Peterborough Blogs
On June 24th, 328 canoes and kayaks filled the two tubs at the Peterborough Lift Lock for Lock 'n' Paddle.
Tour The Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden Near Peterborough
/There will be an Open House at the Cham Shan Temple's Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden on Saturday, July 1st from 10 am. to 1 p.m., and entry is free.
The gardens are still under construction and access is restricted to some areas. Visitors are advised to wear sturdy hiking shoes because the terrain is dusty and uneven. Sandals and flip flops are an absolute no-no. Visitors should also bring water as there are few facilities on site.
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada.com
Below is a picture showing the enormity of the laughing Buddha on the grounds. It was built in China, cut into 72 pieces and shipped here in containers and reassembled. It weighs 127 tons. The head alone is 26 tons.
Photo courtesy Andy Harjula
The Wutai Shan Garden is located at 708 Ski Hill Road, a few minutes north of Bethany. The site is 530 acres and is one of four sites being developed by the Buddhist Association of Canada. The total acreage of the four sites combined is 1,700 acres.
The sites—chosen because of their serenity, tranquility and natural environment—have taken two decades to plan and will take a further 20 years to construct at an estimated cost of $80 million dollars.
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada.com
For further information about the Buddhist Association of Canada, contact Diane Chen at Cham Shan Temple in Toronto, 905.886.1522, ext 333.
-> We took a tour of the grounds back in June 2015. Read about it here.
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328 Paddlecraft Just Filled Both Tubs At Trent Severn National Historic Site In Epic Display
/Last year, 138 paddlecraft were jammed into one of the ginormous "tubs" at the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site in Peterborough on Lock n' Paddle day, breaking the previous record of 101.
This is what it looked like at Lock 21 during last summer's Lock 'N Paddle...
June 26th, 2016
This year, Lock 'N Paddle upped their game even more, filling both tubs on a beautiful Saturday (June 24th) with more than 150 canoes and kayaks each (to mark Canada's 150 birthday) and lifting them 65 feet.
It was one heck of a jigsaw puzzle for organizers and Lockmaster Ed, seen in this video below...
But they did it. Look at this picture we took from mission control...
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
Here is the view from the front Trent-Severn Waterway tweeted out...
Here is the view from above photographed from a drone by Justen Soule for Parks Canada...
208 Likes, 13 Comments - Justen Soule (@justensoule) on Instagram: "Tub Tetris... Lock N' Paddle at Trent Severn's Lock 21. With some incredible coordination 328..."
And once the lock chambers were at an equal elevation, the Lock Master halted the lockage and participants and visitors raised their paddles and sang both O Canada and Happy Birthday in celebration of 150 years of Confederation.
Have a listen of the Happy Birthday...
Here is the moment the chambers aligned...
Here's a closeup of the East chamber tub filled...
PHoto by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
And here's a closeup of the West chamber tub filled...
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
360 panorama by Evan Holt, PtboCanada
UPDATE: Here is video our Evan Holt filmed from inside a canoe...
Well done Lock 21, well done Peterborough!
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
Peterborough & the Kawarthas Visitor Centre Opens At VentureNorth Building In Downtown
/The Peterborough & the Kawarthas Visitor Centre has announced that it has now opened at its new location in the VentureNorth building at 270 George St. N. in beautiful downtown Peterborough.
The Visitor Centre is open 7 days a week from 9 am to 5 pm.
Travel Counsellors are on hand to help tourists with all their questions and inquiries to do with the Kawarthas.
Tickets For Under Water Dining At Lock 21 Sold Out In Less Than 12 Hours
/Last June, we were among a select group of 12 people invited to a beta test of a unique experential tourism experiment called Under Water Dining At Lock 21, and predicted it would be a hit when it launched to the public.
Sure enough, it is. Under Water Dining—which takes visitors on a hands-on, historical dining experience through, inside and under the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock—announced its official launch for 2017 and tickets for their experiences sold out in under 12 hours!
Photo from beta test for Under Water Dining in Summer 2016
“We expected tickets to sell quickly, but we were overwhelmed by how quickly they sold out—the response has been incredible,” says Tracie Bertrand, Director of Tourism & Communications for Peterborough Economic Development.
Photo from beta test for Under Water Dining in Summer 2016
Manager of Canal Operations Chad Buchner
[Related: Want to learn about the engineers who built the Lift Lock? Click here. For 15 neat facts about the Lift Lock's history, click here. To see 138 canoes & kayaks jammed into the Lift Lock, click here.]
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You Can Now Order Your Free Lockage Permit For 2017 On Trent Severn Waterway
/Parks Canada has announced that boaters can now order their free lockage permits as part of Canada 150 celebrations, giving you an amazing chance to explore the Trent Severn Waterway and other waterways this year.
Photo via Parks Canada
The free lockage permit for boaters is valid for the entire navigation season in 2017 and provides passage through Parks Canada’s historic canals like the Trent Severn.
Launch your adventure as part of Canada's 150 celebrations by clicking here for more info on getting the free lockage permit.
[Related: 15 Neat Facts About Construction Of Peterborough Lift Locks; 10 Neat Facts About Little Lake]
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Neat Facts About Little Lake
/Thanks to our friends at Parks Canada, below are some interesting facts about Little Lake...
1. Adam Scott built a sawmill and grist-mill in 1818 on the south edge of Little Lake and the settlement of Scott’s Plains would eventually become Peterborough. Lock 19 in Peterborough is named after Adam Scott (Scott's Mills).
R.B. Rogers, pictured in the dark jacket near the centre, with his team.
2. Richard Birdsall Rogers—the designer of the Peterborough Lift Lock and former superintendent of the Trent Canal—is buried in the Little Lake Cemetery, and his gravestone faces the Lift Lock.
3. The 6 kilometre stretch between Little Lake and Nassau Mills (Lock 22) is a man-made canal, constructed along with the Peterborough Lift Lock from 1896 to 1904.
4. The Trent Canal and the Otonabee River run parallel to each other, encircling East City and making it a small island. The two rivers meet in Little lake and at Trent University.
Centennial Fountain construction
5. Centennial Fountain, built in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s 100th anniversary, shoots water 76 meters (250 feet) into the air on Little Lake. It is the highest jet fountain in Canada.
Musicfest
6. Peterborough Musicfest, held at Del Crary Park on Little Lake, is a Top 100 festival in Ontario.
7. Up until 2004, each night of Peterborough Summer Festival of Lights (what is now known as Musicfest) included fireworks and a boat light show.
8. The Otonabee River drops 144 feet between Little Lake and Lake Katchewanooka in Lakefield.
9. Historians believe that while travelling with the Hurons, Samuel de Champlain would have put his canoe in and launched from Little Lake, accessing Huronia via Rice Lake and the Trent River.
10. Recreational fishermen can catch bass, walleye, perch, and Muskie in Little Lake.
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Watch This Stunning New Video Of Millbrook
/Photographer/videographer Patrick J. Stephen, who produced this beautiful video of downtown Peterborough last year, has now released a stunning video capturing his hometown of Millbrook near Peterborough.
Still from video
"I was asked to create something by the Millbrook BIA that would show the amazing wealth of community, entertainment and business in Millbrook," Stephens tells PTBOCanada. "I have grown up in the beautiful landscapes and inevitably that is why I have become so interested in landscape photography."
Still from video
Stephen adds: "I have always wanted to create something about this small town and having the opportunity to do so has been somewhat surreal. The experience has given me a fresh and rejuvenated look on where I live and the people who are here."
Still from video
