Workshop on incorporating native plants in your garden.

eventsgreen 100x100By Staff

April 27th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Does the arrival of spring weather have your thoughts turning to your garden? Perhaps you’re thinking of a way to incorporate native plants and don’t know where to start?

There is a workshop at Royal Botanical Gardens on Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Designing Your Native Landscape workshop at Royal Botanical Gardens.

RBG plants

Will your garden look like this after the workshop?

You will be taught how to choose and maintain native plant gardens and what type is right for your property.

You will learn about how to work with the soil you have and how to incorporate raised garden beds into your design.

You will also have a chance to speak one-on-one with a garden expert about a plan for your property. The cost of the workshop is $40 (including HST) and includes a tour of a native garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens, a catered lunch, resources and giveaways.

The speakers include:
Erin Mallon, Stewardship Technician, Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark
Charlie Briggs, Staff Gardener, Royal Botanical Gardens
Tara Nolan, Author and Raised Garden Bed Expert
Crystal Bradford and Liam Kijewski, Native Garden Designers and owners of Wildlife Gardening
Sean James, Master Gardener and owner of Sean James Consulting and Design

To attend the Designing Your Native Landscape workshop, you are asked to pre-register. You can find the link to register at the event listing on the Events Calendar at www.conservationhalton.ca/events.

The Designing Your Native Landscape Workshop is on Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Classroom 5 in the RBG Centre, 680 Plains Road West in Burlington.

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Sarah Harmer to share top billing at the Lowville Festival with tenor Ben Heppner

News 100 yellowBy Staff

April 24th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

She is coming home, just for a few days, but she will be on the stage at St. George Anglican Church where the Lowville Festival will put on its fourth event.

Sarah Harmer smile

Sarah Harmer

Sarah Harmer, Burlington’s own singer-songwriter, with five albums to her credit, a couple of which have been nominated for multiple Juno Awards, and a new one in the offing.

Sarah, the home own girl who never gets invited to perform in the city will perform on Friday June 8th.

The Lowville Festival is raising the bar for its fourth annual season in north Burlington’s majestic Escarpment country. This year they are presenting a couple of stellar headline attractions, Sarah Harmer and the world renowned Wagnerian tenor Ben Heppner, as well as the premiere of a new theatrical workshop/presentation by Burlington director/story weaver June Cupido.

The Lowville Festival defines itself as “a festival of all the arts for the artist in all of us”. The ultimate aim is not only to feature all of the performing, visual and literary arts, but also to provide opportunities for attendees to participate in the creative process. To that end, local singers are again being invited to join the Lowville Festival Choir, which will perform in concert with Ben Heppner.

St. George Anglican church

St. George Anglican church

For their fourth season, they are using two presentation locations on Lowville’s central and historic St. George’s Anglican Church just north of Derry Road, and the Lowville United Church just south of Britannia Road. Lowville is almost equidistant from downtown Milton and Downtown Burlington, and with its magnificent and extensive Lowville Park and location on the Niagara Escarpment, is fast becoming an easy-to-get-to oasis for both Burlingtonians and Miltonians.

Ben Heppner 1

Ben Heppner

 

Ben Heppner, Canada’s leading dramatic tenor who has appeared with all of the world’s major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden and the Wiener Staatsoper. He is currently host of the CBC Radio Two’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. For this concert he will be joined by the Lowville festival Choir, which has been a highly lauded component of the Festival since its inception in 2015. This year we introduce the choir’s new director Janice Schuyler Ketchen

Truth and Illusion: Two forces present in every moment is a theatrical monologue presentation that examines how our lives can be guided by two separate forces: what lies in our hearts and souls (the truth) and … what we project to the outside world (the illusion).

This story gathering and weaving process will take you on a thought–provoking journey as we explore the stories we tell each other and how they connect us. The members of the creative team come from our surrounding communities, all with diverse backgrounds, yet each with a story that speaks to society as a whole. This will be presented on Sunday evening June 10th at Lowville United Church.

The Lowville Festival is the vision of its two Founding Co-Artistic Directors: Lorretta Bailey, a Lowville resident, has performed in musical theatre productions across Canada, including the original Toronto production of Les Miserables; and Robert Missen, proprietor of the Bobolink Agency.

 

LOWVILLE FESTIVAL 2018
A FESTIVAL OF ALL THE ARTS FOR THE ARTIST IN ALL OF US
JUNE 8-10, 2018

Sarah Harmer in Concert
Friday June 8th, 2019
7:30 pm
St. George’s Hall
7051 Guelph Line (north of Derry Road)

Tickets $50 advance/ $60 from June 1st

Ben Heppner in Concert
with the Lowville Festival Choir
Saturday June 9th, 2018
7:30 pm
St. George’s Hall
7051 Guelph Line (north of Derry Road)

Tickets $50 in advance/$60 from June 1st.

Truth and Illusion: Two Forces present in every moment.
Sunday June 10th, 2018
7:00 pm
Lowville United Church
5800 Guelph Line (at Britannia Road)

Tickets $30 in advance/$35 from June 1st.

Tickets will go on sale May 1st on the Festival Website

www.lowvillefestival.com

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Earth Day - real spring weather and a movement to rid the planet of plastic straws.

News 100 greenBy Pepper Parr

April 22nd, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It is going to be a day when we can actually appreciate the day we were given.

We have been into spring for weeks – how any depends on which unit of measure you use to determine when spring starts and stops.

For those of us in Burlington spring has been toying with us – here for a bit then gone for a bit.
Earth Day has the sun shining and the promise of temperatures that will let one get to just a T-shirt. A day to do a check in on what we have done to this earth.

Plastic straw poterThe Earth Day Network organizers have chosen to focus on plastic – it is threatening our planet’s survival, from poisoning and injuring marine life to disrupting human hormones, from littering our beaches and landscapes to clogging our streams and landfills.

This year, spring takes place between March 20 and June 21, if you use the astronomical method.
If you follow the meteorological calendar it runs from March 1 to May 31.

plastic - sea of

A sea of plastic – everything you see in this picture is plastic floating on the water.

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Museum awards a contract for the creation of the exhibit area of the transformed Joseph Brant Museum

News 100 redBy Staff

April 19th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Retainong wall for the wester side of the expanded museum

Transformation of the Joseph Brant Museum site.

While back hoes and cement truck work across the property transforming what was a single structure that we knew as the Joseph Brant Museum a company called Kubik is thinking through what there will be in the way of exhibits and interpretive features that will be installed in the large xxx foot space that will be underground.

Fort York

A view of the Fort Henry museum that Kubik did some work on.

Kubik has been awarded the contract to provide the interpretive design, fabrication and installation at Joseph Brant Museum. The company has done work on the Fort York Visitor Centre, Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Wild Weather (Science North), Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Canadian Museum of Nature – Canada Goose Arctic Gallery.

Edwardiam costumes - exhibit

An illustration of some of the dresses in the collection at the Brant Museum.

Kubik has presented a concept design that will feature central, charismatic, and dramatic exhibit hubs, timeline exhibits that will connect to central displays, over-sized interactives and immersive displays. The museum staff thinks they “ may even have a “fashion runway” in the costume gallery.

We can’t wait for that feature.

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If the nice weather actually arrives it will be a great day to plant saplings. No BBQ this year.

eventsgreen 100x100By Staff

April 17th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The City of Burlington’s annual community tree planting event has been tied to the annual Burlington Green Clean Up Green Up event that takes place on Saturday April 21st.

The tree planting will take place at Tuck Park, 3405 Spruce Avenue on Saturday, April 21, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Residents are invited to be a part of adding to the urban forest by planting a total of 500 saplings.

GreenUp 2017 tree plant

The Green Up part of the 2017 program. Tuck Park this year.

Each event will feature:

• Planting 500 saplings
• Question and answer with city arborists
• Stewardship and education about our urban forests

Pre-registration is not required but attendees are asked to register in advance by going to Burlington Green’s website, or upon arrival at the event. Here are some details:

• Saplings are in one-gallon pots that can be easily carried to planting spots.
• No experience is needed. City arborists and planting experts will show attendees what to do.
• Participants are advised to use alternative transportation such as Burlington Transit, ride sharing, cycling or other forms of active participation as parking will be very limited.

What to wear/bring:

• Check the weather and dress for the conditions. We will be outside and will plant rain or shine.
• Wear sturdy footwear – no sandals or flip-flops, please.
• Bring your own work/gardening gloves.
• Bring your own snacks and beverages and plenty of water, especially if it’s hot.
• Bring your own shovel, if possible.
• Consider going green to the planting; walk, bike, carpool or use public transit.
• Bring your volunteer hour form if you’re a high school student looking for volunteer hours.

Burlington is one of Canada’s best and most livable cities, a place where people, nature and business thrive but it does not have a private tree bylaw.

For details on the CleanUp part of the day go to: www.burlingtongreen.org/

BurlingtonGreen has announced that there will not be an EcoFair this year nor will there be a BBQ

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Dance students will use spoken word poetry and reimagine the messages into dance movements.

News 100 redBy Staff

April 16th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

April 26th, 270 Grade 6-8 students from the Halton District School Board will gather to perform and celebrate International Dance Day.

It is the 13th annual celebration and will be held at the New Street Education Centre (3250 New Street, Burlington), from 9 a.m.-2:15 p.m.

Different silhouettes of various dance poses

Different silhouettes of various dance poses

Students will use excerpts of spoken word poetry as source material and will reimagine the messages as movement to a shared piece of music.

The day will be divided into two sections. In the morning, students will participate in workshops led by professional dancers from across southern Ontario. Workshops include bhangra/bollywood, Caribbean jazz, contemporary, flamenco, hip-hop, musical theatre, tap and urban.

Dance hip hop

Hip hop dance

In the afternoon, Halton District School Board teachers will lead students in creative movement workshops based on the curriculum expectations and the creative process.

This year’s creative workshop theme is ‘resilience’. The students will meet at the end of the day to showcase their creations in an ensemble presentation.

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City gets $640,298 to upgrade a cycling path in the west end of the city.

News 100 blueBy Staff

April 6, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon, President of the Treasury Board and Minister Responsible for Digital Government, joined Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring yesterday to recognize an investment in the City of Burlington’s cycling infrastructure from the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program.

The provincial program has approved $640,298 in annual funding to support up to 80 per cent of costs associated with the implementation of eligible commuter cycling projects in the city. The money will be used to assist with capital costs to build new commuter cycling infrastructure and enhance existing cycling infrastructure.

Bike funding photo op

From left to right – Danijel Ozimkovic, City of Burlington; Mayor Rick Goldring; Don Thorpe, Burlington Cycling Committee; The Honourable Eleanor McMahon; and Kendra Willard, Burlington Cycling Committee, at the announcement for the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program

A project to upgrade and extend Francis Road Bikeway from Warwick Drive to Plains Road East has been identified under the new funding. The extension is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Mayor Rick Goldring pointed out that “ Burlington’s population continues to grow over the next 25 years, providing residents with more choices for getting around our city will be critical to ensure the success of our city’s transportation network. This funding will enhance existing cycling infrastructure like the Francis Road Bikeway and will provide cyclists in Burlington with safe and convenient options for commuting to their destination.”

MPP Eleanor McMahon, President of the Treasury Board and Minister Responsible for Digital Government said: “Cities across Canada and around the world are investing in cycling so that their citizens have access to safe routes to work, to school, for recreation…” The key word there is “safe”.

In 2016, the City of Burlington became a Bicycle-Friendly Community in 2016, receiving a silver rating by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition.

survey04

The survey ends at midnight. Takes two minutes to complete.

• Currently, the city offers the following cycling infrastructure:
• 48 km of bike lanes
• 47.3 km of bike route streets
• 6.4 km of bike lane/sharrow streets
• 11.7 km of paved shoulders
• 52.5 km of multi-use paths adjacent to the road
• 31.6 km of paved off-road, multi-use paths

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Does a British accent increase the price of a presentation? Find out.

survey01

The readership survey will close Friday – at midnight. Takes two minutes to complete.

News 100 yellowBy Pepper Parr

April 6th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

What happens when a couple of “toffs” who both have British accents talk to each other?

You have to watch these two and wonder what music can do to grown men.

Once they get past the music – Paul Copcutt, a personal brand consultant, has a really interesting conversation with James Burchill during one of those Coffee Confidential interviews that Burchill does while tootling about the city in his Smart Car.

Interesting to hear them talk about how they use their accent to leverage their presentations.

Copcutt talks about what a brand is and what it isn’t and Burchill is merciless when he describes how he evaluates the marketing efforts of some corporations. Withering – but very true.

Copcutt throws in a nice little discount for his service near the end of the interview.

Burchill has been doing these interviews for a number of months; worth tuning into.

 

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A different look at Board Games - all at the Seaton Gallery

eventsblue 100x100By Staff

April 5th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Judy Anderson’s work are hung and looking good.

Judy AndersonIt is a series of work references the graphic elements of traditional board games. She uses the design of the games to explore the relationship of shapes and patterns while keeping her palette to one of primary colours.

Images of old photographs are collaged into the works transporting the viewer to more nostalgic times when games were the entertainment for kids and families with cousins and grandparents.

survey01

Survey closes April 6th – takes two minutes to complete

Reception April 8, 2018 2-4pm
Exhibition continues until May 27th

Teresa Seaton Studio & Gallery
652 Spring Gardens Road, Burlington ON L7T 1J2
Gallery Open Thurs – Sun 11am – 5pm

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30 get nominated as Burlington's BEST - eight will be named on May 9th at Performing Arts Centre

News 100 yellowBy Staff

April 4th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

This year, the Burlington’s Best Committee received 30 nominations in eight categories, besting the total number of nominees from last year.

BEST logoNominations were accepted Jan. 2, 2018 through Mar. 7, 2018.

Burlington’s Best Awards is an awards program that honours Burlington’s most outstanding citizens. The winners in all categories will be revealed at a gala celebration on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.

Tickets to this event are $35 per person. A dessert reception will follow the awards ceremony. Tickets can be purchased at the Service Burlington counter at City Hall, 426 Brant St., or by contacting Wanda Tolone at 905-335-7600, ext. 7458 or wanda.tolone@burlington.ca.

One winner will be selected in each of the eight award categories. This year’s nominees are:

Citizen of the Year
• Osob Adus
• Jason Stajan

Junior Person of the Year
• Kathleen Burgess
• Carter Creechan
• Chloe DeMers
• Aleksandra Srbovska
• Addison Wood

Senior Person of the Year
• Jennifer Earle
• Frank Miele
• Mae Redford
• Paul Tomlinson

Environmental Award
• Gloria Reid

Arts Person of the Year Award
• Teresa Seaton
• Jonathan Smith

Community Service Award
• Carol Baldwin
• Elizabeth Barrowcliffe
• Laura Clark
• Julie Cordasco
• Yanet DeLeon
• Louise Donnelly
• Knights of Columbus
• Kim Moss
• Rory Nisan
• Tracey Oborne King
• Belinda Roberts
• Jill Stickney

BEST awardHeritage Award
• Louise Cooke
• Friends of Freeman Station

Accessibility Award
• John Krasevec
• Bill Murray

For more information, visit www.burlington.ca/best.

 

 

 

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Live Chamber Music Series doing a gig in Hamilton April 14th.

eventsblue 100x100By Staff

April 3rd, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

They are Burlington musicians doing a gig in Hamilton April 14th.

Live hi rezLive Chamber Music Series will be holding their second concert of the season featuring Andrea Battista on Violin, Phillip Corke on Guitar and Irish Bouzouki, Karen Gross on Mezzo Soprano

Trio Sorbetto: Cristina Sewerin on Oboe, Elizabeth Day on Clarinet and Larkin Hinder on Bassoon will be part of the performance.

The concert is  presenting three 17th century composers, one from each of Scotland, England and Ireland.

Philip Corke arranged the music; Karen Gross is doing a great job of interpreting them.The words of some of the songs are very timely and the music is charming.

Hamilton Mennonite Church, Saturday April 14th, 2018

143 Lower Horning Road

Tickets: Adults: $20; Seniors/Students $15

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Google could have everything you ever said on a cell phone, could have everything you ever wrote and where you travelled. It is not easy to keep their nose out of your business.

News 100 redBy Staff

March 31st, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The headline read: Want to know everything Google knows about you?

It was part of a Saturday morning CBC radio program Day 6. Incredible, frightful and not really a damn thing you can do about it.

They know it all – and they will sell it to anyone who will pay the price. That includes political organizations; national brand advertisers and literally every police or security authority out there.

We have set out a transcription of the conversation that is to be broadcast.

Day 6 GoogleIt is between Ireland-based data consultant and web developer Dylan Curran  and Day 6 host Brent Bambury, who is interviewing Curran, who explains,  step by step, how anyone can check what information Google has on them — from where they’ve travelled to their political views and even which stickers they’ve used online.

The broadcast of course doesn’t have any visuals.  Those can be seen at this link:

You can follow Curran on Twitter at: @iamdylancurran

It’s no secret that Facebook and Google collect data from people who use their services. But Curran was shocked by just how much he found about himself on Google.

He talks with Day 6 host Brent Bambury about why companies like Google store so much personal data, and what it could mean for the future.

CBC Day 6 with BrentBrent Bambury: What prompted you to look into how much data Google has collected about you?

Dylan Curran:I was on Twitter one Saturday, a little bit hungover — I have a life — and this person had essentially posted a thread, which was very similar to mine, but all they were going through was the Facebook data rather than the Google data as well. They showed that Facebook was storing your phone text messages or phone call records, and these collections are external to Facebook so they were storing things that they didn’t need to store. And then after seeing that, and seeing the shock that so many people were experiencing, I decided to go in and do a little bit of investigation myself and compile it into something that people could easily read.

Brent Bambury So what other types of information were you able to find out had been collected about you online?

Dylan Curran:  Oh God, so much. Number one was that they were storing Google incognito history. So if you were using private browsing, where they don’t track your data, they did actually store it. So, say your wife wouldn’t be able to see what you are doing in Google incognito, but Google will. And number two, they were mapping out your location every time you turned on your phone. So if your location setting is turned on, Google will log your location every time you turn on your phone. They store that and then they’ll basically put it into a big database and you can go onto maps.google.com/timeline and see where you’ve been for the last four or five years.

Brent Bambury At the end of six hours how many gigs of information did you have that Google had on you?

Dylan Curran

Dylan Curran: We don’t have the lady’s name.

Dylan Curran: Facebook has 600 megabytes and Google had 5.5 gigabytes — which, for context, is about three million more documents.

Brent Bambury Now, if Google is storing that amount of data for every person who uses a Google product or a Google app, that’s a lot of raw data. How is it all stored?

Dylan Curran:  I did an estimation where around 2.2 billion people — 70 per cent of the internet— use Google, and this is conjecture, but I would say [they are storing] on average maybe one gigabyte per person. So if they have 2.2 billion gigabytes, that’s 2.2 exabytes. That’s three per cent of the world’s online storage.

Just try and keep in mind that everything you do online does leave a footprint and it will be kept forever.

Brent Bambury  How much does it cost to store three per cent of the world’s online information?

Dylan Curran: Because of economies of scale, it’s quite easy for them to store. Google makes on average $12 per person for their information, and the cost of storing it, I would say, is less than a fraction of a cent.

Brent Bambury  You said that Google’s making $12 per person through our data. How did they monetize it into a profit?

Dylan Curran:  What they essentially do is they take your information and then they build an advertising profile based on you. Advertisers pay to use that advertising profile to target you with the products and services that they want to sell you.

Brent Bambury People were shocked by the amount of information that you uncovered that Google had on you. What are the implications of all of this, of these private companies having so much data about so many people?

Dylan Curran: My problem really is that we don’t know the implications. So I have no doubt that Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter, etc., aren’t doing anything too nefarious with the data. I don’t think that’s what’s happening. It’s just that they are cataloguing all of this information. So if Google has information on a third of the population on the planet, down to everything they’ve done for the last 10 years, that does have a lot of negative connotations for the future. Especially in an ever-changing world. I do strongly believe that it’s safer just to not have that kind of potential bomb available. I think it can be a little less extensive.

Brent Bambury:  But there doesn’t seem to be a clear way of opting out. I mean, even if people change their privacy settings, is there any way of escaping having your data collected by Facebook or Google?

Dylan Curran: No, that’s the thing. These are free services, and I don’t have any problem morally or ethically with them collecting information in return for using the service. They’re companies and they’re trying to make money. What the issue is, really, is that they’re just collecting too much. They’re going too far.

What people can do is just be a little bit careful online. I’m not suggesting to delete Facebook or delete Google or anything like that. Just try and keep in mind that everything you do online does leave a footprint and it will be kept forever.

CBC radioThe transcript has a note saying: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The full Day 6 broadcast can be heard on CBC Saturday morning at 10 am and then found on the CBC archives.

Fascinating!

survey03

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Gazette has been around for seven years - started out as Our Burlington - When do people read the Gazette?

News 100 yellowBy Pepper Parr

March 29th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Gazette is now in its seventh year of publication.

We first hit the streets, via the Internet, in October of 2010 – that was an election year.

For a short period of time we were known as Our Burlington – I didn’t choose the name.

The paper came out of a friendship with the late John Boich who was working with a number of people on creating a better way to deliver local news. In the early stages the people behind that initiative were thinking in terms of getting low frequency radio license – that wasn’t something I was interested in.

The Shape Burlington report had just been published – Boich and former Mayor Walter Mulkewich were the authors of hat report which, in part said:

Engagement: Transform the City Hall culture to promote active citizenship and civic engagement

Promoting active citizen engagement and meaningful public dialogue requires a culture shift at City Hall. A crucial first step is the development an Engagement Charter – a plain language policy document developed with public involvement that incorporates benchmarks and accountabilities, and describes the value, purpose and opportunities for citizens to influence city policies.

The charter would explain how to navigate City Hall and its services. It should stipulate best practices for various kinds of public consultation and affirm the city’s commitment to inform citizens and respond to their ideas and contributions. t would address the question of reaching out to a diverse population.

The charter would incorporate an early notification system to provide citizens and groups information about meetings, events and issues, and to allow reasonable amounts of time to understand, discuss and develop positions before decisions are made.

I managed to convince Boich that a newspaper on line was the route to go – the Executive Director of the non-profit he had set up wasn’t a newspaper person. Boich asked me if I would put together a business plan –

I did – and he said – great – make it happen.

And that was how Our Burlington came to be.

I soon realized that “Our Burlington” was not a fit name for a newspaper and chose the name Gazette for two reasons: Burlington once had a print newspaper called the Gazette and the first photograph I had published as a boy 12 was on the front page of the Montreal Gazette – I also delivered that newspaper as a boy.

When I started the Burlington Gazette I was pretty sure the editorial model I had in mind would work – but it needed to be tried to be certain. The model works.

We have had our ups and downs but the readership growth has been consistent; not massive but consistently incremental.

So who reads the Gazette?

As many readers know we are in the midst of running a readership survey. The practice going forward will be to do a new survey every month – shorter next time; three maybe four questions.

Here is what we can tell you about when the Gazette is read:

Gazette readers story

Just over 40% of our readers are daily readers. We notice that during the winter a decent number of “snowbirders” read us from the United States – we don’t know which state they are reading from – just US of A.

There is more in the way of readership from Hamilton and Toronto than we expected.

survey04The data show in the graph above is “raw” in that we don’t tell you which ward those readers live in.  we will include that data in the full report which we will publish when the survey is  closed.  We wanted the survey open for at least 15 days.  The Sunday readership is always quite high and we want to keep it open beyond the Easter holiday.

 

Related news stories:

The Shape Report

The city’s Community Engagement Charter

Why the Gazette?

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Bye Bye Birdie will be the Koogle Theatre summer production - audition/workshop to take place in May.

News 100 redBy Staff

March 28th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Koogle Theatre has been putting on superb theatrical productions in Burlington for at least five years.

Each summer they do a production that invites young people to a workshop where they can get a sense of what they have in the way of talent and how they might fit into a planned production of Bye Bye Birdie

Bye Bye Birdie logoThe workshop/auditions take place from 9:00 am-12:00 pm for Ages 8-12 and from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm for Ages 13-18 – both on Saturday May 26, 2018

There is a workshop/audition fee of $25 before May 1, $30 as of May 1

Audition Workshops are for the Koogle two week Youth Musical Theatre Summer Intensive that will run during July of this year.

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More than 900 students from across the Region take part in a two day Band Extravaganza.

eventsred 100x100By Staff

March 28th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Two solid days of students and their instruments learning a new piece of music and then coming together as a massed band to perform what they have learned.

The event is part of what the Halton District School Board calls a Band Extravaganza taking place in Burlington Tuesday and Wednesday.

Girl with trombone

The students paid close attention tot he instructions they were being given.

Listening to the students as they warm up with their instruments and get instructions on instrument specific clinics from instructors that were donated by Long and McQuade.

Girl with base sax

There was this beautiful deep sound that just enveloped the room. Then the other instruments joined in.

Being in a room with 15 to 40 students who are being directed by an experienced musician learning to get the best sound possible from the instrument is quite an experience. The rooms were on the small side where the sound bounced off the walls.

Boys with clarinets

Boys being boys – talking up what they were being taught?

Students start each day with a concert by the Halton Junior Jazz Band. Afterwards, students go to breakout clinics specific to their instrument. Later they convene for a massed band rehearsal, with guest conductors on both days.

Getting the instrument ready

Concentration and getting it just right.

The board has commissioned two original concert band compositions for the event: The Call to Adventure by composer David Marlatt, and The Conquest by Ryan Meeboer, a teacher at Alexander’s Public School in Burlington.

The pieces will be directed by the composers and played for the first time by Halton students.

Rebecca MacRae, the board’s instructional program leader (the arts, K-12) is overseeing the event.

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Hilda's Yard - the kids come back - 0n at Theatre Burlington in April

eventsblue 100x100By Staff

March 25, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It is being billed as another “crowd pleaser”: A comedic look into the realities of family life. The play, written by Norm Foster, will be directed by Maureen Dwyer and produced by Penny Oliver.

Theatre Burlington poster March 2018Foster portrays a couple in their golden age, living in the late 50’s, enjoying life after their children have left home. Their idyllic future plans are cut short as a chain of events brings each one of the children ‘hopping the fence’ into Hilda’s yard and are suddenly back home for unexpected and extended stays.

When Gary suddenly appears he is on the run from a couple of thugs for ‘stiffing’ their boss.

Then “Janey” shows up too after leaving her husband. The generation gap between the parents and the children is large and what seems far out to the parents seem quite reasonable to the newer generation and the freedoms that came with this new era.

As is often the case, the mother is the glue that holds it all together, as a housewife she learned to think out of the box and though father believes he knows best, she is the one that ties it all together bridging the generations.

Foster’s incredible wit and insight make dealing with uncomfortable subjects, something that can still be laughed at. Shows like this help us realize that we need to take life a little less seriously.

Running April 13-14; 20-21; and 26-27-28.

Curtain 8:00 PM

Tickets: Adult: $25; Students: $15; Seniors $22 at the Box office 905-639-7700 or visit www.theatreburlington.on.ca

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Afternoon tea at the AGB this afternoon

eventspink 100x100By Staff

March 25th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

Little did we know.

Our original headline on this story read: High tea at the AGB this afternoon.

We got our ears boxed when the CFUW advised us that – Please note that the phrase “high tea” refers to the evening meal of the working classes in Britton, sometimes even just referred to as “tea”. What University Women are holding is “afternoon tea”.  The correct spelling for Britain is <

The Canadian Federation of University Women is holding a 40th anniversary March Hare fund raiser this afternoon at the Art Gallery from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

The CFUW is an organization that is dedicated to fellowship, advocacy and education. They have in the past sponsored debates during election campaigns and have a scholarship program.

March Hare

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location
Art Gallery of Ontario 1333 Lakeshore Rd. Burlington ON

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Construction of a transformed Brant Museum is well underway; public acceptance of the project now has to catch up.

News 100 blueBy Pepper Parr

March 24th, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The transformation of the Joseph Brant Museum is well under way.

brant-museum-rendering

Architectural rendering of what the new home for the Joseph Brant Museum will look like when it is completed – scheduled for late 2019 – weather permitting.

Brant house on blcks Mar 2018The replica of the house Joseph Brant built now sits on steel beams and pushed closer to North Shore Blvd, where it will remain until the new part of the museum is built.

In an ongoing survey we asked our readers what they thought of the decision to transform the existing museum into something that 3 times bigger; it will have 17,000 sq ft of exhibition space.

The public will not be able to tour the actual house – that is to be used for administration purposes.

Few realized it at the the time but the day of the ground breaking ceremony was the last time the public was going to be in the building.  At least it was packed that day.

brant museum survey - partial

The readership survey has been running for less than a week This is what some of the Gazette readers responded to the question: The decision has been made to transform and significantly enlarge the Joseph Brant Museum. Was this a good idea?

City council vote to proceed with the project was not unanimous.  Councillors Jack Dennison and Marianne Meed Ward were not onside for this nor was Councillor John Taylor all that enthusiastic about the plans that were put forward.

The original house was the building Joseph Brant died in – the structure on the site is a 1937 replica of the house Mohawk native Joseph Brant, Thayendanegea, built on a 1798 Crown land grant.

A man named Thomas B. McQuesten was a province of Ontario Minister who was responsible for the early version of what is now the QEW.  He is said to have used highway building funds to pay for the construction of the replica.  The original had been destroyed by fire.

The total project amount is approved at about $11 million, which includes a contingency fund and allows for cost increases due to a winter construction period. Funding includes:

 

Grass dancer

An indigenous dancer performs during the ground breaking for a transformed Joseph Brant Museum. Few new at the time that it was the last day the public would actually be in the house part of the museum.

$3.4 million from the City of Burlington

$4.7 million from the Government of Canada

$1.5 million from the Province of Ontario

$2.5 million from the Joseph Brant Museum Foundation

The land the Museum sits on was owned by a Trust that was part of the hospital land holdings.  The Museum was moved several decades ago when the hospital underwent an expansion.

A transformed Museum is being built – the public now needs to get behind the idea and ensure that there are high quality programs and that the Museum is professionally run.

 

 

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Sound of Music adds performances to their Kick Off program - a hotel package is now available.

eventspink 100x100By Staff

March 23, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Sound of Music Festival has added performances to their Saturday, June 9th Kick Off concert.

Sublime with Rome, Simple Plan, and Eve 6 will be joining The All-American Rejects and Everclear!

The Kick Off is a two day series with gates opening at 1:00 pm – show ending at 11:00 pm on Saturday and 9:30 pm on Sunday.

That red light was a sign - Sound of Music didn't get the $37,000 they felt they needed as fall back money if the weather turned on them and events had to be cancelled. Note that the pier in this 2011 picture isn't visible because there was nothing to see. The city plans on offocially opening the pier during the Sound of Music festival this summer. SOM should charge the city a fee for horming in on theior event.

The warmer weather can’t be too far away if Sound of Music is telling us about their program

Tickets for Saturday are $65, tickets for Sunday are $55 and the 2 Day Pass is $110 + fees/tax. Prices will go up. VIP and FrontRow upgrades will be available mid-April.

The free Father’s Day weekend concert lineup for June 14 – 17 will be announced on April 25, 2018.survey04

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Gazette doing a poll of our readers - where do you live and what do you think?

News 100 redBy Staff

March 23, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Gazette logo Black and red

The Gazette has been publishing since September of 2010

Every publisher wants to know – who reads what we write; where do they live, what do they like and what do we know about the demographics of our readers.

We have done readership surveys in the past: there were some surprises. We found that the readership was spread pretty even across the city – except for ward 6.

When the survey was being done the issue of the Air Park and the tonnes of land fill being dumped on the property without the proper papers – at least the ones city hall felt the property owner should have obtained – was a major story. The stories got significant readership in the other five wards – but was much lower than we expected in ward 6.

Air Park - trucks lined up

Tonnes of landfill from locations that were never entirely clear was dumped on the Air Park property. It took more than one court case to resolve that issue.

The current survey has been running for just a few days – far too early to tell us very much – but there are trends and in the public opinion polling business it doesn’t take thousands of responses to see a trend.

museum views - survey

The decision has been made to transform and significantly enlarge the Joseph Brant Museum. Was this a good idea?

While the views on the overhaul being done to the Joseph Brant Museum are far from valid – here is what we halve at this point.

We are going to run the survey for a couple of week.

You can only do the survey once. If you try to do it twice the software tells you that the survey has already been done.

survey04Privacy is a big big issue these days.

All we get to know about you personally is your gender, the ward you live in.

We will publish an in depth article when they survey is closed.

Click on the box to the right – take part and tell us what you think.

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