Tickets Are Now On Sale for YWCA Annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser
/Tickets are now on sale for the 19th annual YWCA Empty Bowls fundraising event at The Venue on Feb. 25.
photo courtesy of Ywca.
Peterborough Blogs
Five Local Artists Reimagine Downtown Peterborough Through The Illustrated Boro Project
/The Downtown Business Improvement Area’s (DBIA) Illustrated Boro Project commissions local artists to create illustrations of downtown shops with funding from the federal government’s Tourism Relief Fund.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough DBIA.
Five local artists were selected to create ten illustrations of downtown shops through this initiative. Each Illustrator featured businesses based on their own personal connection to Peterborough’s downtown business district. Viewers are encouraged to look at the city centre through the eyes of the artist.
Art from Jason Wilkins, Samantha Chiusolo, Julii McMillan, Kathryn Durst and Brooklin Holbrough feature prominent downtown businesses such as Mark Jokinen Books, Statement House, Ritual Apothecary, Night Kitchen, Couture Candy, Providence, The Food Shop, Bijoux Bar, Blue Streak Records and Black Honey Café.
The DBIA’s Illustrated Boro project aims to explore downtown Peterborough through an artistic lens while showcasing local talent in the arts community.
“As a newer resident to Peterborough, I felt so honoured to be a part of this wonderful collaboration with the DBIA, the shops and fellow artists. My family and I have had the pleasure to meet wonderful shop owners that help remind us, we are a part of a larger community, with whom we will support and foster new long-lasting relationships,” said Samantha Chiusolo. “Speaking as an artist, this project has helped support my foray into narrative illustration as well as build up a fellowship within the artist’s community.”
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough DBIA.
A public art exhibit at the First Friday Art Crawl on Friday showcased the artists’ work with a group art show in celebration of downtown businesses and shop owners. The art show sales of postcard sets (including all ten artworks), prints and original works have all proceeds going directly to the artists.
The Illustrated Boro project was funded by the Government of Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund (TRF), through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to help local tourism organizations and businesses safely welcome back visitors and recover from impacts of the pandemic while preparing for future growth. The DBIA and 36 other regional tourism organizations have received $2.8 million in support for tourism relief in the Peterborough, Kawarthas and Northumberland region.
“With the Illustrated Boro project, we honour the art of illustration with drawings of familiar Downtown Peterborough shops handpicked by five local artists. This is how they see their favourite businesses in The Boro. These talented artists see what others may only catch a glimpse of; whimsy, charm and a generosity of spirit, a few hallmarks of The Boro,” says Sacha Lai-Svirk, DBIA marketing committee chair and board of directors member.
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The Boro Opens Holiday Hub Downtown To Spread The Christmas Magic
/A new festive pit stop for holiday shoppers has opened downtown Peterborough, to brighten the streetscape along George Street between Simcoe and Hunter.
Elves will wrap gifts at the Holiday hub every Friday. Photo by Angela O’Grady.
Located in the former Pensieri Shoe store at 373 George St., the pop-up Holiday Hub will provide complimentary gift-wrapping services for all downtown shoppers.
With two ‘elves’ on scene, any shopper with a gift purchased downtown (receipt required) can get that gift wrapped every Friday from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. until Dec. 17.
The new hub will also host a local toy drive in support of the Salvation Army and The Children’s Foundation. Visitors are also invited to take a selfie with the Grinch of George Street, painted by local artist Tim Wales and colour a picture of their own.
“We wanted placemake this space and turn it into a space where people could gather and enjoy all the magic that is the holidays, while getting some perks for shopping downtown,” said Hillary Flood, Peterborough DBIA. “We also will be turning it into a holiday market where you can enjoy a slew of local art vendors that will be happening on December 11 and 18.”
Initially, the Holiday Hub was initialized by The Boro as a ‘placemaking’ initiative to help animate a section of George Street that was under construction.
While the construction wrapped up sooner than anticipated the Holiday Hub will still act as a place to enjoy the holiday season.
“The idea behind it all is that when you have closed store fronts it can make the downtown feel kind of drab. So this is the first model of a positive intervention where we take over a store front for whatever reason and turn it into something that people want to gather in.”
The space being used for the Holiday Hub was donated to The Boro by Gentry Apparel, who own the building.
The Holiday hub will be open Fridays 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday Dec 11 and 18 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
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Peterborough Local Synthia Kiss Ends Journey on Canada's Drag Race with a Positive Note
/Drag Queen Synthia Kiss, a graduate of PCVS high school, has completed her run on Canada’s Drag Race and although she didn’t win, she is proud of her stint.
Photo courtesy of Canada’s Drag Race.
Kiss was born and raised in Peterborough and took Integrated arts at PCVS.
“I was an introvert at heart. I owe a lot of my confidence and the way I carry myself to those days,” she said. “That was a space where I was understood, I was really accepted at that school and without it I wouldn’t have the same amount of confidence I have now. It was a super special time in my life.”
After graduating from PCVS she moved to Toronto to pursue a degree in Fashion at Ryerson University.
After getting a job in her field she was relocated to Vancouver, and her drag journey began.
“I know now that there’s drag queens everywhere, but growing up it was not as widely accepted,” said Kiss. “Even the way I dressed, my feminine mannerisms were not as well received growing up. It makes me happy to see it evolving everywhere.”
When looking back on her childhood in Peterborough, Kiss hopes that young people living there today know how important it is to express themselves.
“If I was that age what I would need to hear is what you’re doing is valid. Just because there’s people around you doing something different doesn’t mean you’re not doing you right. Don’t let them dim your shine.”
Kiss appeared on season two of Canada’s Drag Race, but was eliminated on episode six, which aired on Nov. 18.
In an Instagram post on Nov. 19 Kiss said she is proud of what she achieved. During her time on the show she won Snatch Game, a celebrity impersonation and improvisational challenge, opened the ‘Rusical’, a musical production on the television series, and became a ‘lip-sync assassin’.
“What I was so happy to see come across on screen was my genuine personality- that’s what I’m like with my closest friends. I’m proud of how open and honest I navigated the whole thing.”
While her journey on Canada’s Drag Race has ended, she says her time there completely reignited her love for drag and she will continue to perform.
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Two-Spirit, Indigenous Artist Caeleigh Lightning Featured at Watson and Lou
/Prints by local artist Caeleigh Lightning are now available at Watson and Lou located in downtown Peterborough.
Photo courtesy of Caeleigh Lightning
Lightning is a 21-year-old, two-spirit, indigenous artist who came to Peterborough to attend Trent University.
“I have mixed ancestry,” said Lightning. “On my moms side we’re am Samson Cree Nation from Maskwacis, Alberta and on my dads side we’re from Dublin, Ireland.”
“I try to communicate a lot of my experiences as a mixed person with those two cultures in my art,” she said.
Lightning hopes that her art shows different identities and bodies, and allows people to accept the beauty in individuality and uniqueness.
Photo courtesy of Caeleigh Lightning
She recently graduated from Trent University’s Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences program and is now heading to Concordia University to complete her Masters of Design.
Art was never considered a realistic career path for her.
“I started incorporating art into a lot of my projects at Trent,” she said. “Anything that I wouldn’t really know how to put into words, I would ask if I could communicate it visually instead.”
She says that by her professors giving her that opportunity she began to consider herself an artist by trade.
Photo courtesy of Caeleigh Lightning
Copies of her prints are now available to purchase at Watson and Lou, a shop located downtown Peterborough that carries locally made goods.
“Having my work in a shop with other local artists I admire has been surreal,” she said.
“When I was younger I didn’t see this as a possibility, I didn’t think people would be interested in my art,” she said. “My sister always used to tell me to take myself more seriously. I used to not even call myself an artist.”
Lightning’s art can be found at Watson and Lou or on her art account on Instagram.
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The Spill Hosting 5th Annual Focus Fair Holiday Sale
/
The 5th Annual Focus Fair Holiday Craft Sale takes place Saturday, December 11th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 12th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Spill Cafe (414 George St. N.)
This is a good opportunity to shop for a holiday gift, as this craft sale has a great selection of unique gifts handmade by local artists.
And supporting local artists/shops in the downtown core is always a good thing.
For more info on the fair, contact focusfair@gmail.com.
[Related: Great Reasons To Shop Downtown This Christmas]
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