Linda “The Liquidator” Kash and Megan “The Mauler” Murphy will once again be zipping into their velour tracksuits, ready to fight it out during the fifth annual Cancer Takedown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 5 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough — and this time, there’s someone new they’re fighting for.

The event, which is a fundraiser for cancer care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), will mark the first time Kate Brioux is taking to the stage after undergoing her own cancer journey this past year.

“Cancer has changed so much about how I see things now, and the team at Cancer Takedown is just such a perfect example of positivity and joy because they have made such a scary situation just a little less scary for me,” Brioux says. “What a new perspective I have on the disease, what a new perspective I have on healthcare, what a new perspective I have on the role of nurses — and they just don’t get enough recognition.”

Brioux has been performing at the fundraiser since the second annual Cancer Takedown, which was first held in 2022. This year, she will be performing alongside her fellow The Hicks bandmates and best friends Kate Suhr and Melissa Payne. Other special guests include Beau Dixon, The Weber Brothers, Nicholas Campbell, Brandon Munroe and Ian McKeown, as well as Anthony Bastianon and Good Medicine.

Cancer Takedown was founded by Amy and Rick Kemp after he was diagnosed with two separate cancers for which he has undergone radiation, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and a stem cell transplant since 2018.

As Rick and Amy continue to cope with the life-changing aftermath, the goal of Cancer Takedown has always been to get people talking about cancer and the toll it takes, while still being a “spirit-raiser” for anyone touched by the disease.

“When I heard Rick was sick, it broke my heart,” recalls Murphy, who had worked with him professionally. “He’s young and vibrant and active and I thought ‘This can’t happen.’ When he turned that into something so inspiring — and you can’t stop his creativity — I wanted to get behind that in the way of solidarity and a way of bringing people together.”

Through song and story, Cancer Takedown calls attention to the emotional and mental burden of cancer on a patient and their loved ones, while uniting people through that shared experience.

“I have not had cancer treatment myself, but I have held the hands of many people who have, and you will be sick for a long time and then that ends, but the roller coaster that happens inside of you — from treatment, from looking at mortality, from the way your body changes, all of it — that takes a long time and it unravels in different ways,” Murphy says, noting “aftercare is one of the least discussed pieces.”

“Cancer Takedown is for people like that — who have been in the trenches. They get it.”

For those who might think a show with “cancer” in its name will be heavy, Murphy insists it’s nothing but joyful.

“You can’t measure how the spirit is, but you can feel it, and you can feel it when you’re in a room full of other people,” she says.

“It is the antidote to depression and the heaviness that comes with a diagnosis, or from loving people with a diagnosis — being together, being able to have the hard conversations, and then being able to make completely inappropriate jokes about it.”

Brioux adds that, for her, Cancer Takedown is also now an opportunity to share her thanks with the team at PRHC after her own cancer journey.

After experiencing a lot of back pain during last year’s Cancer Takedown, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma — a type of blood cancer — in February. She immediately started treatment at PRHC and describes the nursing staff as “walking Earth angels.”

“You have to imagine that you were delivered the most terrifying news of your life and they just treated you with respect, with dignity, and answered all of the questions,” Brioux says. “They were kind and patient and just took the time to support me. I truly believe they are not just treating cancer in there. They are treating me as a human.”

Over the past many months, Brioux says she learned treatment is not just about “medicine and treatments and your doctor.”

“It’s really about human connection,” Brioux points out. “Having them there to take that time and to check in on you .. it’s so huge. It goes above and beyond, and how lucky are we to have this in our own backyard? What a gift it is to be local, to be at home, and to have them as truly a part of your tribe. I just want to make sure that continues.”

Brioux admits she’s “nervous” to get back on stage again but knows she’ll be well-supported, and is reassured knowing it’s going to a worthy cause.

“If I could provide just an ounce of relief for a split second for anybody’s who’s going through the most terrifying time of their life, where it’s just full of uncertainty and questions — if I can do that for one hour, it’s worth every second. That’s why I do it: just to spread a tiny bit of joy.”

“This year, for me and for all of us, I think will be even more powerful because we’ve all been touched in this group very drastically,” adds Murphy, referring to Brioux’s journey.

“It’s personal to us now — it always was, but even more so — and so it’s going to be an even bigger spirit-raiser this year. We’re going to celebrate the resiliency, the tenacity, the incredible humans. You don’t want to go through any of this stuff, but if you do you become even stronger than you ever thought possible.”

Tickets to Cancer Takedown are priced at $40 plus fees for assigned general seating and $50 plus fees for assigned cabaret table seating. To buy tickets, visit tixr.com/groups/markethall/events/cancer-takedown-2026-207323.

Peterborough residents will have an opportunity to help neighbours prepare for winter during a community-wide collection day for Coats for Community … and More! on Saturday, November 7.

United Way Peterborough & District and Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) will accept donations of new and gently used winter clothing and cold-weather gear from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the PATH community hub at 385 Lansdowne Street East in Peterborough, across from Willowcreek Centre east of Ashburnham Drive.

All items and sizes are welcome, although organizers say men’s clothing and footwear in men’s sizes are particularly needed. Requested items include waterproof and insulated winter coats, snow pants, winter boots, hats, gloves and mittens, fleece jackets and sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatpants and track pants, hand warmers, sleeping bags, and blankets.

Used items should be in good condition, with working zippers and no stains or tears.

The collection day is part of the United Way’s 2026 Coats for Community … and More! campaign, an annual initiative intended to ensure local children, adults, and families have access to warm winter clothing and other essentials at no cost.

The program began as Coats for Kids in 1986 and has evolved to serve a broader range of community needs. For the past three years, the United Way has delivered the program in partnership with PATH, which launched its own community clothing hub in 2023.

While coats remain a major focus for the annual campaign, organizers have expanded the campaign to recognize that staying warm through winter often requires more than a jacket — hence the new name “Coats for Community … and More!”

“No one in our community should have to face winter without the clothing they need to stay warm,” said United Way CEO Jason Seguya during a launch event at the PATH community hub on Wednesday (October 21).

“Looking out for our neighbours can start with something as simple as donating a coat or organizing a collection at work. Through our partnership with PATH, those contributions reach people who need them, helping more children, adults and families stay warm and safe through the cold months ahead.”

Last winter, PATH distributed more than 2,200 coats along with hundreds of other winter essentials.

PATH program coordinator Bev Assinck said donations received last year included snow pants, boots, sleeping bags, blankets, hats, gloves and mittens, hand warmers, and gift cards.

“Your contributions of sturdy coats, snow pants, boots, sleeping bags, blankets, hats, gloves and mitts, hand warmers and Tim’s cards made a tremendous difference for so many,” Assinck said. “We gave coats and other items to many families and individuals, and their gratitude was immeasurable.”

Individuals, workplaces, schools, service clubs, sports teams, faith communities, and other organizations are encouraged to organize their own collection drives and bring donations to the November 7 event.

A limited number of collection boxes for larger donation drives are available from United Way Peterborough & District by emailing Betsy MacDonald at bmacdonald@uwpeterborough.ca.

After the community-wide collection day on November 7, additional donations can be made at PATH from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the winter and into April.

For people who need winter clothing, distribution at PATH will begin on Saturday, November 14 and continue on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through December 19.

Volunteers will help people find appropriate items and sizes, with quantities potentially limited depending on available inventory. Family members may also pick up items on behalf of others.

Some local service providers will also have limited quantities of winter gear available, with an updated list to be posted at www.uwpeterborough.ca.

As for service providers wishing to access winter coats and gear on behalf of their own clients, they can place bulk orders that can be picked up from PATH. For more information, email Betsy MacDonald at bmacdonald@uwpeterborough.ca.

The Peterborough Police Service has joined a growing number of Ontario police services suspending their use of Crime Stoppers following revelations about a cybersecurity breach involving the program’s third-party tip-management system.

Peterborough police announced Friday (October 23) they are pausing use of the Peterborough & Northumberland Crime Stoppers online submission portal at stopcrimehere.ca and tip line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) until the police service is satisfied a secure system is available.

The decision follows a CBC News investigation that found more than 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the past 25 years were exposed in a breach involving P3 Global Intel’s tip-management platform owned by Navigate360, the company that provides tip-management software used by Crime Stoppers programs in Canada and the United States.

In March, a hacker breached P3 Global Intel’s infrastructure and stole roughly 93 gigabytes of data, containing an estimated eight million confidential tips. On Friday, Navigate360 confirmed the breach, stating that names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, and other sensitive information had potentially been exposed.

CBC reported that at least half of the tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs contained some form of personal information and that information in some records was detailed enough for reporters to identify and contact tipsters.

Peterborough police said it is not yet known how many, if any, files involving cases within their jurisdiction were compromised. An investigation is underway to determine the extent of any local impact.

“This breach of data is concerning to our organization and upon learning of this breach, I immediately initiated a request of the extent, if any, to which tips provided to the Peterborough and Northumberland Crime Stoppers program, about cases in the jurisdiction of the Peterborough Police Service may have been compromised,” police chief Stuart Betts said in a media release.

“We value our relationship with the Peterborough and Northumberland Crime Stoppers program and will work closely with them to address any data breaches that impact our organization.”

According to the Peterborough police, the local Crime Stoppers chapter also serves Peterborough County OPP, Northumberland OPP, Cobourg Police Service, Port Hope Police Service, Curve Lake Police Service, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Canada Border Services Agency, and other partner agencies.

Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers was formed in its current configuration in 1998, when the Peterborough and Northumberland chapters amalgamated. It operates as a registered non-profit charity with a volunteer board and acts as an intermediary between anonymous tipsters and police. Its tip system does not connect directly or indirectly with police service databases.

The security breach is particularly problematic as Crime Stoppers promotes online and telephone tips as being anonymous, saying calls are not recorded or traced and online tips are encrypted and transferred to law enforcement through third-party tip-management software.

The decision by Peterborough police to pause use of Crime Stoppers follows similar actions taken by several other police services in Ontario and across Canada.

Toronto Crime Stoppers paused its entire program after the breach became public, removing online tip submission and directing its vendor and the National Anonymous Call Centre to stop accepting new tips intended for the Toronto chapter.

The Toronto Police Service subsequently suspended its own use of Crime Stoppers while reviewing the breach and any additional security measures being implemented.

York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Halton Regional Police, Hamilton Police, Windsor Police, and Waterloo Regional Police have also announced suspensions, pauses, or other changes to their use of Crime Stoppers.

Waterloo Regional Police said it had stopped promoting Crime Stoppers as a reporting option in early July after learning in late June that the local program had been affected.

The police services have generally stressed that Crime Stoppers and its third-party technology operate separately from their own computer networks.

The Peterborough Police Service said its decision to pause use of the local program is being made “out of an abundance of caution” and is not a reflection of its confidence in Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers.

Police said they will assess the potential effects on police operations and the privacy and safety of tipsters once more details about the breach become available.

In the meantime, people with information about crimes or public safety concerns in the Peterborough Police Service’s jurisdiction are being asked to contact police directly.

A new police tip line is available at 705-876-1122 ext. 388. Police warn that while they will work to keep a caller’s identity private, anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Tips can also be emailed to tips@peterboroughpolice.ca. Police advise anyone who wants to protect their identity to avoid sending from an email address that contains their name, and not to provide their name, address, phone number, email address, location, relationship to the people involved, or information about how they learned of the alleged crime in the body of the email. Photos, videos, and other files should not be attached.

“Only describe the crime, what happened, when and where it happened, and who was involved,” the police state. “If you include personal details, we may not be able to protect your identity. We will work to keep your identity private, but we cannot guarantee anonymity and we may have to share tips if the law requires it.”

Peterborough police stressed that its telephone and email tip options are operated by the police service and are not part of Crime Stoppers.

For emergencies or crimes in progress, residents should continue to call 9-1-1.

The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough has been named Attraction of the Year at the 2026 Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence.

The award was presented Thursday night (October 22) at the Westin Ottawa during the Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence Gala, which concluded the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario’s annual two-day Ontario Tourism Summit.

The association, which represents tourism businesses and organizations across the province, presents the annual awards to recognize businesses, organizations, events, experiences, and tourism leaders for their contributions to making Ontario a destination of choice.

The Canadian Canoe Museum was selected from three finalists for Attraction of the Year, along with Niagara Parks and Rivershrike Inc., which operates the Waterfront River Pub and Terrace, and Napanee River Tours.

“This honour puts a provincial spotlight on the experience we have built together on the shores of Little Lake, where visitors explore the world’s largest collection of paddled watercraft, learn from builders sharing their skills and knowledge, and make their own memories on the water,” the museum posted on social media after receiving the award.

The museum thanked its staff, volunteers, Indigenous partners, members, supporters, and visitors for contributing to the achievement.

“There are so many people behind this achievement, and we are thrilled to share it with you,” the museum wrote. “And to our visitors, whether you have joined us once or return again and again, thank you for making us part of your adventures.”

VIDEO: Attraction of the Year – The Canadian Canoe Museum

The recognition comes after a strong first full calendar year for The Canadian Canoe Museum at its new lakefront home, which first opened to the public in May 2024.

According to the museum, it welcomed 116,493 visitors in 2025 — well above its original projection of about 87,000 annual visitors — with more than 62 per cent of those visitors coming from outside the city and county of Peterborough.

The museum estimates visitation in 2025 alone generated $10.55 million in direct spending and contributed $6.95 million to regional gross domestic product.

The Canadian Canoe Museum was one of four finalists from the greater Kawarthas region across four categories at this year’s Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence.

Brighton Applefest, presented by the Municipality of Brighton in Northumberland County, was a finalist for Tourism Event of the Year. That award went to Brockville Tourism for the Tall Ships Festival.

Kawarthas Northumberland’s Trent-Severn Trail Towns initiative was a finalist for the Tourism Marketing Campaign Award for campaigns costing less than $50,000. The award went to the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board for its Get FREE Gas & Spending Spree campaign.

Elmhirst’s Resort on Rice Lake in Peterborough County was a finalist for Sustainable Tourism Award of the Year. Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto received that award.

Two Peterborough-based organizations are working together to bring a new space to the city that caters to the urban Indigenous population’s need for access to traditional spaces and resources.

The Nogojiwanong Urban Indigenous Working Group (UIWG), in partnership with the Trent Society of Architects (TSA), is conducting a community-wide survey to better understand the needs and priorities of the urban Indigenous community in Nogojiwanong-Peterborough.

“Historically for Indigenous people, it’s been illegal to practise our culture and to speak our language,” Mshkiki Gitigaan Kwe (Katelyn Brennan) told kawarthaNOW. “Now, we’re trying to revitalize a lot of these things.”

UIWG is a collaborative organization with representatives from the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre, Peterborough Community Health Centre, Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association, Lakelands Public Health, City of Peterborough, Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle, and members of the community.

Established in 1985, TSA is a non-profit volunteer-based organization comprised of licensed architects, architectural technologists, and members of the community interested in architecture and urban issues.

Part of the work of UIWG is to consult with community organizations, businesses, and other corporations regarding their current reconciliation practices and to provide guidance on how to further their actions.

Gitigaan said that UIWG heard a presentation from the TSA that included a proposal to work together on developing a space that could accommodate traditional Indigenous activities and events.

In particular, the focus is to provide urban Indigenous people with the same level of access that people living on reserves have to traditional spaces, she added.

“There’s access on reserve to a lot of these spaces, but for the urban Indigenous community who might not live on reserve but in town, it’s important that they have the opportunity to access some of these cultural pieces,” said Gitigaan.

With the support of a $5,000 grant from the Ontario Association of Architects, the two groups are starting the consultation and development process with a community survey to assess current areas of need.

The survey will explore what is currently working well, where gaps or challenges exist, and opportunities that could be leveraged to better support cultural connection, community, gathering, and wellbeing.

“By listening to the experiences and perspectives of the community, the UIWG hopes to identify key themes and priorities that can help inform a path forward,” posted Gitigaan on Facebook.

“This may include exploring an architectural project, program, or other community initiatives. At this stage, there are no predetermined outcomes or project types.”

The survey provides suggestions on the type of spaces that people may want in Nogojiwanong-Peterborough, including indoor gathering space, outdoor gathering space, Wigwam, lodge, arbour or sheltered outdoor space, sacred fire space, garden or growing space, space for arts, crafts, or making, kitchen or food-sharing space, youth space, and space for Elders and knowledge sharing.

Gitigaan said that one example of the lack of access to traditional spaces is the limited options on where people can host a sacred fire.

She noted that although Trent University does provide space there is often lots of red tape, creating an inaccessible system.

In addition, the survey asks questions such as “What helps you feel connected to the Land and/or Community?” and “What spaces do you currently use to connect with community, culture, or the Land? And what do you value about them?” to assess current strengths and weakness.

Speaking to the importance of the project, Gitigaan said that connection to culture and traditional practices are essential for Indigenous people, especially those in urban communities who may feel disconnected from their culture.

“We look at culture as healing, and there’s so much healing that needs to occur to build that community, and to build ourselves up spiritually, emotionally, and holistically,” Gitigaan said.

Residents can participate by completing the online survey.