Kawarthas Northumberland

Meet the Musicians—Cale Crowe

Cale Crowe performs onstage at Victoria Hall

A mark of professionalism in music is control over dynamics—the understanding of how to move between quiet and loud for maximum impact. Watching Cale Crowe perform, one thing that stands out is his ability to glide smoothly from a whisper to a roar. The singer-songwriter looks relaxed and comfortable onstage at Cobourg’s Victoria Hall, even as he plays stripped-down acoustic versions of his songs without the loop pedals he usually employs to build more complex arrangements. When he steps off stage, he gives credit to the venue for being especially conducive to live music.

Meet the Musicians—Kelly Burrows

A woman on a stage in a barn plays guitar in front of a mural of a horsedrawn sleigh

Music scenes don’t happen automatically. They must be nurtured, week after week and month after month, by disciplined and passionate individuals who offer their energy to the community. They might be musicians themselves, leading a jam or bringing out crowds to a regular residency, or they might be venue owners opening their space to artists. As one of Bobcaygeon’s most active songwriters with a full-time music teaching schedule, Kelly Burrows easily qualifies as a prime mover in the Kawartha Lakes scene.

Outside the Box: An Interview with Northumberland’s Cardboard Reality

Four felt puppets play in a jazz quartet, in a still from a Cardboard Reality video

What do permaculture farming and animation have in common? Plenty, if you ask bekky O’Neil and Keith Del Principe, co-owners of Northumberland’s Cardboard Reality Farm & Studio. As animators, they’ve created award-winning stop-motion and 2D animated short films on their farm outside Roseneath. On the same property they’ve grown flowers, raised ducks, and experimented with a range of sustainable agricultural practices, making them the rare business whose output is equally at home at film festivals and the Cobourg Farmers’ Market.

Meet the Makers: Mariposa Woolen Mill & Farm Market

View down a snowy trail at Ken Reid Conservation Area

Mill & Farm Market Ellen Edney, and farm manager Karyn Boyd, giving a comprehensive answer takes a little extra time. “There’s the Mariposa Woolen Mill and the Farm Market, so we have two different kinds of things happening on the same property,” Edney says. “The farm market is more the retail side of things, offering the location for different artisanal products, foods, local produce, that kind of thing, as well as incorporating agritourism into the farm life here.” The retail business and suite of events offered by Mariposa year-round, however, are in addition to the day-to-day operation of the woolen mill. “We produce all-Canadian product made with Canadian wool, so we do everything from washing other people’s fibres for custom work, to finishing yarns, rovings, that kind of thing… Yeah, we have a lot going on.”

Meet the Makers: Angela Roest of Centre & Main Chocolate Co.

Angela Roest of Centre & Main Chocolate Co. stands in front of a wall of her chocolate bars

Is there a connection between fine jewelry and artisanal chocolate? Angela Roest, award-winning chocolatier and owner of Warkworth’s Centre & Main Chocolate Co., thinks so: “It’s the creation of something that will be cherished by somebody else. Giving pleasure, aesthetic or gastronomic.” The connection is more than a metaphor for Roest, who left a career … Read more

Christmas Close to Home: 2021 Holiday Gifts and Events

Closeup of a Christmas ornament containing a glass angel

It’s Christmastime in Kawarthas Northumberland, and locals are ready to turn up the holiday cheer. With the ups and downs of 2021 highlighting the importance of supporting local, there’s never been a better time to do your holiday shopping close to home, or to connect with the community. Here are just a few of the … Read more

Meet the Makers: Eco-Conscious Textiles by Modelia

Christine Roberts of Modelia stands beside a tailor's dummy that is wearing a deep blue scarf

“Every time you think you’ve come up with a new way of doing something,” Christine Roberts says, “then I’ll do a little more research and think, ‘oh, well, that’s not really the case, that’s not new at all—they’ve been doing that for hundreds of years.’” Not that she’s complaining. Roberts’ slow fashion brand, Modelia, is … Read more