Ryan and Loretta Heise with their baby boy Maverick Raymond Heise, who was born at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) at 2:04 a.m. on January 1, 2025. Maverick is the couple's second child. (Photo by Loretta Heise courtesy of PRHC)
Peterborough’s first baby of 2025 was born in the early hours of New Year’s Day at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).
At 2:04 a.m. on Wednesday (January 1), parents Loretta and Ryan welcomed their son Maverick Raymond Heise into the world, weighing 6 lbs. and 13 oz.
“We can’t say enough about the incredible care we received from the nurses and doctors here,” said Loretta in a media release.
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Both mom and baby are doing well, and Maverick’s big sister Florence is looking forward to meeting him.
Loretta’s sister is a labour and delivery nurse at PRHC and, since she was off duty, was able to attend Maverick’s birth as a support person.
Maverick takes his middle name from Loretta’s grandfather, Ray Lowery, who passed away shortly after the couple found out they were expecting.
GreenUp executive director Tegan Moss's father Ric Moss, pictured with a display of custom fabricated laboratory equipment he built while working for TFI Inline circa 1998, earned his living and supported his family as a plastic fabricator. (Photo courtesy of Tegan Moss)
In 2024, waste management in Peterborough changed significantly. Most residents now have access to a municipal composting program which reduces our local methane emissions. And, in order to shift the cost and responsibility of recycling to the companies that produce trash, all Ontario recycling is now operated by a new organization called Circular Materials.
Since its founding in 1992, GreenUP has educated people about waste management as an important part of an environmentally healthy community. From teaching about waste sorting and composting, to offering a refillery in the GreenUP Store, that important role continues to shift with the times.
This column is the first in a two-part series authored by GreenUP executive director Tegan Moss who shares a complex personal perspective on one material that continues to create massive problems in our environment: plastic.
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As I contemplate all I am grateful for this holiday season, I have come to realize I would be remiss not to appreciate the important role that plastic has played in my life.
It may surprise you to hear this from someone who works in environmental advocacy, but in many ways, I consider plastic to be beautiful. And in some ways, plastic has given me every opportunity I’ve ever had.
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s story is by Tegan Moss, Executive Director, GreenUP.
My father, Ric Moss, earned his livelihood as a plastic fabricator. Before the word “microplastic” ever made a headline, I remember my dad coming home covered in it. His work meant that fine fibres of plastic dust clung to his clothes, and long curls of shaved plastic nestled in his hair. We even joked about how it would collect in his belly button lint.
As a custom fabricator, GreenUp executive director Tegan Moss’s father Ric Moss built equipment like the large plastic water scrubber, pictured here as it was assembled outside of TFI Inline in Lakewood, Colorado. Plastic pollution control equipment like this will work for decades without corrosion. (Photo: Ric Moss)
My father’s work reflected the incredible versatility of plastic. For companies like Motorola and Kodak, he built clean room equipment resistant to corrosion. He fabricated vessels for chemical processing capable of holding toxic gold cyanide solutions, and air and water scrubbers to process industrial waste. He even built water filters for the Denver Aquarium!
I recently interviewed my dad to learn more about his experience working with plastic — both the joys of working as a tradesperson, and his frustration with the industry as a whole.
“The custom fabrication side was really rewarding,” Dad said. “Being able to take flat sheets and turn them into vessels, pollution-control equipment, or laboratory hoods was like carpentry with plastic. It was incredibly satisfying to see the finished product installed and working, especially the pollution control stuff. That was fun to see in action.”
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The durability and adaptability of plastic made it an invaluable material in these settings.
As Dad put it, “Plastic just lasts for such a long time and has incredible corrosive resistance. It’s superior to materials like iron or cast iron in so many applications.”
Enjoying the outdoors is also something I learned from my dad. As someone who loves camping, I rely on plastic to make my outdoor experiences not only more comfortable but possible. My camping gear is covered in plastic buckles and a blue plastic barrel is a necessity for any extended time in the back country. I can use these objects over and over again.
GreenUp executive director Tegan Moss with her father Ric Moss and her step-mother Jo Ann Hany Moss hiking in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado. Plastic has played an especially important role in the Moss family, even as today Tegan advocates for moving towards a circular economy without single-use plastics. (Photo: Tegan Moss)
And then, there’s my hula hoop. I sometimes joke that a plastic circle has brought me more joy than any other single object, but as a master hula-hooper, it might be true. Since 2007, I’ve spent thousands of hours dancing with a plastic circle.
These joyous experiences, and the opportunities I have had growing up, are in some way made possible by plastic. How can I not love a material that brings me such gifts? It is such an incredibly versatile material!
During my time at GreenUP, my complex relationship with plastic has evolved. As I consider the gifts that plastic has given to my family, I recognize the terrifying weight of plastic accumulating in our environment. Now more than ever, I am compelled to educate and empower a cultural shift towards circularity: sustainable reuse of what already exists rather than the production of new goods.
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The companies my dad worked for, and their suppliers, made no effort to recycle. Their waste included thousands of pounds of virgin materials. That waste pales in the scale of the global problem.
As Dad admitted, “Plastic pollution is horrifying because we don’t understand the repercussions. Microplastics are getting into everything. Our bodies, our water, our food — it’s everywhere.”
In November, the New York Times published an exposé “Inside the Plastic Industry’s Battle to Win Over Hearts and Minds” that highlighted costly social media campaigns where influencers are paid to build public confidence in plastics, and specifically PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic water bottles.
During a Women’s Business Network of Peterborough event on December 4, 2019 at The Mount in Peterborough, Tegan Moss performed for Trellis Arts with plastic poi and hula hoops. Joyous moments like this have prompted Moss to reflect on her complex relationship with plastic. (Photo: Nicole Malbeuf)
In writing today, I have the opposite outcome in mind. I hope to call greater attention to the importance of moving toward a circular economy and ditching single-use plastics completely.
As we enter the new year, I feel it’s a moment to reflect on gratitude, on contradictions, and on change. I hope you’ll join me next week as I delve deeper into the environmental challenges of plastic and how we can move forward with both respect and responsibility.
To learn more about GreenUP’s many environmental programs and initiatives, visit greenup.on.ca.
Environment Canada has issued snow squall warnings for across the Kawarthas region beginning Thursday morning (January 2).
Snow squall warnings are in effect for Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough County, and Northumberland County.
Lake effect snow squalls off Georgian Bay will develop on Thursday morning in the wake of a low pressure system and continue through Thursday night. The highest snowfall accumulations are expected over areas southeast and just south of Lake Simcoe. Due to the nature of lake effect snow, some areas may see little to no snow accumulations.
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In southern Kawartha Lakes including Lindsay, locally heavy snowfall with accumulations of 40 cm is possible by Friday morning. Northern Kawartha Lakes, southern Peterborough County, and Northumberland County could see up to 25 cm. The snow squalls are expected to move south of the area Friday morning.
Snow squalls cause weather conditions to vary considerably; changes from clear skies to heavy snow within just a few kilometres are common. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow. Travel is expected to be hazardous due to reduced visibility. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. Road closures are possible.
If visibility is reduced while driving, slow down, watch for tail lights ahead and be prepared to stop.
Team Fox celebrating their rare eight-ender at Omemee Curling Centre on December 30, 2024. Pictured are Neil Rossen, Annie Stovell, Tom Bent, and Ron Fox. (Photo courtesy of Ron Fox)
A team at the Omemee Curling Centre is celebrating the new year with one of curling’s rarest feats: an eight-ender.
Team Fox (Neil Rossen, Annie Stovell, Tom Bent, and Ron Fox) curled the eight-ender at the centre on Monday morning (December 30).
Also known as a perfect end, an eight-ender is a perfect score within a single end of curling, with one team scoring the maximum possible value of eight points — one for each rock the team put in play during the end.
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Similar to perfect game in baseball, a perfect game in bowling, or a nine-dart finish in darts, an eight-ender is so rare that the Canadian Curling Association has an award to recognize any eight-ender scored in Canada.
The odds of curling an eight-ender in amateur curling are estimated at 1 in 120,000.
By comparison, the odds of a golfer hitting a hole-in-one are 1 in 12,000 and the likelihood of an amateur bowler bowling a perfect game is 1 in 11,500.
ReFrame Film Festival executive director Kait Dueck on stage at the opening of the 20th annual documentary film festival in 2024. The 21st festival will present more than 50 documentary films focused on social and environmental justice in downtown Nogojiwanong/Peterborough from January 23 to 26, 2025 and virtually from January 27 to February 2, 2025. (Photo: Esther Vincent, courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Peterborough has no shortage of advocates for the arts, and two of the most passionate are Kait Dueck and Eryn Lidster, the full-time staff behind the annual ReFrame Film Festival.
The duo shows their dedication to the arts by curating a lineup of the year’s most acclaimed documentary films from around the globe, while also inviting local conversation and action to address critical contemporary issues facing the community and the world.
“ReFrame moves us from just imagining a better world to living in one, through the action that is sparked by this cultural and justice-based event,” says Dueck, the festival’s executive director. “Not only are these some of the finest films in the world, but they’re also richly complemented by all of this wonderful ancillary programming at the festival, such as live performances, filmmaker talks, workshops, and media arts exhibits.”
The 21st annual festival is being delivered in a hybrid format for the second year, running in person from January 23 to 26, 2025 at venues in downtown Nogojiwanong/Peterborough and virtually from January 27 to February 2, 2025.
While the virtual portion of the festival began as a necessity during the pandemic, it has continued because it expands the festival’s reach, allowing people from across Canada to enjoy many of the films in the festival’s lineup.
For 2025, ReFrame is screening more than 50 thought-provoking and inspiring documentary films. The lineup was curated with the support and insight from the festival’s volunteer programming advisory committee, made up of individuals with a diverse range of perspectives and experience.
“We looked at a lot of different factors, while keeping the Peterborough audiences in mind with films that speak to issues that are of concern here or which groups here are working within,” says Lidster, the festival’s creative director.
“We also put a lot of consideration around the relationship between the filmmakers and the film subjects. Being a social justice documentary festival, we want to make sure that, more often than not, there is an aspect of folks telling stories that they have lived experience around, or who have built strong relationships with the subjects of the films.”
Eryn Lidster, creative director of the ReFrame Film Festival, speaks to the audience at the opening of the 20th annual documentary film festival in 2024. With the help of the volunteer programming advisory committee, Lidster curated the lineup of more than 50 thought-provoking and inspiring documentary films that will be screened during the 2025 ReFrame Film Festival from January 23 to February 5, 2025. (Photo: Esther Vincent, courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Lidster notes that the inclusion of international films can also elevate conversations around issues being faced locally.
“Bringing these international films to the local community can spark a moment of being inspired by an approach that we might not have thought about,” Lidster says, giving the example of The Day Iceland Stood Still, which recounts the morning in 1975 when 90 per cent of women in Iceland walked off their jobs and out of their homes, refusing to cook, clean, work, or care for the children.
“The Day Iceland Stood Still highlights an action that a group of women took that’s really unique. Bringing those stories to our community can inspire a lot of different ways of approaching the issues that we’re dealing with.”
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Lidster also points to the impact of sharing local films, noting that the short film The Wild Path Home “has this unique approach to education and environment that deserves to be heard outside of our community and inspire others as well.”
The Wild Path Home spotlights how the Peterborough-Kawarthas-Haliburton area was, in 2016, one of only 150 communities worldwide to be given the designation as a “Regional Centre of Expertise in Sustainability Education.”
Local specialists in environment, health, and educational fields, who were increasingly alarmed by the human draw to technology, made a framework of age-linked experiences to address global issues through community support, and saw young people being drawn back to the great outdoors to improve mental health, reduce stress, and improve leadership skills.
VIDEO: “The Wild Path Home” trailer
To further promote actionable steps festival-goers can take in their own community, ReFrame offers community partnerships for single films or a themed package of films. The program not only supports the festival, but aligns the stories on the screen with the social and environmental justice work of registered charities, not-for-profit organizations, and grassroots community groups.
“We get to help elevate this critical work for our audiences,” Dueck points out. “Our audiences are connected with concrete avenues toward positive action that’s related to the film content, which is something I have never seen any other film festival do.”
Businesses, for-profit groups, and individuals can also sponsor an individual screening to show their support for the festival and to highlight one or more of the issues covered in the films.
“You can sponsor a film in honour of a loved one, you can sponsor a film as a gift, or you can sponsor it yourself because the film is something that you’re passionate about,” Dueck says, also noting how businesses can benefit from such sponsorship. “It’s a great way to elevate your brand and have your brand linked to important community values and issues.”
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Other opportunities to support the festival include joining the board (the festival is currently seeking a treasurer), volunteering for a handful of shifts at the Delta Bingo & Gaming Centre in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough, or volunteering during the in-person festival.
Festival volunteer roles, which can be flexible to accommodate the volunteer’s availability, include audience services like working in the box office, merchandising, ushering, and providing technical support.
Volunteers Kat Tannock and Moray Post collect tickets during the 2024 ReFrame Film Festival. The festival is still seeking volunteers for the in-person portion of the 2025 festival, which takes place from January 23 to 26, 2025 in downtown Nogojiwanong/Peterborough. Flexible volunteer positions include audience services like running the box office, merchandising, ushering, and providing technical support. (Photo: Esther Vincent, courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
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Volunteering, partnerships, sponsorships, and donations all help to support the sustainability of the festival. When ReFrame began offering the virtual portion of the festival, it did so without increased resources, continuing to operate with just two full-time staff and two contract workers.
However, as Dueck explains, there are additional costs associated with offering the virtual portion of the festival.
On top of the added administration costs for the virtual festival’s streaming platform, ReFrame must pay for the films twice — once when screening them in person and again when screening them online. Because of this as well as licensing restrictions, just over half of the films in the festival’s complete lineup are available for virtual screening.
Despite its additional costs, Dueck says the virtual option is critical to maintaining ReFrame’s accessibility, which is part of the organization’s mandate.
“Both delivery models are critical, and our audiences and stakeholders have been crystal clear in their desire for both,” says Dueck.
Including a virtual option also contributes to the festival’s revenues, with hybrid passes — which allow festival-goers to watch both in-person screenings and virtual screenings — accounting for roughly half of all ticket sales.
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Not only has ReFrame been supporting the hybrid model without any additional funding, the festival has recently lost significant funding from what Dueck calls their “two largest, most reliable” funders. This year, one funder has given less than half of what they had previously in each of the last dozen years, while the other has cut funding completely, just six weeks before the 2025 festival.
“As much as we would love to continue to bring ReFrame to our community both near and far in this way, without increased support from donors, sponsors, and grants, we may not always be able to do this,” Dueck points out.
Fortunately for ReFrame and 74 other arts and social services organizations that receive funding from the City of Peterborough, Peterborough city council recently decided against proceeding with a 25 per cent across-the-board funding cut that was proposed in the city’s 2025 draft budget. Community members rallied against the proposed cuts, and representatives from several arts organizations presented to council, describing the cultural and economic benefits that arts-related events like ReFrame bring to the city.
Spoken word artist Sarah Lewis during the Wshkiigmong Dibaajmownan/Curve Lake Storytelling panel at the 2024 ReFrame Film Festival. Along with screening more than 50 documentary films, the festival offers ancillary programming including live performances, filmmaker talks, workshops, and media arts exhibits. (Photo: Esther Vincent, courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
“People come here and stay here because of the culture that arts in this community creates, and it’s backed up by the number of folks who engage with the festival and the economic impact that we have here,” Lidster explains.
“We do so much work for creating space for other community organizations in the festival and there is this networking community that is built through these events. These types of spaces in the community are not something that we can lose and still be the community that we are.”
Dueck points to a recent statistic from the Ontario Arts Council that, for every dollar invested in the arts, $25 is generated in return.
“For ReFrame, it’s hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars injected directly into our downtown, which needs it the most — it’s where our independent businesses are,” Dueck says. “In the darkest time of year after the holiday season, when small businesses may be wondering how to sustain themselves for the next month, there’s a week of money coming into our community thanks to ReFrame.”
Kait Dueck, executive director of the ReFrame Film Festival, speaks to the audience at the opening of the 20th annual documentary film festival in 2024. An advocate for the arts and the cultural and economic benefits of arts-related events like ReFrame, Dueck is encouraging increased community donor and sponsor support for the festival which recently lost significant funding. (Photo: Esther Vincent, courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Along with buying passes to enjoy the festival, community members can help ensure the ReFrame Film Festival continues into the future by making a donation at reframefilmfestival.ca/support/donate/, with charitable tax receipts available for any donation over $20.
You can make donations in January and February and still claim them on your 2024 tax return, as the federal government recently announced it is extending the deadline for claiming 2024 charitable tax donations to February 28 in recognition of the impact of the postal strike on holiday giving for charitable organizations.
As for festival passes, they are priced at $50 for a virtual pass (which includes just over half of the films in the festival’s lineup, viewable on demand from anywhere in Canada), $110 for an in-person pass (which includes access to all in-person films and events, except for the yet-to-be-announced opening night event), and $135 for a hybrid pass (which includes everything in the virtual pass and the in-person pass). Tickets will soon be on sale for individual screenings, on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale.
Passes and a guide to all the films screening at the 2025 festival are available at reframefilmfestival.ca. Follow ReFrame on Facebook and Instagram for updates and last-minute schedule changes.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the 2025 ReFrame Film Festival.
A police investigation is underway into both the identity of a deceased person and their cause of death after a body was found on December 30, 2024 in the area of the train tracks near Ontario Street in Brighton. (Photo: Northumberland OPP)
Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating a sudden death after a body was found in Brighton on Monday afternoon (December 30).
Update – Tue Dec 31 at 3 p.m.
Investigators believe the decreased individual to be a 26-year-old Belleville man. At this time, police do not believe the death to be suspicious.
Shortly before 4 p.m. on Monday, Northumberland OPP received a report from CN Police about a person found in the area of the train tracks near Ontario Street.
Officers proceeded to the location along with emergency medical services, who confirmed the person was deceased. Trains were stopped in the area for some time and the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario was notified.
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An investigation into both the identity of the deceased person and their cause of death is underway by the Northumberland OPP Crime Unit and Forensic Identification Services in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario.
On Tuesday, members of the OPP’s Emergency Response Team and Canine Unit also attended the location to perform a coordinated search of the area.
Officers are also canvassing the area for CCTV footage and seeking possible lines of inquiry with residents and businesses in and around the location where the body was found.
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While police have not released any details about the cause of death, they believe there is no threat to public safety.
“The investigation is in its early stages and no further details can be released at this time,” states an OPP media release.
Anformation is asked to call the Northumberland OPP at 613-475-1313 or the OPP non-emergency number at 1-888-310-1122. Information can also be provided anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or stopcrimehere.ca.
The senior leadership team of Peterborough Public Health and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, including medical officers of health Dr. Thomas Piggot (front row, right) and Dr. Natalie Bocking (back row, left). The two health units have merged under the legal name Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough Health Unit, bringing together over 300 public health professionals under a single entity. The first meeting of the new board of health for the merged health unit will be held virtually on January 2, 2025. (Photo: Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough Health Unit)
The two recently merged health units in the Kawarthas region have a new legal name: the Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough Health Unit (HKNP).
The boards of health for the former Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) and Peterborough Public Health (PPH) will come together as one for a special virtual board of health meeting on Thursday (January 2), where a chair and vice chair will be elected.
The new board of health will have nine municipal representatives (including two from Northumberland County, two from the City of Kawartha Lakes, one from Haliburton County, two from Peterborough County, and two from the City of Peterborough), as well as one member each from Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation and provincial appointees,
The new legal name of the merged health unit was confirmed in a letter from Ontario’s chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore dated December 11, a week after the boards of health for PPH and HKPRDHU each held separate virtual meetings and each voted in support of a voluntary merger, which will come with $10.1 million in new provincial funding.
According to a statement on both of the existing health unit websites, HKNP is only the legal name of the merged health unit.
“We are currently undergoing a process to develop a new brand identity that will also include a new name,” the statement reads. “This will take us several months to finalize. During this time, you will continue to see logos and other marketing material with the (Peterborough Public Health or HKPR District Health Unit) branding. You may also see some documents using our legal name Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough Health Unit.”
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The statement indicates partners and members of the public should continue to engage with their local public health offices as they have in the past, until otherwise directed. All communication channels including emails, faxes, and office locations will remain the same until further notice.
As for the January 2 special board of health meeting, it will include various by-laws for approval that are related to the merger.
Another item on the agenda is terms of reference for the Indigenous Health Advisory Circle (IHAC). The committee’s purpose is to deepen awareness, sensitivity, and meaningful actions on issues that are of relevance and public health importance to Indigenous people living within the Haliburton Kawartha Northumberland Peterborough (HKNP) catchment area.
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According to the agenda, the IHAC will provide a forum for circle members to brainstorm, explore and propose public health-related agenda items for the board of health to consider that are of importance to Indigenous people living within the HKNP catchment area.
“In particular, this includes a review of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of reconciliation, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
The IHAC is also intended to advise and support the board of health “to become a stronger and more effective ally” and advocate for local members of First Nation communities. It will also advise and provide support on matters that have an impact on the health and well-being of their residents and the environment.
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The circle will be comprised of a minimum of three board members in addition to the chair (ex-officio member). In addition, the board will seek community members representing the broader Indigenous stakeholder community as it pertains issues of Indigenous health.
IHAC met on December 13 and requested that the following community members be appointed to the group: Ashley Safar, executive director of the Peterborough Community Health Centre; David Newhouse of Trent University; the executive director or delegate of the Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle; the executive director or delegate of Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre; Elizabeth Stone of Fleming College; a representative of Alderville First Nation; Kristy Kennedy of the Métis Nation of Ontario and Peterborough & District Wapiti Métis Council; and Rebecca Watts of Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association.
The Town of Cobourg is postponing its family-oriented "First Night" celebration on December 31, 2024 to a later date in January due as warm temperatures and rain have resulted in the closure of the outdoor skating rink at the Rotary Harbourfront Park. (Photo: Experience Cobourg / Facebook)
The Town of Cobourg is postponing its planned New Year’s Eve family celebration due to the unseasonably warm weather and rainy conditions.
The town announced on Monday (December 30) that it is “regretfully” moving the First Night in Cobourg event on December 31 to a future date in January that will be determined soon.
First Night in Cobourg typically involves an evening at the Rotary Harbourfront Park that is filled with music, ice skating, “seasonal magic,” and community spirit.
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As a result of the warmer weather and rain, the outdoor skating rink at the Rotary Harbourfront Park is currently closed.
“The Town of Cobourg will update the community on a new event date as soon as temperatures stabilize, and staff are able to get the rink operational,” noted a media release.
In addition to skating to the music provided by a live DJ, First Night in Cobourg usually includes horse and wagon rides under the stars through Cobourg’s scenic streets, and a 9 p.m. fireworks display over the harbour to celebrate the new year.
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While the December 31 event is postponed, the town invites community members to join Town of Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland and Cobourg council at the traditional New Year’s Levee.
The levee is on Saturday (January 4) from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Concert Hall of Victoria Hall, which is located at 55 King St. W. in Cobourg.
“New to the schedule this year are activities to be enjoyed by community members of all ages,” the town noted in a media release.
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The evening features live music by the concert band of Cobourg’s jazz group, The Bootnecks, along with a special performance by Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG).
The evening also includes family-friendly activities, festive refreshments, cotton candy, and popcorn.
There will be a proclamation by Cobourg Town Crier, Mandy Robinson, to welcome the new year.
Pre-pandemic crowds at the annual Kawartha Rotary Ribfest in Millennium Park in downtown Peterborough. The Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha has announced it is pulling out of the fundraising event as of 2025, citing increased costs of hosting the event and diminishing returns due to reduced attendance. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
A longtime Peterborough summer staple is no longer — at least from the perspective of the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha.
As posted on Facebook this past weekend, the organization has announced it is “reluctantly” ending its involvement with Ribfest.
While the post states that Ribfest “has severely outgrown” its home at Millennium Park in downtown Peterborough, Rotarian and Ribfest committee chair Susan Zambonin tells kawarthaNOW the main reason for Rotary pulling out of the fundraising event is rooted in it being labour-intensive and increasingly expensive to organize but with a diminished return.
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“Before the pandemic, we were making money doing Ribfest,” says Zambonin, noting all proceeds from the event went to local and international humanitarian projects supported by Rotary.
“Our first year back after the pandemic, we didn’t expect to make much money and we didn’t. We made money every year since, though we thought it would it would make more. It hasn’t. It actually went down this year (to under $10,000). We were lucky to come away having made a little bit of a profit and so, as a club, we decided that the amount of effort wasn’t worth doing it again.”
While Rotary considered moving the event to another location, it determined changing locations wouldn’t make a substantial difference.
“The idea of having to change weekends if we wanted to do it at Del Crary Park or somewhere else, we analyzed that along with the amount of work it takes throughout the year, not just on the weekend (of the event), and the return on investment,” Zambonin says.
While the cost of required insurance is substantial, it wasn’t a factor in the decision, according to Zambonin, as that cost is borne by Rotary at the district level. However, the other costs related to hosting the event are another thing entirely.
“You have to rent the stage, you have to rent the fencing, you need police and security throughout the weekend, and there’s the cost of renting the park and closing the street to rent the parking lot. That all adds up and, combined with less attendance, lessens the return.”
In a Facebook post announcing the end of the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha’s involvement in Ribfest, the organization said the event has “has severely outgrown” its home at Millennium Park in downtown Peterborough. However, Rotarian and Ribfest committee chair Susan Zambonin told kawarthaNOW the main reason for Rotary pulling out of the fundraising event is rooted in it being labour-intensive and increasinly expensive to organize but with a diminished return. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
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The Facebook announcement has drawn many comments, with a number making reference to the downtown core’s homeless population and a few writing they don’t feel safe attending the event. Zambonin doesn’t dismiss such concerns, but says perception is reality for many.
“Some people just don’t want to come downtown,” she says. “I think it’s easy to say that it’s the downtown environment that’s a part of it (Rotary’s decision), but I don’t see that as being the biggest stumbling block.”
Instead, Zambonin says, the increased cost of living is a bigger factor affecting attendance.
“This year was a tough year for the economy. Yes, admission was free and the music was free, but you had to pay for alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages. Then you also had to pay for your meal. It’s not a cheap endeavour, especially for families. I think that played a bigger part. In the end, the return just isn’t there, unfortunately.”
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But Nour Mazloum, executive director of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) executive director, says she’s aware of another group that has expressed some interest in possibly presenting Ribfest this summer.
While she’s not at liberty to identify the group, Mazloum says it is local. Zambonin is also aware of that interest.
“I’ve talked to a business — a company that does rib festivals around the area,” she says.
In the meantime, while lamenting the loss of Ribfest and its drawing of people to the downtown core, Mazloum says she and her team are planning other events for 2025, including a food-related event.
While she agrees the rising costs associated with hosting events is a major obstacle, Mazloum is hopeful that more partnerships with the city on events will be beneficial in terms of an easing of those costs to some degree.
“We’re aware of the perception by some that downtown isn’t safe, but we can change that by hosting events that are family-friendly and safe, and that’s what we’re working to do,” she says. “We’re always interested in anything that will bring more people downtown to experience all it has to offer in terms of shops, restaurants. and atmosphere.”
Terry Guiel, former executive director of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) who was was a key player in Ribfest when it was organized and staffed by the DBIA before the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha took over the event exclusively, laments the loss of Ribfest as a fundraiser for Rotary and as an opportunity for local musicians to perform, but feels the event is not unique to Peterborough and is not 100 per cent supportive of local businesses. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
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Watching all this from afar is Lindsay and District Chamber of Commerce executive director Terry Guiel who, for 10 years, guided the DBIA before leaving that role in October 2023. He was a key player in Ribfest when it was organized and staffed by the DBIA before the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha took over the event exclusively.
“We (the DBIA) were doing Peterborough Pulse, Taste of Downtown, Hootenanny on Hunter, Live and Local Lunches — we were punching way above our weight on events,” he recalls of the pre-pandemic years.
“The events started getting harder and harder, costing more and more, especially because of insurance and policing, and an enormous amount of red tape from the city that made it not enjoyable to run an event. Many of us who organized events coined the insurance person at city hall ‘the fun killer’. Everything was a battle and it was no different for Ribfest, even after Rotary took it over.”
“Costs have devastated events across the province but I think Peterborough took it to a whole new level of not making things easy.”
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With many previous downtown Peterborough events having fallen by the wayside since the pandemic, Guiel admits feeling “sad” for both downtown businesses who benefit and the public who enjoy them, but adds that feeling doesn’t extend to Ribfest’s loss. He says Ribfest isn’t unique to Peterborough and doesn’t focus on local businesses.
“I’ve never been a fan of doing something that every other community does,” he says, adding “You can do something that’s 100 per cent local, like a chicken wing festival, as opposed to bringing in these out-of-town ribbers. I think we can come up with something new and more conducive to our changing demographics.”
That said, as a longtime musician, Guiel laments the loss of Ribfest in terms of it providing a stage for local musicians.
“For a young musician, other than the Del Crary Park Musicfest stage and the Peterborough Folk Festival, the Ribfest stage was the premier stage to get the call for,” he notes. “It was a chance to touch a whole new audience, a bigger audience, and play through an incredible sound system. You felt special. It was like our local ‘You made the big time.’
“But the biggest loss is the money that Rotary raised for the community and its projects,” he says.
Guiel remains well aware of the challenge of drawing people downtown in the face of perceived issues over safety, but says it’s “disingenuous” to link that with not coming to events in the core.
“It is just a chance for some to vent about how unsafe they feel in downtowns, not just here but across the province,” he says of the online reaction to the announcement of Ribfest’s cancellation.
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Moving forward, for downtown events to be revived, Guiel says “the ball is in the city’s court … and not a pickleball court.”
“The city needs to provide an easier supportive path for event organizers. They need to create somebody at city hall whose job is to expedite and support event organizers, and cut the red tape and costs. I’ve seen event organizers in tears. They’re trying to do something good. I do hope Rotary bounces back with a new idea.”
Zambonin says that may very well happen.
“A couple of years ago, we put together a committee to look at various fundraising events,” she says.
“We do have some ideas. We just have not, as a club, made a decision on what those will be. We’ve got a little bit of time. The money we raised in 2024 won’t get spent until the Rotary year of July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. We have a little cushion in our account for a rainy day if we need it.”
The Government of Canada is recognizing the negative impact of the four-week postal strike on holiday giving to charities by extending the deadline for claiming 2024 charitable donations until the end of February.
Normally, December 31 would be the last day people could donate to a registered charity this year and claim the donation on their 2024 tax return. That deadline has now been extended to February 28, allowing people to make donations in the first two months of 2025 and still claim the donations for their 2024 taxes.
The federal government will introduce legislation to amend the Income Tax Act to allow for the extension once Parliament returns in the new year.
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There are around 86,000 registered charities in Canada, many of which depend on mail-in donations during the holiday season. Many donors to charitable organizations are older Canadians who are more likely to rely on postal mail to make their donations.
When Canada Post workers went on strike from November 15 until after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered postal workers back to work on December 17, donation appeal letters either went undelivered or people who had received them were unable to mail donation cheques.
As well as allowing additional time for people to make their donations, the extension will give charities additional time to process donations and issue tax receipts.
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The federal government decision comes less than a week after Ontario Premier Doug Ford made an extension request in a letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Christmas Eve. Ford sent the letter as chair of the Council of the Federation, which represents all of Canada’s premiers.
“Charitable organizations across Canada depend on year-end fundraising to support their operations throughout the year,” Ford wrote in the letter. “However, this year’s efforts have been severely impacted by the Canada Post strike, which has prevented donors from making their usual holiday donations.”
“For this reason, we are joining charitable organizations from across the country in urging the federal government to extend the deadline for claiming 2024 charitable donations until the end of February 2025,” he added. “This extension would provide much needed support to both charities and the Canadians who rely on their services.”
The request from the premiers followed similar requests from groups representing Canadian charities that the period for 2024 donation receipts be extended into 2025 so that charities could recoup some of the revenues lost due to the postal strike.
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