Stuff To Do In The Patch This Weekend (Including Watching A Polar Plunge!)

Saturday:

Peterborough Symphony Orchestra presents Latin Heat featuring Marion Newman - Showplace Performance Centre - 8 p.m.

Africville Productions presents Celebrating Difference - The Venue - 8 p.m., Tickets $25 at the door

Sunday:

Kawartha Wilds Tracking Club - 9 a.m., meet at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre. An opportunity to track and trail local wildlife (map) - FREE 

Family Sundays at Art Gallery of Peterborough - 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., FREE

31st Annual Polar Plunge (see graphic at right), Rotary Park, Ennismore - 2 p.m.

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

The Wolf's TJ Connors Does Fastest Lap Ever Around Memorial Centre Ice

From the skills competition portion of yesterday's United Way Hockey Challenge in Peterborough, which raised $165,000. Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo and Peter MacKay, Canada's Minister of National Defence, were among the celebrities participating in the charity game.

[YouTube via TJConnorsBlog]

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Recap: Peterborough Family Literacy Day

Trent Valley Literacy Association, Literacy Ontario Central South and Peterborough Family Resource Centre worked together to celebrate Family Literacy Day recently at Peterborough Square.

Free books were donated by Frontier College for all ages to encourage reading and literacy.

Booths were set up from many local businesses such as Music for Moppets, Healthy Families Centre, Catholic District School Board and Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board.

[Words and Picture by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Learn All About Habitat for Humanity Peterborough At Upcoming Sessions

Our local branch of Habitat for Humanity will be holding information sessions over the next few months as a way to promote community involvement and answer any questions you may have on how and what you can do to volunteer with the organization.  

There are many volunteer positions that are available for those who wish to play an active role with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Last fall, Habitat completed three more homes in Peterborough.

You can also follow Habitat for Humanity Peterborough on Twitter @habitatpd.

[Habitat for Humanity Peterborough]

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Video: Gift of Christmas At Historic Red Dog For Kawartha Food Share

[chextvDOTcom; Facebook photos]

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Some of the Stuff PtboCanada Has Covered This Year

So we started this blog all about Peterborough in May. And it's been fun. Really fun. Peterborough, you rock. In one long run-on sentence, here's some of the stuff we've covered since we launched about 8 months ago: 

We've covered the life of a Peterborough ER doctor, Jake's closure, The International Dragon Boat Festival, Reggie's HotGrill, a smoking dude on a bike during the gas leak, Have You Seen Video..., a rock star of posters, a guy who draws, a mural man, the Christmas Parade, the Canada Day Parade, the Arkells at the Red Dog, happy people, people lying down, an anti-bullying event, a breakfast program, a zombie crawl, a yarn shop, a snow sculpture, an email that was the talk of the mayoral race, the YWCA shelter, a cheesy store, a book store, a person who misses Peterborough, the CIBC Run for the Cure, a dude who called on a wrestler in the Memorial Centre parking lot, awesome bands, the Peterborough Folk Festival, Focus Fair, 3 Loonie event, the Old Stone Symphony, Dean Del Mastro yearbook pics, Jay Scotland and Lois Tuffin taking a dip, beaches, bars & restaurants, Peterborough Square in 1987, Sarah Harmer at the Gordon Best, Twitterborough, and a BIG garage sale.

Thanks to all our contributors and readers, and all those who have been tipping us and following us on Twitter. Please continue to spread the word about PtboCanada.

[Related: Video: Peterborough Year in Review]

Jay Scotland Teams Up With Dave Devall For A Great Cause

Clockwise from left: Graham Hart, Wally Macht, Jay Scotland & Dave Devall

The Salvation Army have been setting up their Christmas Kettle Campaign annually for the past 118 years, with the first kettle in Canada operating from St. John's, Newfoundland in 1906.   

On Saturday (December 18th), CHEX TV's Jay Scotland and Graham Hart, along with former broadcaster Wally Macht and former CTV weatherman Dave Devall, were on hand at Lansdowne Place encouraging donations to one of the many kettles throughout the city.

Many folks gathered and listened to the festive music from The Salvation Army Canadian Brass Band, and placed a donation in the kettle. (You can also donate online.) 

[Words by PtboCanada's Julie Morris; picture by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Peterborough Raises More Than $100,000 For Kawartha Food Share At 3 Loonie Event

The Wolf's TJ Connors broadcasting live at 3 Loonie event this morningCongrats Peterborough, you raised more than $100,000 for Kawartha Food Share this morning at the annual 3 Loonie event outside the studios of The Wolf and Kruz FM in downtown Peterborough. Amazing. Our city rocks.

[Picture by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Let's Fill Santa's Sleigh To Help Local Children

Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Foundation is once again helping our local children have a joyous Christmas by asking for the donation of toys to their Santa's Sleigh located at the entrance of Walmart on Chemong.

When donating, you are able to pick the name of a child in need from the list and then proceed to donate the item that they have asked Santa to bring them this year.  

For more details, contact Claire Demary at 705.761.7281.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Does Peterborough Have Enough Shelter For The Homeless?

It's freezing cold out. And anti-poverty activists are concerned there is not adequate shelter in the Patch for those in need. And that someone could freeze to death.

[chextvDOTcom; The Peterborough Examiner]

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