Some of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation (PRHC) Mombassadors with a cheque for $115,504 for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation. The funds will be used to fund a new ventilator and a radiant heater/warmer for the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. (Photo courtesy of PRHC Foundation)
In only their second year of fundraising, a group of local mothers known as the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation Mombassadors have raised $115,504 to purchase lifesaving equipment for PRHC’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The group’s original goal was to raise $70,000 in 2019, but after receiving a matching donation of $32,000 from the Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament in the spring, the group adjusted their original target.
“The PRHC Foundation Mombassadors took on a huge goal in only our second year of $102,000,” says Mombassadors chair Marcy D’Alessandro.
“We were motivated by the continuous stories that parents would tell us of their babies using the very equipment we were trying to replace. We constantly heard about the wonderful staff of the NICU. We know without their unwavering drive for excellence in care, the community would not be so receptive in helping us achieve our ambitious goal.”
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In addition to the donation from the Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament, support for the Mombassadors’ 2019 campaign came from a large number of local businesses, families and individuals. Several events were held throughout the year, including the group’s annual Girls Night Out event before Mother’s Day.
This year the addition of title sponsor Marketing Ink helped the Mombassadors take this year’s event to the next level through their support.
“The support of these incredible community partners allowed us to dream bigger, to surpass $100,000 this year and together make a greater impact,” says Sarah McDougall Perrin, who founded the Mombassadors group along with her sister Erin Marshall.
The Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation (PRHC) Mombassadors, a group of local mothers, with PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway (fifth from left) and representatives from the Liftlock Atom Hockey Tournament, which provided a matching donation of $32,000, allowing the Mombassadors to exceed their original fundraising goal. (Photo courtesy of PRHC Foundation)
Over 1,600 babies are born at PRHC each year. The Mombassadors’ 2019 fundraising target was designed to fund a new ventilator and a radiant heater/warmer for those babies who need extra support after birth. Through the group’s successful fundraising efforts, they will be able to fund both pieces of equipment for the hospital.
“About 23 per cent, or an average of 368 newborns a year, will need critical care in the NICU in their first moments of life,” says PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway, thanking the Mombassdaors group for their passion and dedication.
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“The PRHC Foundation is committed to funding the lifesaving equipment and technology that keeps both mother and baby safe and healthy,” Heighway adds. “This includes investments in heater/warmers that mimic the conditions of the womb, as well as a dedicated ventilator to help babies breathe until they can do it on their own.”
In 2018, the Mombassadors reached their first fundraising target of $35,000 in five short weeks and, as a result, funded a new electronic fetal heart monitor for PRHC.
Leather artist Jesse Bateson, owner of Solid Leather, working on one of his custom-made belts in his downtown Peterborough workshop. Unlike most off-the-shelf belts, Bateson's are 100 per cent solid leather and he also guarantees them for life. Solid Leather offers both a casual and formal line of belts in rich and classic colours, with the holes in Bateson's belts spaced closer together than other belts to provide the best possible fit. (Photo: Max Power Photography)
Leather artist Jesse Bateson has made an art form out of keeping people’s trousers up.
For over a decade, the owner of Solid Leather — which specializes in high-end leather belts — has been turning sheets of cowhide into statement pieces that exist directly at the intersection of function and style.
Sure, they hold your pants up, Bateson points out, but the right belt can be the literal centrepiece of your look and bring a dose of personality to simpler items like a pair of jeans or a plain t-shirt.
“A belt is the most practical and essential piece of fashion in a wardrobe,” Bateson says. “It’s the last thing you put on when you’re getting dressed.”
Bateson is committed to his brand promise: his belts perform far better than most you’ll find on the market — with their quality, durability, and style guaranteed.
“Most belts these days have a lot of glue, cardboard, and what-not in them,” Bateson points out. “All of my belts are 100 per cent solid leather, and I back each one up with what I call my lifetime guarantee.”
VIDEO: The Solid Leather Guarantee
(Video: Jeremy Blair Kelly / FILMkelly)This means that if your Solid Leather belt ever quits functioning, Bateson will repair or replace it for free. No strings attached, no fine print — just a quality product backed by an honest guarantee.
“I want it to be a piece that you can pass on to your grandkids,” he adds.
Bateson designs and fabricates his creations in a spacious studio in downtown Peterborough. Because no single belt will suit every occasion, Solid Leather offers a men’s casual and formal line.
Solid Leather’s casual collection offers belts that are an inch and a half wide, available in black, chocolate brown, natural tan, and burgundy. This style is best dressed down for everyday wear, but ready to punch up your look when life invites you for a well-groomed occasion.
Solid Leather’s casual collection offers belts for everyday wear that are an inch and a half wide and available in black, chocolate brown, natural tan, and burgundy. (Photo: Bryan Reid Photography)
If you’re looking for something a little more proper, Solid Leather’s formal collection offers belts that are an inch and a quarter wide and can be paired with suits or any other formal wear. This waist cincher is slim with a sleek minimalist buckle, coupled with a contemporary and elegant look. It’s available in rich, classic colours like black, chocolate brown, medium brown, tan, and burgundy.
Each belt is hand cut from a supple, vegetable-tanned, premium steer cowhide. A special blend of eco-sensible oils and dyes are applied to create a uniform colour and rich patina. The edges are then burnished for a clean, lasting finish. The hand stitching coupled with a smooth, lead-and nickel-free buckle adds a perfectly understated accent.
If you’re one of those people who poke unsightly holes in between the existing holes of your belt, which are typically an inch apart, you can set your hammer and heated nails aside. Bateson’s bespoke designs provides the convenience of precise adjustments, without sacrificing functionality or style, by providing three-quarters of an inch between each hole to offer a better fit.
For a more contemporary formal look, Solid Leather offers inch-and-a-quarter wide belts with a sleek minimalist buckle in multiple colours, ideal for pairing with a jacket, suit, or other formal wear. (Photo: Bryan Reid Photography)
Although his focus is on men’s belts, Bateson says he’s currently working on two new lines. One is a belt collection that appeals to women who like to wear belts in a variety of ways, whether it’s low on the hips with pants or high above the waist over a dress or blazer. Ladies belts are currently only offered in-person, so you’ll have to reach out directly to Bateson to buy one.
The other line is exclusive, one-of-a-kind leather satchels. Once a month, Bateson will document the satchel being created, announce the sale live on his social media feed, and sell it to the first buyer (follow his satchel designs on Instagram @solidsatchel).
“This way, I can keep the cost lower and create something on my own that’s unique,” he says.
Although Solid Leather’s current focus is on men’s belts, like this casual belt in natural tan, owner Jesse Bateson is working on two new lines: a belt collection that appeals to women and exclusive one-of-a-kind leather satchels. (Photo: Max Power Photography)
Bateson is completely self-trained in leather craft — learning the tradition, the techniques and the tools, and later using those to create his signature look, he notes.
He credits his passion for leather-making to his time travelling across the U.S. in his 20s, nearly 15 years ago, embracing the freedom of his youth and new experiences. During his time in California, he recalls meeting a man who made belts and bracelets from old jackets.
“We sat down one day talking about craft and design and that was it. I was hooked.”
He moved to Peterborough in 2005 and fondly remembers sitting on the corner of Hunter Street and George Street every Friday to sell leather bracelets he had created.
“While I was there, people got to know me and one day somebody asked me if I could make a belt,” he recalls. “I said, well that’s just a bracelet for your hips, so okay!”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Leather, he says, is a very practical, long-lasting material that’s been in demand for ages.
“If you take care of it, it will last a very long time,” he says. “The amount of creativity and the things you can do with it are kind of endless. The versatility of it, the way it ages, and the nostalgic feeling you get when you pick up something leather and know that it’s going to get broken in over time.”
Stepping into Bateson’s studio is a bit like taking a step back in time. Exposed brick lines the walls, and metal tools, work benches, and the rich scent of leather fill the space. Using a variety of tools, he sets to work, with a discerning eye trained on a strip of leather.
VIDEO: The Solid Leather Casual Collection
(Video: Jeremy Blair Kelly / FILMkelly)Much of the leather-carving process requires intense attention to detail, from start to finish: cutting the hide, tracing over it with the design, carving out the designs, shading, hammering, smoothing, dying, oiling and sewing.
But like any art, leathercraft requires an intuition too, Bateson says.
“My brand is a lot about who I am, my values, and being a solid human being.”
You can find Bateson showcasing his talent at Peterborough’s First Friday Art Crawl and the indoor farmers’ market at Peterborough Square in November and December.
Solid Leather’s belts, such as this formal black leather belt with a chrome buckle, can be purchased online or by appointment. (Supplied photo)
Solid Leather is located at 2 Bankers Common in downtown Peterborough. Purchases can be made online or by appointment only. For more information, call 705-931-2242 or email jesse@solidleather.com. To browse and shop online, visit solidleather.com (Solid Leather offers free shipping within North America).
Canadian-born folk-rock singer and songwriter Steve Poltz brings his quirky personality and large catalog of original songs to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough on October 19, 2019. (Photo: Laura Partain)
Upon answering his phone in Nashville, Steve Poltz is immediately suspicious.
“I want people to feel on guard when they call me, like they could be bugging me,” he explains, the seriousness of his tone masking the fun he’s clearly having with his caller. “And I have a lot of bill collectors and various police organizations after me. I’ve also done a lot of bad things in Canada, so I just always act at first like I’m not me.”
Market Hall presents Steve Poltz
When: Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 8 p.m. Where: Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St. E, Peterborough) How much: $35 including fees
Cabaret table seats are assigned, with the remainder of the seats general admission. Tickets are available at the Market Hall box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
The Halifax-born and now Nashville-based folk-rock singer-songwriter clearly dances to the beat of a different drummer — his satirical take on the world, and where we all fit in it, anchoring a huge part of his persona.
But there’s talent too: a lot of talent rooted in a musical gift that has seen him record 12 solo albums and perform for audiences around the globe.
On Saturday, October 19th, Poltz will headline at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St. Peterborough). Tickets are $35 including fees, available at the Market Hall box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.
“Hopefully people will just show up and take a chance because if they see me, good things will happen to them,” says Poltz.
“People who see me usually win the lottery or fall in love or lose whatever disease they have. Plus they’ll hear some cool music as an aside. There have been a lot of songs over the years, so it’s fun to just kind of come up with some sort of semblance of order.”
VIDEO: “Shine On” – Steve Poltz
“But I can be really horrible one night and the next night really good,” he deadpans. “Maybe when I’m in Peterborough I’ll be horrible, but the night before in Meaford I’ll be good. Buy tickets to both. One of them will suck, so you’ve got a 50-50 chance.”
Having moved to California from Halifax with his family (he’s a dual Canadian-American citizen), Poltz has no doubt how things would have turned out differently for him if he stayed on this side of the border.
“I’d probably be a nicer person if I had stayed in Canada,” assesses Poltz. “When I go to Canada, and especially to the Maritimes, people will stop if you’re five feet from the intersection. They see you’re going to be crossing the street and they’ll stop. If you’re behind that car, you’re like ‘Are you kidding me?'”
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“People are much more genteel and more patient in Canada. I think that might have to do with it being more of a socialist country … we all deserve to have health care and we’re going to take care of each other.”
“Here (in the U.S.) it’s more like ‘I got mine. Good luck with yours.’ It’s more dog eat dog. But there’s something good about that too. The government isn’t going to give you any money to make your art, so you’ve got to get by on your own two feet.”
It was at the University of San Diego in the early 1980s that Poltz, a political science major, befriended Robert Driscoll. Performing as a duo, they played coffeehouses before forming the nucleus of The Rugburns.
VIDEO: “Ballin’ On A Wednesday” – Steve Poltz
The band stayed together long enough to record two studio albums and an EP — their witty, funny, and outright bizarre lyrics and stage personas earning them a solid local and national cult following.
“I liked the idea if you’re playing on stage you can do anything, so we’d bring in an eight-track player and play eight-tracks during our break,” recalls Poltz.
“At midnight we’d make everyone cinnamon toast. We bought a bunch of toasters at thrift stores. Rob would say ‘Why?’ and I’d say ‘Why not?'”
“We’d buy coats and hats and make everybody wear something weird. It was creating a tribe, a sense of community, with the main goal being to have fun. It really affected my outlook because it was a do-it-yourself ethos. That kept me really creative.”
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It was at one of those coffeehouses that Poltz befriended Jewel Kilcher. A barista at Java Joe’s in the San Diego suburb of Poway at the time, she would go on to become a four-time Grammy Award-nominated singer with, as of 2015, album sales in excess of 30 million. In 1996, she recorded the single “You Were Meant For Me”, co-written with Poltz. The song was a major chart hit both in Canada and the United States.
“That was crazy,” says Poltz of the good fortune their collaboration brought. “You just never know when that’s going to happen.”
With 12 solo albums to his credit — bookended by One Left Shoe in 1998 and Shine On released just this year — Poltz is a prolific songwriter. Still, he admits to a preference for live performance because “it’s so current”, and he’s thrilled to now be rooted in Nashville where Shine On was recorded.
VIDEO: “You Were Meant For Me” – Jewel with Steve Poltz
“I’m still trying to make a really great record. Living in Nashville, there are so many opportunities to do that. Shine On was a great first record to make in Nashville. It gets me excited for the future.”
That future includes a four-week tour of Australia starting in November and dates booked well into 2020, as well as a new record project. But for now, all roads lead to Market Hall and Peterborough — a place Poltz is familiar with thanks in no small way to a Lakefield resident who regularly hosts by-invitation-only music concerts at his home and in his neighbouring barn.
“I met a crazy dude named Roger Glover on a cruise ship and that’s what brought me to Peterborough,” says Poltz.
“I played a cruise called Cayamo. I did it with John Prine, Patti Griffin … it’s always a different group of people. Roger had a suite on the boat and I ended up in his suite playing guitar with other musicians. He said ‘I do shows in my house and also in my barn. Would you want to come up and do a show?’ So I came up. He must have had two hundred some people in his barn. He said ‘Let’s do the next one at Market Hall’.”
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An unabashed fan, Glover notes Poltz has performed at his home five times, including at a 50th birthday gig for his wife.
“His imagination is unbelievable,” raves Glover. “He’s a total character with a magnetic personality. And he’s hugely talented, one of the best guitar players I’ve ever seen, picking his acoustic guitar like lightning. Sort of like John Prine, he can write very serious and he can write very funny.”
As if that endorsement isn’t over-the-top enough, Glover promises “You will never miss another Steve Poltz show if you go to this one.”
VIDEO: “Hey God I’ll Trade You Donald Trump For Leonard Cohen” – Steve Poltz
For his part, Poltz assures his Peterborough audience that they are “going to smile and have fun”, if for no other reason than that is exactly what he’ll be doing from the stage.
His bio, as bios do, describes him in glowing terms but one word — twisted — jumps off the page.
“I think people like using that word to describe me, whatever twisted means,” Poltz says. “My girlfriend just said she’d add ridiculous.”
Recalling his abrupt departure from a well-paying corporate job in 1988 and a subsequent trek to Europe where he busked on city streets, Poltz is a big believer in the creation of new opportunities and the ability of everyone to do that.
Steve Poltz has released 12 studio albums, from “One Left Shoe” in 1998 to “Shine On” in 2019. In 1994, he co-wrote the hit song “You Were Meant for Me” with Jewel for her debut album “Pieces of You”. (Photo: Laura Partain)
“Anybody reading this article can make a change tomorrow, like ‘I’m just going to move. I don’t like what’s happening in my life right now,'” he affirms.
“There’s a like a sliding glass door in your mind. If you open that and step through into a different reality, you can make and manifest a new destiny. We get weighed down by the character we have created.”
Reflecting on his own path — a paying-his-dues journey highlighted by more twists and turns than he can count — Poltz is grateful that, as he nears age 60, he is still doing what he clearly loves to do.
“It’s been a great ride,” he assesses. “I can’t believe I still get to do this, and this is how I get to make a living. It’s crazy.”
For more information on Steve Poltz, visit poltz.com.
Kevin Lemieux as Melchior and Alessandra Ferreri as Wendla in a promotional photo for Cordwainer Productions' "Spring Awakening", a Broadway rock musical that tells the story of a group of teenagers dealing with the turbulent emotions of their burgeoning sexuality in late 19th-century Germany. The production debuts at the Courthouse Theatre in Whitby on October 18 and 19 before running at the Market Hall in Peterborough from October 24 to 26, 2019. (Photo: Samantha Moss / MossWorks Photography)
This October, Cordwainer Productions brings back one of the most provocative musicals produced in Peterborough with their revival of Spring Awakening.
Cordwainer Productions presents Spring Awakening
When: Thursday, October 24 to Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 8 p.m. Where: Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St. E., Peterborough) How much: $28 ($23 students) or $20 group rate for 10 or more (all prices include fees)
Based a play by Frank Wedekind with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Directed by Dane Shumak with musical direction by Justin Hiscox and choreography by Elizabeth Moody. Starring Kevin Lemieux as Melchior, Ryan Hancock as Moritz, Carl Christensen as Hanschen, Drew Mills as Ernst, Rowan Lamoureux as Georg, Joseph Roper as Otto, Alessandra Ferreri as Wendla, Kalene Lupton as Ilse, Caitlin Currie as Martha, Sarah Hancock as Anna, and Aimee Gordon as Thea, with Keith Goranson and Meg O’Sullivan performing multiple adult roles. Tickets are available at the Market Hall box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org. Note: not recommended for audiences under 14 years of age.
Directed by Dane Shumak with musical direction by Justin Hiscox, the rock musical features an incredible cast of performers — fronted by Kevin Lemieux, Alessandra Ferreri, and Ryan Hancock — in a show that challenges audiences and has the potential to start potent conversations about difficult subjects such as sex, consent, abuse, and mental health.
Spring Awakening is a show with a long history filled with controversy, but has become one of the biggest cult hits in modern Broadway history.
The musical is based on the 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, a cutting criticism of sexual repression told from the perspective of a group of young teenagers discovering their budding sexuality and exploring a plethora of taboo subjects including sex, revolution, abuse, masturbation, atheism, homosexuality, rape, S&M, abortion, and death.
Incredibly advanced for its time, the original production opened in 1906 but, needless to say, society wasn’t yet ready for the show’s message — it was immediately shut down after a single performance.
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An English translation was brought to New York City in 1917, where it was deemed by officials to be pornographic and also only saw a single performance before having its run prematurely ended.
A failed heavily-censored revival of the show was attempted in London in 1963 and again in New York in 1978, but it wasn’t until 2006 — when it was turned into a rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater — that the show finally found its audience. An immediate hit with New York teenagers who flooded the Eugene O’Neill Theatre to see it, Spring Awakening was the surprise hit of the year and won eight Tony awards, including for best musical, and the original cast album won a Grammy award.
It was difficult not to feel a bit nostalgic when I sat with Dane Shumak at a Sunday afternoon rehearsal at Trail College. I first met Dane when he directed Spring Awakening for the Anne Shirley Theatre Company — the student-run theatre group at Trent University — in 2014. At the time, he was a 20-year-old first-time director filled with passion and big ideas, and I was in my first year of writing for kawarthaNOW.
In Cordwainer Productions’ “Spring Awakening”, Drew Mills plays Ernst and Carl Christensen plays Hanschen, two characters who are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to being comfortable with their sexuality. (Photo: Samantha Moss / MossWorks Photography)
Now, in 2019, we were back together — older and wiser and talking about Spring Awakening all over again, but having a very different type of conversation about it.
“Spring Awakening is a timely show,” Dane sayss. “The play was originally written and set in 1891. It was so ahead of its time that it was banned until 1970 because it dealt with homosexuality, abortion, mental health issues, oppression and sex education. In 1890, (playwright) Frank Wedekind realized they were not doing a good enough job with all of these things.”
“But here we sit in 2019, having protests in the streets of Toronto about sex and sexuality, an Ontario provincial government that is rolling back our sex education curriculum, and all across the world there is a lack of resources for reproduction and abortion care.”
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“Lack of sexual education and care costs people their lives in the show,” Dane says. “There is a character who kills himself because people don’t know how to talk to him. We are sitting here, 130 years after this show was written, and we still haven’t figured it out. As far as we think we’ve come, we haven’t. So we are using this show to continue the conversation in our own way.”
“When we did Spring Awakening in 2014, some of these conversations had stalled, or were in the background of people’s minds, and now their back at the forefront. The more we can do to talk about these issues in an assessable way I think is important.”
Wendla, played by Alessandra Ferreri, is a sweet and naive girl with limited knowledge of adult issues. She has a sexual relationship with the knowledgeable and rebellious Melchior, played by Kevin Lemieux. (Photo: Samantha Moss / MossWorks Photography)
Reprising their roles from the 2014 production are Kevin Lemieux as the show’s central character Melchior, and Ryan Hancock as his neurotic friend Moritz. The pair is joined by Alessandra Ferreri as the curious and naïve ingénue Wendla. With all three actors located in the GTA and Durham region, they have been carpooling to Peterborough on weekends to bring this potent drama to life.
“We have a lot of drives to and from rehearsal, but we use that time to really dive into this play because there is so much to talk about,” Alessandra says.
“For instance, if you change the inflection of your voice in one line, it changes the approach to the scene and these characters. And because none of them are heroes or villains, there is so much gray area with this show, and trying to figure out all the sides is part of the fun. My dream scenario is that people will leave and have conversations in the car with their family.”
“There is so much going on in this play that so many people can pull so much from it,” Kevin adds.
“There are so many things that people have dealt with during their life, especially when they were teenagers,” Alessandra continues. “It’s nice to do the show as adults, so we can reflect back to being teenagers and not actually be in the mix of those feelings while you are trying to figure them out.”
“But so many themes don’t just apply to teenagers,” Ryan points out. “Have you ever lost someone, or been sad or depressed, or been in sexual situations that made you uncomfortable? All of these are universal themes that are relevant to not just teenagers. I think anyone who sees it will connect with it in some way.”
“The subject matter might be traumatic for some people. So that means, for all of us, that we need to take so much care with so much character because we don’t know how much someone can be impacted by seeing this show. You have to respect that. There is so much responsibility.”
“The rehearsal space is a safe space, because there is so much sensitivity that we are trying to bring to these characters,” says Alessandra. “They’re not one note, ever. They are very layered and they have a lot of wants and needs and desires that are convoluted even for them. So layering those performances is a very complicated and challenging thing to do.”
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What the cast says is true. Invited to sit in on a rehearsal of the first act of the show, I was in awe of an amazing cast of familiar favourites and new faces in a provocative and high-energy performance filled with spirited musical numbers and raw emotions. In six years the meaning of the show has changed, and the maturity of the direction and the performers have made this show even stronger.
Although the show doesn’t hit the stage until October 18th, the Spring Awakening cast is already tight, and the musical numbers are flawless under the direction of Justin Hiscox.
“Wait till you hear the music,” Dane exclaims. “I alternate from having goosebumps, to screaming ‘Yeah!’, to crying. When a harmony is right, there is something in the room that rings. They get it right every single time, and you just hear it ring.”
The cast of “Spring Awakening” (from left to right, top to bottom): Kevin Lemieux as Melchior, Alessandra Ferreri as Wendla, Ryan Hancock as Moritz, Caitlin Currie as Martha, Drew Mills as Ernst, Sarah Hancock as Anna, Rowan Lamoureux as Georg, Carl Christensen as Hanschen, Joseph Roper as Otto, and Aimee Gordon as Thea. Not pictured: Kalene Lupton as Ilse, and Keith Goranson and Meg O’Sullivan who play multiple adult roles. (Photos: Samantha Moss / MossWorks Photography)
Spring Awakening is a bold show that deals with difficult and potentially triggering subject matter. It is powerful but beautiful, and most of all very honest and real. In 2014, I wrote that Spring Awakening is not for everyone, but Dane has different feelings on that statement.
“I think that the first instinct is to say that Spring Awakening is not a show for everybody, but that’s not right,” he explains. “I think this is not just a show for everybody, but it’s a show everybody should see. It’s time that we stop being afraid to acknowledge that teenagers have sex, because we know they do. The sooner, as a society, that we wake up to that and talk to them about it in an honest way, the sooner we can help them make healthier choices. It’s time.”
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Spring Awakening will be performed in Peterborough at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St. E., Peterborough) from Thursday, October 24th to Saturday, October 26th. Tickets are $28 ($23 for students). There is also a group rate of $20 per person for groups of 10 or more. Tickets are available at the Market Hall box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org. Performances starts at 8 p.m.
Additionally, the company will be performing Spring Awakening in Whitby on Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th at the Whitby Centennial Building (416 Centre St. S., Whitby). Tickets are $25 plus fees (with the $20 group rate also available). Advance tickets are available via Eventbrite.
Note: Spring Awakening deals with mature themes and is not recommended for audiences under 14 years of age.
Land conservation organization Kawartha Land Trust, which is already protecting two properties in the Fleetwood Creek watershed including the Ballyduff Trails (McKim-Garsonnin property) pictured above, wants to partner with private landowners to further protect the area's biodiversity and water quality. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Land Trust)
Kawartha Land Trust — the only charity and non-government land conservation organization working to protect land in the Kawarthas — is looking to partner with more private landowners in the Fleetwood Creek watershed to conserve the area’s biodiversity and water quality.
The expanse of the Fleetwood Creek watershed. (Map courtesy of Kawartha Land Trust)
The Fleetwood Creek watershed is located in the southeastern portion of the Kawartha watershed. The creek begins just north of Pontypool Road southeast of Manvers, with about half of it falling within the Oak Ridges Moraine.
It then extends north, combining with the Pigeon River, and finally flows into the Trent-Severn Waterway near Omemee.
This connected landscape, featuring lowland forests, hardwood bush, wetlands, meadows, and steep valleys, is on a mix of privately and publicly protected lands along with private land stewardship.
The watershed encompasses the Fleetwood Creek Natural Area as well as two properties protected by Kawartha Land Trust: Sheidow Farm – Awde-Ertel and Ballyduff Trails – McKim-Garsonnin.
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The Fleetwood Creek watershed is significant because it has an outstanding amount of connected natural land, making for an intact wildlife corridor and contributing to climate change resilience, as well as excellent water quality — making it one of the best opportunities in the Kawarthas to improve habitat quality of cold water streams for species like Brook trout.
The Fleetwood Creek watershed has an outstanding amount of connected natural land, making for an intact wildlife corridor and contributing to climate change resilience. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Land Trust)
While many private landowners in the area have already been caring for and enhancing their land on their own for decades, over the past year Kawartha Land Trust has been working with landowners through its Fleetwood Creek Watershed Initiative.
For landowners whose properties have been identified as having significant conservation value, Kawartha Land Trust has been conducting landscape analysis to deepen landowners’ understanding of the natural features on their property, assisting with land stewardship planning, advancing enhancement, and connecting landowners with other available resources.
Since Kawartha Land Trust launched the initiative in 2018, 10 landowners have already participated — allowing the organization to protect an additional 1,000 acres of ecologically significant land, improving aquatic connectivity and habitat diversity.
The streams and creeks in Fleetwood Creek watershed are one of the best opportunities in the Kawarthas to improve habitat quality of cold water streams for species like Brook trout. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Land Trust)
Some of the projects underway or completed include managing invasive plants to protect forest biodiversity and planting native tall grass prairies and wildflower meadows to enhance pollinator habitat.
Kawartha Land Trust is inviting landowners in the Fleetwood Creek watershed to attend an event about the Fleetwood Creek Watershed Initiative at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 24th at the Bethany Community Hub (3 George St., Bethany).
The event includes presentations from 7 to 8 p.m. — including on the significance of the Fleetwood Creek watershed, how some area landowners are caring for and restoring their land, and Kawartha Land Trust’s Stewardship on Private Lands program — followed by a “map your property” and question-and-answer session until 8:30 p.m.
Wetlands in the Fleetwood Creek watershed. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Land Trust)
While the event is intended for landowners in the Fleetwood Creek watershed, anyone who wants to learn more about the Fleetwood Creek watershed is welcome to attend.
Winnipeg-based country-roots singer-songwriter Sean Burns performs with Ryan 'Skinny' Dyck at The Garnet on Saturday, October 5th, with special guests Diamond Dave & The Smoke Eaters. (Photo: Gabriel Thaine)
Every Thursday, we publish live music and performance events at pubs and clubs in Peterborough and The Kawarthas based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, October 3 to Wednesday, October 9.
If you’re a pub or club owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our Nightlife Editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com.
Saturday, October 19 12:30-4pm - PMBA Deluxe Blues Jam hosted by Water St Slim & the Unlikely Heroes (donations welcome, all proceeds to musicians in need)
Fiddler's Green Pub & Grub
34 Lindsay St. St., Lindsay
(705) 878-8440
Saturday, October 5
8pm - Hitcher
Sunday, October 6
1-5pm - Bill Dickinson
Coming Soon
Friday, October 11 9pm - Karaoke
Saturday, October 19 1-4pm - Celtic Jam; 9pm - Tungsten
Saturday, October 26 9pm - Halloween Party ft Identity Crysis
Ganarascals Restaurant
53 Walton St., Port Hope
905-885-1888
Coming Soon
Friday, October 11 7:30pm - Steve Marriner ($20, call 905-885-1888 or email to reserve)
Ganaraska Hotel
30 Ontario St., Port Hope
(905) 885-9254
Friday, October 4
8pm - Oktoberfest Party ft Washboard Hank and the Gesundheits ($20 at door)
Saturday, October 5
2pm & 10pm - Blueprint
Coming Soon
Friday, October 11 8pm - Good Enough Live Karaoke ($20)
Saturday, October 12 2pm & 10pm - Straight Shooter
The Garnet
231 Hunter St. W., Peterborough
(705) 874-0107
Thursday, October 3
9pm - I, the Mountain w/ RedFox (PWYC)
Friday, October 4
9pm - Little Fire, The Watched Pots
Saturday, October 5
9pm - Sean Burns and Skinny Dyck w/ Diamond Dave & The Smoke Eaters ($10 at the door)
VIDEO: "Lonesome Again" - Sean Burns with Skinny Dyck
Sunday, October 6
8pm - On The Cinder, Mad Murdocks, Avem
Monday, October 7
8pm - St. Arnaud, Posy Jay
Coming Soon
Thursday, October 10 7-9pm - Klarka Weinwurm and Lester Slade; 10pm - Wrecker, Cold Tea, Housepanther ($10)
Friday, October 11 8pm - This is a Crisis, Puttin' on the Foil, The Bayside Dropouts ($10 or PWYC)
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Golden Wheel Restaurant
6725 Highway 7, Peterborough
(705) 749-6838
Coming Soon
Saturday, October 19 9pm - Them Crooked Craigs
Friday, October 25 7pm - Rye Street ($25 dinner and music)
All three school boards serving the Kawarthas have now announced that schools will be closed on Monday (October 7) if the strike announced for that day by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) goes ahead, with the third school board still evaluating the need for closures.
The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, and the Trillium Lakelands District School Board made separate announcements on Thursday (October 3) about the potential closures.
On Thursday, Trillium Lakelands had not yet made a decision to close schools, but subsequently announced on Friday (October 4) that all of its schools would also be closed if the strike goes ahead.
The three school boards, which collectively serve about 63,000 students in the Kawarthas and surrounding area, are encouraging parents to begin making alternate childcare arrangements in case the strike goes ahead on Monday.
The school boards state the primary reason for closing schools is for student safety, citing factors such as supervision of students, arrival processes, special education programming, medical supports and care of all students, safe operation of water and sanitation systems, conditions of school buildings and classrooms, and overall safety and security.
Should a new provincial agreement be reached over the weekend, schools will open as usual.
PVNC is posting labour relations updates on its website at www.pvnccdsb.on.ca and on Twitter @PVNCCDSB. KPR is posting updates on its website at www.kprschools.ca and on Twitter @kprschools. Trillium Lakelands is posting updates on its website at tldsb.ca and on Twitter @tldsb. The school boards will also be communicating updates directly to families through their school messenger systems.
PVNC oversees 30 Catholic elementary schools and six Catholic secondary schools with more than 15,000 students, KPR oversees 73 elementary public schools and 13 secondary schools with around 32,000 students, and Trillium Lakelands has 41 elementary schools and seven secondary schools with around 16,000 students. Adult and alternate education centres operated by the school boards will also be closed if the strike goes ahead.
The school boards employ CUPE members representing support staff such as custodians, maintenance staff, secretaries, educational assistants, early childhood educators, learning commons specialists, paraprofessionals, central IT employees, and more.
GreenUP's Ecology Park manager and resident tree expert Vern Bastable helps customers choose the right tree. The annual autumn tree sale takes place at Ecology Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 5th. (Photo: Karen Halley)
They’re quiet, they’re helpful, and they mind their own business. Does this neighbour sound too good to be true?
For all they do for us, being a tree in Peterborough is a darn tough job.
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s story is by Vern Bastable, Manager of GreenUP Ecology Park.
Let’s take a quick look at the issues facing trees in our city, and what exactly our leafy neighbours do for us.
Like the frog said, it ain’t easy being green. Urban life puts a lot of stress on trees. This makes it much harder to become long-lived giants like their forest cousins.
City trees are commonly planted in areas that restrict their root growth. Most folks think of a tree’s root system as an upside-down mirrored image of the tree, with many large deep roots shooting straight down, deep into the earth — but wait!
While trees do have some deep roots, the majority of a root system is found within the top foot of soil. You read that correctly: almost all of a tree’s roots grow right below the surface.
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Excessive foot traffic, cars, and heavy equipment can compact the soil. This removes the air pockets in the soil that allow trees to breath and absorb water and nutrients.
Our urban trees also have a harder time collecting water and nutrients. Our paved city surfaces rush rainwater quickly into our storm sewers and away from thirsty roots. Added to that, the water is often contaminated by road salt, air pollution, and litter.
Furthermore, nutrients normally found in rich topsoil are commonly removed during the construction of our homes and businesses before trees are planted. Important nutrients found in fallen leaves and decaying organic matter are often raked up and carted far away from our leafy friends.
The uniquely shaped leaves of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifeSra), a Carolinian forest species that adds beauty and biodiversity to our region but needs to be sheltered form bitter winter winds. (Photo courtesy of GreenUP)
And if that is not enough stress, we commonly damage trees with lawn mowers, weed-whackers, bike locks, and vehicles. These open wounds can be exploited by native and exotic pests and diseases.
So what? With so many other things to worry about in Peterborough today, why should we care about our leafy neighbours?
Our trees provide an enormous amount of benefits to us on a daily basis!
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Trees have been proven to increase property values, sometimes up to 25 per cent. Boom.
Trees are good for business. Shoppers tend to enjoy the shopping experience more, and spend more, when leafy landscaping is involved. I’m not making this up.
Dollars can be saved in heating and cooling costs just by having trees strategically placed around our buildings. Trees reduce noise and air pollution, which can reduce or eliminate the need for built sound barriers or expensive air filtration systems.
Should I keep going?
The beautiful leaves of the silver maple (Acer saccarinum), a native species that grows well in moist conditions. (Photo courtesy of GreenUP)
Urban forests help prevent flooding. They slow down run-off, holding water in leafy canopies while sipping roots drink up the rainwater before it hits our already stressed storm sewers, saving untold amounts in flood damages.
And there’s more …
Trees soak up sunlight and fight climate change by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and transforming it into sugar and oxygen. You can breathe a bit easier with a sweet trade like that helping to resolve our current climate crisis.
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Trees are also vital sources of food and providers of habitat for the birds, bees, and other critters we share our environment with.
Finally, trees enhance our lives just by being present. The beauty of the flowering eastern redbud, the autumn colours of the maples, or the smile gained from watching two squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of a tree — these experiences make our lives more vibrant.
Trees help us reduce stress and to heal faster. Trees create a sense of place, a feeling of home, and a reason for poetry and song.
Fall is the best time to plant a tree, as the soil conditions become perfect for tree roots to establish themselves. Ecology Park manager Vern Bastable is happy to offer advice on choosing the right tree, tree planting, and general tree care. GreenUP’s annual autumn tree sale takes place at Ecology Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 5th. (Photo: Karen Halley)
Despite the stressors, urban trees do a great job at overcoming the odds and — in great neighbourly fashion — they do so without complaining at all.
If you are considering a great neighbour for your yard, keep in mind that spring and fall are the best times to plant a tree. In the spring and fall, the weather is cooler, the soils are moist, and trees are “dormant” (like trying to move a child to bed, sometimes, while they are sleepy, the disruption is reduced … sometimes).
At Ecology Park, we are proud to have a great variety of trees available for sale and are happy to offer advice on choosing the right tree, tree planting, and general tree care. Until Sunday, October 13th, Ecology Park is open on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Our annual one-day Annual Autumn Tree Sale is on Saturday, October 5th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ecology Park (1899 Ashburnham Dr., Peterborough), where you can save money on select trees and shrubs, and rub elbows with other tree-treasuring folks.
"Trophy" is a free outdoor art installation where audience members visit illuminated tents to listen as storytellers share their true stories of life-changing moments of change and transformation. Presented by Public Energy Performing Arts, "Trophy" takes place on October 4 and 5, 2019, at Fleming Park in downtown Peterborough. (Photo: Allison O'Connor)
When you hear the word “trophy”, the first thing that probably comes to mind is an award for a victory or achievement.
But for artists Sarah Conn and Allison O’Connor, a trophy is also a turning point in our lives, whether good or bad or somewhere in between — reflecting the word’s origins from a Greek word meaning “to turn”.
That’s is the concept behind Trophy, a free outdoor interactive art installation coming to Fleming Park in downtown Peterborough on October 4th and 5th, where local residents share their own true stories of transformation and change.
After listening to true stories of transformation and change during “Trophy”, audience members can write down their own stories of life-changing moments and affix them to the illuminated tents. (Photo: Allison O’Connor)
During Trophy, audience members casually travel through a series of illuminated greenhouse-like tents where they can sit and listen to storytellers recount a significant moment in their lives where everything changed.
If they want, audience members can write a story about a moment of transformation in their own lives, and affix it to the wall of a tent.
Over the course of the performance, the pop-up tents transform into multi-coloured translucent structures, covered in new stories brought forth by audience members, serving as temporary beacons in a world filled with change.
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Sarah Conn is a producer of award-winning theatre and live art projects and is Artistic Associate for the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund. Her Trophy collaborator Allison O’Connor is an Ottawa-based sculpture and installation artist and a social art practitioner. The two artists first organized Trophy in 2014.
“When I started working on Trophy, I was trying to figure out how people navigated change,” Conn says. “I was hungry to hear from people outside my usual circle.”
“I realized that, no matter our life experiences, we could find commonalities in the turning points in our lives, even if it was just how different these moments had been for us.”
The artists behind “Trophy”: Sarah Conn and Allison O’Connor. (Photos courtesy of Public Energy)
Trophy has been presented at festivals across Canada including National Arts Centre’s Canada Scene in Ottawa and OYR’s High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, as well at internationally at the Prague Quadrennial in the Czech Republic, the Lift Festival in London U.K., and the Dublin Fringe Festival in Ireland. More than 2,000 people have shared their stories during Trophy.
“One of my favourite parts of Trophy is the moment after the story is shared,” Conn explains. “Listening in from outside the tents, I hear incredible conversations and realizations being exchanged by people who just met. It’s the type of community-building connection that drives me artistically and personally.”
Presented by Public Energy Performing Arts and the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area, Trophy is a free event taking place at Fleming Park (427 Aylmer St. N., Peterborough). You can visit the installation anytime between 7 and 10 p.m. on Friday October 4th, and anytime between 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 5th.
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Trophy is also being featured as a part of [in]sites, presented by Public Energy, Artspace. and the Art Gallery of Peterborough, which is a series of art and performance events happening outside of traditional art and theatre spaces.
Conn and O’Connor will be joining other artists from the [in]sites series (Aylan Couchie, Chris Ironside, and Anne White) for an artist talk from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 6th at the Art Gallery of Peterborough (250 Crescent St., Peterborough).
Comedian Peter Wildman returns to Peterborough to perform his "40 Years of Funny Songs" show at The Theatre on King on October 5, 2019. As well as being a member of the comic troupe The Frantics, Wildman played Buzz Sherwood on "The Red Green Show" and has appeared in other television series and films. (Publicity photo)
On Saturday, October 5th, comedian Peter Wildman returns to Peterborough with a brand new retrospective of his career, 40 Years of Funny Songs, at The Theatre on King (TTOK) in downtown Peterborough.
Peter Wildman – 40 Years of Funny Songs
When: Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 8 p.m. Where: The Theatre on King (171 King St., Peterborough) How much: $15 at the door or pay what you can
Starring Peter Wildman of The Frantics with Tim Burns on guitar and keyboard and Josh Broadbent on drums. To reserve tickets, email contact@ttok.ca or call 705-930-6194.
The comedian, musician, and voice actor is probably best remembered as a member of the comedy troupe The Frantics, who were CBC mainstays in the 1980s and still have a cult following today.
“I’ve got my binder and I’m coming to town,” Peter says during a phone interview from his home in Oakville.
“I did some math, and I started writing music with The Frantics in 1979, and realized that’s 40 years,” he explains. “40 years of funny songs. There’s the title of our show. There it is right there.”
“I started compiling a list and it goes on forever. There are a lot of songs. So I put it on a poster and did the show in Oakville and it sold out. So I thought that was good and decided to bring it to Peterborough.”
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Born and raised in Peterborough, Peter left after high school to pursue comedy in Toronto, where he joined forces with Paul Chato, Rick Green, and Dan Redican to form the sketch comedy group The Frantics in 1979.
The group became nationally famous when CBC Radio made them regulars on Variety Tonight in 1981, before graduating to their own show, Frantic Times, from 1981 to 1984.
A predecessor to The Kids in the Hall, The Frantics attempted a go on television in 1986 with Four on the Floor, but only lasted 13 episodes. However, their comedy found continued popularity via their 1987 comedy album Boot to the Head, whose title track has remained a hallmark of Canadian comedy even today.
VIDEO: “Boot To The Head” – Peter Wildman
“It was eight years of working with three of the brightest minds in Canada,” says Peter of The Frantics. “You’d tell a joke and do the punch line, and all three of the other Frantics would come up with a bigger punchline. It was done with so much laughter. We wrote over three thousand sketches and songs, and we only used the top third.”
“We did radio, stage, and TV. It gave me an opportunity to act and perform and play for nine hundred people. I found that if you don’t blow it and pay the gig, at the end of the night you’d walk away a little bit smarter.”
Another generation of Canadian comedy fans knows Peter in the role of stoner bush pilot Buzz Sherwood on The Red Green Show between 1993 to 1997. Doubling as a performer as well as a writer on the still-popular series, not all of Peter’s musical ideas were loved by star and creator Steve Smith.
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“I tried unsuccessfully to get Red Green to form a band on the show,” Peter recalls. “I could play, Steve Smith could play, we had Ian Thomas in the cast, and we could put Harold (Patrick McKenna) on a washboard. Everybody could carry a tune.”
“But Steve was a very clever man, and he knew what he wanted. Every time we were throwing out ideas, I’d throw out the band idea, but he always took a pass on that one.”
After four decades of writing comedy, Peter has become an expert at writing funny songs, which is a difficult task within itself — not everyone is going to find the same thing funny. But Peter offers a few tips to budding comedians in the art of writing comic songs.
VIDEO: “Head Up My Ass” – Peter Wildman
“The best approach is to know the punchline,” Peter says. “Then you know how the song is going to end, and then you work backwards. In other words, you don’t put your funniest joke in the first line of the song, because then what are you going to sing about for two and a half minutes?”
“The other way is to come up with a goofy expression, like ‘I’ve got my head so far up my ass I can see most of my colon,'” Peter adds, referring to one of his recent compositions, which can be found on YouTube along with more of his music.
“I don’t know where that came from and I thought ‘That sounds like a song.’ I wasn’t sure what it’d be about, but then I realized that I just described a Conservative. But songs like that are rare. That’s lightning in a bottle.”
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Although Peter hasn’t made Peterborough his home in decades, he has been a presence on the Peterborough comedy scene for the last number of years. However, this is his first performance in the city since 2017.
“I have dabbled with comedy in Peterborough,” Peter says. “I am good friends with people who were part of the Citiots and every month or so I’d appear on stage with them at the Gordon Best. I’d do some improv and a couple of songs before the second act. I boldly suggested that I do the Gordon Best myself, so I did a show there, as well as the Nexicom Studio at Showplace.”
“Every so often I get restless and think ‘I should play Peterborough.'”
Peter Wildman will perform at The Theatre on King in downtown Peterborough on October 5, 2019.
Accompanied by Tim Burns on guitar and keyboards and Josh Broadbent on drums, this will be Peter’s first time performing at TTOK.
“The Theatre on King is a neat space,” Peter says. “I didn’t know what to expect, but after walking in and talking to Ryan Kerr, it looks like a good space. I prefer venues like that where people will come and listen.”
“I don’t like sitting in the corner and competing with the cash register and the hockey game,” he adds. “You need to listen to the lyrics, because they’re jokes. I’m not doing the Best of the Eagles or Tom Petty tunes.”
VIDEO: “You Can Do Anything” – Peter Wildman (explicit lyrics)
40 Years of Funny Songs is a fantastic opportunity to see a Canadian comic favourite in an intimate setting for a night of stories, songs, and laughs. The show will be presented at TTOK (171 King St., Peterborough) on Saturday, October 5th at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15 or pay what you can and can be reserved in advance by contacting Ryan Kerr at antispam]contact@ttok.ca[/antispam] or call 705-930-6194.
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