This past Saturday the crowds came out to celebrate 50 years of the Bancroft Skating Club, skaters showed their skills to an excited audience as those as young as two, up to adult, performed to wide range of music and costumes.

The event started with Juno award winning teacher Diane Winmill singing the national anthem. Special guest Elvis Stojko also performed spinning triple axels to the tune of Jump by Van Halen.

A wide range of ages were not just on the ice but also in the crowd—we spoke with one family who had four generations at the arena to celebrate skating. Great grandmother Gwen Davis was there to see her great-granddaughter perform along with their grandmother Patsy.

Gwen and Patsy were also looking forward to seeing Stojko preform whom they hadn’t seen live before. They both said they had watched him perform in the Olympics on television.

We had a chance to speak with Elvis before the show, he said that after his Bancroft appearance he will be touring with stars on ice and after that, doing some race car driving.

More photos of the day and the skating club over the years can be found on the skating club website.

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This Saturday in Barrys Bay author Jean Pierre Chabot will be giving a presentation about the ice jam that flooded the Hudson’s Bay Company's fur trading post on Moose Factory Island in 1894.  

The event will take place at the library. There will be light refreshments and a cash bar. The legion is hosting the event.

Copies of Jean Pierre's book will be for sale and a copy is available to borrow at the library. 

A little about the book:

"1894: The Deeper Story of Moose Factory's Great Flood is an account of an ice jam-induced flood that occurred at the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fur trading post on Moose Factory Island, which is situated along the James Bay coast in Canada's north. This story is also an account of the broader history of break-up, a season all of its own, within the delta of the Moose River. Through the phenomenon of break-up, the author also tells a deeper story of Moose Factory, its history and the region's people. You will no longer think of water and ice in the same way after reading this book. Guaranteed." from Amazon

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Psychic mediums, herbalists, indigenous healers, artisans and more will gather in Maynooth this weekend. 

The Spring Awakening and Welllness event will take place on Saturday and we spoke with event organizer Tina, whose Spirit Name is Zhaabwaabi Kwe, meaning  “She Sees Thru Clearly Woman"

She is an Anishnaabe Seer and Spirit Talker of Michi Saagiig Anishnaabe Kwe of Hiawatha First Nation.   

Zhaabwaabi Kwe spoke about some of her inspiration in organizing the event, which immediately garnered a lot of interest: 

“I found the locals were requesting more spirituality, more plant medicines, more original medicines and healing” Said Zhaabwaabi Kwe, “So I just took the bull by the horns and I decided to put everybody all together” 

Zhaabwaabi Kwe spoke about the importance of the vendors themselves, 

“For those artisans that work from home, the unsung heroes, you know it's for them too” She said, “All of those lost gifts, talents and knowledge that people are still doing. And it booked up fast.” 

Zhaabwaabi Kwe described some of the lost gifts as: 

 “The passing down of knowledge, working with plant medicines, the knitting, the sewing, the handcrafting, all of that. The self-sovereignty” 

At the event will also be some awareness vendors, including Dibaajimowin Cultural Centre - a non profit Organization from Alderville First Nation. People with any questions on Every Child Matters, MMIWG or any other Indigenous Awareness Campaign can visit their table.

The Spring Awakening and Wellness event is from 10-4 this Saturday at Emond Hall, at the library building in Maynooth. 

For more information you can go to Anishnaabe Naturals Facebook page. 

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You've probably heard of Johnny Cash, but more and more people are hearing about Johnny Kashub.  A podcast by local David Shulist has been bringing awareness of Kashubian culture across the world.

“The Johnny Kashub Show" on Podbean was started less than a year ago and has already surpassed the 1000 download milestone. 

“You know there's people from all over the world, a lot of them from Europe, a lot of them also from the US because there's communities in the US and they're connecting" Said Shulist, "A lot of them didn't even know about this heritage. Yet they are part of this heritage.” 

Shulist is also the recent winner of the Canadian Ethnic Media’s Life Time Acheivment Award for his contributions to Kashubian culture, He attended the awards ceremony last November. 

“There was just about every culture that was there and here was I this Kashubian from Wilno, Ontario. Then my name was announced as the the lifetime achievement award. I felt kind of unique because nobody really knew me” Said Shulist, “Because I've been at this here, you know probably 26, 27 years. So I put a lot of time in and I guess they they recognized that” 

Shulist says Kashubia is not a country or a region, but a homeland: 

 “I guess if I could compare it to something it could be like Sicily, right? Sicily is not a country, but it is a a homeland of the Sicilian because they're under Italian rule. The only thing with Kashubia is they haven't had their own government for you know, for centuries” 

In his book “Discovering Kashubia Europe, the Fatherland of my Kashubian Ancestors”  Shulist writes about his discovery of his true Slavic identity as a Kashub and he writes about  what his community is doing to preserve and promote the Kashubian Identity in Canada’s Kashubia.

To learn more about Kashubia you can check out the Jonhnny Kashub show on Podbean or go to the Johnny Kashub facebook page.

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The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has called off its search for the source of emergency flares, seen in the Palmer Rapids area, west of Renfrew.

There have been no reports of missing people or anyone in distress in the area and CFB Petawawa reports that its members were not in the area for any flare training.

The OPP is now confident that someone in the area set off the flares for non-emergency reasons.

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Good Karma might have played a role in the latest Catch the Ace win. 

Richard Shulist is the week 16 winner , taking home the prize of 1,388. 

Richard didn’t buy the ticket himself though –it was bought for him. 

Not long ago when Richard was having dinner at the Balmoral Hotel with his Wolves Alumni crew he had footed the bill for dinner.  

Soon after he crossed paths with longtime friend Tommy Burchat, who had had his dinner covered that night.  

They were at the Wilno Parish pancake breakfast, where Richard was volunteering. Burchat saw a Catch the Ace volunteer was selling tickets, so he decided to buy Richard a ticket to thank him for his recent generosity.  

To their surprise, Richard's ticket was picked in the Week 16 draw held on Thursday February 15th. 

Richard says he plans on using the winnings buy some Catch the Ace tickets for his friend until he wins too—also to take him out for another meal. 

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JUNO winning alt-country trio Elliot Brood is playing Bancroft’s Village Playhouse this Saturday ahead of their US and European Tour dates. 

The band has a Juno for best roots/folk album and has shared stages with Blue Rodeo, The Black Crowes and Wilco. 

They are touring in support of their newest Album called “Country”  

The album isn’t officially released until April but people will be able to buy advance hard copies at the show on Saturday.  

We spoke with lead Vocalist Mark O’Sasso about why he’s excited to play Bancroft: 

“I love playing the places that are out of the way” said O’Sasso, “The energy is amazing every night, Those are my favorite places to play” About Bancroft he said: “You know, I've been there (Bancroft) and enjoyed the area, so it thought, you know, lets go and have a great time and kind of kick it up on a Saturday night” 

There are still some tickets left for the show which is this Saturday at 7pm at the Playhouse. 

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From January to March wolves and coyotes are out looking for mates, making them more visible to people.

One longtime Baptiste Lake resident said they recently had an uncommon wolf sighting.

“Two wolves were coming across the ice in parallel" he said "It was unusual because it was 10 in the morning, and I've never seen wolves on that part of the lake at that time. We see tracks all the time. But the tracks are usually left at night.”

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, if you do come across a wolf or coyote, you should keep your distance and they will likely avoid you. They say to keep an eye on your pets while outside, especially if they're not spayed or neutered.

Also, if you come across an aggressive coyote or wolf, don’t turn your back, or run. Stay calm, wave your hands, and make noise while slowly backing away.

Learn more about preventing coyote encounters at ontario.ca/Coyotes

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A facebook post from Opeongo snowbirds is warning people that some of the OFSC trail stop signs have been removed and placed in other areas not pertaining to current snowmobile trails.

OPP are aware.

They stated: "We want to share this information for the purpose of making riders aware and to remind riders to use extra caution when riding along the OFSC trails.

Opeongo Groomer Operators and Trail Patrol continue to monitor the signage when they are out.

If you see any missing signs along the trails please reach out to us and we will rectify the situation as soon as possible."

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