DBIA Featured Post: Shots Lounge

The evolution of Peterborough’s downtown is ever apparent. Some businesses have come and gone, while others have undergone a complete re-branding like Shots Lounge, which was formerly known as Splice.

Opening as Splice in 2006, the lounge was meant to be a semi restaurant-lounge offering a wide array of drinks and dinner options. While the menu was constantly changing to provide its clientele with top quality food, it eventually turned into a full-on nightclub to the delight of its owners.

Eventually however, under the same ownership, Splice was essentially transitioned to the successful ARIA. Later, the idea came to bring back elements of the Splice atmosphere but in a remodelled setting. In March of this year, renovations began at 379 George St N, and since its June opening, Shots Lounge has become a hotspot downtown!

Owned and operated by a group of locals including Lang Freeman, Shawn Stephenson, Andres (Sucho) Salazar and Sammy Shehadeh, Shots Lounge has
brought back a casual nightspot atmosphere that brings with it the same feeling as a pub, but in a different setting. This is what Splice use to have, and with Shots they have been able to recreate the old closeness and community feeling.

The owners like that it has become a spot again where everybody knows your name. Separated into two rooms, Shots is quite a versatile operation. The front room opened in June and is set up as a bar where patrons can order trendy drinks in a cozy lounge setting. The back room, which opened in September, is available for special functions such as birthday parties. Any kind of event is possible in this space and they love working with requests from clients.

Open 7 nights a week from 8 p.m.-on, Shots offers an intimate yet exciting venue with DJs constantly spinning only the best music while offering an absolutely massive drink menu with nightly specials. Their bartenders can create anything you can imagine! The lounge offers a nightly promo between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. called “5 for 5” where you can order any 5 hand crafted beverages for $5 each.

Partnered with ARIA and Dolce Vita who supplies a full kitchen, Shots has become one of downtown Peterborough’s newest go-to nightlife establishments! They invite you to come down and experience what so many people have been talking about since its June opening. If you’re looking to throw a memorable party of any theme, they’d be happy to help you make it happen in this unique spot.

For more on Shots Lounge (379 George St. N), go to:
Twitter: @shotsonshots
Facebook: Shots Lounge
Phone: 705.749.9315

For more on Downtown Peterborough and the Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA), click here.

—By Aaron Elliott

Look At This Scary New "Meat Shop" On McGill Street

Drive by the new "Meat Shop" on McGill Street (you'll know it when you see it), where they offer Hallowe'en scares to passers-by. Check out the menu of daily specials "Fresh from the butcher's block".

Spotted a scary house here in town? Let us know!

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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LOOK: 2013 KRUZ Radio Staff Channels The Eighties

It's 2013 but the Kruz radio team went 1980s—1982 to be exact—for this picture. Send us your old staff photos—or re-enactments—to tips@ptbocanada.com.   

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PTBOCanada Featured Post: ARIA

Downtown Peterborough is known to have a nighttime establishment for just about every type of crowd you can imagine and for the most part all of the businesses are doing quite well. With so many options available, one would think that opening up a new club in the heart of the city would be a very tough sell! Lang Freeman and Sammy Shehadeh have proved that wrong.

In 2011, Lang, who was already running what was then Splice Lounge, was approached by Sammy with an idea to expand and bring an experience to Peterborough that wasn’t already available. It was on October 31, 2012 that ARIA opened in its location at 331 George St. N after an extensive eight month renovation project!

ARIA brings an unmatched big city nightclub feel to our downtown core that has had people buzzing for almost a year now. The club brings in some of the biggest traveling DJs around to throw down some of the most epic parties you will ever experience! Lang and Sammy have spared no expense inside the club equipping it with sound and light installation from the renowned Apex. 

With club nights falling on Friday and Saturday, ARIA has time between events to plan out amazing ideas. They have developed a program called E-Life which is comprised of local businesses which strive to bring top quality food and entertainment to our great city!

Using Dolce Vita, which is part of the E-Life program as their primary caterer, ARIA has hosted some great events such as last year’s PeterTweeter Awards. They also had a PtboPride event, and host as many theme parties as can be imagined!

With so much space and time available between their massive club nights, it has become the goal of ARIA to become more of an all-encompassing entertainment facility and offer their space for different events throughout the week.

The layout of the club is perfect for bands to play in, to host upscale banquets and also to host weddings which they have started to plan for next year already.

Lang is a graduate of Trent University and has kept close ties with the school since his graduation. As such, ARIA has been proud to host Trent’s annual Glow Show, they have DJ’d intro fest and have also set up at Trent’s Vendor Show. What Lang is most proud of however is that ARIA secured a partnership with the school to run the entire Head of the Trent event with the university and rowing team.   

If you’re looking to host an event in downtown Peterborough in an unmatched big city atmosphere—we're hosting our 1st Annual Christmas party there December 5th!—we suggest you give ARIA a try. They have all angles covered to give you an experience the guests at your function will be talking about for years to come!

For more info on ARIA (331 George St. N), go to:
Website: ClubAria.ca
Facebook: ClubAria
Twitter: @ARIA_Inc
Phone: 705-743-0333

For more info on PTBOCanada Featured Posts, email here.

PMZ's Video From Strutt 4 Kids Fashion Show

Several hundred people flocked to The Market Hall in downtown Peterborough last night to take in Strutt Central's Strutt 4 Kids Fashion Show. The event featured fashion from several local stores and raised more than $25,000 for Five Counties Children's Centre. Not only did the event showcase the latest fashions but it was also a chance for Deejay Dassylva to showcase her athleticism. Deejay, a member of the local fire spinning troupe The Pyro Flys, wowed the crowd with this jaw dropping hoola hoop act below.

Also, Theresa Longo was one of the guest emcees at last night's Strutt 4 Kids; she walked the runway plus introduced the latest clothing lines from Flavour Fashion, Plush Boutique and Save Our Soles. Here she is...

—by PTBOCanada's Scott Arnold

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Look: The New Train Tunnel Portals At The Zoo Are Awesome

The Riverview Park & Zoo has done a facelift on their tunnel portals on their miniature train ride, and now they are both complete. Here's pictures via their Facebook page.  

The Bramhope tunnel portal which was used to create the south tunnel facade.

New portal facade at north end of tunnel.

The Hoosac tunnel portal which was used to create the north portal facade.

New portal facade at south end of tunnel.

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Art For Awareness Presents Erasing The Stigma

Art for Awareness, a local theatre group, is getting ready for their first original production to hit the stage at the Adam Scott auditorium. Erasing the Stigma, a multimedia dance performance, runs October 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th at 8 p.m., and seeks to normalize the stories of those living with mental illness.  Arts for Awareness has partnered with Canadian Mental Health Association, The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, the LYNX Early Psychosis Intervention Program, and the Human Services & Justice Coordinating Committee for this show. Tickets are available at Black Honey and at the door. If you saw their first show Next to Normal, you'll know how talented and passionate this group is!

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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The Phantasm Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Convention Is This Weekend

Phantasm, the Peterborough Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Convention, is this weekend at the Peterborough Public Library. Take a look at the full schedule, which runs from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. They have a board game library (and Liberians who will teach the game to you), a yard sale to sell your used games (from noon on Saturday until 5 p.m. on Sunday) , and more RPGs than you can shake a d12 at.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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PMZ Got A Sneak Peek At The New Show CHEX Daily

CHEX Daily debuts October 7th on CHEX TV.

[via PMZ on Twitter] 

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What's Happening This Weekend: Vince Bierworth's Bachelor Party Pub Crawl In Downtown Peterborough

Photo by Julie Morris

Vince Bierworth—known for his What's Happening segments on KRUZ 100.5, The Wolf 101.5 and Chex Newswatch (and wakeboarding)—is getting married next weekend.

So this Saturday night (September 14th), he will be the star of a Bachelor Pub Crawl in our amazing downtown Peterborough. The night is produced and directed by his plaid King friend Ryan Lalonde.

Among the confirmed stops: The Black Horse, The Pig's Ear, The Red Dog, The Only, The Spill, The Red Garnet, Spankys, Shots, Aria, Champs, The Sapphire Room and Riley's. And there are sure to be much more as Peterborough has one of the best selection of bars anywhere. 

If you see Vince out and about Saturday, make sure to wish him a happy Bachelor party and best wishes on his wedding. Though he might not remember.

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