Peterborough Blogs
The snow thaw from the rain and then flash freeze on Friday has combined to turn a portion of Morrow Park into a wondrous, relatively smooth ice rink.
Ontario Speed Skating Oval In Lakefield Opens Sunday For 2018 Season
/The Ontario Speed Skating Oval in Lakefield has the ice prepped and ready to go for Sunday (January 7th) starting at 12 noon.
Their devoted ice crews have braved the cold weather this week to build a thick layer of ice. But according to their Facebook page, "because the weather was too cold to use the Zamboni to smooth the ice, the surface is a little uneven."
The Oval is made possible by the work of volunteers and donations from those who visit. To help pay for the cost of making the ice and improving the facility, you can leave a donation when you visit.
This is a bucketlist experience, so make sure to try it!
For more info about the Oval, visit their Facebook page.
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Couple MacGyvers Homemade Curling Rink & Rocks On Pond Near Kinmount
/Taras Pater and his wife Bonny Anderson had friends up to their property on Wasyl Pond near Kinmount, and were looking for a fun outdoor activity to keep them busy.
Since their visitors didn't have skates, Taras and Bonny suggested constructing a curling rink on their pond, and set to improvising both a rink and curling rocks in the most Canadian of ways.
Photo courtesy Taras Pater
Taras tells PTBOCanada how they built it:
"We shovelled off the snow and the ice looked pretty rough underneath. So we proceeded to cut a hole in the ice and poured buckets of water over the surface to smooth it out. As it was very cold out, the water froze fairly quickly.
The next trick was making curling 'rocks'. I cut some 4" slabs of pine and screwed in some old kitchen cabinet door pulls that I inherited from a reno to make the handles. When we first tried tossing them, they were way too light and did not glide well at all."
Photo courtesy Taras Pater
Photo courtesy Taras Pater
Bonny can up with a tweak that made all the difference and allowed the rocks to switchin' to glide, Taras tells PTBOCanada.
"My wife, Bonny, came up with the brilliant idea of dipping the bottoms of the rocks in the hole we cut. The water froze up quickly and after about a dozen or so dips and freezings of each stone, we had a good inch of ice on the bottoms of each rock."
"Not only did the stones get considerably heavier, but they also got a great amount of glide as well," adds Taras, who doesn't curl himself but whose mother-in-law Maxine is an avid curler in Lindsay. "We considered painting a house as well but opted for a wood stump as a target instead."
Photo courtesy Taras Pater
Here is a close-up of the rocks that Taras MacGyvered from 4" slabs of pine and old kitchen cabinet door pulls...
Photo courtesy Taras Pater
Oh, and one more neat timbit, er, tidbit from Taras about where the rink was constructed:
"I had the privilege of naming the pond, Wasyl, after my deceased father, as almost all of the pond lies on our property and I noticed it was unnamed on Google maps."
Bonny and Taras
Lansdowne Place Has A Silent Train On Sunday Mornings For Kids With Sensory Sensitivities
/Lansdowne Place has launched a train at the mall this summer, and it's already been a hit with kids and their parents as Engineer Rick leads rides throughout the mall.
But those with sensory issues can also now enjoy "Lansdowne Place Station", as it's been fondly called by passengers. The mall has added a "Silent Train" to its trackless train inside the Shopping Centre on Sunday mornings before it opens for those with sensory sensitivites.
As many mall-goers know, the innovative mall has been running a "Silent Santa" as well for years during the Christmas season, and the mall wanted to offer the same experience to those families who want to use the train.
"There are many families in the community that benefit from our Silent Santa program so when we were asked by a parent if the mall would also host silent train rides, the answer was YES," says LP's marketing director Emily Dart. "We understand that the mall can be very overwhelming for an individual with sensory sensitivities, which is why the Silent Train runs each Sunday morning before Lansdowne Place opens. This will allow families to enjoy the train without the distraction of busy crowds and loud noises."
The "Silent Train" runs Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. to 10:45 am. on the upper level of the mall until August 27th.
For more details about the train, including a listing of the train’s operating hours, visit lansdowneplace.com.
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328 Paddlecraft Just Filled Both Tubs At Trent Severn National Historic Site In Epic Display
/Last year, 138 paddlecraft were jammed into one of the ginormous "tubs" at the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site in Peterborough on Lock n' Paddle day, breaking the previous record of 101.
This is what it looked like at Lock 21 during last summer's Lock 'N Paddle...
June 26th, 2016
This year, Lock 'N Paddle upped their game even more, filling both tubs on a beautiful Saturday (June 24th) with more than 150 canoes and kayaks each (to mark Canada's 150 birthday) and lifting them 65 feet.
It was one heck of a jigsaw puzzle for organizers and Lockmaster Ed, seen in this video below...
But they did it. Look at this picture we took from mission control...
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
Here is the view from the front Trent-Severn Waterway tweeted out...
Here is the view from above photographed from a drone by Justen Soule for Parks Canada...
208 Likes, 13 Comments - Justen Soule (@justensoule) on Instagram: "Tub Tetris... Lock N' Paddle at Trent Severn's Lock 21. With some incredible coordination 328..."
And once the lock chambers were at an equal elevation, the Lock Master halted the lockage and participants and visitors raised their paddles and sang both O Canada and Happy Birthday in celebration of 150 years of Confederation.
Have a listen of the Happy Birthday...
Here is the moment the chambers aligned...
Here's a closeup of the East chamber tub filled...
PHoto by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
And here's a closeup of the West chamber tub filled...
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
360 panorama by Evan Holt, PtboCanada
UPDATE: Here is video our Evan Holt filmed from inside a canoe...
Well done Lock 21, well done Peterborough!
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
Awesome Family Fun Activities At Beavermead Campground August 8th/9th
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Canoeing, kayaking, bat walk, campfire and more!!
Read MorePTBOCanada Featured Post: Trent University Forensic DNA Camp
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Promoted post by Trent University Forensic DNA Camp
Read MorePTBOCanada Featured Post: 14 Great Reasons To Attend Rock The Ice V At PMC
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Promoted post by Peterborough Memorial Centre
Read MorePTBOCanada Featured Post: Learn All About OFAH In Peterborough
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Promoted post by Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters
Read MoreArt School Of Peterborough Open House Is September 21st
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On Sunday, September 21st, the Art School of Peterborough (located at 174A Charlotte Street) will be holding its Fall Open House from noon to 3:00 p.m. Come view their expanded studio location, meet the instructors, see them at work and try out some material. There is something for all ages, from true beginner to the emerging artist. You can register online at Artschoolptbo.org or call 705.742.3221. Here's some pictures of artists in action at ASOP...
