MUST SHINE ON
The historic Regent Theatre has graced Picton’s main street for 105 years, bringing live theatre, film and music to the community. The unique venue is considered a rare example of an Edwardian opera house, and the marquee continues to proudly announce the excitement behind the curtain to come. The Regent is inviting donors to help light up the town’s main street in style by attending its annual gala on February 25, 2023. Proceeds will fund the restoration of the heritage marquee, re-illuminating the crown logo and backlighting. Come for dining, dancing and an invitation to dress the part. The gala theme is the Roaring Twenties, so fringe and sequins please!
Regent Theatre
226 Main Street, Picton
theregenttheatre.org
MUST KEEP SWIMMING
Why not work on your front crawl and butterfly strokes in the winter months? Swimming is great exercise for all ages at any time of year, known for building endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. And our local pools have after-school and weekend lessons, senior lane swims and public swim times to just come out and enjoy the water. There are also parent and tot family swims to introduce your tiniest ones to floating. Bonus, the large windows in a lot of facilities let the sun shine in, so you’ll feel some of that outdoor love streaming in as you power yourself through the water.
YMCA Northumberland Cobourg YMCA
339 Elgin Street West, Cobourg
ymcanrt.org/activities/swim-lessons
YMCA of Central East Ontario John Williams Branch
50 Monogram Place, Trenton
ymcaofceo.ca/aquatics-levels
Jack Burger Sports Complex
60 Highland Drive, Port Hope
porthope.ca/en/things-to-do/swimminglessons.aspx
Prince Edward Fitness & Aquatic Centre
13263B Loyalist Parkway, Picton
pefac.ca/wp/our-programs/aquatic-programs/
MUST DIG IN
Check out the local archives and do some digging on your family, your town or an event from the past that’s got you curious. Community archives are a grassroots organization, often run by dedicated volunteers, where photos, documents and artifacts help promote narratives that might otherwise be lost. They can also reveal secrets and introduce interesting characters who may have played a role in local history. The Township of Cramahe, for example, has an impressive digital archive with featured exhibits and interviews with residents about local personalities, who’s who in the graveyard, and elementary teacher shortages in the 1950s.
Cramahe Archives Brighton Digital Archives
https://vitacollections.ca/brightonarchives/search
Port Hope Archives
17 Mill Street North, Port Hope
porthopearchives.ca
Northumberland County Archives & Museum C. Gordon King Centre
200 Ontario Street, Cobourg
northumberland.ca/en/discovering-andexploring/northumberland-county-archives.aspx
Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County Belleville Public Library
254 Pinnacle Street, Belleville
cabhc.ca/en/index.aspx
County of Prince Edward Archives Wellington Branch Library
28 East Street, Wellington
pecarchives.org
MUST SHELTER
With the winter weather here, finding creative and caring solutions for homelessness is top of mind. Thumbs up to the folks at Green Wood Coalition who are spearheading Our Livable Solutions – the creation of tidy, tiny one-room homes built for people who struggle with sleeping in traditional, multi-residential shelters. Check out the shelters at YMCA Northumberland, or at events around the region. They’re safe; they’re warm, and they look a lot like a sleeping cabin, and with your help, more and more can be built.
MUST BELLY LAUGH
Turn a fairy tale upside-down with a modern spin – and who knows what you might end up with! The tradition of the Christmas Panto is a hilarious take on our beloved children’s stories, with songs, improv, audience participation and LOL big belly laughs. Come boo the villain and cheer on the hero! Cross-dressing is standard fare, rooted in the Panto origins in Britain of all-male casts performing in the great halls of manor houses. It’s a treat that our local theatres deliver the holiday frolic on stage with a naughty show for adults and a nice and tidy version for the family.
Sleeping Beauty, A Panto Awakening Capitol Theatre
20 Queen Street, Port Hope
Nov. 26 to Dec. 23, 2022
capitoltheatre.com
Snow White and the Magnificent North of 7 Stirling Festival Theatre
41 West Front Street, Stirling
Nov. 25 to Dec. 31, 2022
stirlingfestivaltheatre.com
MUST SHIVER
Are you brave (or crazy) enough to take a dip in the icy waters of the Trent River? Maybe wearing a tutu or Hawaiian-style grass skirt, just because? Come join the Trent Hills Polar Bear Plunge Winter Festival on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the Campbellford Lions Beach for the big plunge! The chilly annual event celebrates the resilience of the folks of Trent Hills and the proceeds from this major fundraiser go back to Campbellford Memorial Hospital. The pandemic shifted the plunge to a virtual fundraiser for the past two years, so organizers and plungers, including the hospital’s own fierce team, are ready to cheer and dip at the festival together.
