What’s on this weekend — from wild rice gathering to artist studio tours

You’re reading the September 27, 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.

This week:

• Curve Lake First Nation welcomes everyone to learn about wild rice traditions  
• Art gallery celebrates the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour 
• Public Energy introduces 2024/2025 season
• Local band VANCAMP releases new album
• And more!

Let’s get started.

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Reclaiming cultural food practices in Curve Lake First Nation

Indigenous people have cultivated mnoomin, or wild rice, in Michi Saagiig waters for thousands of years. Recently, the people of Curve Lake First Nation have reclaimed this traditional practice, and this weekend they are inviting the wider community to learn and take part.

The fifth annual Mnoominkewin at Curve Lake First Nation will honour wild rice with an all-day celebration. The event is this Saturday, September 28, and will begin with a sunrise ceremony and include traditional performances, art demonstrations, language lessons, and mnoomin processing workshops. Canoes will be available for visitors to gather and seed wild rice as well.

“A big part of celebration is sharing food together, so we want everyone to enjoy eating with us that day,” said Curve Lake First Nation elder Janet McCue. “All of the meals will be free and will feature mnoomin of course.” Local Indigenous chefs will serve traditional foods for breakfast, lunch, and supper, including Atlantic moose and salmon dishes. Festivities will continue into the evening with musical performances and a film screening presented by ReFrame Film Festival. Learn more and register for the event here.

Earlier this month, I visited Curve Lake to see for myself what it’s like to harvest mnoomin and why the reclamation of this traditional food is so important. We just published a new story about that on the Currents website.

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Art Gallery celebrates 40 years of the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour 

The Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour (KAST) takes place this weekend, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Art lovers can explore the region and visit 47 local artists in their working studios.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the self-guided art studio tour, the Art Gallery of Peterborough (AGP) has installed a special exhibit featuring the works of every participating artist this year.

“There is truly something for everyone,” said Andrew Ihamaki from the AGP. “We’ve got a lot of traditional mediums such as oil paintings and graphite drawings but we also have scratch art, jewelry makers and ceramicists. We’ve got some really incredible glass artists, wood turners, and metal workers as well.”

He explained that people can visit the gallery to pick up maps and brochures to help them determine their route. “I encourage them to come take a look at the artwork that’s up on the wall and kind of pick and plan their adventure based on which pieces they are most interested in,” Ihamaki said. 

To learn more about KAST, visit their website. The Art Gallery of Peterborough is free to visit, and their KAST selection exhibit will be running until September 29.

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Public Energy breaks out fresh programming for 2024-2025 season 

A three-legged man burst out of the Market Hall elevator during Public Energy’s launch of its 2024-25 season this week.

Dancer Bill Coleman hastily pushed the man back into the elevator and closed the door before continuing his remarks, which were about his upcoming performance at the Market Hall.

Coleman’s dance career has been long and taken him all over the world, according to a release from Public Energy. But recently, the dancer has settled in the area and is collaborating with local artists and a Dutch composer on an “experimental” and “whimsical” production called “Is This Tap?”

The show opens Public Energy’s new season of performances at the Market Hall on October 10. The three-legged man features prominently, Coleman explained, but locals will have to attend to learn more.

At the launch event, Public Energy also announced the rest of its 2024/25 season, which longtime executive director Bill Kimball shared will be his last at the helm of the storied local presenter of performing arts. “The posting for my job is already up,” Kimball said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what somebody else can do with this.”

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Local band VANCAMP releases new album

Peterborough homegrown talent Calvin Bakelaar and his band VANCAMP will perform songs from their debut album Diner Coffee this Saturday at Sadleir House.

“The launch party is what I’ve been looking forward to the most since I started writing this album,” said Bakelaar. “It’s a great opportunity to sort of show the community what we’ve been working on, but also get a chance to pay it back a little bit and feel supported by Peterborough. I always love playing shows here, and it’s just nice to be able to get an opportunity to do that at Sadleir House, which is one of my favourite venues.”

Bakelaar described Diner Coffee as “nostalgic and vibey,” with indie-folk and country music influences. “The album is a reflection on past versions of myself, so I’m imagining that I’m having a conversation with myself through the music,” Bakelaar said.

VANCAMP’s album release concert starts at 7 p.m. and you can buy tickets here. Pre-orders for vinyl copies of the album are also available. To learn more about VANCAMP, visit their website.

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Looking for more to do?

• New Stages presents Vitals at Market Hall tonight (Friday, September 27), and Saturday the 28th at 7 p.m. The play tells the story of a Toronto paramedic nearing her breaking point. Get tickets here. 
• Haven Brewing Co. will bring Oktoberfest to Peterborough this weekend, with beer and snacks, games, prizes, live music and more at 687 Rye Street on Saturday and Sunday.
• Peterborough’s Pride Week festivities will culminate in a parade departing from City Hall at 2 p.m. this Saturday. The parade will head south on George Street and end at Millennium Park, where live entertainment, vendor booths, and food will be set up until 6 p.m.
• Local artists will perform for Peterborough Solutes the Sadies Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Jethro’s Bar and Stage, covering songs by the Canadian alternative country band. 
• Explore Fabulous Fungi with the Peterborough Field Naturalists at Mark S. Burnham Park this Sunday, September 29. 

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PHOTO: Monarch Festival at Millennium Park

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