, 2021. (Supplied photos)
NIFF is now a drive-in event
Originally scheduled to be performed to small audiences at several outdoor locations on Trent University’s East Bank campus, the festival will now be taking place as a drive-in event in parking lot X to comply with the performing arts restrictions of step one of the Ontario government’s reopening plan. For details, visit indigenousfringefest.ca/news.html.
The Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival (NIFF) will offer live, COVID-safe outdoor-performances from Wednesday, June 23rd to Sunday, June 27th on the treaty and traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, at Trent University in Peterborough.
A Facebook live event is scheduled to open NIFF — the world’s first Indigenous fringe festival — at 6 p.m. on National Indigenous Peoples Day (Monday, June 21st), with performances beginning on Wednesday evening.
In this two-part series, we introduce you to the artists performing at NIFF. This story profiles Sarah Gartshore and Lois Apaquash of Zaagi’idiwin Collective, Tiger Will Mason, and Olga Barrios and Norma Araiza of Vanguardia Dance Projects.
Note: Due to an unexpected and unfortunate family situation, Zaagi’idiwin Collective will not be performing Streetheart at NIFF this year.
Members of the Zaagi’idiwin Collective: Lois Apaquash, Sarah Gartshore, Darcy Trudeau, Crystal Kimewon, and Bill Sanders. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Gartshore)
“I am a helper,” states Zaagi’idiwin Collective founder Sarah Gartshore. “Everything that I do — whether that’s mothering, being a daughter, community building, theatre, doing outreach, doing mental health supports — whatever role I’m in, I am Oshkabaywis. I’m a helper.”
Gartshore first fell in love with the theatre as an actor. However, much of the material she encountered fell short — most scripts were neither raw nor real enough — so the actor decided to write her own plays.
“But when I wrote my first play, I thought my work was crap and I thought it could never be staged because it didn’t look like any of the shows I had seen or performed in,” Gartshore explains.
However, after seeing a production of ‘The Scrubbing Project’, directed by Muriel Miguel (NIFF mentor and founder of Spiderwoman Theatre in New York Muriel Miguel) and performed by The Turtle Gals Collective, Gartshore was inspired to continue writing.
“What that play did for me was it kind of gave me a wink and a nod,” Gartshore recalls. “It said ‘Your stuff can be staged.’ It made me realize the wildness of my plays is okay.”
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Since then, Gartshore has become a prolific playwright whose work has been featured in major festivals such as Nuit Blanche, Native Earth Performing Arts, and Fringe North. She held a prestigious residency as the Ontario Arts Council’s 2017/18 Playwright-in-Residence.
While Gartshore may be the person putting pen to paper, her plays are necessarily collaborative and inclusive. Interested in processes, most of Gartshore’s work is created through interviews, workshops, and rehearsals with the Zaagi’idiwin Collective, whose members have lived experience with homelessness.
“The people I’m talking about are on the street,” explains Gartshore. “So if I’m not including those people, what am I doing? It’s all about the process for us. It’s about taking care of community — of the people we’re working with.”
Gartshore points out NIFF is taking place during a time of immense for the Indigenous community, referring to the remains of children already found in unmarked graves in a B.C. residential school and the untold remains yet to be found at other residential schools.
“A lot of the content that we deal with is pretty heavy stuff. We need to be very careful with each other when we’re rehearsing. Everyone in the company knows that, even when we’re not in this space of mass grief and trauma.”
“It’s medicine, really,” adds Lois Apaquash, Zaagi’idiwin Collective actor and Gartshore’s mother, of the context in which NIFF will be held. “This is ground-breaking. This is the first Indigenous fringe festival in the world. It’s going to be a great group of people, mentors, and Elders.”
“There’s going to be a lot of knowledge sharing, which is going to be a comfort I think, and we’ll have ceremony as well. So we’re going to have that safety net around us. It’s going to be emotional, there’s no doubt about that. But we need to feel that, and the audience will feel it as well. It’s a real honour.”
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Tiger Will Mason – The Music and Stories of a Modern Mohawk
Tiger Will Mason. (Photo courtesy of NIFF)
Everyone’s heard of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon — the theory that, by six or fewer degrees of social connection, every actor is linked to Kevin Bacon. Evidently, it ought to be called the six degrees of Tiger Will Mason (formerly Andy Mason).
You name it, this artist has done it all. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a big name in showbiz that isn’t somehow connected to Tiger Will Mason.
He’s toured the country multiple times working as a musician, an activist, and a television/film/stage actor. Mason has worked with the likes of Oscar-winning filmmaker Deepa Mehta, actor Graham Green, and numerous notable musicians such as Jackson Browne, Floyd Westerman, and the hit 70s funk-rock band Redbone — to name but a few.
“One of the highlights of my career was opening for the legendary Redbone,” Mason says. “Their big hit, Come and Get Your Love, was used for the opening scene of Guardians of the Galaxy.”
“We ended up going back to the hotel afterwards, singing songs together until about three in the morning — ’til the hotel staff got mad and kicked everybody out,” he laughs.
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Mason has many amazing stories to tell and a gift for telling them. He weaves these stories — detailing a fascinating life of love, loss, activism, and good old rock and roll — into his musical act, to present a beautiful and entertaining fringe show for NIFF audiences.
“I had many great teachers and I carry a little tiny piece of all of my teachers with me both on the stage and in my life,” he says. “I get to stand on the shoulders of giants.”
In many ways, Mason’s NIFF performance closes a circle.
“In the beginning of my career, I was involved with one of the first Indigenous coffeehouses in Canada, and now I get to play the first Indigenous fringe festival in the world,” he says. “It’s perfect.”
Vanguardia Dance Projects – Hybrid Women
Olga Barrios and Norma Araiza of Vanguardia Dance Projects. (Photo courtesy of NIFF)
As independent Latin-American Indigenous dance artists working in Toronto, Olga Barrios and Norma Araiza were tired of adapting their artistic practices to fit into mainstream dance genres or categories. So, in 2008, they decided to create their own collective, and Vanguardia Dance Projects was born.
“Our work is not very mainstream, it’s more independent,” says multi-award-winning artist Olga Barrios. “We didn’t have many opportunities or platforms to present our work. So we created our own platform.”
“We had to create it because, otherwise, we were working alone all the time,” adds professional physical theatre performer and dancer Norma Araiza. “It was very difficult to always be a part of somebody else’s piece or project. I did collaborate with people when I could, but I did my dance career pretty much by myself.”
The drive-in performance location of the Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival at Trent University in Peterborough. (Map courtesy of NIFF)
Since founding the Vanguardia Dance Projects collective, Barrios and Araiza have supported contemporary dance artists’ professional development by providing numerous artistic opportunities such as their biannual festival, and producing or presenting artistic works, workshops, and touring.
Hybrid Women, Vanguardia Dance Project’s NIFF performance, is an experimental dance-theatre-ritual-action. Departing from the pulsating of the body in connection with and in response to nature, the show explores the connections and disconnections between our actions, our rituals, our thoughts, and our political points of view.
“It’s kind of a sensation,” explains Barrios. “It’s sort of surrealistic, in terms of the imagery — it investigates how we become particles of nature and how we live on the planet. It explores those places in between — in between the dream world; in between the beauty, the strength, and the perception of the planet in connection.”
“It’s experimental dance theatre and it’s also a ritual action,” adds Araiza. “It’s a mix that exists between the spaces.”
“I think that this is very, very important for the Indigenous artistic communities to have this festival,” Araisa says. “It’s an amazing opportunity and platform for people, from all over Turtle Island, to express ourselves.”
“This is big,” Barrios adds. “It’s the first time something like this has ever happened. I feel honoured to be able to perform. I just feel blessed, at this moment, that we are able to do it.”
To learn more about the world’s first and only Indigenous fringe festival and the amazing participating performers, visit NIFF’s website at indigenousfringefest.ca.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario reported 318 new cases on Sunday, with most of the cases in Waterloo (51), Peel (49), Toronto (45), Ottawa (26), and Hamilton (20). The seven-day average of daily cases has decreased by 31 to 359.
Hospitalizations have decreased by 70 to 266, although more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for the daily bed census so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher. Patients in ICUs have decreased by 2 to 333, and patients on ventilators have fallen by 13 to 208.
Ontario reported 12 new deaths on Sunday, including 1 death in a long-term care home.
More than 12.5 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 184,251 since yesterday, with over 85% of Ontario’s total population now having received at least one dose. Almost 2.9 million people have been fully vaccinated, with 148,978 people receiving their second dose yesterday, representing over 19.5% of the total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from May 20 – June 19, 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)OVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from May 20 – June 19, 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 May 20 – June 19, 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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Updated numbers for Sunday are unavailable for the greater Kawarthas region, as none of the health units in the region issue reports on Sunday. Updated numbers for the weekend will be provided in Monday’s update.
There are currently 57 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 1 from yesterday, including 29 in Peterborough, 16 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Northumberland, 5 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West and 3 in Belleville), and 1 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,565 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,515 resolved with 21 deaths), 1,081 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,021 resolved with 57 deaths), 938 in Northumberland County (915 resolved with 17 deaths), 122 in Haliburton County (120 resolved with 1 death), and 1,127 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,111 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on June 5.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 355 new cases today, with most of the cases in Toronto (58), Waterloo (54), Peel (45), Hamilton (23), and Porcupine (22). The seven-day average of daily cases has decreased by 21 to 390.
Hospitalizations have decreased by 42 to 336, with ICU patients decreasing by 17 to 335 and patients on ventilators remaining the same at 221. Ontario is reporting 13 new deaths today, with no deaths in long-term care homes.
Almost 12.4 million vaccine doses have been administered, a record increase of 213,236 since yesterday, with almost 84% of Ontario’s total population now having received at least one dose. Over 2.7 million people have been fully vaccinated, with a record increase of 178,061 people receiving their second dose yesterday, representing over 18.5% of the total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from May 19 – June 18, 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 May 19 – June 18, 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 May 19 – June 18, 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 2 new cases to report, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland.
There are no new cases in Haliburton. Numbers for Peterborough and Hastings Prince Edward are no longer available on weekends; weekend numbers will be provided with Monday’s update.
There is 1 new hospitalization in Kawartha Lakes.
An additional case has been resolved in Northumberland.
Active cases have increased by 1 in Kawartha Lakes and remain the same in Northumberland and Haliburton.
There are currently 57 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 1 from yesterday, including 29 in Peterborough, 16 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Northumberland, 5 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West and 3 in Belleville), and 1 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,565 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,515 resolved with 21 deaths), 1,081 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,021 resolved with 57 deaths), 938 in Northumberland County (915 resolved with 17 deaths), 122 in Haliburton County (120 resolved with 1 death), and 1,127 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,111 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on June 5.
Lois MacEachen, who established The Chocolate Rabbit in Lakefield 16 years ago, is retiring this summer. The local Webster family will be assuming ownership of the popular chocolate shop in August. (Photo: Village Marketing)
After 16 years in business, an iconic downtown Lakefield establishment will be under new ownership at the end of the summer.
Lois MacEachen, the owner of The Chocolate Rabbit chocolate shop in Lakefield, announced on Facebook on Thursday (June 17) she is retiring at the end of July.
Lakefield locals Elaine and Scot Webster and their family will take over MacEachen’s business on August 1.
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“I want to thank you, our loyal customers, for many years of support, patronage, and friendship,” MacEachen writes on Facebook. “Over the past 16 years, we have looked forward to your weekly visits, anticipated the arrival of our seasonal customers, and watched families grow.”
Located at 11 Queen Street, The Chocolate Rabbit is a charming boutique where staff handcraft specialty chocolates and treats on site. It has become a signature shop for downtown Lakefield after 16 years of satisfying sweet-toothed customers.
For customers who have grown up visiting the shop, it is not easy to see the establishment change — especially if it means saying goodbye to its “head bunny”.
Located at 11 Queen Street in Lakefield, The Chocolate Rabbit specializes in high-quality handcrafted truffles and chocolate specialties, as well as seasonal gifts, delightful wedding and business packages, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, tea accessories, jams, and much more. (Photo: Paula Kehoe / kawarthaNOW)
Those who frequent the shop will remember Lois greeting them from the fully visible kitchen as she handcrafts her decadent, individually unique truffles.
“Little noses that could barely see over the counter have grown into young adults,” writes MacEachen. “We watched your children go off to college, and now they visit with children of their own. We have been a part of your special occasions, your holidays, your weddings, and so much more!”
Retirement comes as a bittersweet change for MacEachen as well.
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“Change is always hard,” she tells kawarthaNOW. “I’m sure when the date rolls around, I’ll be like ‘I don’t want to go.'”
To MacEachen, her customers are like family. She has missed seeing some of them during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to miss that aspect of her job the most.
MacEachen says she has received a mix of reactions from customers, from “Oh no, you can’t do that!” to “Congratulations!”. She reminds customers to “hop in for a visit” over the next few weeks to see her and to welcome the new owners.
Owner Lois MacEachen (right) and her colleague Linda Anderson (left) pose with some of the items they make and design in-house. Lois is renowned for her unique designs like chocolate pizza and Linda is known for her red stiletto shoe design. (Photo: Paula Kehoe / kawarthaNOW)
“They can come in (before August) and see me and say hi,” MacEachen notes. “I’d love to see them. It’s been tough with COVID because what we missed was our customers in the store. It’s not the same with online.”
As for her decision to retire, MacEachen tells kawarthaNOW there were several factors such as age and COVID-19 that showed her it was the right time. As much as she loves her job and is sad to go, she is looking forward to the perks of retirement.
“I’m looking forward to having more flowers than weeds in my garden,” MacEachen laughs, adding “I plan on coming into Lakefield and doing my shopping.” — something she couldn’t do while she was busy running The Chocolate Rabbit.
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Retiring is a little easier for MacEachen knowing her business will be in good hands.
“I am leaving The Chocolate Rabbit in the caring hands of a local family,” she writes on Facebook. “They intend to serve you the same delicious products you know and love while growing the business to new heights.”
Elaine Webster, who operates Perfect Balance Accounting in Lakefield, echoes MacEachen’s assurances as she shares hers and her family’s excitement for their latest business endeavour.
All the chocolates at The Chocolate Rabbit in Lakefield are handcrafted on site in the store. (Photo: The Chocolate Rabbit / Facebook)
“We’re a family of entrepreneurs with several businesses in the family,” Elaine tells kawarthaNOW. “When this opportunity came together, it was a way to get the whole family together working on one business.”
The family seems to be the perfect fit for the business, with Elaine describing how each of her family member’s strengths will be used.
Elaine and her oldest daughter Nicole are in accounting and will work the shop’s books. Her husband Scot, who runs Grumpa’s Woodworking, is a carpenter and a Jack of all trade who will handle manual tasks. Elaine’s son Dylan operates Computer Garage in Lakefield and plans to handle anything tech-related, such as the point-of-sale system or inventory control.
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Youngest daughter Kristine, a photographer, videographer, and social media guru who runs her own businesss KW Productions, will take over that side of the business. The family even has a resident chef — Nicole’s husband Kyle — who is excited to add a few more savoury options for the shop’s truffle selection.
Elaine also assures fans of the chocolate shop “we’re going to do the best we can to keep the traditions, the legacies that Lois has built alive and thriving in Lakefield,” adding that the popular “mud bugs” are going nowhere.
MacEachen says the transition to new ownership will occur over the next few weeks.
“We haven’t mapped out a complete plan yet, but we want to make the handover as transparent as possible for our customers — who are our family,” she tells kawarthaNOW.
The Chocolate Rabbit is located at 11 Queen Street in Lakefield. You can follow the chocolate shop’s transition on Facebook and Instagram. You can also visit The Chocolate Rabbit at their online shop at thechocolaterabbit.net.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of some of the first names of members of the Webster family.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 345 new cases today, with most of the cases in Waterloo (85), Toronto (50), Peel (50), and Hamilton (29). The seven-day average of daily cases has decreased by 32 to 411.
Hospitalizations have decreased by 19 to 378, with ICU patients decreasing by 10 to 352 and patients on ventilators decreasing by 11 to 221. Ontario is reporting only 1 new death today.
More than 12 million vaccine doses have been administered, a record increase of 210,638 since yesterday, with over 82% of Ontario’s total population now having received at least one dose. Over 2.5 million people have been fully vaccinated, with a record increase of 176,206 people fully vaccinated yesterday, representing over 17% of the total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from May 18 – June 17, 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 May 18 – June 17, 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 May 18 – June 17, 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 2 new cases to report, in Kawartha Lakes. There are no new cases in Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton, or Hastings Prince Edward.
There are 2 new hospitalizations in Peterborough.
An additional 5 cases have been resolved, including 2 in Peterborough, 2 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
Active cases have increased by 1 in Kawartha Lakes, decreased by 3 in Peterborough, decreased by 1 in Hastings Prince Edward, and remain unchanged in Northumberland and Haliburton.
There are currently 56 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an decrease of 3 from yesterday, including 29 in Peterborough, 15 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Northumberland, 5 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West and 3 in Belleville), and 1 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,565 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,515 resolved with 21 deaths), 1,080 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,021 resolved with 57 deaths), 937 in Northumberland County (914 resolved with 17 deaths), 122 in Haliburton County (120 resolved with 1 death), and 1,127 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,111 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on June 5.
Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini pictured with Premier Doug Ford at a mass vaccination clinic in Port Hope. (Photo: David Piccini / Facebook)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced changes to his Cabinet on Friday (June 18), including naming Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini as the new Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Piccini, first elected in 2018, was previously parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities and a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
The Port Hope resident now heads the ministry responsible for responsible for air quality, water quality including drinking water, environmental protection, climate change, species at risk, Ontario’s provincial parks, and more.
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Another Cabinet change of interest to residents of the greater Kawarthas is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, which has now been combined with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to become the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry — a change also made from 1995 to 1997.
The former natural resources minister John Yakabuski has left Cabinet, with Greg Rickford now assuming responsibility for the amalgamated ministry.
Here’s the full list of the Cabinet changes announced today:
Jill Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North, becomes Minister of Colleges and Universities.
Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, MPP for Kanata-Carleton, becomes Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.
Parm Gill, MPP for Milton, becomes Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.
Rod Phillips, MPP for Ajax, becomes Minister of Long-Term Care.
David Piccini, MPP for Northumberland-Peterborough South, becomes Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Greg Rickford, MPP for Kenora-Rainy River, assumes a merged role as Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, as well as remains Minister of Indigenous Affairs. Energy will transfer to a new separate ministry.
Todd Smith, MPP for Bay of Quinte, becomes Minister of Energy.
Rosario Romano, MPP for Sault Ste. Marie, becomes Minister of Government and Consumer Services.
Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, MPP for Brampton South, becomes President of the Treasury Board.
Kinga Surma, MPP for Etobicoke Centre, becomes Minister of Infrastructure.
Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron Bruce, becomes Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Stan Cho, MPP for Willowdale, becomes Associate Minister of Transportation, reporting to Minister Mulroney.
Jane McKenna, MPP for Burlington, becomes Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, reporting to Minister Fullerton.
Nina Tangri, MPP for Mississauga Streetsville, becomes Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, reporting to Minister Fedeli.
Kaleed Rasheed, MPP for Mississauga East-Cooksville, becomes Associate Minister of Digital Government, reporting to Minister Bethlenfalvy.
Pine Crest Golf Club is located at 2455 Base Line in Peterborough County west of Keene. (Photo: Pine Crest Golf Club / Facebook)
Golfers who were at the Pine Crest Golf Club at 2455 Base Line in Peterborough County from June 11 to 13 should be aware that a staff person there has tested positive for COVID-19.
Peterborough Public Health considers the situation to be a low-risk exposure for most people who were at the golf club during that time, according to a media release, and has already contacted members of the club and staff with instructions.
However, as the health unit does not have contact information for all golfers who were at the club during this time, and since there is a potential for a high-risk exposure and transmission of the virus in certain situations, the health unit is issuing a public notification.
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Anyone who conducted a transaction with the mobile beverage cart operator — by talking with the operator, purchasing an item, of giving a tip — from June 11 to 13, wasn’t wearing a mask at the time, and was not fully immunized with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine (receiving the second dose May 28 or earlier), may be at risk.
The health unit stresses that only golfers who meet all of the above criteria are considered a high-risk exposure.
Peterborough Public Health recommends that anyone meeting all the above criteria should self-isolate immediately, arrange for COVID-19 testing as soon as possible, and monitor for symptoms.
Carolyn Collins spends four hours every week day on the corner of Cherryhill and Brealey in Peterborough spreading smiles as the Walk About Clown. (Photo: Beareh)
If you’ve driven by the corner of Cherryhill and Brealey in Peterborough over the past year, you might have seen Carolyn Collins, otherwise known as Peterborough’s ‘Walk About Clown’, waving at you.
Collins has taken on the task of spreading smiles during the pandemic, spending 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday as the Walk About Clown.
It started last year when Ontario went into its first provincial lockdown. According to Collins, she was walking to a friend’s house dressed in her clown costume when she noticed cars honking their horns and people waving at her.
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“Seeing the happiness I was bringing them, I decided to keep it going,” Collins says. “Not being able to go out and do anything brings us all down. We get bored and frustrated. I wanted to see people smile.”
So Collins made spreading smiles part of her daily pandemic routine. Weather permitting and as long as no family emergencies come up, she stands on the corner of Cherryhill and Brealey in her costume for four hours every day of the week, waving at cars and twirling hula hoops.
Collins also takes the Walk About Clown to senior homes in the west end every Tuesday morning. She has recently started leaving uplifting sidewalk chalk messages along her path as she goes.
Carolyn Collins, who also taught herself how to be a clown as a teenager, used to work as a clown at Pizza Hut for kids night. While that clown was named Azzip, this one was coined the Walk About Clown by passersby. (Photo: Carolyn Collins)
The chalk messages — which say things like “to be amazing, be yourself” — started a few months ago when Collins wanted to use up all of her daughter’s old sidewalk chalk.
She wrote the messages on her laneway and got such a positive response that she decided to make it a part of her walk about clown routine.
Collin’s began using the name Walk About Clown after she heard some passersby calling her that.
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“I used to try to walk as far as I could in various areas,” Collins explains. “Please would yell ‘There’s the walk about!’ When I realized they meant me, it just became my name.”
But the Walk About Clown isn’t the first clown Collins has ever played. According to Collins, she first learned to be a clown as a teenager.
“When I worked at Burger King as a teenager, they brought someone in to teach me how to do balloon animals,” recalls Collins. “Because I couldn’t blow them up without using a pump, because of my health condition, he refused to teach me. I said ‘To heck with you!’ and I taught myself how to be a clown.”
Carolyn Collins started writing uplifting chalk messages on her driveway in order to utilize her daughters leftover chalk supplies. After receiving a lot of positive feedback, Collins decided to make it apart of her Walk About Clown fun. (Photo courtesy of Carolyn Collins)
Collins went on to play a clown called Azzip (pizza spelled backwards) at Pizza Hut for kids’ night. Collins says 25 years later, the now-adult child who named this clown Azzip still comes up to her to chat when they see each other in public.
He’s not the only one to recognize Collins in public for her clownery. Since doing the Walk About Clown, Collins says she gets recognized everywhere she goes.
“I can’t even go out into public anymore without people recognizing me and saying hi,” Collins remarks. “They start telling me about how they love seeing me on the corner and online. It brightens my day.”
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Since launching social media pages at the request of the public, her recognition as the Walk About Clown has only grown. You can now follow the Walk About Clown on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
“People were asking ‘Hey, what’s your site so I can follow you?’,” Collins explains. “At the beginning, I only had Facebook, and then people told me Instagram is the thing now. I started that, and then it was only a few weeks ago that someone said, ‘Why don’t you have a Twitter account?'”
As for what keeps Collins going as the Walk About Clown, she says it is all about the smiles she brings.
“I honestly think joy is the best gift,” says Collins. “Gifts don’t have to be something that you buy. It can be bringing smiles to everybody else. Seeing all the smiles, it brings me a smile and that’s what keeps me going. I always tell people: one smile becomes two, two becomes four, and next thing you know, we have a million.”
Every Tuesday morning, weather permitting, Carolyn Collins takes the Walk About Clown to senior homes in the area. She leaves uplifting chalk messages on her route and in front of the senior homes. (Photo courtesy of Carolyn Collins)
It would seem Collins’ intentions to spread joy are thriving. She even got a Facebook message from a mother who asked if her daughter had permission to copy Collins. When out for a walk, the young child has started leaving positive sidewalk chalk messages similar to Collins’.
“It’s simple stuff like ‘Hi friends’ or ‘Have a good day’,” Collins explains. “Her mom says that she knows how to spell, so those messages are from her. When I go on my walk, I see them, and that brightens me right up.”
Collins has an 11-year-old daughter of her own who has yet to follow in her mother’s footsteps of clownery, although who knows what the future might hold.
“She loves that I’m doing it, but she won’t go out with me because it’s too embarrassing,” Collins laughs.
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According to Collins, many generous people have given her money for the walk about clown. Collins donates the money to charity, choosing a different organization to support every month.
“This month, I’m doing Community Living Peterborough,” says Collins. “Next month, I’m doing Five Counties because they helped me a lot with my health.”
Carolyn Collins takes any money she receives as the Walk About Clown and donates it to a different charity each month. (Photo courtesy of Carolyn Collins)
If you see Collins as you drive by Cherryhill and Brealey, she will have a container in which you can put a donation.
“I carry a container with me when I’m out on my walks so I can keep my distance,” she explains. “One is on a pool noodle, and one is a metal tin can that has a handle on it that I can hold out.”
Collins says you can also support the Walk About Clown by donating, in her name, to a charity of your choice.
To see Carolyn Collins as the Walk About Clown, you can visit her on the corner of Cherryhill and Brealey, Monday to Friday between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. You can now follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The public boat launch on the Scugog River at Rivera Park in Lindsay. (Photo: Google Maps)
A tragedy has been averted after a good Samaritan pulled two teens from the Scugog River in Lindsay on Thursday afternoon (June 17).
According to Kawartha Lakes police, at around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday the two 17-year-old boys were fishing at Rivera Park when one of them dropped a fishing pole into the river.
One of the teens entered the water to retrieve the fishing pole. The teen, who was not a strong swimmer, soon began to struggle in the water.
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The second teen then went into the water to help his friend but also began to struggle.
A witness in the park saw the teens struggling in the water, jumped in, and pulled them to shore. Another witness, who is a nurse, assisted the teens until emergency services arrived.
One of the teens was taken to Ross Memorial Hospital by Kawartha Lakes Paramedics, while the second teen went to the hospital on his own at a later time for assessment.
Police, who report both teens are in good condition, have not released the names of the teens or the witnesses who helped them.
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