Peterborough Irish Club Hosting St. Patrick's Party At Evinrude Centre This Thursday

At 1 p.m. on Sunday, Irish Week was officially declared at City Hall prior to the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Mayor Daryl Bennett (see pic at left) and Colleen Allen, President of the Peterborough Irish Club, said a few welcoming words before the Irish flag was raised for the week, followed by the Irish anthem sung both in Gaelic and English.

The Peterborough Irish Club was founded in 1975 and has grown since the homecoming that year, which celebrated the 150th year since the Irish settlers arrived in the city and area. Currently, the club stands at more than 200 members in the community.

This Thursday (March 17th) starting at 6 p.m., the club will host Irish festivities at their annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations held at the Evinrude Centre (911 Monaghan Road). Tickets are $15 at the door. It will be a pub-style atmosphere with live music and large screen video performances by international Irish artists.

Don't forget to wear green!!

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Former NHL-er George Laraque Speaking In Peterborough This Wednesday

The Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration (PPCII) has organized a one-day event this Wednesday (March 16th) called “Georges Laraque: My Canadian Story”. Laraque will be sharing his experiences as a second-generation immigrant from Haiti and how it influenced his experiences growing up in Tracy, a small community outside Montreal.

On the ice, he was known as an "enforcer" but off it, he is known for his outgoing and friendly personality. He is committed and passionate about a number of causes, including animal welfare, the relief effort in Haiti, and promoting active, healthy lifestyles. Also, he continues to be involved with numerous charities and wants to serve as a positive role model to young people.

The event takes place this Wednesday, March 16th at 8:00 p.m. at Showplace Performance Centre. Tickets are available for free—limited to 4 per person—at the New Canadians Centre Peterborough (205 Sherbrooke St Unit D, across from the Fire Hall, in person only).

For more info, please contact Jason Stabler, Coordinator of the PPCII, at (705) 743-0882 x230 or via email at jason@nccpeterborough.ca.

[Photo via George Laraque Facebook page]

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Peterborough's Old YMCA Building Downtown Is Getting Major Reno

[chextvDOTcom]

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Stuff To Do in Peterborough This Weekend

Friday

31st Annual Peterborough Psychic Fair, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Best Western Otonabee Inn (84 Lansdowne St. E) $5

Peterborough Theatre Guild presents Art, 8 p.m. $18, $16/Seniors, $10/Students

Students of Holy Cross Secondary School (1355 Lansdowne St W) present Nifty 50's Musical,  8 p.m. $10 at the door, $5/students, $25/family

Mid-Life Crisis at The Venue (286 George St. N) $15, Doors open at 8:30 p.m. 

Saturday

18th Annual Rock and Fossil Show 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evinrude Centre (911 Monaghan Road) $3, Children under 12 - Free

31st Annual Peterborough Psychic Fair, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Best Western Otonabee Inn (84 Lansdowne St. E) $5

Premiere Studio of Dance presents Showcase 2011, 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Showplace Performance Centre, $15

Peterborough Theatre Guild presents Art, 8 p.m. $18, $16/Seniors, $10/Students

Students of Holy Cross Secondary School (1355 Lansdowne St W) presents Nifty 50's Musical,  8 p.m., $10 at the door, $5/students, $25/family

Greg Keelor with Travis Good at The Venue Doors open at 8 p.m. $25 in advance, $30 at the door

Sunday

18th Annual Rock and Fossil Show 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Evinrude Centre (911 Monaghan Road) $3, Children under 12 - Free

31st Annual Peterborough Psychic Fair 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Best Western Otonabee Inn (84 Lansdowne St. E) $5

4th Line Theatre presents 8th Annual Breaking Ground hosted at the Peterborough Museum and Archives (300 Hunter St E at Museum Drive) 2 p.m. *Admission is free but limited seating available

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To submit info for "Stuff to do in the Patch This Weekend", email evan@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.

Today Heritage Week Kicks Off In The Peterpatch

After being chosen by the Ontario Heritage Trust to host this year's Heritage Week (February 18th to 26th), it will be kicking off today at 10 a.m. at Trent University, with special guest Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture.

Events will be taking place throughout the city over the course of this special week. Partake and learn more about our heritage!

[Heritage Week, Peterborough]

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Email Being Forwarded Around: "What It's Like Living Here"

Michelle Berry at Jackson ParkWe've been tipped several times via forwarded emails circulating to this recent post by a website called Numéro Cinq with local author Michelle Berry, who had a lot of things to say about what makes Peterborough unique:

Here's some excerpts from it:

"Peterborough is a town about 2 hours North East of Toronto. Population 78,000 or so (probably more since we got a Costco. A chicken or egg thing—Costco brings people or people bring Costco? I don’t know. I’m not a member. They won’t even let me in the front door.). So, let’s say population 80,000. A sleepy town? Perhaps. But you should see our new Mall, Lansdowne Place. It’s a sight. Now we only have to drive forty minutes down highway 115 to Oshawa for The Bay. We’ve got every other store you’d want right here."

"I live in an area called The Old West End which is made up of mostly young families in big, beautiful, old houses. I have two porches in the front of my house — one off my second floor office, one off the living room. I sit on these porches in three seasons as much as I can. I watch the kids play on the street, or the people walking their dogs. I read. Or just stare. At the tree, mostly. Sometimes I feel as if I’m in a 1950′s sitcom – Leave it To Beaver – the neighbours all calling back and forth across the street, coming over clutching snacks and wine, or coffee, joining me on my porch. It’s idyllic. Small townish."

"The thing about this city is the people. We aren’t stuck in traffic all the time, our houses are fairly inexpensive, there are spaces in the local sports leagues and the piano teacher has free days in her schedule. So we’re generally a happy folk. People have parties and get-togethers and go for walks and travel together."

"We have many friends who grew up in Peterborough, who moved away, but then came back to raise their children the way they were raised. To spend winter weekends at Devil’s Elbow ski hill, racing, or summers at the cottage. To spend Fall and Spring biking the paths."

Read the entire post on Numéro Cinq from Michelle Berry here.

[photo via Numéro Cinq]

[“What it’s like living here,” from Michelle Berry in Peterborough, Ontario] 

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Apparently Dean Del Mastro Brought Back The "Electric City" Moniker To Peterborough

We didn't know it was Dean. But in this recent speech he delivered at the Rotary Club all about Peterborough past and present, and what his vision has been for it, that's what he says, starting at about the 1:10 mark: "I brought back the title 'Electric City'. I hadn't heard that in years, but I did see it on a few things historically that related to Peterborough, as a moniker that related to it."

[YouTube]

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Must Watch: REELKids Film Festival Starts This Weekend At Showplace

This Sunday (January 16th), there are two family-friendly films screening at Showplace to celebrate this year's opening of REELKids Film Festival.  

REELKids, which runs from January 16th to January 20th, is the educational wing of the ReFrame Peterborough International Film Festival, and will present more than 50 Canadian and International films to audiences of schoolchildren in the Patch and surrounding areas. 

The two feature films screening at Showplace Sunday include Stella Star of the Orient at 10:30 a.m., and The Letter for the King (see pic above) at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $5/person per film or $15 for 4 tickets. For more info, contact Krista English.

[REELKids Film Festival]
 
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PCVS Start Website And Facebook Page To Bring Attention To Its Possible Closure

With the recent news that one of Adam Scott, Kenner, TASSS and PCVS will likely be closing due to plummeting enrollment at those schools, it should come as no surprise that the schools would try to build awareness—and drum up support—for why their school should remain open.

PCVS has recently launched both a Facebook page and website, Peterborough Needs PCVS, to educate the public about what's happening, and what they can do to get involved. 

This will most certainly be a controversial, heated process determining the fate of one of our schools—and one of the biggest stories in Peterborough this year—so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. The school board has a series of community meetings starting next month that are sure to be packed.

[Related: One (Or More) Of Peterborough's High Schools May Close]

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PtboCanada Was There: Canadian Canoe Museum Presents Canoes & Trains

The Canadian Canoe Museum held a free Open House on Sunday, and got help in the celebrations from model railroad enthusiasts. Clubs from Peterborough, Cobourg and Lindsay showed off their 1/87th scale trains and miniature villages.

The local group Peterborough Model Railroaders is made up of a group of nine who meet up monthly to talk about their passion. All of them have had a part in creating the display, which features a miniature village that would be reminiscent of Peterborough in the 1950s. 

With working lights and sounds of an actual locomotive, the display captured the imagination of everyone in attendance as there were plenty of details to see.

[The Canadian Canoe Museum]

[Words and Pictures by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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