Even with the unpredictable extreme weather events that climate change has wrought, it’s a pretty safe bet that snow won’t fall on Port Hope in August.

That picturesque lakeside community has that in common with the fictional community of Kringle, Ontario, where the town reeve has hatched a tourism development plan that has Christmas at its centre — not just in December, but all year round.

With the townspeople fully on side, all is good until a heat wave melts away early enthusiasm for the plan. That’s when things get really interesting and hilarious in Christmastown, the fourth and final main stage theatrical production of the Capitol Theatre’s summer season.

Written by celebrated Canadian playwright Briana Brown, Christmastown is making its world premiere at the historic theatre in Port Hope, opening Friday, August 16th and continuing to Sunday, September 1st.

Directed by Capitol Theatre artistic director Rob Kempson, the farce — billed as being about “making magic all year long” — stars Christy Bruce, Alison Deon, Deborah Drakeford, Darrel Gamotin, Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, and Mirabella Sundar Singh.

Brown, who holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, admits to being “a little fascinated by Christmas.”

“I never had the kind of Christmas you see in movies or on TV,” she recalls. “I’m an only child. My dad was an only child too. There were a couple of other family members early on, but they (family Christmas gatherings) were always quite small.”

Kringle, says Brown, is reflective of her upbringing in a small town outside of Bayfield on the eastern shore of Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario.

“Kringle is one those smaller towns that’s struggling,” she explains. “It used to get a lot of traffic with people on their way through to get to a beach area, but there’s a new highway and everybody avoids it now. So, they’re trying to use the town’s name and see if they can drum up some tourism or a reason for people to start coming back. They have decided that a 24/7 Christmas town is the way to go about it.”

The playwright used her own small-town experiences to lend authenticity to the fictional town.

“There are a lot of bits and pieces of real-life people,” Brown says. “You do collect experiences and characteristics. The location — a gas bar/convenience store/restaurant/dry cleaning service — existed when I was growing up; that sort of hub of activity with all the different things that could be happening at the same time. That multi-use space seems like a great setting for a comedy; a place where so many worlds collide and there’s a lot of action going on.”

Brown has no fears that a Christmas-themed play will be a tough sell in August.

“Part of the reason it actually makes sense is because, in the script, it takes place in August,” she says. “They’ve embarked on this big idea when they’re two weeks into a heat wave. All of the people on stage have their Christmas costumes rolled up or half off because they’re exceptionally hot.”

“The time of year really works for it. It is this idea of how do you sustain Christmas magic at a time when it doesn’t at all feel Christmas-y?”

Brown adds the staging of a play set in a small town is right at home in Port Hope.

“One of the reasons he (Rob Kempson) programmed it is because Port Hope has a real affinity for Christmas,” she says, adding “They do a lot of things around that time of year and are really into it, so he thought it would be a good fit.”

“Rob and I have worked together a number of times. I actually directed a show that he wrote and performed in, and he has directed another of my plays. It’s wonderful to have that history and that kind of trust with a collaborator.”

“It is my first time working with the Capitol. Everyone has been so welcoming. Port Hope is so beautiful. I’m really excited to be able to spend a few weeks there. I feel very lucky.”

Brown, whose playwriting credits include The Concessions (nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script), A Funeral Party (a finalist for the Safe Words National Play Award) and Cassandra, is thrilled that her play is making its world premiere, but notes that also means there is still work to be done during rehearsals.

“I’m going to be making slight changes here and there to the script,” she explains. “Theatre is meant to be performed. You do your best in the writing of it, but if there’s an actor that keeps getting a line stuck in their mouth in the same way five times, you’re like ‘That’s probably my fault. I’ll address that for you.'”

“It’s exciting but it’s also a little bit scary, but in the best way possible. I’m so excited about the cast. I’ve met five of the six of them who performed in workshops of the script. Everybody is amazing. But with comedy, there’s nothing better than sitting in an audience and hearing people laughing, and knowing that you are part of why that is.”

Brown says Christmastown may be the most personal of the plays she has penned, what with her growing up in a town not unlike Kringle and having moved back to a small town from Toronto a few years back.

“Every play you write has bits of you that you’re revealing to the world,” she assesses, adding “There are a couple of storylines in this one that are quite close to me, and to some recent experiences I’ve had.”

With rehearsals well underway, Brown says she’s open to suggestions from Kempson and the cast in terms of how her play is presented.

“I definitely think the people I’m working with are putting the story first in all of the choices that they make,” she says. “Having the history and respect that I have for Rob (Kempson) makes it a little easier to be open. You get a lot of feedback as a playwright, especially through the development process. “It’s really important to take a step back and ask ‘Does this serve the script?'”

Once the play opens, Brown says “If audiences have a great time and laugh a lot,” that will tell that her play, and how it was presented, was a success.

“But maybe also shed a tear or two, or felt touched. That they recognized themselves, or someone they know, in some small way. It’s both the comedy and the connection. Those are the big things I try to make sure an audience experiences.”

But, she notes, there’s another benchmark she’ll be looking for.

“I’m knocking on wood here, but it would be great if this play has a longer life after this production. I’ve had a few productions of each play I’ve written. Getting programmed in multiple communities would be really amazing.”

Behind the scenes of Christmastown, Kat Chin is stage manager with Jeff Soucy assisting. Sound design is by Jeff Newberry, lighting design is by Jareth Li, and Anna Treusch is the set and costume designer.

Sponsored by Part Time CFO Services, Christmastown runs for 19 performances from August 16 to September 1, with shows at 7:30 p.m. on August 16 and 17, August 22 to 24, and August 29 to 31 and 2 p.m. matinees on August 18, August 20 to 22, August 24 and 25, August 27 to 29, and August 31 and September 1.

The opening performance on August 16th is pay what you can ($5 to $50), with tickets for subsequent performances costing $48 ($40 for those under 30). A “Shop, Dine & Show Package” package, which includes vouchers redeemable at participating downtown restaurants and retail shops, is also available for $70.

Brown will also be sitting down with Kempson for a special “playwright in person” conversation at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 27th, where she will discuss the inspiration behind Christmastown, her own appreciation for small-town living, and the process of going from page to stage as a playwright. The cost is free for subscribers or $5 general admission.

Tickets for Christmastown are available at the Capitol Theatre’s box office in person at 20 Queen Street (open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday), by phone at 905-885-1071, or online at capitoltheatre.com, where you can also order tickets for the August 27th “playwright in person” event.

What sprung forth as one-off in 2018 has evolved into a highly anticipated multi-act live music event in North Kawartha Township with community as its anchor.

Held on an Eels Creek-hugging property off Highway 28 in Apsley, the Creekside Music Festival is returning for a fifth year from Friday, September 6th to Sunday, September 8th.

The lineup is again headlined by Toronto-based pop-rock time machine Dwayne Gretzky, but the supporting cast is equally strong with Epic Eagles, The Weber Brothers Band, Melissa Payne and The Hicks, Brooks and Bowskill, Nicholas Campbell, and Caitlin O’Connor among the 13 other acts that will perform over two days.

“We really upped our game last year as far as talent — not that we haven’t always had incredible talent,” says Alicia Scriver, who handles social media for the festival among various other behind-the-scenes tasks.

“There were a lot of folks who hadn’t heard of Dwayne Gretzky, like ‘Who is this headliner?’ They just blew it out of the park, as they always do. They had everyone on their feet for two-and-a-half hours.”

“Also last year, we added the same stage that’s at (Peterborough) Musicfest. We had (sponsor) banners on the stage and it really felt legit. It has come so far from our wooden stage. It was more like a backyard party that first year.”

VIDEO: Creekside Music Festival

Back in 2018, a friend of Scriver’s parents (Mike and Sandy Del Mastro) was moving ahead with plans to host a family reunion. To that end, he built a timber frame stage and hired bands to play. At some point, it was decided to open up the event to the public. So it was that the first Creekside Music Festival was held — a one-day affair for which some 300 tickets were made available.

When a property adjacent to the Eels Creek site subsequently became available, the Del Mastros purchased it, not only enlarging the site but also providing a location for Mike Del Mastro’s business, Mikey D’s Fired Up Food Truck.

The extra space secured, the festival evolved into a two-day affair in 2019. After the pandemic brought things to screeching halt in 2020 and 2021, the festival returned in 2022, with single day and weekend passes available along with 100 sites for trailer and tent camping.

Last year, some 550 tickets were sold, with attendees treated Dwayne Gretzky along with The Good Brothers, Melissa Payne, Hunt The Hare, The Weber Brothers Band, and The Ireland Brothers, to name a few.

A portion of last year’s proceeds benefited Apsley Minor Hockey, the Apsley Food Band, Apsley Community Care, and the music program at Apsley Public Giving.

That giving spirit will continue with this year’s festival, with the beneficiary being Roter’s Reach Mental Health Awareness.

Launched late last year, Roter’s Reach was founded in memory of North Kawartha resident Eric Roter who, on September 25, 2023, took his own life — 13 years after he was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Just a few weeks prior to his passing, Eric — joined by family members — was at the Creekside Music Festival, helping out with various tasks.

“It is going to be an emotional one, for sure,” says Scriver of this year’s festival.

“That was the last time I saw Eric,” Scriver adds. “We’re the same age. I’ve known him since I was three years old. He was like a brother to me. The Roter family is the first to be there when anyone is in need. We spent the whole weekend together, setting up.”

“It will be absolutely bittersweet this year,” Scriver notes. “But Eric knew how to have a good time, so we want to make it about that. He loved Creekside.”

At this year’s festival, the Roter family will have a booth from which they will sell Roter’s Reach-related clothing items and hats, the proceeds of which are destined for mental health support programs and services.

In addition, festival T-shirts emblazoned with this year’s acts will also have the Roter’s Reach logo on them. Scriver says $5 from each shirt sale will also benefit Roter’s Reach. Also, starting August 5 until the festival begins, a message related to mental health awareness will be posted on the festival’s social media platforms each Monday.

Now, with the festival fast approaching, Scriver is chomping at the bit, ready to welcome the acts and attendees to what has become the little festival that could and, for five years now, has.

“Music brings people together in such a beautiful way,” she reflects on the importance of the festival. “In our community, there’s not a lot that happens, so it is something we all look forward to. We know, once a year, we’ll be together and we’ll celebrate community.”

“The whole event is really intended to be an intimate experience where you do feel part of a community. I’ve been to those festivals with 60,000 people. They’re incredible, they generate a lot of revenue, they have incredible talent, but you don’t experience the same community feel as our festival.”

The festival’s location beside Eel’s Creek, notes Scriver, is as much a draw as the lineup.

“Kids are by the river catching frogs and people are on tubes floating in the water, listening to the performances,” she observes. “How good is that? For sure, there’s some stress leading up to the festival, but then it comes and it’s like ‘Yup, this is why we do it.'”

Besides the acts mentioned above, this year’s lineup also features Kris Barclay, Leverage For Mountains, Stephanie Dauncey, Mason Moxley, Tyler Cochrane and, on Sunday, an open mic event led by The Nephton Ridge Runners. The actual performance schedule is still being finalized.

Weekend, day, and camping passes can be purchased online at www.creeksidemusicfestival.ca. A limited number of festival passes are also available in Apsley at Kemp’s Garage at 111 Burleigh Street as well as at Mikey D’s Fired Up Food Truck at 10027 Highway 28.

A weekend pass costs $145, or $115 for seniors aged 60 and up and students aged 14 to 25. A Friday night pass costs $65 while a Saturday pass costs $95. Children 13 and under are admitted free with an adult. Onsite trailer and tent camping is limited. A trailer camping pass costs $85 and a tent camping pass costs $40. These fees are in addition to the cost of a festival weekend pass.

For updates on the festival, follow Creekside Music Festival on Facebook and Instagram.

Every Thursday, kawarthaNOW publishes live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that musicians provide directly or that venues post on their websites or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, August 1 to Wednesday, August 7.

If you’re a musician or venue owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, email our nightlifeNOW editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com. For concerts and live music events at other venues, check out our Concerts & Live Music page.

With the exception of karaoke, we only list events with performing musicians. Venues may also host other events during the week (e.g., dancing, DJs, comedy shows).