Hooning – A term primarily used in Australia and New Zealand to describe driving a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally to provoke a reaction from onlookers.

Peterborough native Jeremy Kelly is on track, both literally and figuratively, as he elevates his passions for both auto racing and filmmaking to a whole new level.

On Friday, April 27th at 9:30 p.m., Velocity (part of the Discovery specialty cable channel network) will air Hoonin’ All Day, Kelly’s 22-minute film detailing how he and three friends brought a four-cylinder car with 400,000 kilometres on its odometer back to life and then took it for a glorious spin on the track at Shannonville Motorsport Park.

“We had some hiccups along the way but we got it there,” says Kelly, who was joined in the adventure by Tyler Junkin, Nate Mitchell, and Andy McCann.

“It was destined for the scrapyard. We diverted that fate, picked up a trip permit, stuffed four grown men into it, put some performance parts and tools in the trunk, and road tripped it to Shannonville.”

Kelly notes “after a very slow run” they went to work on the car, installing a super charger and racing tires.

“We got to go out and light it up,” says Kelly, adding the same car later came within half a second of beating the lap time of a $100,000 Hellcat Challenger in a King of the Hill event at Peterborough Speedway before the car eventually met its scrapyard destiny.

“I was begging and pleading for Tyler to keep it but, truthfully, the car was so rotten,” says the Ennismore resident.

With an estimated reach of 70 million households in the United States, Velocity is airing Hoonin’ All Day as part of a 10-part pilot series titled Dispatch.

The same network, which airs automotive-related programming, has brought its viewers shows with catchy titles such as Kings Of Crash, All Girls Garage, and Fat And Furious.

Kelly notes hoonin’ is Australian slang for showing off with a car in a dangerous and reckless manner — something the 31 year old knows all about and practices as a competitive racer most actively at Peterborough Speedway, a 50-year-old 1/3 mile oval just west of the city off Mount Pleasant Road.

Besides anticipating the airing of Hoonin’ All Day, Kelly is gearing up for the start of another season of racing commencing May 19th.

“I dreamed of being a race car driver,” says Kelly. “My grandfather used to race at Peterborough Speedway and Bell City (in Selwyn) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights back in 1969 and 1970.

“Getting into racing was kind of like a tribute to him. It’s like a family event for us. We don’t necessarily get together at the dinner table, but we get together every Saturday night at Peterborough Speedway and have some fun.”

If you subscribe to the widely held notion that winning is fun, Kelly has that covered. Last season, he emerged as champion of the Four-Fun division featuring four-cylinder cars, his familiar number 80 car racing to the top points total in the division — his second championship in just 3-1/2 seasons

As satisfying as that success has been, it’s clear that hanging with fellow car buffs Junkin, Mitchell, and McCann is every bit as fulfilling.

“I met the guys at different times but the one thing that keeps us grounded is we’re all obsessed with cars and motor sports,” says Kelly. “We’re all racing cars and working on cars, working on a shoestring budget to make everything work.”

“Nate is kind of like the goofy, joker, one-liner type of guy and he’s a crazy race car driver. I’ve never seen anybody drive so recklessly but make it work.

“Andy is like the king of projects. He’s got like 20 cars on the go and none of them are finished. He tears apart cars all day long at Kings Auto Wreckers and he’s super clever when it comes to making it work.

“Tyler is like the guru. He’s very technical and very matter of fact. If there’s one kind you need on your team to execute and get things done, this is the guy.”

“I’m way late to the game compared to these guys in terms of car mechanics and racing. I’ve had to try to prove myself.”

What Kelly did bring to the table, and clearly still does, is big-time talent when it comes to documenting on film whatever project he’s involved with.

Trained formally at Sheridan College, the St. Peter’s alumnus honed his craft over the years since, notable projects including a 2006 canoe-related documentary he worked on with Tony Buell and, a few years back, working with Rob Viscardis to produce Before We Arrive: The Story of The Weber Brothers.

Then there was 2012’s Highways To Fairways, a Bent Nose Media-produced 14-part TV series about two bad golfers scouring the world for unique golf courses. Kelly served as director of photography and lead editor for that production.

For all his skill, however, Kelly says the road to having Hoonin’ All Day aired on Velocity was paved with “sheer luck.”

After going to Michigan to try and get a job with a show called Roadkill — an automotive-themed show co-hosted by former Hot Rod Magazine editor-in-chief David Freiburger — Kelly discovered it’s “incredibly hard to get a creative job across the border.”

Undeterred, he opted to produce a similar show back home in Canada, involving a few friends and even fewer dollars.

“We virtually had no budget … we just winged it,” says Kelly. “In total we produced four pilot episodes for release on YouTube and started shopping the show to sponsors and anybody I could talk to in the media and car world.”

“As soon as we had our first episode done, the one that’s going to air on Velocity, I took that and flew down to Georgia to meet with Roadkill co-host Mike Finnegan at the Caffeine and Octane Car Show. “I said ‘Here’s our show, it’s totally RoadKill-inspired’, all while hoping that would lead to something.”

VIDEO: Hoonin’ All Day Episode 1: Blackstock Derby

It did, in the form of 10 episodes developed for Velocity’s on-demand platform. It was there things sat until word came that Velocity was going to air an episode of the show for its national audience.

With the April 27th airing date nearing, Kelly is pumped.

“It’s the most thrilling thing, the most gratifying experience, to be part of … when you don’t know if it’s the best thing to be spending your money and time on, but your gut tells you to go for it,” he says.

“When it starts to pan out and things start happening and people notice what you’re doing, it so fulfilling. I can’t describe how excited we all are. Creatively, it was a lot of fun to just wing it and not really pre-plan too much.

“Things happened naturally and unfolded in front of the camera. You take those moments and build from them. We had a bit of template but it wasn’t scripted that much. The guys are natural comedians.”

And in Alfred Hitchcock-like fashion, the filmmaker also appears in Hoonin’ All Day, having used what he terms “a bit of camera magic” to make that happen.

“We’re going to get together at my parents’ house to watch it. There’s a big TV in the basement, so we’re going to check it out and have a couple of celebratory beers.”

Peterborough’s Faith Dickinson has received an invitation to the Royal Wedding.

The 15-year-old Dickinson is one of 1,200 members of the public invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding at Windsor Castle on May 19th, including young people who “have shown strong leadership, and those who have served their communities” according to an April 10th media release from the Royal Family.

In 2017, Dickinson was one of 20 young people honoured with the inaugural Diana Award, presented to her by Prince William and Prince Harry. The Diana Award is a charity legacy to the belief of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, that young people have the power to change the world.

Dickinson is one of seven of the Diana Award recipients who have been invited to the wedding, according to a media release from The Diana Award.

#ICYMI seven of the incredible young people we work with have been invited to the #RoyalWedding next month!

One of them is Faith, who received her Legacy Award from HRH Prince Harry almost exactly a year ago.

Read the full announcement at https://t.co/QADiTorU6B#DianasLegacy pic.twitter.com/wJXDg1wfkp

— The Diana Award (@DianaAward) April 10, 2018

Dickinson was honoured for her “Cuddles for Cancer” charity. She started the charity, which provides fleece blankets for people living with cancer, when she was nine years old. She’s now made more than 3,500 personalized blankets for people around the world.

Dickinson will interviewed by CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning guest host Mary Ito on Friday (April 13) where she will share more information about her invitation.

Award-winning author and bee expert Mark L. Winston will be the keynote speaker at the two-day Pollination Summit presented by Peterborough Pollinators, which takes place on Saturday, May 5th and Sunday, May 6th.

Winston, who has a PHd in Entomology and is the former Director for the Centre for Dialogues at Simon Fraser University, is one of the world’s leading experts on bees and pollination. His 2014 book Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive won both the Canadian Science Writers Book of the Year Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction.

With Canadian poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Winston has co-authored a new book Listening to the Bees, a compendium of his field notes and her poems which will be released at the end of April.

The Pollination Summit begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough) with a “Honey Fair” featuring all things bees — honey, garden support, beekeeping, and related information with displays. Winston will also be available to sign copies of his new book.

Then, from 8 to 9 p.m., Winston will deliver his keynote address on the topic “If we could change our relationship with nature, what would the bees have to teach us?” The talk will be followed by a question-and-answer session, another book signing, and socializing, wrapping up at 10 p.m.

On Sunday, May 6th from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., three pollinator tours will be available, dependent on the weather: a tour of a private garden that supports native pollinators, a tour of an urban farm with a pollinator garden and some hives, and a tour of a community hive installation at a local school.

The tours will be followed by a visioning dialogue from noon to 3 p.m. at Lett Architects (138 Simcoe St, Peterborough), where Winston along with Ben Wolfe will lead a discussion on the topic of his keynote. The event will include refreshment break of local herbal teas sweetened with local honeys.

While the pollinator tours are free, the May 5th event at the Market Hall costs $28 ($18 for students), with tickets available at the Market Hall or online at markethall.org.

The May 6th visioning dialogue costs $15 (plus a fee), with tickets available online at Eventbrite. Only 50 tickets are available, although an additional 20 seats will be available at no cost for youth and students.

Peterborough Pollinators is a citizen-led initiative committed to cultivating a resilient environment for local pollinators, including creating pollinator gardens throughout Peterborough.

For more information about the group and the Pollinator Summit, visit peterboroughpollinators.com.

Some local professional women whose children were born at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) have joined forces to raise funds for a new electronic fetal monitor at the hospital.

The 13 women — known as the PRHC Foundation Mombassadors — are co-chairs Erin Marshall (Isagenix International/ Full Tilt Cycle) and Sarah McDougall Perrin (Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry) and members Kate Ahrens (Flying Colours Corp), Jennifer Bissell (Beauty Bar), Marcy D’Alessandro (PVNCCDSB), Sarah Evans (RE/MAX), Nanzala Hopson (PVNCCDSB), Katie Johnston-Hawley (City of Peterborough), Missy Knott (Singer-songwriter), Jennifer Moher (Jennifer Moher Photography), Danielle Newall (Re-Newall Fitness), Grace Reynolds (Mortgage Agent), and Meaghan Roy (CHEX-TV).

The women formed the group to give thanks for the care they and their babies received at PRHC and to help improve care at the hospital for other new moms in the community.

VIDEO: Introducing the PRHC Foundation Mombassadors

When a woman comes to PRHC’s Labour & Delivery Unit to give birth, it’s critical for doctors and nurses to monitor the health of both the mother and her unborn baby. An electronic fetal monitor, which continually both records the heartbeat of the baby and the contractions of the mother’s uterus during labour, detects early signs of distress and how the baby is reacting to the contractions.

However, because the monitors are used so often — 1,572 babies were born last year at PRHC — and for prolonged periods, they eventually wear out and must be replaced. Each monitor costs many thousands of dollars and the government doesn’t provide funding to upgrade and acquire new technology.

For their first fundraising event, the PRHC Foundation Mombassadors are hosting “Girls Night Out”, a ladies-only evening of dancing, live and DJ entertainment, food, drinks, socializing, and more at ARIA (331 George St. N., Peterborough) on Thursday, May 10th — three days before Mother’s Day.

“By supporting the PRHC Foundation Mombassadors, you are doing more than just having a fun night out with the girls,” says PRHC Foundation President & CEO Lesley Heighway. “You are doing your part to help save the lives of women and babies in your community.”

The age-of-majority event costs $50 for general admission (which includes a complimentary cocktail, hor d’oeuvres, and door prizes) or $100 for a VIP ticket (which also includes access to an exclusive VIP zone, a champagne toast, and additional food).

If you can’t make it to the event, you can also donate to the cause.

To purchase tickets or to make a donation, and for more information about the Mombassadors, visit www.prhcmombassadors.ca.

The Peterborough Petes organization is inviting members of Peterborough and surrounding communities to express their condolences to the Humboldt Broncos and all those affected by Friday’s tragic accident.

With the help of Signarama Peterborough, a book of condolences is available to allow local residents to express their sympathies to the families and friends of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team, as well as the residents of the small Saskatchewan town.

The book is available to be signed at Peterborough City Hall (500 George St. N., Peterborough) until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13th. Beginning on Monday, April 16th, the book will be available for signing in the north lobby at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (151 Lansdowne St., Peterborough).

There is also a display that includes photos of the 15 players, coaches, and staff who lost their lives when the Humboldt Broncos team bus was involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer on April 6, 2018.

The display and book will also be set up throughout the weekend of April 21st and 22nd when the Petes host their 2018 Development Camp at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

The book will then be sent to the Humboldt Broncos team leadership.

A Gofundme campaign to help families of those who lost their lives has now raised over $7.6 million. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/funds-for-humboldt-broncos.

On Sunday, April 22nd, local residents are invited to get a taste of comic convention culture when Pop Culture Canada returns to the Evinrude Centre to host the second Peterborough Comic Con.

After the huge success of their first event in Peterborough last September, Pop Culture Canada is bringing more comics, more vendors, and some seriously big-name talent to the Kawarthas — including comic legend James O’Barr and film actress Bai Ling.

Based out of Oshawa, Dave Wyldstar and his team at Pop Culture Canada organize 30 small comic conventions throughout Ontario each year (in addition to the Peterborough show on April 22nd, there’s also one in Cobourg on April 15th). Taking elements from the larger conventions, such as Toronto’s Fan Expo, Dave repackages the comic con experience into a smaller family-friendly event and brings it to smaller communities so a more diverse audience can experience comic con culture.

“Everybody has that little bit of curiosity,” Dave says. “Everyone has heard the term ‘comic con.’ The fact that it’s happening down the street and it’s only five bucks means everyone can go and see what it’s all about.”

“It’s the hometown comic con. In our advertisements that appear in comics, we actually use the tag line ‘Your town next.’ We’d love to have a comic con in every town. I don’t care if only a hundred people come out. I don’t care about making millions of dollars and having millions of people come out. I want to get all the fans to come together, have some fun, do some shopping, take some pictures, and make some memories.”

With over a decade in the business, Dave began organizing wrestling events in the 1990s. However, with the world of wrestling and fan culture being so closely linked, Dave soon began organizing small-scale comic conventions, which led to the creation of Pop Culture Canada three years ago. But, as Dave explains, his experience of going to comic events goes far back to a time when comic book collecting and fan culture barely existed.

“I remember going to small comic cons in Toronto in the 1970s,” Dave says. “There would be these little shows every six months where comics would be just stacked on the tables about two feet high, and you could buy four comics for a dollar. I remember going to a comic show at a hotel in Toronto and I was buying comics and this guy says to me ‘Do you want a copy of Action Comics #1? It’s the first appearance of Superman.’ I looked at the book and I said ‘I’m not really a Superman fan. How much do you want for it?’

“It was just raw, with no bag and board. Well, the guy says ‘I’d like to get a hundred bucks for it.’ So I gave the guy the comic back and said ‘Why the hell would I pay a hundred bucks for a Superman comic, when newer ones are four for a dollar and I can buy a pile of them?’ But that’s how the industry has evolved. There was no price guide back then. You just sold comics for whatever you wanted, and a quarter was a great deal.”

As Dave points out, the industry has changed a lot over the decades and, now more than ever, comic books and superheroes are more ingrained into mainstream media.

“You turn on the TV and everyday there is at least one superhero TV show on,” Dave points out. “You can’t go anywhere without being exposed to superheroes and comic book media. So superheroes are here to stay, and it’s become a part of our vocabulary and our culture.”

Last September, I took part in the first Peterborough Comic Con as part of The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show podcast in which I participate alongside my colleagues Marin Boruta, Dan Collins, and Chris Gilpin. Set up at the back of the hall, I was astounded by the success of the first Peterborough Comic Con.

More than a thousand Peterborough residents attended the event, which featured both local and out-of-town independent comic professionals, cosplayers, comic book dealers. and specialty item booths containing jewellry, original clothing, crafts, and writers promoting their original novels.

Filled with a positive energy and a ton of excitement, I connected with old friends and met new ones. I learned that day that it’s not the size of a convention that matters, but the quality of the community that comes out for it. The quality of the Peterborough community wasn’t only just apparent to me, but was noticed by Dave as well.

“Considering that comic conventions have been around for the better part of twenty years, I think Peterborough has been ignored,” Dave says. “Peterborough is a pretty big city, but Peterborough had never had a big comic event there. That’s why I think our first event was such a huge success. It was one of our biggest shows of 2017.”

A major part of Pop Culture Canada’s operations is to collect food for local food banks and, as Dave points out, the Peterborough Comic Con last September saw their biggest food haul ever, with 1,115 pounds of food collected.

“Last year Peterborough was our number one show for raising the most food over one day,” he says. “We raised over a thousand pounds of food for one day. That was huge. It usually takes us a full year to collect that much food, so that was incredible. Peterborough was off the wall.”

It was because of the success of last September’s event that Dave chose Peterborough to bring two high-profile guests. Appearing via Pop Culture Canada for only two events, writer James O’Barr and actress Bai Ling are two of the most famous guests Pop Culture Canada has ever hosted.

James O’Barr began his career in comic books in the early 1980s, and his comic series The Crow is one of the most important and influential independent comics of all time. Making its debut in 1989, The Crow not only inspired an entire generation of creators, but the character and comic book series became a hallmark of goth culture.

During an era where films based on comic books were still a rarity, the film version of The Crow became one of the biggest cult films of the era when it was released in 1994, partially due to the tragic death of lead actor Brandon Lee (the only son of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee) during the filming of the movie.

Although O’Barr took a break from The Crow in 2002 to create other comic series, he returned to the character in 2013 for a revival via IDW Publishing. Throughout the Peterborough event, James will be offering free autographs for fans of The Crow.

Chinese actress Bai Ling also has a strong connection to The Crow, with it being her American motion picture debut in which she played the lover of the film’s villain Top Gear. A notable name in both Asian and Hollywood cinema, Ling also appeared in film such as Red Corner, The Wild Wild West, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, as well as television appearances on Lost, Angel, and Entourage.

Making People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People list in 1998, Ling also appeared in Playboy Magazine in 2005. Currently, Bai Ling has nine films in post-production that will be available to audiences in 2018.

Also meeting fans in Peterborough will be Montreal-based actress Noelle Hannibal, who is best known for her appearance in the film Star Trek: First Contact, as well as appearances on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Meanwhile, Ottawa-based filmmaker Brendan Mertans will be returning to his hometown to promote his documentary Ghostheads, about Ghost Busters fan culture, and his latest feature, Mike Stand, about the career of recently deceased comedian Mike McDonald.

Although the Peterborough Comic Con is small when compared to the behemoth conventions held in San Diego, New York, and Toronto, Pop Culture Canada’s shows are well run, stress free, and suitable for the whole family. They give local residents who may not be able to travel to the bigger conventions a little taste of the comic con experience in their own back yard — without the long lines, high cost, and crushing crowds that often goes along with the bigger conventions.

“We don’t do panels, screenings, or Q&As,” Dave says. “But that’s not what our events are about. They’re about giving fans a fun and no-stress event in their own town. These are shows that you come to because you are going to find stuff that you’re not going to find elsewhere, and you are going to meet people in your own community and have some fun.”

Peterborough Comic Con will be held on Sunday, April 22nd at the Evinrude Centre (911 Monaghan Rd., Peterborough) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the event is $5 (children under the age of 10 old get in for free when accompanied by an adult). The organizers would like attendees to bring food bank donations, with each donated canned item traded for raffle tickets for an assortment of special door prizes. More information on the prizes will be available on the day of the event.

Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef was at St. Joseph’s at Fleming in Peterborough earlier today (April 9), where she announced a total of $357,364 in federal funding for 11 projects to improve accessibility for people with disabilities in the Peterborough area.

Monsef made the announcement of the funding, which comes from the federal government’s Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF), on behalf of Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

“At each of the community town halls I have hosted over the past two and a half years, and particularly at my Accessibility and Inclusion Town Hall, I have heard from individuals about the access barriers to employment, transportation, education, and housing that exist,” Monsef said. “This funding is an important step for our communities to move forward and meet the needs highlighted by Peterborough-Kawartha residents.”

The EAF funds projects that fall under one of two streams, community or workplace accessibility, and includes renovations, retrofits, construction, and the provision of accessible information and communication technologies.

The 11 organizations and projects receiving funding are:

• Alternatives Community Program Services – The Braidwood Neighbourhood Project – $30,849
• Peterborough Communication Support Systems – Improving safety for Deaf staff – $2,481
• City of Peterborough – Assistive Listening Device Kits – $33,559
• YWCA Peterborough Haliburton – Renovation of Accessibility Ramp – $31,236
• CCRC (Community Counselling & Resource Centre) – George Street Accessibility Project – $21,380
• Peterborough Communication Support Systems – Automatic Door Opener – $3,413
• St. Joseph’s at Fleming – Installation of Automatic Door Openers and Doorway Renovations – $49,868
• Offices That Work! – Common Area Accessibility Upgrades – $45,000
• Five Counties Children’s Centre – Enabling Accessibility Fund; Community Accessibility Stream – improving accessibility of client/reception area – $39,078
• Lakefield Baptist Church – Renovation Project – installation of automatic doors, ramp and lift, accessible washroom – $50,000
• The City of Peterborough – City of Peterborough Park Upgrades (playground surfaces, park walkways & benches) – $50,000.

Since the creation of the EAF in 2007, the Government of Canada has funded over 3,000 projects to improve accessibility to community programs, services, and workplaces.

Eligible organizations can submit funding applications through an annual EAF call for proposals. The Government of Canada is currently accepting applications to EAF for mid-sized projects until May 24, 2018. Interested organizations can apply at canada.ca.