The annual Buckhorn Fine Art Festival and its tradition of world-class art returns to the Buckhorn Community Centre (1782 Lakehurst Road, Buckhorn, 705-657-1918) from Friday, August 18th to Sunday, August 20th, marking the 40th anniversary of the festival combined with Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation.

The event will showcase some of the province’s most talented artists, live music, culinary delights, hands-on activities, and a wide variety of special events to an anticipated 3,000 attendees, rounding out one of Ontario’s favorite outdoor summer events.

“Buckhorn Fine Art Festival is one of those events where it’s not just an art fair — it’s a community event,” says Allyson Allin, director of the festival.

“We try to make it a family affair so there’s something for everyone. I think people have a great time when they come to this festival.”

According to Allin, there will be over 80 exhibitors with some returning and some new, bringing never-before-seen artworks to feast your eyes on.

“The artwork is across the spectrum. We will have some different work that people may not have seen in the past,” says Allin.

The festival, which relies on fundraising, sponsorships and donations to keep its doors open, is a professionally juried fine art show featuring a diverse selection of artwork including paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry, wood turning, and more from artists across Ontario and even a handful from Quebec. Since its inception in 1978, thousands have shown and sold their artwork at the festival.

Over the weekend, avid art collectors and festival-goers will have an outstanding variety of fine art to browse and purchase as they walk among the diverse range of works in the indoor and outdoor galleries that accommodate the booths.

This year, there is much to celebrate.

The festival will commemorate four decades of community spirit and the love of art with a cake cutting ceremony on opening night, along with a special exhibit commemorating Canada’s 150th named “Oh Canada! Our True North”.

For this initiative, Buckhorn Fine Art Festival alumni were invited to enter images they believe depict Canada.

Twenty-five entries were chosen by a jury committee and will be on display the entire festival weekend.

“Let me just say that there are some very creative ideas about what the reflection of Canada is to them,” Allin hints.

She notes that some of the alumni who have been around for a long time and may not be regular exhibitors at the show decided to come back for the 40th anniversary and participate in the special exhibit.

“It’s nice to see that they are still interested and want to be involved,” she says.

To add to the merriment, the festival was recently rated as one of the top 100 festivals in Ontario for the tenth consecutive year.

What makes this fine art show a must-see destination year-after-year?

“I think it’s the community spirit, dedication of the volunteers, and quality of the art,” says Allin. “We have a criteria of fine art and we have always kept it at that level.”

“I’m in awe about how things get done around here. None of the Buckhorn Community Centre programs would be available if it weren’t for the efforts and dedication of the volunteers who join us each year. They deserve the recognition for keeping this place alive.”

Opening night on Friday, August 18th from 6 to 10 p.m. will feature a garden party at the Buckhorn Community Centre, with the OPP Commissioner’s Own Pipes and Drums kicking off the evening with a live performance.

They will be followed by headline performers and Juno-award winners The Good Lovelies during Friday evening. Complimentary appetizers will be available throughout the evening and refreshments will be available for purchase.

The festival will continue over Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to the variety of artwork, the festival will offer a wide range of daily activities that the whole family can enjoy, like the interactive ARTivity Zone where anyone can try their hand at various art forms.

Advance tickets to the opening night are $20, and $25 at the door, and provide admission to the festival all weekend.

Saturday and Sunday day tickets are $8 per person, with children under 12 admitted free. Admission for group of four is $25.

For a complete calendar of festival events or to purchase advance tickets to opening night, go to www.buckhornfineart.com. You can also view the 2017 show booklet online, with all the details about the festival and artists.

You can also follow Buckhorn Fine Art Festival on Facebook and Twitter.

Buckhorn Fine Art Festival is a proud member of the Kawartha Chamber of Commerce & Tourism. The chamber represents members in Curve Lake First Nation and the municipalities of Douro-Dummer, North Kawartha, Selwyn, and Trent Lakes. Visit kawarthachamber.ca for more information.

Over the last two weeks, to the disappointment of many area residents and visitors, some local beaches were posted as unsafe in Peterborough, Douro, and Norwood, and at Squirrel Creek.

With this lovely warm weather, many Canadians’ first impulse is to go directly to the beach with sunscreen, hat, and towel in hand.

However, as Peterborough area residents may have noticed, our urban beaches, notably Rogers Cove and Beavermead Park, are sometimes considered unsafe for swimming due to high bacteria levels.

Why do we see so many beach closures and who decides when it is unsafe to swim? Peterborough Public Health monitors the water at public beaches for bacteria levels, notably Escherichia coli, or E. coli for short.

“E. coli is a bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of healthy people and animals,” explains Public Health Inspector Ganesh Vallamkonda. “It is released from the bodies of warm-blooded animals in their faeces, which can then contaminate the water.”

Inside the lower digestive tract, E. coli is a normal part of our bodies’ system, but this bacterium can cause us to become very sick, or can even be fatal if consumed in food or through drinking water.

“We test the beaches, and if bacteria counts exceed 100 E. coli per 100mL of water, then the beach is considered unsafe for recreational use,” adds Vallamkonda. “We inform the public and post the beaches as unsafe for swimming.”

The primary inputs of E. coli in the lakes and rivers in and around Peterborough are from the faeces of waterfowl, such as ducks and geese. In other areas, sources of E. coli may be from urban runoff, agriculture, faulty septic systems, or sewage treatment overflow.

When it rains, the rainwater flows over the landscape including surfaces such as lawns, rooftops, driveways, and roads. Any contaminants that might be present on these surfaces, such as animal poop like waterfowl faeces or dog waste, along with other contaminants such as lawn fertilizers and leaking oil and gas, are also transported with the rainwater into the nearest storm sewers. Rainwater along with these contaminants then directly enters our waterways, without being treated.

E. coli counts can also elevate when it is warmer outside.

“Bacteria will multiply more quickly in hotter temperatures,” Vallamkonda says — which is why we see unsafe swimming conditions during the hottest summer months.

Anyone can play a role in reducing E. coli (and other contaminants) in our waterways and beaches. Many human practices and behaviours can attract waterfowl, and especially Canada geese, whose waste around our shorelines can quickly run off into waterways and contribute to E. coli inputs, especially after a good rain.

Vallamkonda suggests that one way to avoid attracting geese to the shoreline is “by not feeding them”. It is also important to note that human foods are unhealthy for waterfowl, so you can help them out by letting them forage for their own natural food sources.

Additionally, if you live along the shorelines of the Otonabee River or Jackson Creek, you can reduce the number of Canada Geese on your property by ensuring you do not mow right up to the water’s edge. A mowed shoreline provides ideal habitat for Canada Geese, whose poop then contributes to E. coli in the water.

If you would like to reduce the number of geese on your property, try planting trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to make your shoreline unsuitable habitat for them, and thus reducing E. coli inputs into the waterway. GreenUP Ecology Park carries a number of great native shoreline plants, such as dogwoods, alders, and wildflowers that will help make your shoreline less attractive to Canada geese, and more attractive to you.

Another action you can take to protect waterways from E. coli contamination is to pick up after your pets; stoop and scoop after your dog does their business. Throw the bag into the garbage, or, to be even more environmentally conscious, throw the pet waste into an anaerobic digester, while throwing away the bag.

You may also consider installing a rain garden on your property. In 2015, the Township of Selwyn and Otonabee Conservation constructed a rain garden at the Lakefield Beach to protect water quality by filtering runoff from the parking area.

Rain gardens can be used to protect water quality even if you are not living directly on the beach. While debris such as cigarette butts, pet waste, and contaminants are washed into waterways (and to our beaches) when it rains, rain gardens interrupt the runoff and capture these pollutants in the soil. Once captured, microbes break down these pollutants, releasing cleaner water into streams and lakes.

For more information about rain gardens, visit www.greenup.on.ca/rain/ or check out the GreenUP Calendar of events for ongoing workshops and learning opportunities.

Otonabee Conservation also runs the local chapter of the Yellow Fish Road Program, which raises awareness about pollutants in our waterways by painting yellow fish near our storm drains. If you are a local teacher, interested parent, or Scout or Girl Guide leader, you can contact Otonabee Conservation to organize a Yellow Fish Road program.

Keep an eye out for signage at our local beaches before diving in! If you want to help improve the quality of our waterways, consider these actions that will benefit the community at large.

For more information about the monitoring that is conducted by Peterborough Public Health, and the results found at Peterborough-area beaches, visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca.

Editor’s note: kawarthaNOW also publishes a weekly beach report every Friday during the summer months with water quality testing results for the City and County of Peterborough as well as the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.

When Dave and Elaine Hogan hosted a backyard Canada Day party last year for 30 guests and it started to rain, all was not lost. They simply ushered many of their guests into their new glass-walled sunroom directly off the back deck so the party could continue unabated.

And it’s only fitting the sunroom that rescued the Hogan’s Canada Day celebrations was designed and built by Lifestyle Home Products, Canada’s leading sunroom manufacturer.

“All of our sunrooms are 100% Canadian-made in Peterborough,” says Keith Carroll, Lifestyle co-owner. “We don’t use any offshore parts.”

The Hogans had Lifestyle create and install a custom-built sunroom to complement their ranch style bungalow’s rural-facing backyard. Dave, a retired Toronto police officer, wanted a room that would take the place of a cottage setting close to nature.

As a Canadian company, Lifestyle knows how to design sunrooms for the Canadian climate. Through high performance and low thermal emissivity (“Low-E”) glass and the company’s manufacturing and installation process, Lifestyle sunrooms offer optimum efficiency and full walls of glass.

“The Oasis Sunroom we created for Dave and Elaine is a three-season sunroom for spring, summer and fall,” Keith says. “It’s a great space that brings the outdoors in, lengthens our seasons, and provides fresh air that’s free of mosquitoes and bugs.”

Along with the Oasis Sunroom, Lifestyle also offers the Grand Oasis Sunroom Addition, which opens up a wall to add a comfortable year-round indoor/outdoor room, and the Grand Oasis Plus Sunroom — a separate room that can be heated efficiently and enjoyed year-round.

As well as entertaining guests regardless of the weather, the Hogans say their Lifestyle sunroom is the ideal place to sit and enjoy coffee or read. Dave has even installed a TV.

“This sunroom is definitely the space we use most in the house,” Dave says. “Without a doubt, it has become our favourite room.”

Lifestyle owners and brothers Bill and Keith Carroll began building their solid reputation by selling and installing windows from their home-based business in 1989.

After realizing the need for affordable custom-built sunrooms with full glass wall systems that suited the Canadian climate, they purchased the Sunroom Division from North Star Manufacturing (London) Ltd. in 1995.

Over the next 22 years, the Carroll brothers continued to expand their operations. They focused on the demand for quality and service at an effective price point, outgrowing the space of three smaller factories in the Durham region.

Their current 150,000-square-foot sunroom, window, and door manufacturing facility is located on Crawford Drive in Peterborough.

“People can order direct from Canada’s leading sunroom manufacturer right here in the Kawarthas,” Keith says. “We custom fit and install every project we do.”

For more information about Lifestyle Home Products sunrooms, including a video tour, visit lifestylesunrooms.com/our-products/sunrooms/.