Divergent (adjective) – a. moving or extending in different directions from a common point; b. differing from each other or from a standard.

A dancer, coiled in rope suspended halfway up the side of the TD bank northwest wall of Peterborough Square, proceeds to free fall, seemingly in slow motion and with total control, to the awe of curious onlookers.

This is Divergent Dances Peterborough, a new choreographic work by Anandam Dancetheatre’s Brandy Leary, who will be in Peterborough for three weeks developing the piece as the Fall Artist in Residence with Public Energy Performing Arts.

Divergent Dances is not your typical aerial dance performance. Rather than extenuate the virtuosity of the circus arts form Leary is interested in the quiet, the still, the un-spectacular, and the everyday and manages to explore it all while suspended two stories in the air, or slow motion tumbling down Peterborough Square’s concrete steps.

“The immense pleasure of working in residency, with a group of collaborators coming together from Peterborough, Southern Ontario, and South America has been deeply transformative for me,” Leary says.

Outside of Peterborough Square is an unusual place for a dance performance. There are no curtains, no seats, there is no stage or music.

What Leary is showing us is that art and performance is about more than this — it’s about listening, watching, and witnessing. And people have indeed been watching. With a wide range of responses.

“I love it. I love it! I’m coming back. I could watch this all day,” says an older woman watching from the concrete banister over the mall stairs.

Other viewers clutch their chests and pace backyards, mouths agape, not expecting to see a body dangling in the air just above the door to their TD ATM banking machine, while others pass by nonplussed by the suspended bodies overhead.

Divergent Dances Peterborough artists have been rehearsing on site to develop the performance at the corner of George and Simcoe Streets daily since mid-September.

“This way of working subverts some of the ‘most practiced’ models of touring repertoire in the performance sector, where often an artist brings a finished product to a community from the outside,” explains Leary.

Anandam Dancetheatre, under the artistic direction of Leary, is known for radical choreographic installations in unique settings. Leary’s artists are carefully chosen. Local artists Thomas Vaccaro and Opal Elchuk are seasoned performers and instructors at Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts (PACA), and have worked tirelessly to build and nurture the circus arts community in Peterborough.

Elchuk and Vaccaro are both excited to be working with Leary as a part of Divergent Dances.

“I’m someone who loves to search eternally, who loves to find new and different ways to do things,” says Vaccaro.

“The contrast of slowness and softness of fleshy bodies against the harsh concrete and the buzz of the city centre are striking to experience,” adds Elchuk.

“Being in this process profoundly shifts my state of being, every time.”

Vaccaro and Elchuk are joined by Kingston-based circus artist Erin Ball who owns operates Kingston Circus Arts, where she teaches circus arts to bodies of all shapes, sizes ages and situations, as well as staging professional performances.

In 2014, after a life-changing event that resulted in the loss of her lower legs, Ball returned to her passion of training, coaching and performing.

For Divergent Dances, Ball says, “We are exploring slowing down, language, leaning, falling, inefficiency, rolling and dominant bodies. One question I am exploring is how a non-normative body explores a normative space.”

On Thursday, September 20th, Ball will be teaching a free “Adaptive Circus Arts Workshop for People with Disabilities” at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough). Participants will learn partner and group acrobatics, plus aerial hoop and silks.

Ball will be teaching the workshop alongside Lina Loaiza Bran (Ambar Violeta), a dance and circus artist who arrived from Colombia recently to work and study with Ball. Bran says some of her previous work centres on “the exploration that I have been developing about the possibilities of movement my body offers, with the particular condition of being an amputee.”

Divergent Dances performing artists also features Nicola Steer, a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist known internationally for her burlesque work as Coco Framboise, and Leary herself.

Hard at work throughout it all is Patricia Levert-Thorne, Divergent Dances‘ Stage Manager, who is also Operations and Production Manager at Market Hall with two decades of experience.

“I have been fascinated to see Peterborough Square as a performance space, and how this process expands and slows down movement and plays with the architecture,” says Levert-Thorne.

Amino Yusuf, a recent Trent University graduate, is also involved with the project. Yusuf is Writer in Residence and charged with responding to the artists’ work with original writing.

Throughout the three-week residency there are many opportunities for people to ask questions and learn about the process.

Divergent Dances artists will be hosting two open public rehearsals, followed by question-and-answer sessions, from 12 to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 25th.

On Wednesday, September 26th from 7 to 8 p.m., Leary will deliver an artist talk titled “Divergent Dances: Bodies & Public Space” at Trent University’s Bagnani Hall at Traill College (310 London St., Peterborough).

Performances of Divergent Dances will take place at Peterborough Square in downtown Peterborough at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 28th, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 29th (rain date is 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 30th).

Divergent Dances Peterborough is co-presented by Anandam Dancetheatre, the Art Gallery of Peterborough, and Artsweek Peterborough and is part of the 2018 [in]SITES Series.

“Something that Brandy tells us all the time is to ‘soften’ ourselves,” says Bran. “To learn how to live inside of our own bodies, and the outside world, and share with those around us in soft and gentle ways.”

This story and the accompanying photos were supplied by Public Energy Performing Arts.

After a long absence, comedy returns to the Gordon Best Theatre on Friday, September 28th when popular Toronto-based not-for-profit group Players brings its unique blend of comedy, music, and tradition to Peterborough for the first time with a new sketch show called “Magical Mystery Tour Bus”.

“It’s a very unique live show,” says Players vice president and performer Meg MacKeigan. “It’s a lot like a cabaret. It’s part sketch comedy, part rock show, part keg party. It’s a bit of all three.”

Established in Toronto in 2004 by alumni of Queen’s University in Kingston, Players is a unique theatrical company that follows in the steps of the university’s Queen’s Players, first established as the Queen’s Drama Guild in 1900.

Combining comedy and music in a bawdy production containing its own special comedic traditions, the Queen’s Players continues to sell out shows in Kingston, while the Toronto Players has become a popular entity all its own, selling out rooms for 14 years.

“The Queen’s Drama Guild started these shows over a hundred years ago,” Meg explains. “They were classic cabaret and little mini-plays, and over time they added music to them.

“Because of the nature of the school, every four years there would be an entirely new group of people and the show itself evolved over time, adding new traditions and the changing the format of the show. The traditions would be passed on from the seniors to the sophomores.”

However, despite their association with Queen’s Players and the adoption of their theatrical traditions, Players co-founder and president Peter Higgins stresses that not all of the members of the group are affiliated with Queen’s University.

“Players is not a Queen’s University only thing,” he says. “At our last show in Toronto. only 30 per cent of our company were Queens’s alumni. Everyone else came from all other walks of life. We truly welcome anyone who wants to donate the time and is talented.”

Over the past 14 years, Players has been selling out shows in Toronto with full-length original productions that usually mash up two pop culture franchises into a ridiculous frenzy of comedy and music.

“We’ve sold out pretty much every show we’ve ever done because our audience is so loyal and love our shows so much,” Peter says. “They come back and they feel like they are in on the joke. Of course we want new audiences, which is part of what this tour is all about. We want to find new audiences and get them in on the joke and invite them into this silly musical comedy that we have.”

What makes Players so special is the use of a theatrical element called “traditions” that originated at Queen’s University.

“We have traditions big and small,” Peter explains. “The biggest and most obvious are the interactions between the audience and the cast and band members. You might want to think about how the Rocky Horror Picture Show has an audience that knows what to say during certain points of the movie or the play. With us there is a similar sort of thing.

“For instance, if you hear during one of the comedic scenes a title of a song, the audience is supposed to yell ‘Sing!’ and the players might sing that song. Another tradition is ‘seamless’. If somebody onstage makes an obvious mistake, if they fumble their lines or drop a prop, the audience yells ‘Seamless!’ which points out how the cast member screwed up. Certain audience members live for that moment.

“There is another tradition that if you like what the people on the stage are doing, you can pass up a beer, which they will drink right away. Those are three of our most obvious traditions, and those began at Queens’s University decades ago.”

In 2017, Players decided to move its shows away from the familiar audiences in Toronto and take them on the road. This is the group’s second year touring through Ontario, and its first time in Peterborough.

“Last summer was our first tour, and we wanted to do Peterborough but scheduling conflicts with the Gordon Best prevented us from stopping there,” Peter says. “So we focused on figuring out the logistics of doing a tour and travelling to another city. It was a success for us, so we decided to try again this year and reached out earlier and we got the Gordon Best secured and ready to go.”

While the Toronto-based shows are traditionally full-length productions, for the travelling show Players has created a sketch comedy production.

“The travelling show is an entirely new show,” Meg explains. “This is the second year that we have a sketch group, which is different than how we do our summer shows based off of one full-length narrative script. Each sketch is a standalone, but it’s all based on the theme of a journey. From that we came on the jumping point of the Magical Mystery Tour Bus.”

It should be noted that the show is not just theatrical sketch comedy. Players’ productions are as much about music as performance, and the group comes along with a first-rate rock band.

“Audiences are blown over by the music,” Peter says. “It’s totally accessible. Every song that we play is stuff you’ll know and you’ll sing along and you’ll love it.”

“The band is amazing,” Meg adds. “It’s equal parts comedy and concert. The opener is a medley of songs you’d hear on the radio. We have songs from Blink 142, Fleetwood Mac, Hall and Oates, and The Killers. It’s a mix of accessible alternative and classic rock.”

“It alternates between comedy and music throughout the show,” Peter continues. “You have the comic scene, which is punctuated by rock n’ roll, and then the next scene happens. It kind of goes back and forth and, throughout, the cast members and the people in the band are having drinks.”

Out of all the traditions, the most important one that Players continues is that all of the proceeds of their shows goes back to charity. Once again, this is a decade-old tradition that originated at Queen’s University.

“Whenever we did shows in Kingston it was for charity,” Peter says. “None of the players took money. So when I and my friends formed the group in Toronto, we decided we wanted to maintain that model because it helps form what Players is all about.

“We have three pillars that we adhere to when we make decisions. One is to put on a great show, of course, otherwise the audience won’t come back. Another is to have fun, and respect everyone involved and create a safe environment. And the third is to give any proceeds we make to charity.

“We’ve hit on this model every year where we pick three charities. This year’s charities are the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, which we’ve sponsored the last three years, Casey House, which is a Toronto hospice for people with HIV and AIDS, and the third is the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, which is focused on Indigenous issues and efforts towards reconciliation and in just making Canada a better place. So those are the charities for this season, and all the shows we do are raising money for them.”

If there’s one thing I’ve learned by sitting in Peterborough audiences, it’s that this community loves comedy shows. For years, the Gordon Best Theatre was a hub for improv and sketch comedy. However, in 2018 laughter has ceased to penetrate the walls of the theater, so Players’ stop in Peterborough is a chance to bring comedy back where it belongs at the Gordon Best.

To experience Players’ century-old traditions and blend of comedy and music, and to support three deserving Canadian charities, this community should come out and welcome the Magical Mystery Tour Bus when it pulls into Peterborough.

The Magical Mystery Tour Bus will be performed at Friday, September 28th at the Gordon Best Theatre at 216 Hunter Street West in Peterborough. The show starts at 8 p.m.. with doors opening at 7:30 p.m.. Tickets are $15 and are available online at www.playersto.com/events/peterborough-show or at the Gordon Best the night of the show. Note: This is a 19+ event.

Artsweek 2018, Peterborough’s biennial festival of the visual and performing arts, features more than 40 events with over 100 artists. The festival kicks off in Peterborough with a launch party on Friday (September 21) at the Peterborough Public Library, and continues until Sunday, September 30th.

Produced and presented by the Electric City Culture Council, this year’s program includes everything from music and dance to poetry and puppetry to clowns and flying canoes, and it all takes place in public spaces all across the city.

All Artsweek events are free and open to the public to experience.

“Artsweek 2018 features some of the most talented and imaginative artists in the city,” says Artsweek 2018 Artistic Producer Hannah Keating. “It shines a spotlight on the incredible creativity of this community.”

Artsweek 2018 includes some returning favourites such as the ‘Poetry Take-Out Cart’ (poetry on demand, just place your order) and ‘Porchapalooza’, front=porch concerts by a great line up of musical talent that take place in East City and the Old West End Avenues. Performance events include dancing on the escalators at Peterborough Square in ‘Sorry about what happend at the mall’, and aerial magic on the outside walls of the square with ‘Divergent Dances’.

‘Between the Water and the Sky’ — a dynamic fusion of music, dance and storytelling — will mesmerize audiences as it explores an artist’s journey to reclaim their Indigenous culture and heritage. ‘The Flying Canoe’ is an action-packed adventure told with theatre, dance and an aerial canoe.

In ‘The Wailing’, five 12-foot whales will weave in elegiac pageantry, music, and sound, calling audiences to remember what is happening to their world. ‘Tootah In Town’, an unorthodox clown, will pop up here and there throughout the festival. You can see printmaking in action and writ large, outdoors, at ‘Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking’.

In ‘Cognitively Nuanced: Neuro-Divergent Perspectives on a Burgeoning Urban Landscape’, you can connect with the experiences of people living with traumatic brain injuries through visual arts, media arts, writing, and performance. ‘Between the Lines’ is a site-specific series of pop-up projects organized by Hannah Keating and featuring filmmaker Daniel Crawford, visual artist Carolyn Code, and theatre artist Anne White.

This is a taste of what’s awaiting you during Artsweek 2018. Detailed information about each event, including artist bios, and a printable schedule are available at artsweekptbo.com, but kawarthaNOW has pulled together the following key details for your convenience, along with an interactive map of event locations:

Artsweek Launch Party

Date: Friday, September 21
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N)

Join the Artsweek team for the world premiere of Lester Alfonso’s Imaginarium, the Artsweek proclamation, opening remarks, and a sneak peek of festival highlights, including the Take-Out Poetry Cart, The Flying Canoe (Thomas Vaccaro), Porchapalooza (Washboard Hank and Sweet Muriel), and Between the Water and the Sky (Unity).

Refreshments will be provided.

Between the Lines

An outdoor exhibition of sculpture, animated film projection, and performance, Between the Lines is a group show that asks three local artists to respond to the questions posed and opportunities presented by “in-between” spaces.

Tangle is an outdoor installation by Carolyn Code. Using thread to sculpt geometric shapes, Carolyn’s piece draws on forms she has explored in previous work, while representing for the artist a bold new foray into public art.

The Door That You Walk Through is a film by Daniel Crawford. Projected onto the side of an abandoned brick building, the film weaves itself into the fabric of a magical, ramshackle setting behind The Only Café. Audiences are invited to journey through the café to the see the film.

Lookout is a performance by theatre artist Anne White. Anne positions herself with a critical eye in relationship to a space often overlooked, but heavy with personal, public, and historic meaning and asks audiences to do the same.

Between the Lines – Tangle by Carolyn Code
Date: September 22 – September 30
Time: All Day
Location: Behind Engage Engineering, 171 King St. Suite 120

Between the Lines – The Door That You Walk Through by Daniel Crawford
Date: September 24 – September 29
Time: 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Location: behind The Only Café, 216 Hunter St. W

Between the Lines – Lookout by Anne White
Date: September 24
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Between the Lines – Lookout by Anne White
Date: September 26
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Between the Lines – Curator’s Tour
Date: September 26
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Meet at Confederation Square, 499 George St. N Tour ends at The Only Café, 216 Hunter St. W

Between the Lines – Lookout by Anne White
Date: September 28
Time: 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Between the Water and the Sky

Between the Water and the Sky is a live performance featuring Unity Indigenous vocal ensemble, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra String Quartet, and dancer/choreographer Beany John.

A dynamic collaboration between art forms, Between the Water and the Sky features original songs “The Medicine Song” and “Ghost Dancer” by Unity, musical composition by Christine Donkin, and an embodied performance by John.

Between the Water and the Sky – Relaxed Performance
Date: September 27
Time: 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square Courtyard 360 George St. N

Between the Water and the Sky
Date: September 27
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Location: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Lobby (300 Water Street)

Between the Water and the Sky – Open Dress Rehearsal
Date: September 27
Time: 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: Trent University, 2510 Pioneer Rd. West side of Gzowski College

Between the Water and the Sky
Date: September 27
Time: 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer Street N)

Cognitively Nuanced: Neuro-Divergent Perspectives on a Burgeoning Urban Landscape

These are Horizon Days and The Brain Injury Association of Peterborough Region (BIAPR) have partnered to present Cognitively Nuanced, a multidisciplinary exploration of lives lived with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

A workshop series delivered prior to Artsweek invited members of the BIAPR to navigate Peterborough through verse, comedy, and sculpture and to create works that reflect their experiences.

Through poetry, dance, visual art, and photography, members share what it is like to move within and access Peterborough’s urban spaces.

Cognitively Nuanced: Exhibition Opening – painting, sculpture, photography, and performance
Date: September 22
Time: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Brain Injury Association Peterborough Region (BIAPR) 158 Charlotte St.

Cognitively Nuanced: Appendages in Relation to the Body (Revisited) – dance performance
Date: September 25
Time: 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square Courtyard 360 George St. N

Cognitively Nuanced: Brainstorm (cliché title subject to change) – poetry reading and chapbook launch
Date: September 26
Time: 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market Charlotte St.

Cognitively Nuanced: Appendages in Relation to the Body (Revisited) – dance performance
Date: September 27
Time: 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square Courtyard 360 George St. N

Divergent Dances Peterborough

Divergent Dances Peterborough is an outdoor aerial performance created by Brandy Leary of Anandam Dancetheatre. It features local dance artists Erin Ball, Opal Elchuk, Nikola Steer, and Thomas Vaccaro in performance on an exterior wall of Peterborough Square.

The performances will be prefaced by an open rehearsal on Tuesday, September 25th.

Divergent Dances Peterborough explores themes of listening, non-spectacle, and how bodies move in public space.

Divergent Dances Peterborough – Open Rehearsal
Date: September 25
Time: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N, Corner of George and Simcoe

Divergent Dances Peterborough – Performance
Date: September 28
Time: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N, Corner of George and Simcoe

Divergent Dances Peterborough – Performance
Date: September 29
Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N, Corner of George and Simcoe

The Flying Canoe

The Flying Canoe, presented by the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts, tells the story of a French-Canadian folktale, the Chasse-Galerie (“The Flying Canoe”), with live fiddle music by Jay Edmunds.

Brought to life through live theatre, dance, fire spinning, and acrobatics, the piece follows four lonely woodcutters who strike a deal with the devil.

Witness the spectacle, the woodcutters’ comical, action-packed adventures, and their dealings with a fiery devil as they traverse an innovative circus apparatus — the aerial canoe — rigged to the roof of The Canadian Canoe Museum atop the Grand Portage.

Performers include Opal (Jennifer Elchuk), Kayla Stanistreet, Jeffrey Cadence, and Victoria Kopf as the woodcutters, Thomas Vaccaro as the devil, and dancers Sammi Blanchard, Jess Gentle, Ceinwen Perks, and Kollene Drummond.

The Flying Canoe – Performance
Date: September 27
Time: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: The Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Road

The Flying Canoe – Performance
Date: September 27
Time: 7 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Road

Imaginarium

Imaginarium is a large-scale video projection mapping work by filmmaker and media artist Lester Alfonso that transforms the front windows of the new Peterborough Public Library with light and imagination.

Imaginarium invites passersby into new worlds and adventures, like those provided by the books on library shelves. Creating moments of unexpected, immersive, and ambient encounters, with music by Sherine Cisco and sound mix/design by Michael Phillips, this mirage plays with ideas of individual memory and public architecture.

It is a temporary, site-specific, multimedia event that will make a lasting impression on all who manage to catch a glimpse.

Imaginarium – Film Projection
Date: September 21 – September 23
Time: 8 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N)

New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality

The Electric City Culture Council is proud to present the Downtown Artists in Residence Project, New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality. Six local artists have been selected to take part in the residency and have been invited to contemplate the theme of hospitality.

A cross-cultural value, hospitality can be expressed, understood, and interpreted in diverse ways. The Indigenous, settler, and newcomer artists taking part will share their unique perspectives on the subject as well as their diverse artistic practices. An exhibition, performance works, and public engagement activities, created in response to these collective investigations will be delivered throughout Artsweek 2018.

Featuring Brad Brackenridge, Kelly O’Neill, Nick Ferrio, Rodney Fuentes, Mayelin Lovet, and Alice Williams, the residency aims to give space and time to meaningful collaboration, community gatherings, and multidisciplinary expression.

Exhibition – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 22 – September 30
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St

Group Drawing Project – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 22
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St.

Applique Workshop – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 23
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Meta4 Contemporary Craft Gallery, 164 Hunter Street W.

Collecting Sound – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 24
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St.

Drop in Salsa Dance – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 25
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: The Theatre on King, 171 King St.

Painting Masks – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 26
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: The Theatre on King, 171 King St.

Artists Talk and Lunch (Provided by the Gitigaan Project) – New Visions / Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 27
Time: 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: ünicity, 418 George St

Textile Mark-Making – New Visions/Old Land: On Hospitality
Date: September 28
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Meta4 Contemporary Craft Gallery, 164 Hunter Street W.

Porchapalooza

Porchapalooza is a lively neighbourhood concert series that transforms front porches into stages for live, local music. The event features 13 performances over two days and is produced by local musicians Washboard Hank and Kris Fisher.

Roving from one porch to the next, audiences will enjoy diverse musical genres and the unique atmosphere of front-yard concerts in a thrilling two-day tour through the historic Avenues and in East City.

There are three tour times for each Porchapalooza concert, but audiences are welcome to pop in at any time and follow their own schedule.

Porchapalooza – Pine Box String Band (Old Style Roots/Blues)
Date: September 22
Time: 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m.
Location: 551 King St.

Porchapalooza – Rob Phillips (Jazz ensemble)
Date: September 22
Time: 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Location: 297 Maitland Ave.

Porchapalooza – The Smoke Eaters (Cosmic Country)
Date: September 22
Time: 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m.
Location: 298 Maitland Ave.

Porchapalooza – Robert Atyeo (Original Folk Stylings)
Date: September 22
Time: 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
Location: 314 Pearl Ave.

Porchapalooza – Television Rd (Jazzy Rock/Psych)
Date: September 22
Time: 4 p.m, 5 p.m., 6 p.m.
Location: 307 Boswell Ave.

Porchapalooza – Electric City Ukes (Eclectic 6-8 piece band)
Date: September 22
Time: 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Location: 467 King St.

Porchapalooza – Red Room Quartet (Classical)
Date: September 23
Time: 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m.
Location: 73 Robinson St.

Porchapalooza – Bruno Merz
Date: September 23
Time: 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Location: 111 Sophia St.

Porchapalooza – The Hunter St. Fire Brigade (Roots/Bluegrass trio)
Date: September 23
Time: 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m.
Location: 298 Mark St.

Porchapalooza – Lauryn Macfarlane (Blues/Alt Country)
Date: September 23
Time: 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
Location: 303 Mark St.

Porchapalooza – Winona Wilde (Folk Americana trio)
Date: September 23
Time: 4 p.m, 5 p.m., 6 p.m.
Location: 18 Maria St.

Porchapalooza – Mayhemingways (Folk-Rock-Cajun Power Duo)
Date: September 23
Time: 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Location: 19 Charles St.

Porchapalooza – Otis and The Honey Lambs (Dixieland Jazz)
Date: September 23
Time: 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m.
Location: 239 Burnham St.

Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking

Jeffrey Macklin’s Roll-O-Matic printing system brings lino-block printmaking to the streets and invites audiences to join in the fun. Together with Carl Baker, Jeffrey stages public acts of printmaking at the Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park and at the Art Gallery of Peterborough, bringing “The Print Medium is the Message” to Artsweek audiences.

The large prints will be hand-pulled using a heavy, hand-operated, water-filled lawn roller, inviting audiences to consider how traditional mediums might relate to contemporary modes of communication in a world consumed by digital media. An art event committed to bringing communities together, the blocks have been carved by Jeffrey, Carl, and local artists recruited through a public call: Kathryn Bahun, Bennett Bedoukian, Christy Haldane, Alana Batten, Rob Niezen, and Cyd Hosker.

The final product will be five bound volumes of a special edition book from Artsweek 2018.

Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking
Date: September 22
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: The Art Gallery of Peterborough (250 Crescent Street)

Roll-O-Matic: Public Acts of Printmaking
Date: September 29
Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: The Silver Bean, Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Sorry about what happened at the mall

Sorry about what happened at the mall is a site-specific contemporary dance work set in Peterborough Square. Choreographed in three parts by Victoria Mohr-Blakeney, Kate Story, and Ryan Kerr, the piece investigates themes of late capitalist decay and the creative possibilities of unexpected spaces.

Part one, Sorry, is a dynamic duet between Ryan and Kate performed on the escalators of Peterborough Square with musical accompaniment from Evangeline Gentle.

Part two, About what happened, takes place on a bench in the mall’s lower level and features Bennett Bedoukian, Jenn Cole, and music from Pam Birrell.

Part three, At the mall, is performed by Gavin Barton, Suzanne Sorensen, and Hayley Carroll from the TASS Integrated Arts Program. It takes audiences further into Peterborough Square with the musical stylings of Peterborough’s Garbageface.

Imbued with an awareness of the mall’s past and present, the work gestures toward a new set of possibilities and associations for the Square, even while its future remains unknown.

Sorry about what happened at the mall
Date: September 24
Time: 4 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N

Sorry about what happened at the mall
Date: September 25 – September 26
Time: 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Square, 360 George St N

Take-Out Poetry Cart

What do you do when you have a craving and don’t want to cook it yourself? You order take-out of course! Step right up to the handmade, bicycle-pulled Poetry Cart, where gracious servers will offer you a menu of poetic options.

Check off the style, mood, and theme you’re after and an array of talented writers will create an instant work of original poetry just for you, tapping it out on a classic typewriter. Whether you request a Shakespearean sonnet, a vengeful haiku, or a tragic ode, you are guaranteed to walk away with a unique work of spontaneous art.

This year, the Take-Out Poetry Cart will be fueled by the talents of Tammy Bunce, EJ, Kay’la Fraser, Jon Hedderwick, Wes Ryan, simon tjh-banderob, Ziy von B., and Hilary Wear.

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 22
Time: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 24
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Confederation Square, 499 George St. N

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 25
Time: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Victoria Park, Brock St. and Water St

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Cart Session
Date: September 26
Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market Charlotte St.

Take-Out Poetry Cart – Poetry Reading
Date: September 27
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Sadleir House, 751 George St N

Take-Out Poetry – Cart Session
Date: September 28
Time: 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Silver Bean Café, Millennium Park 130 King St.

Tootah in Town

Tootah is an open-hearted, family-friendly, red-nosed clown who likes to keep busy. Whether collecting garbage, trying to understand Bineshiinyag (the Birds), or joyfully interacting with passersby, Tootah is always tending to something important. This year, Tootah will appear in repeated locations at the same time over the course of Artsweek to deepen his relationships to people and to place.

Hilary Wear is Tootah’s animator and she creates opportunities for people to observe and interact with Tootah using a fun and collaborative approach. Through Tootah, Hilary continues to grow and strengthen her Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) muscle memory and invites audience to greet or visit with Tootah in their travels.

Tootah in Town
Date: September 25
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Tootah in Town
Date: September 25
Time: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (300 Water Street)

Tootah in Town
Date: September 26
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market Charlotte St.

Tootah in Town
Date: September 26
Time: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (300 Water Street)

Tootah in Town
Date: September 28
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Millennium Park, 130 King Street

Tootah in Town
Date: September 29
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: Peterborough Regional Farmer’s Market, 307 Aylmer Street N (Citi Centre Courtyard)

The Wailing

The Wailing is an outdoor performance conceived by multidisciplinary artist Laurel Paluck. At its centre is a pod of five large ghost whales assembled from plastic in Laurel’s downtown studio.

The whales gather, commune, and mourn in response to the harm caused by over consumption of plastic and human pollution, and invite audiences to do the same. They swim low through and around the crowd and audiences are encouraged to stroke them as they pass.

This striking visual and musical experience is created in part by Kathleen Adamson who has composed an original piece for the performance and by a choir and dancers who bring the piece to life. One of the whales is outfitted with a droning instrument that forms the base upon which this roving, ghostly performance unfolds.

The performance in Victoria Park is presented with special consideration for accessibility. Accommodations available upon request.

The Wailing
Date: September 23
Time: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: Riverview Park and Zoo (1300 Water St, Peterborough)

The Wailing
Date: September 27
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: The Canadian Canoe Museum, 910 Monaghan Road

The Wailing
Date: September 28
Time: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Location: Victoria Park, Brock St. and Water St.

Artsweek 2018 Event Location Map

kawarthaNOW has put together this interactive map of all the Artsweek 2018 events, so you can check what’s nearby when you’re around town over the next week.

View a larger version of this map.

All photos courtesy of Artsweek 2018.

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, September 20 to Wednesday, September 26.

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.