Lesley Heighway, president and CEO of the Peterborough Regional Health Care (PRHC) Foundation, has been awarded with the designation of Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. (Photo courtesy of PRHC Foundation)
Lesley Heighway, president and CEO of the Peterborough Regional Health Care (PRHC) Foundation, has received international recognition for her contributions to raising funds for healthcare.
Heighway has been awarded with the designation of Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, an international professional organization dedicated to healthcare philanthropy.
Of the association’s 4,500 members at more than 2,200 healthcare facilities around the world, only two per cent have received the designation, with Heighway being one of three selected in 2021.
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“In Lesley’s 10 years as president and CEO, she’s worked tirelessly with donors from across the region to fund the equipment and technology that form the foundation of world-class care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre,” says Linda Skilton, chair of the PRHC Foundation’s board of directors, in a media release.
“Her success is fuelled by a passion for healthcare that has inspired $30 million in donations in the past five years alone. As a champion of innovation, her strategic and visionary leadership has led to incredible advances in patient care, brought new, life-saving services to our region, and helped our hospital attract and retain some of the best and brightest in medicine.”
Candidates for the Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy must meet rigorous criteria including career success that has had a transformative effect on the organizations they’ve supported, demonstrated leadership, mentorship and community service, and a comprehensive knowledge of healthcare governance and philanthropy.
“Lesley is highly regarded by the Foundation and PRHC boards, hospital staff and leadership, and our donors,” says Peter McLaughlin, PRHC’s president and CEO. “Her record of fundraising success and the impact our Foundation’s donors have had and continue to have on patient care at PRHC speak volumes about her performance, integrity, and professionalism.”
The Ontario SPCA's commemorative Animals in War Pin for 2021 features a cat as the symbol to honour the wartime contributions of animals. Cats served as companions during wartime and kept ships free of vermin. Proceeds from the sales of the pin will help provide care for animals in need and support veterans. (Photo courtesy of Ontario SPCA)
The Ontario SPCA has unveiled its commemorative Animals in War Pin for 2021, featuring a cat as the symbol to honour the wartime contributions of animals.
Cats served as companions during wartime and kept ships free of vermin.
Created by the Ontario SPCA in 2017, the Animals in War pins are designed to be worn alongside a poppy to remember veterans and the animals who bravely served by their side. The collection includes a horse, a dog, a pigeon, and now a cat, as well as a limited-edition pin in honour of the women who have served in Canada’s military.
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Throughout history, animals have been used to support war efforts. Mules carried artillery, horses transported troops and hauled field guns, pigeons delivered crucial messages, and dogs have served as messengers, medical assistants, bomb detectors, and search and rescue workers.
This year’s cat pin is available for purchase for $12 at humane societies across Ontario leading up to Remembrance Day (November 11). Funds from the sale of the pin will help provide care for animals in need and, from each pin sold, $1 will be donated to Royal Canadian Legion branches across Ontario to support veterans.
In Peterborough, you can purchase a pin by visiting the Peterborough Humane Society’s shelter at 385 Lansdowne Street East.
Previous commemorative Animals in War Pin have featured a dog, a pigeon, and a horse. During wartime, dogs have served as messengers, medical assistants, bomb detectors, and search and rescue workers, pigeons delivered crucial messages, and horses transported troops and hauled field guns. (Photo courtesy of Ontario SPCA)
“This Remembrance Day, we invite you to proudly wear an Animals in War pin worn alongside your poppy as a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of our veterans and the animals who gave so much for us,” says Shawn Morey, executive director of the Peterborough Humane Society.
You can also order this year’s pin (and previous years’ pins) online at the Ontario SPCA website.
Peterborough Police Service headquarters on Water Street in Peterborough. (Photo: Pat Trudeau)
The Peterborough Police Service has released details of its COVID-19 vaccination policy.
The policy, which came into effect last Thursday (October 7), “strongly recommends” — but does not require — that all members of the service be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Members have until November 19 to provide proof of full vaccination or a valid medical exemption. After that date, members who are not fully vaccinated or who have a valid medical exemption will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test — arranged on their own time and at their own expense — on the first and third day of their shift schedule.
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Members who are not fully vaccinated and do not have a valid medical exemption will also be required to participate in an vaccine educational program delivered by the City of Peterborough and complete the program by November 26.
The vaccination policy applies to all sworn, civilian, and auxiliary members as well as volunteers, placement students, contractors, and consultants performing work on behalf of the service or within any police facility.
All members of the service, fully vaccinated or not, will continue to follow public health guidelines while working, including wearing personal protective equipment.
“Our mission is to protect the communities we serve, and this policy shows residents and members that the Peterborough Police Service is committed to doing our part,” says Chief Scott Gilbert.
The vaccination policy was developed in coordination and consultation with the Occupational Health and Safety Committee of the Peterborough Police Service, the Peterborough Police Association, the Senior Officers Association, Peterborough Public Health, the City of Peterborough, legal advisors, and other police services.
You can read the complete policy on the Peterborough Police Service website at peterboroughpolice.com.
Peterborough's Jacyln Harris is trying to raise $9,000 so her nephew Nico Iemma, an award-winning young athlete from Oshawa, can can participate in downhill skiing with his family this winter. (Photo: Jaclyn Harris / GoFundMe)
A Peterborough woman has launched a crowdfunding campaign so her nephew with cerebral palsy can participate in downhill skiing with his family this winter.
Jacyln Harris is trying to raise money to purchase a sit-ski, a moulded bucket seat suspended above a pair of skis with a shock absorber below the seat.
Harris’ nephew Nico Iemma — who turns 13 this fall — has cerebral palsy, a neurological disability that appears in early childhood and affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. For the Oshawa resident, all four of his limbs are affected, requiring him to use a wheelchair.
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Nico is a young athlete with a special interest in boccia, a precision ball sport played by athletes with severe physical disabilities. In February, Nico was named ParaSport Ontario’s junior athlete of the year in recognition of his skill at the game.
Nico also enjoys downhill skiing with his family. According to Harris, many of Nico’s family have taken training to drive a sit-ski so Nico to enjoy a day out on the slopes.
Before the pandemic, Nico’s family participated in a program where they had access to a sit-ski for a couple of hours a week.
VIDEo: Nico Iemma is named Parasport junior athlete of the year
However, the program did not run last year and it may not run this year either. Harris is trying to raise $9,000 so the family can purchase a sit-ski for Nico that he can continue to use for years.
Nico’s parents Susan and Patrick, who also have two other young children, cannot afford to purchase the expensive piece of equipment, which costs around $6,300 in U.S. dollars.
“Caring for a child with such physical needs is pricey and Patrick and I try very hard not to let cost effect Nico’s ability to be a kid and be included in all our activities,” Susan writes on her Facebook page.
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“With a new power chair on the way and new seating in his regular chair required this fall, the ski is out of our reach,” Susan adds. “We so appreciate those who are willing to help us keep active and not ever leave Nico behind even when it’s a struggle.”
Waste Reduction Week celebrates environmental efforts and achievements at waste reduction while encouraging new innovative ideas and solutions. In 2020, the total amount of global electronic waste reached 53.6 million metric tonnes. Less e-waste can be produced through circular approaches to product design, such as ensuring devices can be repaired, re-used, recycled, or returned. (Photo: Fairphone)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Leif Einarson, Communications Manager at GreenUP.
As we prepare to celebrate 20 years of Waste Reduction Week from October 18 to 24, I want to take this opportunity to look forward two decades. Time is a precious resource, and we often struggle to use time effectively when it comes to waste reduction and climate action.
It’s easy to say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It’s far more psychologically challenging to consider the next two decades of impacts in our daily choices. We need to exercise this muscle so it grows stronger.
Let’s imagine it is October 2041: the 40th anniversary of Waste Reduction Week. What individual and systemic waste reduction changes would you wish we had made now so that we could already be enjoying those benefits?
Below you’ll find six tips for waste reduction. As you read, reflect on how seizing these opportunities for change now could transform the next 20 years for the better.
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1. Circular vs. linear economy
Waste Reduction Week begins with discussion of a circular economy versus a linear economy.
The plastic straw is a good example of a linear, wasteful economy: Canadians use 57 million of these every day, and after just one use most end up in landfill or polluting natural ecosystems. Those straws are part of an unsustainable linear economy: you can draw a straight line from raw resource, through manufacturing and a single use, and into the landfill.
In a circular economy, products are designed for change. They are made with as much re-used materials as possible and as few raw resources as possible — they can be repaired, re-used, and re-purposed into new products long before they need to be recycled or landfilled.
Instead of a straight line from raw resources to landfills, we draw an ongoing circle or spiral of re-use that reduces resource extraction and waste.
2. Be mindful of manufacturing
Diverting waste from landfills like the Bensfort Road Landfill in Peterborough is key to a less wasteful economy. Landfills produce methane emissions 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of global warming potential. Landfills account for approximately one fifth of the methane emissions in Canada, more than the 25 million motor vehicles in all of Canada. (Photo: Heather Ray)
On “Textiles Tuesday” during Waste Reduction Week, we often talk about the environmental consequences of manufacturing the clothes we wear.
For example, it takes 2,600 litres of water to make one new t-shirt, and the textiles industry uses mostly non-renewable resources like oil to make synthetic fibres that then cause microfibre plastic pollution. North Americans send about 40kg of clothing per person to landfill each year — 95 per cent of that could be re-used or recycled.
What can you do?
Make clothing choices that reduce the impact of manufacturing, avoid fast fashion and synthetics, swap or share, sell or donate, upcycle or repurpose. Watch for opportunities when the local OPIRG Free Market starts up again. Visit opirgptbo.ca/get-involved/working-groups/free-market/ for more information.
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Manufacturing impacts extend years beyond purchase, and they also extend beyond the clothing industry. Building our homes also has an environmental impact. Have you ever considered the emissions and resources needed to manufacture the foam, concrete, and synthetic materials that are commonly used in homes?
Achieving Real Net-Zero Emission Homes is a new report co-authored by Builders for Climate Action and Natural Resources Canada. This report suggests we should take into account manufacturing emissions when we assess and update building codes and policies.
“There is a path to near-zero emissions buildings using available and affordable materials,” says Chris Magwood, director of programs, research, and policy at the Endeavour Centre – The Sustainable Building School in Peterborough. “Huge emissions reductions are easily achievable more through education of designers and builders than through transformation of the industry.”
Every day during Waste Reduction Week (October 18-24), a different theme for reducing waste will be featured. (Graphic: Waste Reduction Week Canada)
What’s the difference between this year’s and last year’s smartphone?
That difference has more to do with marketing new desires than it does with making a meaningful difference in your daily life. Let those desires fade before you purchase.
Right to repair
Bill C-272, a private member’s bill intending to give Canadian consumers the right to bypass technological protection measure for diagnosis, maintenance or repair without violating the Copyright Act, passed second reading in June 2021 but died following the federal election call.
One company recently claimed that their newest phone represents an 11 per cent reduction in carbon emissions compared to last year’s phone. It’s great if those carbon emissions reduce with each iteration and each year, but the underlying manufacturing impacts on the environment are still unsustainable when these products are intentionally designed to be un-repairable, un-upgradeable, and ditched after a year or two.
This approach is fundamentally wasteful. Wherever possible, repair, refurbish, and recycle electronics.
If you must buy new, look for sustainable, ethical, and circular options. Consider the “more sustainable smartphone” Fairphone for example (www.fairphone.com), and email me at leif.einarson@greenup.on.ca if you’ve found a network carrier for this phone in Ontario.
For more e-waste solutions, reach out to our local rebootcanada.ca.
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4. Pause before plastic
When you see plastic, pause and think. Most plastics are made from fossil fuels.
For more ideas on how to reduce plastics in your life, check out GreenUP’s monthly #ZeroWaste features by subscribing to our e-newsletter at greenup.on.ca/newsletter-signup/.
You can also chat with package-free and plastic-free guru Kristen LaRocque at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre (378 Aylmer St. N., Peterborough).
5. Plan meals
Taking a food waste pledge is something individuals, schools, businesses, or communities can do. From shopping local, to choosing only re-usable or biodegradable bags and containers, to planning your meals before you shop, to composting, the opportunities can save you money and improve how healthy you eat. (Photo courtesy of GreenUP)
About 47 per cent of wasted food in Canada comes from homes.
Of the 42,000 tonnes of waste dumped into the Peterborough landfill each year, approximately 5,880 is wasted food. That’s 650 garbage truck loads of wasted food!
Avoid “bought & forgot” waste. Plan meals before you buy food, eat what you buy, get creative with leftovers, and compost. Eat local and sustainably where you can.
Ownership is overrated. For example, borrowing tools from the Peterborough Tool Library (www.ptbotoollibrary.ca) means you’ll have more money and space to build neat things.
You can also afford a much nicer bike if, instead of buying your own tools, you get a membership to B!KE in Peterborough (communitybikeshop.org) and make use of their shop and expertise.
How else can you share and repair in Peterborough?
The Peterborough Tool Library provides area residents with a great option to shift from ownership to a sharing economy and reduce personal waste. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough Tool Library)
Advocate for bike and car share programs, and support local swap, repair, and re-use programs like Repair Café Peterborough and Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Be in the loop for Waste Reduction Week and the next two decades of climate action benefits: sign up for GreenUP’s monthly e-newsletter at at greenup.on.ca/newsletter-signup/.
For more information about Waste Reduction Week in Canada, visit wrwcanada.com.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 306 new cases today, with the 7-day average of daily cases decreasing by 25 to 500.
Of Ontario’s 34 health units, 12 are reporting double-digit increases — Toronto (68), Windsor-Essex (32), York (29), Ottawa (20), Peel (18), Niagara (17), Middlesex-London (13), Hamilton (12), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (12), Simcoe Muskoka (11), Southwestern (11), and Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (10) — and 8 are reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 63% are people who have not been fully vaccinated (58% have not received any doses and 5% have received only one dose) and 34% are people who have been fully vaccinated with two doses, with the vaccination status unknown for 4% of the cases because of a missing or invalid health card number. The 7-day average case rate is 8.19 per 100,000 for unvaccinated people, 3.30 per 100,000 for partially vaccinated people, and 1.44 per 100,000 for fully vaccinated people.
Hospitalizations have increasd by 87 to 242, but this increase may be due to underreporting of hospitalizations by more than 10% of hospitals over the weekend. ICU patients have increased by 4 to 153 and ICU patients on ventilators have decreased by 2 to 102. Ontario is reporting 12 new COVID-related deaths.
Over 22.12 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 29,857 since yesterday. Over 10.76 million people are fully vaccinated, an increase of 18,883 since yesterday, representing 72.73% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from September 12 – October 12, 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 September 12 – October 12, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the blue line is the daily number of ICU patients on ventilators. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from September 12 – October 12, 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 9 new cases to report, including 7 in Hastings Prince Edward and 1 in Peterborough. There are no new cases in Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, or Haliburton.
An additional 7 cases have been resolved in the region, including 3 in Peterborough, 3 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 1 in Northumberland.
The number of active cases has increased by 4 in Hastings Prince Edward, has decreased by 2 in Peterborough, has decreased by 1 in Northumberland, and remains the same in Kawartha Lakes.
There are currently 73 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 1 from yesterday, including 39 in Hastings Prince Edward (14 in Belleville, 6 in Tyendingaga & Deseronto, 5 in Quinte West, 5 in Tyendingaga Mohawk Territory, 2 in Prince Edward County, 2 in Central Hastings, and 1 in North Hastings), 17 in Peterborough, 12 in Northumberland, and 5 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,864 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,824 resolved with 23 deaths), 1,300 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,250 resolved with 58 deaths), 1,018 in Northumberland County (989 resolved with 17 deaths), 148 in Haliburton County (147 resolved with 1 death), and 1,444 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,391 resolved with 14 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on October 7.
Leslie Yee, chair of the Canadian Council of the Blind's Peterborough chapter, with her guide dog Akira, displays the organization's 2022 fundraising calendar featuring cover art by Peterborough artist Lynda Todd. (Supplied photo)
Award-winning artwork by Peterborough artist Lynda Todd, who is visually impaired, is gracing the cover of a limited-edition 2022 calendar from the Canadian Council of the Blind.
The calendar is a fundraiser for the national organization that brings together people in the community with vision loss and offers vision enhancement products for those in need.
“We are striving to let the community know we are here and we are here to help those in need,” says Leslie Yee, chair of the organization’s Peterborough chapter, in a media release.
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In July, Todd’s acrylic-on-canvas painting ‘Blossom’ won first place in a competition hosted by Spirit of the Hills, an association of artists in Northumberland County.
‘Blossom’ was also featured on the cover of the May-June issue of Occupational Therapy Now, the magazine of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.
The Canadian Council of the Blind calendar costs $20 and can be ordered by emailing ccbpeterborough@gmail.com. For more information about the organization’s Peterborough chapter, visit ccbpeterborough.com.
The Kawartha OPP has released the names of the two drivers who died following a two-vehicle collision south of Manilla in Kawartha Lakes on Saturday afternoon (October 9).
Police say that at around 12:25 p.m. on Saturday, a passenger vehicle heading northbound on Simcoe Street at Brock Concession Road 6 passed unsafely and collided head-on with a southbound passenger vehicle.
Both drivers, the lone occupants of their vehicles, were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Police have identified the drivers as 32-year-old Joseph Duchesne of Oakville and 57-year-old Mark Wallace of Durham Region.
Simcoe Street was shut down for several hours on Saturday while officers were on scene investigating the collision.
“Aggressive driving is dangerous and a leading causal factor in fatal motor vehicle collisions on OPP-patrolled roads,” the OPP states in a media release. “Racing, stunt driving, speeding, following too closely, unsafe lane changes, and road rage are all forms of aggressive driving that place drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians at risk.”
“Motorists are reminded to slow down on roadways. Speeding is not worth the loss of a life. Dangerous drivers can be reported to OPP by calling 1-888-310-1122 or 9-1-1 in an emergency.”
Beau Dixon and Melissa Payne will be performing in the new 4th Line Theatre production "Christmas Comes to Mind: A Night of Story & Song", along with the show's co-creators Rebecca Auerbach and Jack Nicholsen, Saskia Tomkins, Justin Hiscox, Mark Hiscox, and Kim Blackwell. (kawarthaNOW collage of supplied photos)
Beau Dixon and Melissa Payne are among the actors who will be performing in the new 4th Line Theatre production Christmas Comes to Mind: A Night of Story & Song, which will be staged at the Millbrook Cathedral in late fall.
The show is written and directed by actor-musicians Rebecca Auerbach and Jack Nicholsen, who will also perform along with Dixon, Payne, Saskia Tomkins, Justin Hiscox, Mark Hiscox, and — in her first acting appearance in a 4th Line Theatre production since 1998 — 4th Line’s own managing artistic director Kim Blackwell.
“Jack and Rebecca have created wonderful, modern stories and intermingled them with songs which conjure Christmas for them,” Blackwell says in a media release. “Some of the pieces are recognizable Christmas songs and some will surprise audiences.”
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The show will run for 10 performances at the Millbrook Cathedral (40 King St. W., Millbrook) at 7 p.m. from Tuesday, November 30th to Saturday, December 4th and from Tuesday, December 7th to Saturday, December 11th.
Limited tickets are available for each performance. All audience members will be required to provide proof of full vaccination upon arrival at the venue.
Christmas Comes to Mind: A Night of Story & Song will take audiences back to a time when families gathered by the radio to listen to their favourite music and storytelling programs, according to a description of the show, and will reflect on family, friends, and what can be a lonely time of year for many.
“Christmas Comes to Mind: A Night of Story & Song” is written and directed by actor-musicians Rebecca Auerbach and Jack Nicholsen. (kawarthaNOW collage of supplied photos)
“We were elated when Kim asked us to put together an evening of stories and songs for a Christmas show,” say Auerbach and Nicholsen. “As we talked to people about their Christmas experiences, it didn’t take long to realize that there are as many Christmas stories as there are gifts under the tree.”
Tickets for each performance are $40, including service fees and taxes, and can be purchased by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, or at 4th Line Theatre’s box office at 4 Tupper Street in Millbrook.
Justin Hiscox is music supervisor for the production, which features arrangements by Nicholsen and Auerbach. The production team includes sound designer and technician Alan Stanley, lighting designer Esther Vincent, stage manager Tristan Peirce, and production assistant Riley Boughen.
After two postponements due to the pandemic, it looks like Bruce Cockburn will finally be performing again at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough now that the Ontario government has lifted capacity restrictions for performance venues. Folk Under The Clock is presenting the legendary Canadian musician (pictured here performing at Showplace on September 25, 2017) on April 19, 2022. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
Sometimes the best news arrives when you least expect it.
While driving to her trailer for the Thanksgiving long weekend on Friday (October 8), work was the last thing on Emily Martin’s mind — until her cell phone started “exploding” with messages.
“I had to pull over to the side of the road in Orillia to check my messages and then do a bunch of work,” says Martin, general manager of Showplace Performance Centre.
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That same afternoon, the Ontario government has announced it was lifting capacity limits on concert venues, theatres, cinemas, meeting and event spaces, spectator areas of sports facilities and more, as well as remove the requirement for physical distancing. The changes came into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday (October 9).
For the not-for-profit Showplace, it means the downtown Peterborough performance venue can again welcome full audiences — double vaccinated and masked — to its 640-seat Erica Cherney Theatre, as well as host smaller shows in its 100-capacity Nexicom Studio space on venue’s lower level.
The last time both spaces were filled to capacity was March 5, 2020 for Peterborough Performs: Musicians Against Homelessness, a multi-act event that saw more than $30,000 raised for United Way-supported agencies.
Members of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings take a bow after a sold-out February 21, 2020 performance at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, one of the final concerts at the downtown performance venue before the pandemic shut down all live music. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
“You see on TV that the hockey games are coming back with higher (crowd) capacities and the (Toronto) Blue Jays are playing in front of 30,000 people drinking beer unmasked,” says Martin of her frustration leading up to Friday’s announcement.
“What’s so different about our space? What we had been proposing were things like not having any concessions so people have to stay masked, as well as checking for double vaccination.”
“I literally just talked to them on Thursday, saying what we are advocating for,” Martin says, referring to Peterborough Public Health. “I have so much respect for them. Keith Beecroft has been a gold star through all of this. I really can’t say enough about the entire team there.”
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Meanwhile at the 350-capacity Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, the other not-for-profit performance venue in downtown Peterborough, general manager Chad Hogan says he was “shocked” by the announcement audience capacity limits would be lifted.
“We’ve been trying to prepare for various scenarios at different times through the past year and a half — going from where we were at to full capacity was not something we thought we would be seeing,” says Hogan, adding “It’s welcome news but it creates a bunch of new questions that we need to answer to make sure we get it right.”
“Logistically, there are some challenges that we need to discuss with our industry and at the board level. It’s a simple announcement, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s simple to implement. There’s some anxiety around how we’re going to scale all of this up in a timely manner. But it’s a good kind of anxiety — finally we have something to work towards.”
Canadian pop superstar and Millbrook native Serena Ryder performing at a sold-out Showplace Performance Centre on December 21, 2019, one of the final concerts at the downtown performance venue before the pandemic shut down all live music. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
At Showplace, Martin says that same cautious approach in welcoming full audiences back will be a priority moving forward.
“My email has been blowing up all morning (today) with people wanting to rent the space, which is awesome, but we can’t turn a giant venue around on a dime,” she says, noting most of her staff remains on layoff.
“We ask people to be patient with us. We had no notice this was coming. We have a giant building that has to be cleaned. Our tech people’s working-at-heights training has expired. They have to be recertified so they can take theatre lights down and clean them.”
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Despite the challenges, Martin says Showplace is “thrilled” by the development.
“We’re excited and happy. It makes it a lot easier to do our planning. It’s nice to have the freedom to be able to plan. We’ve known for months we have all this work coming up, but it’s been a lot of hurry up and wait. You don’t want to pull theatre lights down and clean them and then have to wait another six months. We’re not quite ready for it but now we know when we are ready, we can go.”
When Showplace audiences return to the main theatre, they’ll sit in brand new seats that will be installed come the end of October.
“We’re essentially opening a new auditorium, which is so sweet,” says Martin.
Whitehorse performing at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, on April 19, 2018. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
For Market Hall, Hogan says the focus is on getting it right for returning audience members.
“We want to make sure the logistics don’t take the joy out of the experience,” he explains. “Because we are unequivocally complying with the vaccine passport, what we need to figure out now is the best way to streamline that process.”
“Nobody wants to stand there for two hours waiting to get into the place. We’re going to be cognizant of the experience while we’re figuring out what we can manage.”
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So as both Martin and Hogan begin the baby steps necessary to again welcome back full-capacity audiences, one big question remains: When will shows again be booked for the two venues?
“We’ll probably start with a couple of shows that are a bit smaller, and gauge from that what we’re capable of — but we’ll most certainly see shows here in January and onwards,” says Hogan, noting the last theatrical show at his venue was a performance by Trent University’s Anne Shirley Theatre Company staged the week the pandemic was declared.
Martin, meanwhile, assures Showplace “is going to be a busy place” come January, adding “We have a lot on the books” for early in 2022.
Both Martin and Hogan suggest people regularly check their venues’ websites — www.showplace.org and markethall.org — for reopening updates and concert announcements.
When audiences return to Showplace Performance Centre’s Erica Cherney Theatre, they’ll be sitting in new seats courtesy of a donor-supported renovation at the not-for-profit downtown Peterborough performance venue. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
“It’s been a grind,” says Martin of the past 19 months, crediting Showplace board members and staff — and, yes, Hogan too — for being “a sounding board” during a difficult time.
“Pivot is a word I hope I never have to hear again in my life. Mentally, this has been the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with in my life.”
“Knowing that we’ve gotten through, I hope, the worst of it is huge. We have worked so hard to get this far. Now we just have to be patient and make sure we’re ready for this (full capacity audiences).”
For his part, Hogan admits there wasn’t a day when he didn’t think about the possibility that Market Hall would never open again.
“There’s been a lot of pressure without any real sense of control,” he reflects.
“We’ve been doing everything we can to keep our head above water. Thankfully, with the supports from the federal government, we’re positioned to be able to open in a way that we feel is representative of what we are historically known for.”
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