Homecoming: The Bierk Brothers Art Exhibit "After" Opens June 28th At Art Gallery Of Peterborough

For brothers Alex, Jeff, Nick, and Charlie, this summer is a homecoming years in the making. Sons of the late great artist David Bierk, they are bringing their own brand of art to display at Art Gallery of Peterborough in an exhibit titled "AFTER" from June 28th to August 31st—along with some of their father's work as well.

Having grown up in Peterborough under the watchful tutelage of David—one of the greatest artists our country has ever known—the brothers have evolved into incredible artists in their own right. After years of study and practice, and many life experiences, they have carved out a niche for themselves unmatched amongst their peers.

photo by Jeff Bierk

Growing up with well-known siblings Sebastian (musician)—known as Sebastian Bach—Zac (former pro goalie), and sister Dylan (model/actress), these four now have the spotlight on themselves and rightly so.

Alex, Nick and Charlie have all taken up the brush like their father, creating works that need to be seen first-hand to be believed. Jeff, in his own right, has become a photographer whose images capture incredible and often times unreal scenes and subjects.

Painting by Alex Bierk

While they have all moved to Toronto to continue the careers, they have worked so hard—and fulfilled a dream—to return to their hometown to display their work.

People who may have known them as youngsters will be amazed at the growth and development they have achieved through years of putting in time and effort to perfect their crafts.

For more information on "AFTER" exhibit, click here. Follow the Bierk brothers on Twitter @AlexBierk, @JeffBierk, @NickBierk and @CharlieBierk.

—by Aaron Elliott

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Great Photos From Wakeboard Competition On Little Lake

Check out these pics sent to us by Laurie Downey from the Peterborough Arts & Waterfront festival Saturday (june 21st) at Del Crary Park....

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Fall In Love With A Blue Jay Fledgling Named Hank Rescued From A Cat's Mouth

[UPDATE July 16th] Chris Williams informs us Hank is doing well and getting somewhat independent now: "He now understands how to eat on his own if food is left in his cage and will strike out at flies and mosquitos when he is outside," says Chris. "I have tried to transition him slowly into the wild with him spending hours sitting on the gate listening to the sounds of other birds and mimicking their calls. Unfortunately due to the cat attack or a birth defect, it looks like his one wing has not developed properly which limits his ability to fly more than a few feet, so for now he is overly dependent. He may be able to compensate his wing issues but it is going to take some time. For now, Hank spends his days sitting on top of one of his two cages practicing his short flight patterns." Here's new pictures of Hank...

ORIGINAL POST

Chris Williams—head coach of the Peterborough Huskies—told us this beauty story. His son Conal found a blue jay hanging out of a cat's mouth on Weller St. this week. "Hank", as they call the blue jay (they've rescued 12 birds over the years and call them all Hank—so technically this is "Hank the 12th"), is a young fledgling about 2 weeks old and is unable to fly right now, eating a diet of kitten chow soaked in water to a mushy consistency. "Hank squawks every 20 minutes to be fed," says Chris, who has a number of years working with an avian rescue agency. "I expect to hand feed him for at least another two weeks and then try to release him in my backyard to live a happy life."

Here are more pictures of Hank the 12th...

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Look What Peterborough's Chandler Crescent Ladies Did With $40 In Stickies

This story begins at Walmart, where a couple of "Chandler Crescent ladies"—as they're known—from Jackson Creek Meadows subdivision purchased some stickies on Saturday evening (June 14th). Now their husbands' thought they were stupid for wasting 40 bucks on stickies. But the Chandler ladies like to prank each other on a regular basis and they saw this as a great opportunity for an epic one...

See, their neighbours, Jay and Bri Callaghan, were in Niagara Falls for a wedding until Sunday evening. So the Chandler ladies saw this as a golden opportunity. They decided to make good use of the stickies by decorating Jay and Bri's house Saturday night...

Four Chandler ladies (including Liz Shaughnessy pictured below) and one husband did the garage...

While the other husbands worked hard on the rest of the house...

Jay and Bri, the unsuspecting couple being pranked, arrived home Sunday evening from Niagara Falls. While driving down the street, Bri at first thought someone had spray painted their garage, while Jay thought it was sidewalk chalk. When they pulled into the driveway, they realized it was stickies. Lots of stickies. It took them a while to get out of the car because they were laughing so hard. And before spending two hours peeling stickies off their house, Jay posted this message to Facebook along with photos...

The back of the house

The lesson here is $40 in stickies actually goes a long way. Also, don't go to Niagara Falls for the night.

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Read The Letter DBIA Executive Director Terry Guiel Sent To City Council

Terry Guiel (PTBOCanada file photo)

The letter below was sent to city council on the morning of June 19...

June 19, 2014

Mayor Daryl Bennett

and Members of Council

Corporation of the City of Peterborough

Your Worship:

The 'old' Shoppers Drug Mart property on Charlotte St. downtown has been sold and we are hearing that the new owner will use the site for a methadone clinic of considerable size. This is troublesome.  I know the importance of methadone in our community, that's not the point.

I further appreciate the ability of a business owner to buy a property and run such a business without discrimination. But this is a significant property for the downtown and the city.

I would argue simply that this is not a good location for such a use and that this could put into jeopardy the future of the Louis St. parking lot conversion to an urban park and further hurt Charlotte Street businesses.  Now we know what is planned for this property and it is not complementary to an urban park.

Council lost the ability to control the use of the site when it was not purchased by the city. Now that we know the potential future use, I would urge council to consider buying the property from the purchaser. Council has done this sort of thing in the past when they realized that it was in the city’s best interest to control the future use of a property.

Sincerely,

Terry Guiel

DBIA executive director

[via DBIA website]

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Flavour Fashion Launches Peterborough Inspired Fashion Line

The Flavour design duo Mike Watt and Bryan Reid have launched a new brand developed and manufactured in Canada called PTBO NORTHERN ORIGINALS. The line comes from their "love for our city, our community, our home, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada." Available exclusively at Flavour Fashion (383 George Street North) in downtown Peterborough, this collection has a "vintage heritage campy look combined with a current street sensibility." You can also purchase PTBO Northern Originals merch online here. Here's some photos from the awesome line via their website...

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Dog Park Association Unveil Directional Sign So Now You'll Know How To Find Dog Park

A new directional sign has been unveiled at Peterborough Dog Park—located on Ashburnham Drive on the East side at the entrance to Farmcrest Park by the pedestrian cross walk. After a significant fundraising effort, the dog park opened in March but the installation of the new directional sign will assist users in actually locating the off-leash park. This is a good thing should your dog not be able to sniff it out. Here's pictures of the directional sign and the dog park...

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Peterborough Man Launches Business To Pick Up Your Dog's Doo-Doo

Aran Hinton with his beloved 3-legged mascot, Scout 

Have a dog? Have a backyard full of doo-doo? Well a Peterborough man named Aran Hinton will pick it up for you. This Fleming graduate has launched a business called Dirty Paw Waste Management, where he will come by your house or commercial property and scoop up your dog waste. The Peterborough Economic Development announced this young entrepreneur was awarded a $5,000 grant through a Starter Company grant in Eastern Ontario.

Aran and Scout (picture via @DirtyPawPTBO)

Aran got the the doggone idea for Dirty Paw Waste Management out of his love for animals, which includes the rescue of the company's three legged mascot, Scout. Through Aran's experience with Jackson Creek Vet Services, Jungle Cat World and living within the Peterborough community, he recognized a need for animal waste removal. "With pet ownership on the rise, many people are looking for practical solutions to effectively manage the waste that they create," he says.

Using the tagline "Peterborough's Pet Waste Professionals", Aran says Dirty Paw's service can help home owners reduce the number of bacteria, parasites and worms that enter the home, assist property managers in maintaining animal inclusive rental units and even help event planners that can't have a special day ruined by animal waste.

For more information, go to their website, email them, or follow them on Twitter
@DirtyPawPTBO. If you want a "ruff quote"—they serve the Greater Peterborough area—click here.

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Jo Anne's Place On Water Street Is Closed For Renovations

Health food store Jo Anne's Place at 904 Water Street is temporarily closed for renovations. They plan to reopen that location in mid-August, but in the meantime you can visit their other location at 1260 Lansdowne Street West. Their hours there are..

• Monday to Thursday - 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday - 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday - 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday - Closed

You can stay connected with Jo Anne's Place by following them on Facebook and Twitter, and check out their newly launched website at joannesplace.ca.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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Any Retail Owner Want To Move Into 385 George Street?

The windows at the perpetually closed discount store at 385 George Street have finally been papered over. An ad is now prominently featured offering the chance for a new business owner to move in to the long shuttered retail space. It even includes a walkout green roof.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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