Take Back the Night… plus more local events

You’re reading the September 20, 2024 edition of the Peterborough Currents email newsletter. To receive our email newsletters straight to your inbox, sign up here.

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Good morning and welcome to the arts and community edition of the Peterborough Currents newsletter. My name is Alex, and I send this email every Friday to catch you up on what’s happening in the community.

Before we get started, I want to talk about Peterborough Currents. As you know, we are fundraising this week so that we can stay on track during our make-or-break year. Without your support, we won’t be able to keep bringing you local news, in-depth stories, and community highlights.

We’re nearing the end of our campaign to gain 50 new supporters. And we’re making progress. Right now, we’re 58% of the way to our goal.

I’ve heard from readers that learning about locals and the ways they connect and support each other has made them more hopeful and more engaged in community life. I want to keep bringing you closer to your community and letting you know what is happening in and around Peterborough. So please support us, as you’re able.

Now, back to your weekly community update! This week:

• Taking a stand against sexual violence 
• Hike for Hospice supporters to gather for first in-person fundraiser since 2019
• Pride Week kicks off with events this weekend
• A haunting and hilarious double-feature at the Peterborough Theatre Guild 
• And more!

Let’s get started.

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Take Back the Night event gives a voice to survivors of gender-based violence

The Peterborough Square courtyard was packed last night for Take Back the Night. With candles lit and signs in-hand, sexual violence survivors and their supporters took to the streets in downtown Peterborough. They raised their voices to chant together, shouting, “Whatever I wear, wherever I go, yes means yes and no means no.”

Take Back the Night is an international initiative to raise awareness of gendered violence. In Peterborough, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC) organizes the annual event.

More than 100 people took part last night, gathering for speeches and performances before marching through the downtown.

Local musician Shannon Roszell shared a poem expressing her hopes for her daughter’s safety in the future. “My hope is that we don’t need this event anymore for her,” she said. “That our daughters no longer have to take back the night and that they’re comfortable and safe. That consent is something that is understood and it’s honoured.”

Representatives from local support agencies also spoke about their services and how survivors can seek help or get involved.

“Sexual violence affects everyone,” said KSAC board vice chair Makayla Miller. “You never know what happens behind closed doors.”

“It’s really important to be able to have this safe environment where everyone can just come out and be able to take a walk at night, because a lot of people don’t feel safe,” Miller added. 

This year’s global Take Back the Night theme was “shatter the silence,” and community members gathered to share their stories and support one another. 

Rebecca Loucks of Curve Lake First Nation came to participate, and to speak out for missing and murdered Indigenous women. “It’s very important for us women to stand together and protect each other in everything we do,” she said. “I want each woman to know their own power, their own strength. A lot of women are suppressed by feeling that they’re not enough, but they are absolutely enough. And we’re always stronger together.”

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Record-breaking Hike for Hospice fundraiser brings in more than $105,000

Hospice Peterborough’s biggest annual fundraiser, Hike for Hospice, will take place this Sunday, September 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants will meet at Millennium Park and hike from there across to East City and back. Pre-registration is required, and those unable to hike in a group can choose their own route.

Funds support the local ten-bed residence at 325 London Street, along with palliative and bereavement support programming in the community. At the time of publication Hike for Hospice has raised $81,515.69 and close to $24,000 in business sponsorships.

“This is the most we have raised through Hike for Hospice in 22 years,” said fundraising and communications coordinator Sarah van den Berg. “It’s a record year for us.” 

“We’re so grateful to have the community behind us,” said Hike for Hospice committee co-chair Shelley Barrie. “Most of our donors have a history with the hospice, whether that’s a friend or a family member who has gone through here. This is an opportunity to give back in their memory and to hike with other families who have gone through loss.”

People can still register and can fundraise until the end of October. Register here. 

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Pride Week starts today. Check out the Queer Makers Market and other events this weekend.

Pride Week is here in Peterborough, with more than 40 events by and for local queer and trans community members from Friday, September 20 to Saturday, September 28.

Among the festivities this weekend are a film screening at Peterborough Public Library, an art show at the Commerce Building, a drag ecology hike at Jackson Park, and more.

The Queer Makers Market is also back for Pride this Sunday at Dreams of Beans from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Many folks that come to these markets are visiting to do more than just shop,” said organizer Aimee Leptick. “They are visiting for connection and community. It is so wonderful to see people connecting so deeply at these events.”

To find the full Peterborough Pride Week calendar of events, visit their website.

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Double feature at the Peterborough Theatre Guild

The Peterborough Theatre Guild is presenting a special double-feature this fall. ‘Ghost Story’ and ‘How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse’ are both one-act plays on stage from September 20 to October 5. 

This is the world premiere of ‘Ghost Story,’ a tale about the famous author Mary Shelley. In the play, Shelley visits the gravesite of her mother, the renowned feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Local actor John Austin describes ‘How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse’ as “the most entertaining university lecture” that audience members will ever have attended. Austin plays Dr. Dale, the founder of the School of Survival. He and his assistants take the audience through a zaney, interactive seminar to teach them how to survive the coming zombie apocalypse.

Tickets are available at the Peterborough Theatre Guild website here.

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Looking for more to do this weekend?

• Dreams of Beans is hosting a Street Fighter 6 tournament this Saturday, September 21. Registration opens at 11 a.m. and the tournament starts at noon, with prizes for the winners. Entry costs $5 and participants are encouraged to bring their own Playstation 4 controller. 
• Watson and Lou will showcase the art of Jared Tait until September 27. The gallery is free to visit and features Indigenous woodland-style art pieces.
• Take Cover Books will host the next Miracle Territory concert on Saturday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m. Peterborough’s Joyful Joyful will bring their experimental choral drone sounds, joined by Kingston electronic music producer Matt Rogalsky. Tickets cost $25 or pay-what-you-can. 
• The local YMCA is holding a free repair cafe this Saturday, September 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome to bring items to fix, and volunteers will provide guidance and assist when possible.
• Peterborough Community Sings presents its first free singing event tonight (Friday, September 20) at 7 p.m. at St. James United Church. No experience is necessary. Curtis Driedger will lead participants in learning to sing “Let’s Work Together” by Canned Heat.
• Marie Wilson, who served as one of three commissioners on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will speak at the Canadian Canoe Museum on September 24 about her new book.

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PHOTO: Speaking out against racism

About a dozen people gathered at Confederation Park in downtown Peterborough to speak out against racism on Saturday, September 14. “We have a big task in front of us, and that is to build up an anti-racist tradition here in Peterborough,” said organizer Peter Votsch.

Participant Stephanie Benn said that recent reports of hate-motivated assault in Peterborough spurred her to get involved. “We need to start making those links of racism in the media and by politicians against migrants, against refugees, against Indigenous people … to racism right in our community,” Benn said.

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