Meaghan Chapman (second from left) and Nick Chapman (right), along with operations manager and general manager Mark and Nancy Hutchinson (left and second from right), presented a cheque for $21,066.55 to Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) Foundation board chair Mona Malcolm Sharman (middle) on May 20, 2025, representing proceeds from the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign held at Chapmans' five Tim Hortons locations in Lindsay from April 28 to May 4. (Photo: RMH Foundation)
Cue the smiles for better patient care in Kawartha Lakes.
The thrill is genuine for the Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) Foundation, having learned it’s the recipient of more than $21,000 to help fund several significant investments underway at RMH in Lindsay.
Nick and Meaghan Chapman, owners of five Tim Hortons restaurants in Lindsay, chose the RMH Foundation as a partner charity during the restaurant chain’s spring “Smile Cookie” campaign that ran from April 28 to May 4.
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“We are thrilled to see such a positive response to the Smile Cookie campaign, not only for the hospital but for all of the community causes that are supported by the Tim Hortons restaurants all over Canada,” RMH Foundation communications specialist Kim Coulter told kawarthaNOW.
When asked what the money will specifically support, Coulter said, “here at the Ross, funds are going toward the hospital’s highest priority projects.”
The priority projects include enhancements to the emergency department and intensive care unit (ICU) in response to rapid population growth, ensuring access to leading-edge diagnostic technology and state-of-the-art bedside equipment enabling life-saving care, and transforming the patient experience and connecting real-time test results and patient information.
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When customers bought Smile Cookies during the campaign, Coulter noted, they were supporting those critical hospital projects.
While the Tim Hortons’ Smile Cookie campaign lasted only one week, the impact of its fundraising support touches lives long into the future, the RMH Foundation noted in a media release, adding that the foundation is grateful to the Chapmans for their support.
On Tuesday (May 20), RMH Foundation board chair Mona Malcolm Sharman stopped by a Lindsay Tim Hortons location to celebrate the success of the Smile Cookie campaign with the Chapmans and operations manager and general manager Mark and Nancy Hutchinson, who presented the foundation with a cheque for $21,066.55.
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“To everyone who made a point of visiting one of Nick and Meaghan’s restaurants and buying a Smile Cookie knowing it’s for a good cause, thank you,” said Malcolm Sharman in a statement.
“You might wonder how much impact a cookie can make, but together as a community we can make big things happen for our local hospital. With every gesture of generosity, you make a difference.”
The Chapmans’ Tim Hortons restaurants include three locations on Kent Street West, one at the corner of County Road 36 and Mount Hope Street, and one on Highway 35 south of Highway 7.
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“We are happy to be in a position to help the Ross, not just because it’s important to our family when we need care, but because it’s important to everybody,” said Nick Chapman.
Other Lindsay-area Tim Hortons restaurants supported Kawartha Lakes Food Source and the Humane Society of Kawartha Lakes.
Since 1996, the annual Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign has raised a total of more than $130 million for charities and community groups selected every year by restaurant owners. Last year, the campaign raised $19.8 million for more than 600 charities, hospitals, and community groups across Canada.
Detective sergeant Josh McGrath at the scene of a physical altercation on May 18, 2025 in downtown Peterborough that led to the death of a 41-year-old Peterborough man. Three of the four men arrested in the incident have been charged with manslaughter. (kawarthaNOW screenshot of Peterborough Police Service video)
Four men are facing charges — including three for manslaughter — in connection with the death of a 41-year-old Peterborough man on the May long weekend.
At around 9:50 p.m. on Sunday night (May 18), Peterborough police and emergency services were called to Brock Street west of George Street North in downtown Peterborough.
After arriving at the scene, officers learned a verbal argument between the victim and a larger group of people escalated to a physical altercation.
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The victim, who was found without vital signs, was taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre where he died the following day as a result of some of the injuries he sustained during the physical altercation.
Police have not released information about the nature of the injuries.
Through an investigation, police identified four Peterborough men believed to be responsible for the victim’s death. Although the men had brief interactions with the victim prior to his death, police say they do not believe the suspects had a relationship with the victim.
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Police located and arrested 26-year-old Matthew Janssen-Supernault at around 1 a.m. on Monday. On Tuesday, detectives arrested 24-year-old Dylan Moffatt and 35-year-old Matthew Smith. The fourth suspect, 24-year-old Noah Stetski, turned himself in to police on Tuesday.
Moffatt, Smith, and Stetski have each been charged with manslaughter, and Janssen-Supernault has been charged with aggravated assault.
Janssen-Supernault appeared in weekend and statutory holiday court on Monday, with the other three men held in custody for a court appearance on Wednesday.
The board of directors of FLATO Academy Theatre in Lindsay has announced Victoria Shepherd is the historic theatre’s new general manager.
Shepherd has spent her entire 20-year career in the music industry, first serving as the inaugural executive director of CONNECT Music Licensing in Toronto and then the inaugural director of operations for the Canadian Live Music Association.
As well as her experience in the music industry, Shepherd also has over 35 years of experience as a freelance theatre director in Toronto.
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“I am thrilled and excited to have the incredible opportunity to join one of Canada’s oldest theatres,” Shepherd says in a media release.
“There is so much artistic potential in the Kawarthas, and I am looking forward to working tirelessly with the board to ensure that we gather, celebrate and embrace this magnificent theatre.”
Shepherd, who began in her new role in March, replaces former general manager Craig Metcalf, who retired in January after more than five years.
Longtime journalist and community supporter and volunteer Paul Rellinger, pictured with his wife of 44 years Mary, during the United Way Peterborough & District's announcement on May 21, 2025 of Rellinger's appointment as chair of the United Way's 2025 community campaign. (Photo: Jeannine Taylor / kawarthaNOW)
Longtime journalist and community supporter and volunteer Paul Rellinger has been appointed chair of the United Way Peterborough & District’s 2025 community campaign.
The United Way made the announcement at its office at 277 Stewart Street in downtown Peterborough on Wednesday morning (May 21).
“Paul’s dedication and passion for our community are truly inspiring,” said CEO of United Way Peterborough & District Jim Russell. “His connection to the organization is rooted in a belief that a thriving community takes collective effort and shared responsibility.”
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“He understands that the campaign is not just about raising funds, but rather about igniting hope and creating a shared sense of purpose,” Russell added. “We are confident that under his leadership, the 2025 campaign will be a remarkable success.”
Rellinger has supported the United Way for many years, most notably by organizing five annual Peterborough Performs: Musicians United To End Homelessness benefit concerts that have raised almost $150,000, with the latest concert this past March raising a record amount of $36,375.
He is also known for the former annual “Relly on the Roof” event he launched in 2011 as a one-off fundraiser for the United Way, where he camped out on the roof of a local business for 48 hours, subsequently supporting Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region for the next seven years.
Prior to his most recent support of the United Way Peterborough & District by organizing five Peterborough Performs benefit concerts, Paul Rellinger began the “Relly on the Roof” fundraiser in 2011 to support the United Way, subsequently raising funds Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region for the next seven years. (Photo courtesy of Paul Rellinger)
After moving to Peterborough in 1989 and following a career in broadcast and print media, including 27 years as editor and columnist at Peterborough This Week, Rellinger “retired” in 2016 to become a freelance writer for clients including kawarthaNOW, Trent University, and Cam’s Kids Foundation, also working for Oldies 96.7 FM.
He served for a number of years on the United Way’s Campaign Cabinet, has been the emcee of Peterborough Family Literacy Day since 2011, served as board chair of Peterborough Musicfest, and has also volunteered to emcee many other community events.
A past president of the Kinsmen Club of Peterborough, he also served on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough, the John Howard Society, and Showplace Performance Centre, as well as donating time to sit on a number of committees.
He was inducted into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame in 2021 and received the United Way’s Champions of Change Award in 2024.
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During his acceptance speech at Monday’s announcement, Rellinger said he was “both humbled and honoured” to be leading the campaign cabinet, acknowledging the efforts of past campaign chairs such as Neil Morton, Megan Murphy, Daivd Goyette and, most recently, Shirley Turner.
“These are big shoes to fill for this little man,” he said.
“When Jim Russell and United Way board chair Marcus Harvey extended this opportunity a few weeks back, I was lost for words. Anyone who knows me knows how rare that is. But upon very short reflection, there were 1,506,198 reasons to say yes — a yes for each dollar the incredibly successful 2024-25 campaign brought in for the vitally important work carried out by the United Way’s 20 partner agencies.”
The United Way Peterborough & District’s 2025 community campaign Paul Rellinger stands behind the podium with his wife Mary to his left, along with United Way CEO Jim Russell and board chair Marcus Harvey (both standing behind Rellinger) and United Way staff during an announcement at the United Way’s office at 277 Stewart Street on May 21, 2025. (Photo: Jeannine Taylor / kawarthaNOW)
Rellinger recognized Turner’s leadership as the chair of the 2024 campaign which, in raising $1,506,198, met and surpassed its goal for the first time in 10 years.
“But while we can, and should, celebrate the success of the past campaign, we can’t lose sight of the fact that the need continues, not only for the United Way’s partner agencies but across our communities at large,” Rellinger added.
“The United Way campaign does more than direct much-needed dollars to where they can do the most good. The campaign provides hope for a better tomorrow, all while reinforcing what many of us already know — that this is a community that cares for, and looks after, its own.”
“That this is a community that rejects poverty, homelessness and social injustice in all its forms, and does what it can, what it must, to lessen the burden of those who, for whatever reason, are caught up in the continued spiral of inequity.”
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As chair of the 2025 campaign cabinet, Rellinger will not only lead a team of volunteers to orchestrate fundraising efforts, strengthen donor engagement, and host inclusive community events, but will inspire others to get involved.
He said he is looking forward to working alongside United Way staff, the board, campaign cabinet, partner agencies, and the community, “with the end goal being our coming together in the spring of 2026 and saying, in one proud voice, ‘This place we call home cares, sees grievous wrong and seeks to right it, and that’s what truly makes it home.'”
“Giving is defined as providing love or other emotional support,” Rellinger added. “That’s true, but there’s another aspect of giving that we should, and must, keep front of mind — giving is an act we’re all capable of on some level, if not monetarily than by the selfless provision of our time, talent, and spirit.”
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Rellinger also thanked his wife Mary, who was at the announcement, for her “support of, and patience with, her can’t-say-no-to-anything husband.” The couple, who have been married for 44 years, have three adult children and five grandchildren.
“Thank you Peterborough, in advance, for walking the walk, ensuring no one has to walk alone,” Rellinger concluded. “Not on our watch. Not ever.”
The fundraising goal of the 2025-26 United Way campaign will be announced later this year.
In the world premiere of "The Housekeeper" at 4th Line Theatre from July 1 to 19, 2025, Eleanor Gwyn (Julia Scaringi) is a mysterious woman who arrives in Millbrook in 1955 looking for a job and becomes the housekeeper for widower Walter White (Jay Davis). Gwyn is hoping to make a fresh start in life and to find a place to call home, but is Millbrook ready for her and her progressive world views? Featuring a cast of 22 professional and volunteer actors/musicians, "The Housekeeper" is the fourth in a series of acclaimed plays by Ian McLachlan and Robert Winslow about the Barnardo children and their impact on Canadian culture and history. (Photos courtesy of 4th Line Theatre)
Summer is only a month away, and that means that 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook is preparing to launch its 2025 season.
The outdoor theatre company’s 33rd season will begin on Canada Day with the world premiere of The Housekeeper, a mystery romance written by Ian McLachlan and Robert Winslow that ponders the duality of the welcoming and easy nature of small towns with how small towns can be suspicious of outsiders.
Directed by Winslow, the play tells the story of a mysterious woman named Eleanor Gwyn who arrives in Millbrook in 1955 looking for a job, and being the housekeeper for widower Walter White might be the perfect fit. Gwyn is hoping to make a fresh start in life and to find a place to call home, but is Millbrook ready for her and her progressive world views?
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Featuring a cast of 22 professional and volunteer actors/musicians, The Housekeeper is the fourth in a series of acclaimed plays by McLachlan and Winslow about the Barnardo children — 2005’s Doctor Barnardo’s Children (restaged in 2006 and 2014), 2014’s Wounded Soldiers, and 2019’s Carmel being the others — and their impact on Canadian culture and history.
Between 1870 and 1930, Irish philanthropist Dr. Thomas John Barnardo sent thousands of destitute and orphaned children to Canada, including to Hazelbrae, the Barnardo’s home for girls in Peterborough and the namesake of Barnardo Avenue. Called home children, the orphans were sent to Canada to be adopted and to be used for labour, with many girls becoming domestic workers and boys becoming farm labourers.
Winslow was inspired to co-write The Housekeeper after hearing stories from Ben Olan, a local retired farmer, surveyor, and 4th Line volunteer who has since passed away, about young women who came to the area to work as housekeepers for local farm families, often for older widowers who badly needed domestic support. Sometimes, the women would marry the farmers and even inherit the farms.
“The Housekeeper” co-playwrights Ian McLachlan and Robert Winslow. The fourth in a series of plays by McLachlan and Winslow about the Barnardo children, the play makes its world premiere at the Winslow Farm in Millbrook from July 1 to 19, 2025. (Photos courtesy of 4th Line Theatre)
“I got the impression from Ben’s stories that there was a certain prejudice against these women in local circles,” Winslow says in a media release. “This was enough to send Ian and me on our way.”
That led Winslow and McLachlan to write one of the most complex characters yet in their series of plays about the Barnardo children.
“I’ve always been bored by two-dimensional characters and Eleanor certainly isn’t that,” observes McLachlan. “On the contrary, she’s fascinatingly complicated: warm, loving, selfish, creative, (and) capable — possibly — of violence. She wasn’t the reason we started the play, but she was the magnet that drew me into it.”
Eleanor Gwyn will be portrayed by Julia Scaringi, who performed in 4th Line’s 2022 production of Alex Poch-Goldin’s The Great Shadow and the 2023 production of Winslow’s The Cavan Blazers.
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In his 4th Line debut, Canadian actor and singer Jay Davis will be playing widowed farmer Walter White — one of the Barnardo children featured in the original Doctor Barnardo’s Children and Carmel.
Davis, who just starred in the Mirvish production of Britta Johnson’s celebrated musical Life After in Toronto, has spent more than three decades performing on screen and stage, with some of his Canadian credits including Baco Noir, Bittergirl, Dracula, Evangeline, Maggie, Anne of Green Gables, Colours in the Storm, and Little Woman.
Also returning to 4th Line for The Housekeeper are Kiana Bromley, Matt Gilbert, Mark Hiscox, Darius Maliha-Evans, and Hilary Wear. Community volunteer actors include Kaleigh Castell, Richard Holt, Cody Inglis, Debbie Hudson, Ian McGarrett, Adam Murray, Zach Newnham, Gus O’Reilly, Ash Street, Lew Street, Hanna-Marie Toll, Evie Wallace, and Gillian Woodhouse.
VIDEO: Kim Blackwell speaks with Robert Winslow about “The Housekeeper”
Along with Winslow as director, the creative team includes assistant director Hilary Wear, costume designer Bonnie Garland, set designer Esther Vincent, musical director and composer Justin Hiscox, sound designer Steáfán Hannigan, and fight director Edward Belanger, with Gailey Monner and Mikayla Stoodley on the stage management team.
The Housekeeper will run at 6 p.m. from July 1 to 19, with preview nights on July 1 and 2, opening night on July 3, and performances on Tuesdays to Saturdays from July 8 to 12 and 15 to 19, with an additional Monday performance on July 14. The play contains mature content and is recommended for audience members 16 and older.
Tickets are $52 for adults and $45 for youth, with a discounted price of $38 for both adults and youth on preview nights, plus tax and fee. Tickets, season subscriptions, and gift certificates are available by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 1-800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, and at 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office location at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of 4th Line Theatre’s 33rd season.
Darren Goldin founded Entomo Farms in the Township of Asphodel-Norwood in Peterborough County with his brothers Jarrod and Ryan in 2014 after reading an article about the benefits of consuming insects. Today, the award-winning company is the largest producer of cricket-based protein in North America, supplying its products to more than 50 companies worldwide. (Photos courtesy of Entomo Farms)
It’s not unusual to hear the chirping of crickets when you’re in rural Peterborough County, but what is unusual at one Norwood farm is that the sound is coming from within the farm’s barns instead of the mooing of cows, the oinking of pigs, or the clucking of chickens.
That’s because Entomo Farms is redefining the future of farming and food by raising crickets as an eco-friendly and nutritious alternative to traditional protein.
Based in the Township of Asphodel-Norwood, one of the eight townships in Peterborough County, Entomo Farms was recently inducted into the 2024 International Green Industry Hall of Fame for its sustainable approach to nutrition, following several previous awards for innovation and sustainability.
As the owners of Norwood pet food supplier Reptile Feeders, brothers Darren and Ryan Goldin were already entrepreneurs in entomology when they read a paper about the health benefits that come from the practice of consuming insects. In 2014, along with their other brother Jarrod, they founded Entomo Farms, where they harvest crickets to produce nutrient-rich food while minimizing waste, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Not only does cricket farming require far fewer resources than conventional cattle, pig, or chicken farming, but crickets are more efficient at converting grain into protein compared to traditional livestock.
“If we took all the grain that we already grow and turn it into cricket feed, crickets could produce two to three times the amount of protein,” says Darren, who is Vice President of Farm & Production Operations.
What’s more, the entire cricket is used for food, with none of the waste by-products of conventional livestock farming. Even cricket manure doesn’t go to waste, with Entomo Farms partnering with Canadian Tire in 2022 to supply a plant fertilizer for consumers.
Today, Entomo Farms is the largest insect farm in North America and produces around 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of raw crickets monthly — over 10 million crickets per week — which are either roasted whole and packaged or dehydrated and ground into a fine protein powder that can be used in baking, pastas, sauces, smoothies, soups, and more.
Not only does cricket farming require far fewer resources than conventional cattle, pig, or chicken farming, but crickets are more efficient at converting grain into protein compared to traditional livestock. Entomo Farms in the Township of Asphodel-Norwood in Peterborough County raises its cricketsunder the most ethical conditions possible, allowing them to range freely in their enclosures and only harvesting them at the end of their normal lifecycle. (Photo courtesy of Entomo Farms)
The crickets are raised under the most ethical conditions possible, allowed to range freely in their enclosures, and are only harvested at the end of their normal lifecycle, when they are flash frozen to put them in a state of hibernation before they are roasted in small batches.
Entomo Farms supplies its products to more than 50 companies worldwide, including pet food and treat suppliers across North America as well as wholesale to retailers. Close to home, Peterborough Mexican restaurant La Hacienda uses Entomo Farms products to serve customers a unique, high-protein cricket taco.
A family-owned business, Entomo Farms wouldn’t have the international acclaim it has without the support of other local businesses, including a strong partnership with Reptile Feeders in Norwood and Campbellford Farm Supply Ltd., which has supplied feed for the crickets since the alternate protein company was first established.
As for the operations of the farm, Hastings-based fabricator John Kloosterman Equipment Sales made the 40,000 square feet of custom vertical infrastructure needed to sustainably farm the insects, and Peterborough’s Summit Mechanical has provided technical support for Entomo Farm’s dehydrator system.
Humans have been harvesting and eating insects for thousands of years and, from its home in Peterborough County, Entomo Farms has become a global leader in the insect protein revolution, changing perceptions and diets today for the betterment of the planet tomorrow.
The Local Advantage in Peterborough County is a branded editorial feature series about locally owned independent businesses in Peterborough County, created in partnership with Peterborough County’s Economic Development & Tourism Division.
As part of its response to the impact of U.S. tariffs, Peterborough County is showcasing the many unique businesses located in the county, both by sharing their stories of success and how they support both residents and other businesses in their communities.
Whether by shopping at local businesses, dining at local restaurants, staying at local accommodation, or enjoying local experiences, residents and visitors can enhance the economic resilience of Peterborough County during these challenging times and help establish a sustainable foundation for the future.
For more information about economic development and tourism in Peterborough County, visit www.ptbocounty.ca/ecdev and The Kawarthas Tourism at thekawarthas.ca.
A rendering of a 17-storey residential-commercial development that TVM Mark Street Inc. is proposing be built beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough's East City. The original proposal presented in 2024 was for a 10-storey building. (Image via City of Peterborough website)
A proposed 10-storey residential-commercial development in Peterborough’s East City, to be located west of Mark Street United Church at 90 Hunter Street East, has grown by another seven stories.
Toronto-based developer TVM Group, the company behind two other nearby East City developments — East City Condos and the St. Joseph’s Hospital redevelopment — is now proposing a 17-storey building be constructed at the location, according to a notice posted in the current development applications section of the City of Peterborough’s website.
Last year, TVM Group proposed a 10-storey, mixed-use building with commercial space on the ground floor, a parking garage on parts of the first and second floor, and 156 apartment units on the remaining seven floors. There would be with parking for 121 motor vehicles underground as well as at the rear of the ground floor and on the second floor.
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The new proposal for a 17-storey mixed-use building would have four levels of structured parking (one partially underground) and 205 units — 66 one-bedroom units, 110 two-bedroom units, and 29 three-bedroom units — on floors three to 17. There would be 205 motor vehicle parking spaces and 206 bicycle parking spaces.
As with the original proposal, the original church building would remain.
According to a 2024 report from the East Central Ontario Regional Council of the United Church of Canada, the board of trustees of Mark Street United Church entered into an agreement with TVM Group to exchange the church property for rental condominium units in the East City Condos development valued at $2 million, as well as the construction of a new hall on the north side of the church building at no cost to Mark Street United Church.
A rendering of the originally proposed 10-storey residential-commercial development beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough’s East City, which was presented to area residents during an open house in June 2024. (Facebook photo)
Last June, TVM Group held an open house for area residents on the originally proposed 10-storey building.
During that meeting, former Peterborough mayor Daryl Bennett, the chair of the church’s board of trustees and its property development team, said a “couple” of area residents were “were worried that the sunlight they’re expecting in their backyard might not be as good as it should be.”
“Yes, it’s a big development,” Bennett added. “Yes, it’s a lot of new people coming into East City. Is that a good thing or is that a bad thing? From my standpoint, the city is deficient in buildings of this nature. It’s going to be a spectacular addition.”
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Also present at the June 2024 meeting was TVM Group president and CEO Amit Sofer.
“This is step one, where we are displaying to the community what we propose to bring to the city,” he said. “We are seeking comment from community members — maybe some suggestions of things that we have overlooked. We will go back, absorb some of those comments, make some adjustments and then, next month, we’re hoping to submit for a rezoning application from the city.”
Contrary to Sofer’s comment last June, the addition of seven storeys is a significant change rather than an adjustment to the original proposal presented during the open house, which was also attended by Ashburnham Ward city councillors Gary Baldwin and Keith Riel.
Renderings of a 17-storey residential-commercial development that TVM Mark Street Inc. is proposing be built beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough’s East City. (Image via City of Peterborough website)
“I like to think we’re dealing with a reputable developer,” Baldwin said at that meeting. “They’re going to listen to the people. The project may change a little bit (or) it may not, but the fact they’re having this (open house), meeting with and hearing directly from people and answer their questions, is a good process.”
According to the City of Peterborough’s website, the city is currently reviewing an application from TVM Mark Street Inc. for a zoning by-law amendment for the proposed 17-storey building development.
A public meeting under the Planning Act on the proposed zoning by-law amendment will be held at an upcoming meeting of city council’s general committee, when members of the public will be able to make delegations.
With files from Paul Rellinger. This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
Whiskey Jack in 1977, featuring Duncan Fremlin, Mac Pulling, Rocky Hill, and Peterborough's own John Hoffman. Hoffman, who co-founded the band with Fremlin, will join Whiskey Jack for a few numbers at Peterborough's Air Force Association Hall on June 8, 2025 during the "CBC TV Country Music Stars" show, which also features Donna Ramsay and LeRoy Anderson, who spent 17 years performing weekly on CBC's "The Tommy Hunter Show". (Photo courtesy of Duncan Fremlin)
Every dog may have its day, but who’s to say you can’t have close to five decades’ worth of days? That has certainly been the case for what arguably remains one of the most beloved and successful roots-country-bluegrass bands in Canadian music history.
Since forming in Toronto in 1977 — a time when Canadian rock bands ruled the city music landscape and the catchy disco sound was catching on — Whiskey Jack has won, and kept, the hearts of fans across Canada.
For several years, as host of the comedy segment The Ol’ Back Porch on The Tommy Hunter Show and later as the late Stompin’ Tom Connors’ tour band, Whiskey Jack’s musical prowess and fun stage persona was on full display, winning the band a sizable loyal following that remains to this day.
So it was that when the idea of bringing together stars of CBC TV’s long-running hallmark music program for a reunion tour was broached, Whiskey Jack’s being part of that cavalcade was as assured as it was fitting.
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On Sunday, June 8 at Peterborough’s Air Force Association Hall at 274 King Street, the aptly titled “CBC TV Country Music Stars” show will see Whiskey Jack headline alongside Donna Ramsay and LeRoy Anderson who, as Donna and LeRoy, performed weekly for 17 years on The Tommy Hunter Show starting in 1975 (the pair were inducted into the the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010).
Admission to the 2 p.m. show is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested price of $35. Featured will be a mix of favourite songs from Hunter’s TV show, some Stompin’ Tom standards, and a selection of Whiskey Jack songs.
The Peterborough show — the last of four scheduled, preceded by stops in Nobel (near Parry Sound), Sault Ste. Marie, and Toronto — will see John Hoffman join Whiskey Jack for a few numbers. In the mid-1970s, the Peterborough resident developed an interest in bluegrass music and come 1979, mandolin in hand, found himself a member of Whiskey Jack alongside co-founder Duncan Fremlin, Bob McNiven, and Greg Street.
VIDEO: Maple Sugar / Big John McNeil / St. Anne’s Reel Medley – Whiskey Jack (2015)
“There was a sort of a bluegrass revival that started in the early ’70s — The Good Brothers were the most famous part of that — but there were other bands we went around to see and I got interested in bluegrass,” recalls Hoffman, citing New Riders of the Purple Sage as an influence.
“Somebody put a notice up in a music store looking for someone to play in a bluegrass band. It was Duncan. We started jamming. I spent 1977-78 going to Trent (University), but I took the bus to Toronto every weekend to jam with Duncan and this other fellow, Paul Wickham. We started playing for money, trying to go full-time (as Whiskey Jack) early in 1979.”
Besides playing gigs wherever it could, Whiskey Jack recorded and released three albums — Uptown (1979), One More Time (1981), and Whiskey Jack (1983). The band’s first single, notes Hoffman, was penned by “a Peterborough guy,” Roy Mulder.
“We got a bit of a buzz and felt we were doing pretty good, but in 1981, we hit the doldrums,” says Hoffman. “The call to audition for The Tommy Hunter Show came at a particularly bad time. We had a gig booked at the Trent Inn (in Peterborough) and it cancelled. I was thinking ‘Are we going to be able to do this?’ In those days, when a gig was cancelled, that was your paycheque for the week.”
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But The Tommy Hunter Show audition went well, proving to be manna from heaven as Whiskey Jack secured a regular spot performing the musical backdrop for the show’s comedy segment The Ol’ Back Porch over three seasons, accompanying show guest performers as well.
“That was thing that really gave our career a huge boost,” says Hoffman.
Come 1986, however, getting to “the next level,” says Hoffman, meant touring across Canada full-time. With a small child at home, that, says Hoffman, “was a level I didn’t want to get to,” forcing his decision to call it a day with Whiskey Jack.
“I never had illusions that we were going to hit the really big time. At first, when we got on The Tommy Hunter Show, I thought maybe, but then it was like ‘No, it’s not going to happen.’ But it was a good run.”
LeRoy Anderson and Donna Ramsay with Tommy Hunter in the late 1980s. Donna and LeRoy were inducted into the the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. (Photo courtesy of Duncan Fremlin)
While Hoffman moved on to play regularly with Washboard Hank, Fremlin stayed at it with the band, and after a few years that saw Whiskey Jack play a minimal number of shows, another Peterborough connection — in the form of promoter Brian Edwards of Rocklands Entertainment — led to the next big chapter: touring with Stompin’ Tom Connors from 1993 until his death in 2014.
Like Hoffman, Fremlin says The Tommy Hunter Show run was huge for the band, both then and now.
“If it wasn’t for Tommy Hunter, you and I would not be talking today — it just changed everything,” says Fremlin, adding “We milked it; we took advantage of it.”
“John and I were a good team. We had the drive, we had the smarts, we had the initiative. A lot of creative marketing went into it. I don’t think I could have done it without him, and I’m hoping he would say the same about me. We were brains and brawn of it, even though, in some ways, we were the least talented.”
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To this day, Fremlin shakes his head over the fact that Whiskey Jack was able to work well with as diverse personalities as Tommy Hunter and Stompin’ Tom Connors.
“If there are two Canadian performers who don’t belong in the same room, it’s Tommy Hunter and Stompin’ Tom. They were complete opposites in so many ways. I don’t think either one of them thought much of the other.”
“Here we are — Whiskey Jack, Stompin’ Tom’s band, and Donna and Leroy, Tommy Hunter’s duo — getting together for this show, and we all get along,” Fremlin adds. “I don’t think those two guys would have got along at all.”
Whiskey Jack co-founder Duncan Fremlin performing with Gordon Lightfoot. (Photo courtesy of Duncan Fremlin)
Speaking to the Peterborough show, Fremlin makes note of another local connection in the form of current Whiskey Jack member Douglas Cameron. Twice Juno Award-nominated, he lived in Peterborough for several years and was an original member of The CeeDees alongside another Peterborough resident, Curtis Driedger.
“How lucky was I to get hooked up with him about 12 or 13 years ago?” marvels Fremlin, noting Hoffman made that introduction.
“We just kind of hit it off. We’re both writing songs and performing at the highest level, and we’re both in our 70s. Besides the fact that he’s very musical, his performance is very theatrical and animated, in an industry where there’s not a whole lot of that.”
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Asked if getting together again with Hoffman on stage will fit like an old shoe, Fremlin points to the example of his jamming last summer with Donna and Leroy.
“I hadn’t seen them in 30 years. That part of it (playing music together) was like falling off a log. We traded songs, we knew the same songs, so that part was good. The idea of taking that, and making a show out of it, that’s an entirely different story.”
“Donna and I have spent countless hours on this. It’s been a hell of a lot of work. That’s not at all like riding a bike. We’re creating this show from scratch. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m confident that with those on stage, with so many decades behind them, the show is going to be very entertaining and very fun.”
In From The Cold co-founder John Hoffman performing on fiddle at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in Peterborough in December 2015. (Photo: Linda McIlwain / kawarthaNOW)
For his part, Hoffman, who’s best known in recent years for his hand in bringing the In From The Cold fundraiser for the YES Shelter for Youth and Families to Market Hall each December (with Driedger also a regular performer), is “looking forward to seeing what these guys come up with.”
“They’re all really good musicians. This is a new thing for them. These people are not young. It’s kind of inspiring that older musicians want to try new things. I can relate to that. I’m at ‘Let’s see what happens.'”
For more information about Whiskey Jack, which also features Billy MacInnis on fiddle and James McEleney on bass, visit whiskeyjackmusic.com.
A 42-year-old Lindsay man is facing multiple assault charges after stabbing a man in a wheelchair on Monday afternoon (May 19).
At around 4:08 p.m., Kawartha Lakes police responded to a report of a stabbing at Kent Street West and William Street North in downtown Lindsay.
After arriving on the scene, officers learned two men were having an argument that escalated into a physical altercation, with one of the men producing a knife and stabbing the other man — who required the use of a wheelchair — multiple times. The suspect then fled on foot, and witnesses observed him discard an item on the roof of a nearby building.
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The victim was transported to Ross Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers searched the area and located the suspect a short distance away in a wooded area as he was attempting to change clothes. He was taken into custody without incident.
Officers also gained access to the roof of the business where witnesses had observed the suspect discard an item, and found and seized a folding-blade knife.
David Grozelle, 42, of Lindsay has been charged with assault, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
The accused man was held in custody pending a bail hearing.
encoreNOW for May 19, 2025 features (from left to right, top and bottom) Skydiggers at Peterborough's Market Hall, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra at Emmanuel United Church, O Canada! benefit concert at Lindsay's Academy Theatre, Trent Valley Archives Theatre's "Crossing Over" at Peterborough's Market Hall, Globus Theatre's "Desperate to be Doris" in Bobcaygeon, and Kyle Golemba's "Handsome but Charmless" at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre. (kawarthaNOW collage)
encoreNOW is a bi-weekly column by Paul Rellinger where he features upcoming music, theatre, film, and performing arts events and news from across the Kawarthas.
This week, Paul highlights highlights the return of Skydiggers to Market Hall, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s season-closing concert, a celebration of Canadian music at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, Trent Valley Archives’ staged tribute to the Peter Robinson emigrants, Globus Theatre’s premiere of one man’s infatuation with Doris Day, and Kyle Golemba’s theatre journey bared at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre.
Skydiggers staying power on full display at Market Hall
VIDEO: “A Penny More” – Skydiggers (2018)
Whether you love a band, can do without it, or are indifferent, you have to admire longevity. The music business is tough; remaining together as a unit, and staying relevant and fresh, is even tougher.
Close to 40 years after forming in Toronto, Skydiggers has checked all those boxes and more, retaining and still building on its hard-earned status as one of Canada’s most hailed and successful roots-rock bands.
Better still, singer Andy Maize, who co-founded the band with lead guitarist John Finlayson, are still at it and producing new music, Skydiggers’ newest release Dreams & Second Chances marking 20-plus studio albums/EPs for the band.
While the early 1990s brought Skydiggers its most commercial success — with their self-titled debut in 1990 producing the singles “Monday Morning” and “I Will Give You Everything,” 1992’s Restless spawning the band’s biggest hit in “A Penny More,” and the follow-up album Just Over This Mountain earning Maize, Finlayson, et al a Juno Award for Most Promising Group — the band never stopped recording or touring, winning new fans while satisfying the taste of fans who were hooked on day one.
Dreams & Second Chances gives full evidence that Skydiggers haven’t missed a beat. In fact, it could be argued it’s mistitled, considering the band is still making the most of its first chance.
Full evidence of that will be provided on Thursday (May 22) at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough when Skydiggers performs in concert, its blend of rock, folk and country influences, melodic songwriting, and heartfelt lyrics continuing to resonate.
Season finale sees the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra Step Into The Light at Emmanuel United Church
VIDEO: Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, IV featuring Sabine Devieilhe
For the finale of its 2024-25 season, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is returning to Emmanuel United Church in downtown Peterborough on Saturday (May 24) to present ” Step Into The Light,” which was also the theme of the five-concert season now winding down.
A finale deserves a rousing selection of music. To that end, the PSO is delivering Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, a widely hailed symphonic masterpiece that sees its creator take us on his personal journey, culminating in a child’s vision of heaven.
If that’s not enough, the program will also welcome back cellist Stephen Tétreault and harpist Valérie Milot as soloists in Kelly-Marie Murphy’s award-winning Double Concerto. Also featured is soprano Christina Raphaëlle Haldane, who will join the orchestra for the final movement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony.
At the conductor’s stand, as always, is maestro Michael Newnham, who will give his usual pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. performance are $33, $48, or $55, depending on the seat you choose, with student tickets costing $12 for all seats. They are available online at thepso.org/step-into-the-light.
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Canadian pride a treat for the senses at the Academy Theatre
VIDEO: “Hold Me” – The Strumbellas
Hard as it may be, we have to give the 47th president of the United States — yeah, you know who I’m referring to — credit for bringing together Canadians on a scale few times seen prior.
Due to his tariff bullying and 51st state pipe dream, immense pride in all things Canadian has extended well beyond the hockey ice surface to homes, businessese, and organizations from coast to coast to coast. You can count on one hand the number of times politicians of all stripes have spoken with one voice on anything.
Our treasured Canadian identity extends well beyond maple syrup and poutine. Take, for very good example, the Canadian music industry. Long is the list of Canadian recording artists who have gifted the world with great music, and all of it tariff-free to boot.
That’s well worth celebrating at any time, but especially now, and on Sunday (May 25) at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, that’s exactly what will happen.
Billed as “a uniquely Canadian concert featuring Canadian artists celebrating Canadian music,” the aptly titled O’ Canada concert will feature a stage lineup that delivers on that promise.
Hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Erica Ehm, the celebration will bring The Strumbellas, Dwayne Gretzky members Tyler Kyte and Nick Rose, Russell deCarle of Prairie Oyster, Melissa Payne, Cassie Noble, Dale Crowe, Gamekeeper and Mis-Hap to the stage, where a house band comprised of Frazer Turk, D’Arcy Mason, Graeme Morrison, and Andy McNeilly will round things out.
Now the best part. The concert is fundraiser for BGC (Boys and Girls Club) Kawartha in support of its music and arts programs — the future of Canadian-made and supported entertainment, if you will.
Trent Valley Archives pays homage to the Peter Robinson settlers
In a scene from “Crossing Over”, John Keleher (Hugh Foley, right) brings petty thief Tim Ryan (Kaza Hesselink, second from right) to the John Barry surgeon-superintendent William Burnie (Ashley Parker, left) for ship board justice. Mr. and Mrs. Hagarty (Lucas Pronk and Cathy Brand, centre) are worried, having their own secrets to keep. (Photo courtesy of Trent Valley Archives Theatre)
With this year marking the bicentennial of the Peter Robinson emigration of Irish settlers to the Kawarthas region, there’s a gold pot at the end of the rainbow, and that pot is chock full of events marking the emigrants’ arduous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean for a new life in a new land.
We’ve already heard that Peterborough Musicfest is presenting back-to-back-to-back performances in early August by U2 tribute band Acrobat, The Mudmen (with Irish Millie opening), and The Celtic Tenors. And there’s 4th Line Theatre, which is bringing the world premiere of Megan Murphy’s Wild Geese to the Winslow farm.
Add Trent Valley Archives’ original historical play Crossing Over to the commemorative mix. Being staged May 29 to 31 at Market Hall in Peterborough, it’s a fictionalized account of the six-week Atlantic voyage of the emigrant ship John Barry, which departed from Cobh Harbour in Ireland on May 25, 1825. Family surnames on the passenger list included Hagerty, Nagle, Owen, Regan, Ryan, Slattery, Sullivan, and Young.
Narrated by John Keleher, an experienced seaman and Peter Robinson settler (played by storyteller extraordinaire Hugh Foley), this is a tale of tremendous courage in the face of so very many unknowns. Just the fortitude alone it took to say goodbye forever to relatives in Ireland is quite something. This play will have an Irish music soundtrack, courtesy of music director Michael Ketemer backed by the Crossing Over Chorus.
A fundraiser for Trent Valley Archives, the play is a sequel to last year’s inaugural production Tide of Hope, which told the story of David Nagle, an Irish land agent for a wealthy British landowner who eventually fled Ireland on the John Barry after being branded a traitor by Irish rebels.
During the year when we’re all Irish, if even for a bit, we can comfort in the fact that those who really are Irish are welcoming us in with open arms. Few are more welcoming when it comes to sharing their traditions and heritage.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. from May 29 to 31, with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on May 31. Suitable for all ages 14 and up, tickets cost $30 ($40 for cabaret seating) and are available at www.markethall.org.
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Globus Theatre opens its 22nd new season in spirited fashion
VIDEO: Ephraim Ellis introduces “Desperate To Be Doris” at Globus Theatre
Professional theatre is very much alive and well in Bobcaygeon, with Globus Theatre staging 10 productions this year at its home at 2300 Pigeon Lake Road.
The season lid lifter is the Canadian premiere of Desperate To Be Doris, a comedy penned by the British duo of Sue Ryding and Maggie Fox and starring professional actors Ephraim Ellis, Elana Post, and Globus Theatre’s own artistic director Sarah Quick. Quick’s husband and Globus artistic producer James Barrett is directing.
The story centres around Dean (Ellis), who spends his days working at a mail-order pajama company but, come nightfall, is a legend in his living room by singing the songs of Doris Day. When his operatic society decides to stage a theatrical version of Day’s 1953 film Calamity Jane, Dean ponders if his big moment has finally arrived. With a backdrop of some of Day’s greatest hit songs — performed by a community chorus of local residents recruited by Globus — this is a tale of self-discovery and the courage and power of following your dreams.
Now in its 22nd season, Globus Theatre was founded by Quick and Barrett to bring professional theatre to the Kawarthas, annually staging productions from May through December from a former cattle barn converted to a 150-seat theatre and attached restaurant.
Desperate to be Doris will be performed at 8 p.m. from May 29 to 31 and June 5 to 7 and a 2 p.m. matinee performance on May 31. An optional dinner is available before the evening performances.
Tickets are $50 for the show only, or $100 for dinner and the show (plus tax and fee). For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.globustheatre.com or call the Globus Theatre box office at 705-738-2037.
An actor’s journey takes centre stage at the Capitol Theatre
Kyle Golemba (left) with Amir Haidar in the 2024 production of “Bed and Breakfast” by Mark Crawford. (Photo: Tracey Allison)
If turning a negative into a positive is truly a gift, Kyle Golemba is on top of his game.
After a reviewer described the actor as “handsome but charmless,” Golemba didn’t sulk. Far from it, instead penning a delightful musical that’s brimming with hilarious stories and reflections on the ups and downs of theatre life.
Handsome But Charmless opens June 3 in the intimate Sculthorpe Theatre at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre. Front-and-centre, poking good fun at himself, and no doubt his very honest reviewer, this has fun and music — never a bad combination — at its centre.
And as befitting a one-man show, it features a huge talent in Golemba, whose list of stage credits is long and impressive, including his performance as Brett in the 2024 staging of Mark Crawford’s Bed and Breakfast at the Capitol Theatre.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. June 3 to 7, with added 2 p.m. matinees on June 4, 7, and 8. Tickets cost $45, $35 for those under 30, and are available at capitoltheatre.com.
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Encore
What a difference a few months, and funding, makes. You’ll recall that during the Peterborough’s budget deliberations, a number of Peterborough groups — the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) among them — were faced with the loss of city funding. After much outcry, that funding was kept in place … for now. EC3 is now back from the brink, not only hosting and presenting the Peterborough Arts Awards’ presentation on June 12 at the Canadian Canoe Museum, but also accepting performance submissions for the biannual Artsweek arts festival in the fall. Now we get word that fusion violinist Victoria Yeh — no stranger to local audiences — has been added to EC3’s board. When we think what would have been had EC3 lost its city dollar support, this activity is all the more worth celebrating, and supporting.
I’m wishing a number of homegrown country music artists nothing but good things when the Country Music Association of Ontario’s 2025 CMAOntario Awards are presented on June 1 at The Music Hall in Hamilton. Elyse Saunders, Tebey, Sacha, and Jesse Slack and Daryl Scott are nominated in multiple categories and hoping to hear their names called at least once. I’m also thinking good thoughts for local singer-songwriter Dan Hick who is up for a remarkable five awards at the New Music Awards being hosted by Pet Rock Radio May 24 at the 100 Acre Brewing Company. Dan will also perform at the event, which will also see Washboard Hank presented with a legacy award.
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