For book worms and green thumbs

You’re reading the March 6, 2025 edition of the Peterborough Currents email newsletter. To receive our email newsletters straight to your inbox, sign up here.

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Hello, and welcome to the arts and community newsletter from Peterborough Currents. I’m Alex, and I send this newsletter every week to catch you up on what’s happening in Peterborough.

This weekend Artspace will showcase the works of more than 20 book and zine makers and other artists during the ninth annual Book and Zine Fest. The pieces will be on display and available for purchase Friday evening, March 7 from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, March 8 from noon to 4 p.m.

Also in this week’s newsletter:

• Gardening inspiration at Peterborough Square
• Plus, some things to do around town this weekend

Let’s get started!

Celebrating the printed word in the age of screens

Local illustrator Brooklin Stormie Holbrough was just starting to dabble in zine making when she attended Artspace’s Book and Zine Fest last year.

The event inspired her to take the medium more seriously, and she’ll be returning to the annual event this weekend with a stack of her own zines to sell, she said. 

Though serious is maybe not the right word to describe Stormie Holbrough’s approach. Her mood when making some of the zines she’ll be selling: “child-like playfulness,” as she put it.

“[I was] just trying to be silly and make people laugh,” she said.

Stormie Holbrough will also bring a longer-form narrative zine that acts as a promo for her upcoming graphic novel, Astronautical, which is set to be released in May. She described the story as a science fiction space adventure geared to children aged nine to twelve years old.

The ninth annual Book and Zine Fest runs from Friday, March 7 to Saturday, March 8, and features 20 comic artists, graphic novelists, letterpress printers and zine makers showcasing their works. 

Peterborough poet Ziysah von Bieberstein will be at the Fest to launch their new book, At The Risk of Listening – Works as Poet Laureate, a collection of their writings over the year that they held the title of poet laureate for the City of Peterborough.

The Festival is a celebration of the printed word, at a time when it’s falling out of favour, said coordinator Laurel Paluck.

“In this age of addiction to screens, I think this is a beautiful counterbalance to [have] something physical in our hands that we can read on paper with reflected light,” she said.

Stormie Holbrough hopes to deepen her connection with other local artists at the Book and Zine Fest this weekend. “I find it can be isolating sometimes working as an artist and spending a lot of time alone, so any opportunity to connect with the community is very inspiring,” she said.

All of the supplies to create hand-bound zines or books will be available for sale at the event, for those who feel inspired to make their own. To learn more about the Book and Zine Fest, visit Artspace’s website.

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Seedy Sunday heralds springtime

For many local gardeners, Seedy Sunday signals spring is on its way in Peterborough. The annual event is back at Peterborough Square Mall this Sunday, March 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with more than 30 vendors and community groups taking part.

“It’s a really great time to sort of have a harbinger of spring,” said organizer Jillian Bishop. “People often tell me it’s sort of what makes them believe they’ve made it through winter.”

Bishop hosted the first Peterborough Seedy Sunday in 2005, the same year she started her small seed farming business, Urban Tomato. Twenty years later, the event is still going strong, regularly drawing around 1,500 gardening enthusiasts to Peterborough Square, Bishop said. “I was impressed very quickly, within just a few years, of how popular and how busy it did get,” she said.

There are more than 150 Seedy Saturday and Seedy Sunday events across the country, according to Seeds of Diversity. The organization promotes and protects Canada’s seed biodiversity by encouraging the trading of rare and heirloom seed varieties.

In addition to vendors selling a vast array of seeds, Peterborough Seedy Sunday features a large seed exchange area. “Gardeners can come and swap seeds that they’ve either saved themselves or that potentially they have excess [of] from the year before,” Bishop said.

When it comes to seeds, buying local is best, Bishop said. Not only is it good to support local farmers, but their seeds have been “adapted to our climate, so you are more likely to have success with these seeds than potentially some that you purchase at a big box store,” she said.

Growing even a small amount of your own food has huge benefits, according to Bishop.

“People feel a little overwhelmed these days by the political climate, the economic climate, the cost of food, and so growing your own food can be a really great way to feel empowered,” Bishop said. “It has really good positive effects on people’s mental health.”

Find out more about Seedy Sunday here.

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What’s happening in Peterborough this weekend?

• Trent University will host wellness workshops, a speakers’ panel and a drag show to celebrate Two Spirit identity this weekend, with events on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8. Admission to the Two Spirit Revival event is free for Trent students or $20 for community members.

• The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents ‘Mozart to the Moon’ at All Saints’ Anglican Church this Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m. Clarinetist Scott Wright will join PSO’s string quartet to perform music by Mozart and other classical composers. Tickets are available online for $40.

• March 8 is International Women’s Day and the Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) is partnering with the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC) to organize a rally and community building event to mark the occasion. Participants will hold a rally at City Hall at 11:30 a.m., before marching to the Peterborough Public Library. Once there, community members can enjoy light refreshments, speeches, and performances by local activists.

• Join B!KE, Peterborough’s community bike shop, for a casual Snow Pokes Ride on Sunday, March 9. The group will gather riders from three meeting points as they cycle from downtown Peterborough to Trent University to explore the campus area. Riders can join the group at Quaker Foods City Square at 12:30 p.m., at the corner of Auburn Street and Parkhill Road along Rotary Trail around 1 p.m., or on campus in front of the Student Centre at about 1:30 p.m. After touring the campus, the group will make its way back downtown.

• The Pig’s Ear Tavern will celebrate Mardi Gras this Sunday, March 9 from 3 to 5 p.m. with local Cajun folk band Pays d’en Haut. Guests are invited to fill up on a pancake community meal and dance along with the band’s bayou rhythm. 

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