Demolished in 2015, the Millbrook Correctional Centre was Ontario's only maximum security prison for short-term inmates and was in operation from 1957 to 2003. Local actor and writer Lindsay Wilson is working with Millbrook's 4th Line Theatre to write a play about the former prison called "The Penn," named after the Millbrook restaurant her grandparents ran from 1957 to 1963. (Photo: mikeonline.ca)
Local actor and writer Lindsay Wilson is writing a play about the former Millbrook Correctional Centre, and 4th Line Theatre is inviting members of the community to a special reminiscence event this fall.
The outdoor theatre company’s managing artistic director Kim Blackwell will join Wilson at the October 25th public gathering, which will aid in the development of Wilson’s forthcoming play The Penn about the history of Millbrook’s maximum security prison, which operated from 1957 to 2003 and was demolished in 2015.
According to a media release, Wilson is “ideally positioned” to write about the former institution, as two of her family members worked there and her grandparents, Ruth and David Clark, ran The Penn restaurant on Millbrook’s main street from 1957 to 1963, “serving locals, late-night jail guards, and anyone in need of a hot meal or a bit of kindness.”
Members of the public are invited to attend the community reminiscence event to share related stories, family histories, recollections, and photographs.
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Blackwell says community reminiscences are central to 4th Line Theatre’s play development program and its historical research.
“Reminiscences give us first-hand accounts of the history we are researching and are an essential part of developing our plays,” Blackwell says. “Without this research, our productions would not have the historical authenticity and realism our patrons have come to expect from us.””
Past 4th Line Theatre productions developed through reminiscences include Ian McLachlan and Robert Winslow’s Doctor Barnardo’s Children, Leanna Brodie’s Schoolhouse, and Maja Ardal’s The Hero of Hunter St.
The community reminiscence takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 25 at the Millbrook Legion at 9 King Street East, which is fully accessible. The event is free-of-charge and registration is not required to attend.
4th Line Theatre’s managing artistic director Kim Blackwell and playwright Lindsay Wilson will attend the community reminiscence event about the former Millbrook Correctional Centre at the Millbrook Legion on October 25, 2025. (Photos courtesy of 4th Line Theatre)
The Cobourg Fire Department, along with a production team including local actors and Town of Cobourg staff, has launched a new fire prevention video that strongly drives home the importance of having working smoke alarms and a practised home escape plan. (kawarthaNOW screenshot of Cobourg Fire Department video)
The Cobourg Fire Department is hoping people will take “a minute” to and protect their family and home from fire.
The department, along with a production team including local actors and Town of Cobourg staff, has released a new public service announcement (PSA) in the form of a hard-hitting video that drives home the importance of having adequate fire prevention measures.
The PSA, which presents as a professionally filmed commercial, was “entirely created locally (as) an initiative of Cobourg Fire,” Jenny Neutel, communications manager for the Town of Cobourg, told kawarthaNOW.
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Called “In A Minute,” the video was officially released last Wednesday (October 8) during Fire Prevention Week in Ontario.
According to a media release, the PSA was created in response to “alarming statistics” and a call to action from the Ontario Fire Marshal.
Every year, more than 100 people in Ontario lose their lives to fire. Many of these tragedies occur in homes without working smoke alarms or without a practised home escape plan.
VIDEO: “In A Minute” fire prevention PSA
Earlier this year, the Ontario Fire Marshal urged all communities to take stronger steps to ensure that families have working smoke alarms on every level of their homes and a well-rehearsed escape plan.
“Clearly, what we have been doing isn’t working,” said Cobourg Fire Department Chief Ellard Beaven in a statement. “With everyone living busy lives, it’s easy to forget about fire safety and put off important tasks like testing smoke alarms, replacing batteries, or practising an escape plan with your family.”
“That’s why we created In A Minute — to break through the noise and remind people that fire moves fast. You may only have one minute to escape. Without working smoke alarms, you may not even be alerted to the danger.”
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The PSA brings to light the speed at which fire can grow and reinforces a “life-saving message” that every second counts. It incorporates critical fire safety messages, such as the need for early warning through working smoke alarms, the importance of creating and practising a home escape plan, and the dangers of charging devices in beds and on other soft furnishings.
The Cobourg Fire Department said it hopes the PSA will not only spark awareness but ignite immediate action by testing smoke alarms, replacing expired units, and talking with loved ones about how to get outdoors safely.
The PSA is viewable on YouTube at youtu.be/it0pandvzFA, on Town of Cobourg social media channels, and will be accessible during community events.
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“The Cobourg Fire Department has taken off the gloves, so to speak,” a media release states. “With fire deaths continuing to rise, the department wanted to stop sugar-coating messages and instead show the devastating speed of fire and how, without the warning of a smoke alarm, you have very little time to escape.”
The PSA was filmed so it can be used in other communities. The Cobourg Fire Department hopes its impact will spread well beyond Cobourg.
Other fire departments looking to use and share the video can email communications@cobourg.ca or call 905-372-4301 ext. 4106 for more information.
A 37-year-old Peterborough man is facing multiple charges after a violent disturbance in East City on Monday night (October 13).
At around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, officers received several calls about a man who used a two-by-four piece of wood to break a window at a business and strike vehicles in the Hunter Street East and Mark Street area.
After arriving in the area, officers located a suspect matching the description given to police who was walking through the East City Bowl ballpark at Hunter Street East and Burnham Street. They followed the man and took him into custody without incident.
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During the investigation, officers also learned that the man had attempted to enter a residence in the Hunter Street East and Driscoll Terrace area. When confronted by the tenant, the suspect struck the tenant on the arm with the two-by-four before fleeing. The victim was treated at the scene by paramedics.
As a result of the police investigation, the 37-year-old Peterborough man was arrested and charged with assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and two counts of mischief by destroying or damaging property. As he is currently bound by two probation orders with the condition of keeping the peace and being of good behaviour, the man was also charged with two counts of failing to comply with a probation order.
The accused man was held in custody and will appear in court on Tuesday (October 14).
United Way Peterborough & District CEO Jim Russell and Bev Assinck of Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) hold up clothing on October 8, 2025 during the launch of the annual Coats for Community campaign at PATH's location at 385 Lansdowne Street East in Peterborough. (Photo: United Way Peterborough & District)
Peterborough-area residents can help kick off the annual Coats for Community campaign by dropping off winter essentials for those in need from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to Saturday (October 16 to 18) at the Peterborough Action For Tiny Homes (PATH) location at 385 Lansdowne Street East.
PATH is once again partnering with United Way Peterborough & District for the annual campaign, which grew out of the United Way’s original Coats for Kids initiative that began in 1986 to collect and distribute winter coats for children.
Today, the Coats for Community campaign collects winter essentials — including coats but also other winter clothing like coats, hats, sweaters, and boots as well as sleeping bags and blankets — for infants, children, youth, families, seniors, and unhoused people across the city and county of Peterborough. In 2024, the campaign collected and distributed 2,200 coats, an increase of 356 from the previous year.
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Courtesy of PATH’s involvement, donations will be collected, repaired, cleaned, and distributed continuously throughout the winter season. Starting October 19, after the three-day public drop-off event, PATH will continue to accept donations throughout the fall and winter from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
While most of the donated items will be distributed throughout the winter through United Way agency partners and other local organizations — including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Children’s Foundation, YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, One City Peterborough, Good Neighbours, New Canadians Centre, Elizabeth Fry Society, YES Shelter For Youth & Families, and more — PATH will also be open for individual community members to pick up coats from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. the first Saturday of each month from November to April (November 1, December 6, January 3, February 7, March 7, April 4).
As well as winter essentials, the campaign is seeking donations of extra-large boxes or bins for collection sites and heavy-duty coat racks to assist PATH in distribution. Organizations interested in hosting a donation bin or contributing supplies can email info@pathptbo.org.
Volunteers with "Porch Pirates for Good" will be driving around Peterborough on October 25, 2025 to collect donated items for Kawartha Food Share that residents leave on their front porches. In the last five years, the Porch Pirates for Good food drives have brought in over 185,000 pounds of food and over $20,000 in monetary donations. (Photo: Kawartha Food Share)
Peterborough’s ‘Porch Pirates for Good’ will once again be visiting city porches on Saturday, October 25 to help restock the dwindling shelves at Kawartha Food Share.
On October 25, people are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable food items on their front porch. Beginning at 9 a.m., volunteers will drive around the city to different neighbourhoods, collect the donated items, and deliver them to the Kawartha Food Share warehouse.
Organizers are asking people to mark their bag of donated items as being for Porch Pirates for Good so volunteers can easily spot it from the street. Flyers that can be attached to the bag will be distributed the week leading up to collection day, but you can also download and print the flyer below.
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While any non-perishable food items are appreciated, items in the greatest demand include peanut butter, canned tuna, canned vegetables and canned fruit, pasta and pasta sauce, breakfast cereal, and canned soup and canned stew.
Other needed food items include individually packaged school snacks for children (such as apple sauce, fruit cups, and chewy bars) and gluten-free items like pasta, cookies, and oats. Non-food items that are needed include feminine hygiene products.
Instead of donating food, you can also help by making a monetary donation. Volunteers will be able to collect cheques on October 25, or you can donate online at kawarthafoodshare.com.
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In the last five years, the Porch Pirates for Good food drives have brought in over 185,000 pounds of food and over $20,000 in monetary donations.
“The number of clients using food banks across Canada has reached an all-time high,” reads a media release from Kawartha Food Share. “The rising cost of food and supply chain shortages have affected Kawartha Food Share clients, donors, and their own purchasing power. The most vulnerable in our community need our support.”
Kawartha Food Share is also looking for volunteers to help distribute flyers to mailboxes in advance of October 25, and also to collect donations on the day of the food drive. If interested, email Melissa by October 18 at porchpirates@kawarthafoodshare.com.
Port Hope police recovered $7,021 in stolen goods from three Toronto women in a shoplifting scheme in Port Hope and Cobourg. (Photo: Port Hope police)
Three Toronto women are facing charges in a shoplifting scheme after being arrested by Port Hope police on Saturday (October 11).
On Saturday, an off-duty Port Hope police officer observed three women at the Port Hope Dollarama who matched the description of suspects wanted in connection with a previous theft from another Port Hope business.
The off-duty officer notified on-duty officers, and told them the three suspects left in a minivan and were headed east toward Cobourg.
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Officers located the minivan parked at the Northumberland Mall in Cobourg, where they observed the three suspects exiting the Cobourg Dollarama and entering the van.
Police conducted a stop and detained the three women in connection with the investigation.
After searching the vehicle, police located a large quantity of stolen items, including Tylenol, Advil, lighters, chocolate bars, gum, and household goods, with a total estimated value of $7,021.
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Police determined the women had concealed the stolen items within long skirts that had been altered with zippered compartments designed to hide merchandise.
The three women, aged 47, 32, and 27 and all from Toronto, were each charged with theft over $5,000 and possession of property obtained from crime.
After being charged, the women were released on undertakings with conditions and future court dates.
Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield president Ron Black and Abbeyfield Canada executive director JP Melville at the Ontario East Municipal Conference in Ottawa in September 2023, when they gave a standing-room-only presentation about Abbeyfield Canada and the Abbeyfield Lakefield project. (Photo: Abbeyfield Canada)
Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield is inviting the public to partake in an upcoming celebration that marks a major milestone in its quest to build a family-style seniors’ home in Lakefield.
After nearly a decade of work, Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield said it’s about to receive approval from Selwyn Township of its final site plan for the 19-unit building on 93 Ermatinger Street in Lakefield.
Abbeyfield Lakefield is hosting an event at the Marshland Centre on Saturday (October 18) to unveil a sign that will be placed on the Ermatinger Street property with a rendering of the seniors’ home that will be built there. In addition, Abbeyfield Lakefield president Ron Black will provide an update on next steps.
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“Our next steps are to finalize our construction drawings and get a cost estimate that we can use to apply for construction financing through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation,” Black told kawarthaNOW.
“Once we have finalized our contract costs for the build, we are planning to have shovels in the ground next spring if all goes well. We will also be running a capital campaign to raise some of the money for the build as well, to again keep our overall project costs as loss a possible so we can offer the most affordable housing possible as well,” Black said.
“Of course, the cost to build is connected to the cost to operate, so we’re leaning on a number of grant opportunities and sponsorships in addition to the capital campaign,” he added.
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Abbeyfield Lakefield will serve as an affordable home for 17 independent seniors and will also provide housing for a house manager and two Trent University students.
The project was founded by Lakefield resident Dewi Jones in 2016 when he was looking for suitable retirement accommodation for a family member in Wales, found the Abbeyfield House concept, and organized a public meeting about forming an Abbeyfield Society in Lakefield with the goal of establishing a local Abbeyfield House. Since then, the project been driven by a small group of dedicated volunteers.
“Little did I realize that my aspirations nearly 10 years ago could have evolved to this extent,” said the 93-year-old Jones in a statement. “Thanks to all the volunteer board members who over time had faith and commitment to the project. At times we wondered (if it would come to fruition), but whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. I’m so proud to still be a part of this development.”
Abbeyfield Lakefield was incorporated as a not-for-profit in May 2019 and became a registered charity at the end of 2019. In January of 2021, Abbeyfield Lakefield purchased a four-acre property in Lakefield. In January of 2024, after severing the property, the house was sold, with three acres retained for the build.
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Abbeyfield’s core mandate is to provide affordable accommodation and companionship for local seniors. Each house is a non-profit, registered charity.
The first Abbeyfield House was founded in England in 1956 by retired British Major Richard Carr-Gomm, in response to the profound human loneliness he witnessed. Since then, hundreds of Abbeyfield Houses have formed around the world.
In Canada, the Abbeyfield House Society of Canada was established in 1985 with the first home in British Columbia. There are currently more than 20 Abbeyfield Houses across the country.
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“At Abbeyfield Lakefield, we’re proving that affordable housing can also be compassionate housing,” Black said in a statement.
“When a community comes together to create a safe, welcoming home for local seniors, we’re not just providing shelter — we’re building connection, dignity, and belonging. That’s what makes Lakefield such a special place, and it’s why I’m so proud to be part of this work.”
Abbeyfield Lakefield supporters and neighbours are invited to gather on October 18 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Marshland Centre, which is located at 65 Hague Blvd. Organizers ask those who plan to attend to send their RSVP to Terri Kinghorn by emailing territravels@hotmail.com or by calling 437-991-4214.
For more information about Abbeyfield Lakefield and to donate, visit abbeyfieldlakefield.ca.
A grapple removes debris from the fire-devastated Kawartha Home Hardware building in downtown Lakefield on October 12, 2025 as a Priestly Demolition Inc. employee supervises from a boom truck. (Photo: Scott Norwood)
Demolition of the Kawartha Home Hardware building at 24 Queen Street in downtown Lakefield began on Sunday (October 12), less than three days after a fire devastated the historic structure.
According to a media release from the Township of Selwyn issued on Sunday, the fire is believed to have begun in an upper-floor apartment unit on Thursday afternoon before spreading into the hardware store below. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
While all human occupants of the building got out safely, two pets reportedly perished in the fire.
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As the fire resulted in extensive structural damage and there are “urgent safety concerns,” the building is being immediately demolished.
Priestly Demolition Inc., which is conducting the demolition, brought equipment to the site by Friday evening. Applications for demolition permits were submitted to the Selwyn Township building department on Saturday and, due to the immediate need, were issued on the same day.
The demolition company has advised Selwyn Township that the work is being completed in a “controlled and strategic manner using equipment designed to minimize disruption,” with a grapple being used to grab debris and place it into bins.
VIDEO: Demolition of Kawartha Home Hardware (video by Allyson Rader)
“Vibration impacts are not expected, and dust will be minimal as the material remains saturated with water from firefighting activities,” states the media release. “The demolition is being directed by engineering professionals and supervised by Priestly staff from a boom truck stationed above the work site.”
The area has been fenced off to ensure public safety during demolition, and Queen Street from Albert Street to Reid Street and Burnham Street from Queen Street to Charlotte Street remain closed.
In addition to the Kawartha Home Hardware fire, there was a separate and unrelated fire earlier that day at Free Topping Pizza at 17 Queen Street. No injuries were reported, and the cause of that fire was related to a hood vent.
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“This has been an incredibly difficult few days for the community of Lakefield,” said Selwyn Township Mayor Sherry Senis. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by these tragic events. We extend our deepest gratitude to the first responders, township staff, and community members who have shown such compassion and resilience during this challenging time.”
Community-based initiatives to support apartment residents displaced by the fire and affected business owners are being organized by Century 21 United Realty, Canoe & Paddle, The Nutty Bean Café, Village Pet Food Supply, The Loon Restaurant, and others.
Selwyn Township encourages residents who want to support the initiatives to contact the businesses directly.
Canadian tabla player Shawn Mativetsky will join the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra to perform on the Hindustani hand drums during Dinuk Wijeratne's "Concerto for Tabla and Orchestra" at the orchestra's 2025-26 season-opening "Bright Lights" concert on November 1, 2025. The Saturday night performance at Showplace Performance Centre will also feature works by Gioachino Rossini and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (Photo: Caroline Tabah)
The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is kicking off its 2025-26 season by featuring the tabla — a pair of hand drums central to Hindustani classical music — for the first time in its history during “Bright Lights” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 1 at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough.
Guest artist Shawn Mativetsky will perform on the tabla when the orchestra performs a concerto by Canadian composer Dinuk Wijeratne, with the PSO also performing classic works by the early 19th-century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini and the 18th-century German-Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
“To open a season, we want to have some familiar music and some unfamiliar music,” says PSO music director and conductor Michael Newnham. “It’s the texture that I think about when putting things together. It’s like putting together a meal: if you’re going to have fish as your main course, then you have to make sure the other things are going to fit with it.”
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The familiar music that will open the concert will take the shape of Rossini’s overture to The Barber of Seville, which Newnham says “95 per cent of people in the audience are going to automatically know.”
Labelled as “one of the funniest composers that existed” by Newnham, Rossini is known for his comic operas, with his most notable being 1815’s The Barber of Seville, based on a play by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais. However, like Mozart before him, Rossini usually composed overtures for operas at the last minute. He ran out of time before the premiere of The Barber of Seville, so he instead used the overture he had written in 1813 for his opera Aureliano in Palmira.
The music from the opera continues to be featured in contemporary pop culture, and many members of the audience may recognize the overture from the 1950 Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short “Rabbit of Seville” featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, which has been voted number 12 of the 50 greatest cartoons of all time.
VIDEO: Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II: “Rabbit of Seville” Excerpt
Despite the overture being so well known and widely performed, the PSO has not performed the piece for as long as Newnham has been PSO music director, which dates back to 2001.
“You feel in Rossini’s music there’s the Italian light,” says Newnham. “You go to Italy and you get infused by this light. The sun looks different, the sky is super blue, and the buildings just reflect all of that. Rossini’s music reflects that in the same way — it’s welcoming and it’s got a huge smile to it. It’s funny, and he has great humour.”
Newnham adds Rossini was “very much under the spell of Mozart” which is why the piece pairs so well with the “Bright Lights” concert finale. Audiences will also recognize Mozart’s 1788 Symphony, no. 41 which was later labelled “Jupiter” — Mozart’s last symphony and the longest and most complex he ever composed.
“It’s Mozart at his absolute greatest, at his finest, but it has a great deal of grandeur about it, like the planet Jupiter would,” says Newnham. “I don’t know of any music that is more full of light and brilliance and classical beauty.”
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Though it’s unknown whether the work was performed during Mozart’s lifetime, the Jupiter symphony remains immortal like the Roman god after which it was nicknamed after his death by German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario Johann Peter Salomon.
“The piece itself is incredibly important in the history of music,” says Newnham.
Between the iconic compositions that will bookend the concert, the PSO will perform Concerto for Tabla and Orchestra, written in 2011 by Dinuk Wijeratne, a Juno award-winning conductor, composer, and pianist who was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in Dubai in UAE, studied in the UK and at Juilliard in New York City, and moved to Canada in 2005.
VIDEO: Suite from “The Life of Pi” featuring Michael Newnham and Shawn Mativetsky
Commissioned by the Symphony Nova Scotia, the concerto’s world premiere was recorded live by CBC in February 2012.
“When I heard it, I thought this is absolutely perfect because it centred in the classical way of writing music, which means that there are ideas of fugues and counterpoint like there is in the Mozart piece,” says Newnham. “There is clarity in the texture like there is in Mozart and Rossini, but there’s also this influence of strong Asian music from India and Sri Lanka. The tabla player has to go through a lot of different hoops and the orchestra keeps it grounded.”
Special guest artist Shawn Mativetsky has already performed the Wijeratne piece under the baton of the composer, but has also worked with Newnham to perform music from The Life of Pi with Orchestra Toronto in 2024. Based in Montréal, Mativetsky is considered one of Canada’s leading ambassadors of the tabla, a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent central to Hindustani classical music.
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Mativetsky has studied under the renowned Pandit Sharda Sahai, who is a direct descendent of the founder of the Benares style of tabla playing. Though he began playing drums when he was just seven years old, Mativetsky was captivated when he first heard tabla on a CD.
“I was immediately awed and amazed by the sound of the instrument, its unique tone, and intricate rhythms,” he said to PSO general manager Christie Goodwin in an interview featured in a recent PSO newsletter. “I just had to learn how to play this instrument. Learning tabla has completely changed the course of my life.”
Like perhaps much of PSO’s audience, Newnham’s own first experience with the tabla came from listening to songs from The Beatles, including “Love You To” and “Within You Without You.”
“George Harrison really loved the tabla and that particular culture and tried to integrate the tabla and the sitar into rock music, and then the tabla and sitar found its way into all kinds of other music,” Newnham says. “It’s something that’s just tons of fun, and that’s what I’ve been hearing from people that are looking at coming to the concert.”
VIDEO: “Concerto for Tabla and Orchestra’ by Dinuk Wijeratne featuring Sandeep Das on tabla
While the tabla might be new to the PSO repertoire, introducing audiences to new instruments is not, as evident from the 2022-23 season when the orchestra featured a Chinese erhu soloist.
“We’ve been trying to feature instruments, at least once a season, that are very unusual,” says Newnham. “We’ve been very aware that we want to make our concerts relevant to our audiences. Relevant in the sense that, when we’re playing music that comes from a hundred years ago in another country (from composers) like Mozart or Rossini, we want to feature something besides that that’s homegrown and from Canada.”
He adds that Canadian identity has been changing over the past few decades, and instruments like the Chinese erhu and the tabla are now ingrained in our culture.
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“I think the audiences enjoy this — we certainly enjoy it as musicians,” Newnham says. “We are trying to forge an identity for a Canadian orchestra that is different than an orchestra that might be in Austria or even Texas, because we are different.”
“That’s our goal and I think that’s what we have to be doing, and it’s what we should be doing. We have a responsibility to Canadian music, to Canadians, and to Peterborough to have programming that reflects us.”
The “Bright Lights” concert on November 1 will be preceded by a “Meet the Maestro” talk at 6:45 p.m., where Newnham takes to the Showplace stage for an intimate chat with the audience about the evening’s program.
Tickets are $36, $50, or $57, depending on the seat you choose, with student tickets costing $15 for all seats. Tickets are available at thepso.org/bright-lights.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s 2024-25 season.
Rose Wilton, founder and program manager of The Rose Quest, in October 2024 with a donation of personal hygiene products for Kinark Child and Family Services. As the next step of the personal care initiative she founded in 2014, which became a non-profit organization in 2020 and a registered charity in 2024, Wilton's organization is raising $200,000 to create Ontario's first community-focused hygiene centre for those in need. The organization expects to provide 25,000 essential hygiene items to more than 2,000 people annually. (Photo: The Rose Quest / Facebook)
By supplying soap, shampoo, and other hygiene products to those living in poverty, Rose Wilton is on a quest to continue making a difference for those in need in Northumberland County.
Wilton recently announced the launch of The Rose Quest Hygiene Centre in Port Hope. Considered the first facility of its kind in Ontario, the centre is dedicated to tackling hygiene poverty and restoring dignity for individuals and families across the county, a media release noted.
In 2014, Wilton founded The Rose Project as a personal project to collect new, unopened, and unused toiletry donations to provide to people living on the streets and in shelters. The volunteer-run organization was incorporated as a non-profit organization called The Rose Quest Personal Care Initiative in 2020 and became a registered charity in 2024.
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The Rose Quest Hygiene Centre will feature a centralized distribution warehouse, a community classroom, and expanded outreach programs. Once fully operational, The Rose Quest will provide more than 25,000 hygiene items annually to more than 2,000 people, reaching schools, shelters, food banks, and frontline agencies throughout the region.
“It is a long-time dream in the making,” Wilton told kawarthaNOW. “To see this come to fruition and know that we can assist more people means so much to me.”
“When I started this 11 years ago it was something small — to give back to the human race by giving soap, shampoo, period products, anything they needed, to people struggling with poverty — but in the last few years, the need has grown so much.”
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“The new hygiene centre means we can meet that need by more than doubling our distribution from 12,000 to over 25,000 essential hygiene products delivered across Northumberland County and beyond, helping kids, youth, families, (and) everyone in need to restore their dignity and mental health, so they can confidently attend school or go to work and find a better future,” Wilton said.
Hygiene poverty extends beyond access to soap or toothpaste, she added.
“It is a barrier to education, employment, and dignity. This centre is a bold step forward, ensuring no one has to choose between food and basic hygiene.”
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The project will unfold in phases. The first phase involves establishing a central warehouse space for receiving, sorting, and distributing hygiene products, expanding programs, and opening a community classroom, as well as launching new initiatives for seniors, Indigenous communities, and newcomers.
“After more than a decade of grassroots service, we are ready to scale our impact,” said The Rose Quest board chair Caleb Carisse in a statement. “The hygiene centre will allow us to serve more people, respond to community needs in real time, and create a lasting foundation for health and dignity.”
The Rose Quest has set a goal of raising $200,000 to fund facility costs, purchase hygiene products, staff programs, and provide outreach initiatives. The organization said while early commitments have already been secured, community members, businesses, and foundations are invited to join as founding supporters. Naming opportunities are available.
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When Wilton considers the best thing that could happen from opening the new centre, she said, “that we can branch out to even more communities to ensure that no one has to pick between food and basic hygiene.”
“I won’t have to say, ‘I’m sorry I can’t help,’ to anyone,” Wilton added.
For more information, to donate, and to subscribe for campaign updates, visit therosequest.ca.
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