Here are the Search 4 a Star Week 1 Contestants. Week 2 takes place tonight at Peterborough Square starting at 6:30 in the outside patio.
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]
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Le Petit Bar
399 Water St., Peterborough, Ont.
HOURS: Tuesday to Saturday, 4 pm to Late
One of the newest additions to our downtown core, Le Petit Bar opened this spring with a bang and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. A cozy spot that's great for an extended visit or a small bite to eat, they serve meat and cheese hors d'oeuvres along with a wide selection of wines from around the world. Owned and operated by Shannon Mak with assistance from Chef Jamie Kohls and a host of fantastic servers, Le Petit Bar is the perfect stop for a nice evening.
The menu at the restaurant is small but 
elegant, and the food is split up into two main groups—the charcuterie and the cheeses—with patrons being able to create platters out of one or both of the options. At the bottom of the menu, there are specials listed which include seasonal and local vegetables. There are menu staples that this reviewer will keep going back for, but Le Petit Bar also includes weekly specials that introduce a variety into their already eclectic menu.
Charcuterie literally means “cooked meat” from the French chair and cuit, with the meat's flavour being mostly derived from the preservation process. Their meats are purchased from Otonabee Meat Packers, and their cheeses come from down the street at Chasing the Cheese, another very worthwhile stop on Water St. Le Petit Bar is focused on bringing a French cuisine to Peterborough, while still maintaining a close link to local products.
The platters cost $17 for a sampling of four items off the menu, and include a large serving of baguette, seasonal vegetables, pickles and olives, as well as various mustards, honey and jelly to compliment the meal. My choices were very hard to make, with each item on the menu boasting very unique flavours.
For the charcuterie, I sampled the duck prosciutto, and pork paté wrapped around pork tenderloin with bacon jelly, aptly named the "Three Pigs". The prosciutto was savoury without too much salt from the curing process to take away from the flavour, while the combination of the different styles of pork in the Three Pigs created an array of flavours across the palette.
The cheeses chosen for the platter were an Avonlea cloth-bound cheddar, and a double creme brie, which had great contrasting textures and flavours that complimented each of the meats. The Avonlea was an older white cheddar which gave it a sharp taste and harder texture (and paired amazingly with both wines), while the brie spread across the baguette like butter and had a much milder but rich taste.
This couldn't be a review about a wine and charcuterie establishment without talking about the wine, and Le 
Some of the great staff at Le Petit BarPetit Bar does wine right. There are currently five reds and five whites to chose from, and one pink as well, with a varying range in tastes to compliment the assortment of flavours found on the menu. The white we sampled was a 2010 Lillypilly Sauvignon Blanc from Australia which was dry and had a slight sweetness to it, and went well with the sharper Avonlea cheddar and a little honey. The red was a 2010 Boutinot Cuvee Jean-Paul Rouge from France, which had a full body and went well with everything on the platter. There are also a host of cocktails, beers, and other liquors for those who aren't into wine; in other words, a little something for everyone.
The food was fantastically prepared, the service was both quick and friendly, and the overall first time experience was all around positive.
Shannon Mak has created something original to Peterborough with Le Petit Bar, both with fresh cuisines and a modern take on the wine bar, and it's a sure pick for anyone looking for a good night out.
—reviewed by PtboCanada's food columnist Matt Ferguson
PtboCanada's new food reviewer Matthew Ferguson has a passion for food and cooking. Matt's worked at several establishments in town, both cooking and managing in kitchens, and now plans to insight Peterborough to have the same love for food that he does. Follow him on Twitter @PtboFoodie.
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They're becoming really popular in the downtown—and all around Peterborough for tours of our beautiful city. Even Spanky's co-owner David Koski has taken one. It's called Peter Patch Pedicabs. Learn all about it here in this CHEX Newswatch report...
[CHEX Newswatch; Peter Patch Pedicabs Facebook page]
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[YouTube]
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Get the full schedule for Ode'min Giizis by clicking here. It runs June 20th to June 24th.
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Fleming student Victoria Forbes teaches dance lessons and runs a photography business to make summer earningsFor the hundreds of students who call Peterborough home, the daunting task of searching for a summer job often feels like an uphill battle. However, students losing hope shouldn’t give up because when armed with a little bit of creativity, knowledge of local resources, and a lot of effort, it becomes possible to win this battle and successfully gain a job.
What’s impressive about Peterborough is the large number of resources that exist to help students living in the city. Websites such as Employment Planning and Counselling and Peterborough Careers list a broad range of positions, many of which are temporary student jobs.
Yet with so many students living in the city, sometimes it takes more than just this knowledge to land an interview. Over the course of my own job search, I discovered that social media is a great tool for connecting locally and receiving leads on jobs. I sent out over ten tweets in which I tagged locals who specialize in the area I was looking for work (Communications), and I couldn’t be happier with the number of responses I received. No one had jobs available with their organizations, but many tweeters went out of their way to direct me to others companies and job postings that I may find helpful. Social media also helped me learn that tourism is extremely important to Peterborough and therefore businesses that benefit from tourism are extremely likely to hire seasonal help.
Another way I’ve learned to make local connections is through volunteer opportunities. I think many students (myself included!) expect to see job postings that are an exact match to their interests, skills, and education—oh how rare that is! While some people aren’t picky about summer opportunities, those that are hoping to eventually find work in their field should highly consider volunteering for organizations that interest them.
The beautiful thing about smaller cities like Peterborough is they have a great community feel, and local professionals are often more than happy to help a keen student looking for opportunities to grow. I’ve had many friends tell me that they’ve called and emailed people they would like to work for, and that as long as you demonstrate you’re passionate and carry yourself with courtesy and respect, you can gain some great advice and unpaid experience from these organizations.
Of course the ultimate goal is to gain employment with the organization, and maybe that will come the following summer, upon graduation, or maybe never. But the references, networking skills, and experience that can be gained through volunteering are greatly rewarding.
Occasionally, individuals try all the above strategies and are still stuck. It’s at this point that some students take matters into their own hands and use their education and passions to create their own job. This is what I’ve done for the past three summers. Having received a certificate in music from Humber College, I realized I’d be hard-pressed to find a summer job relative to my field in Peterborough, so I started teaching saxophone and piano lessons. While this has only been a side job for me, I’ve spoken to several other students over the years who rely on their entrepreneurial skills to make all of their summer earnings. Examples range from photography businesses to dance and music lessons.
The key takeaway is that living in a smaller city is not always a bad thing when it comes to the summer job hunt. Being able to get your name out relatively easily and talk to a variety of resources on a regular basis is a unique opportunity that Peterborough students should be proud to say they have.
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Beth McClelland is a public relations student and music certificate graduate of Humber College in Toronto. She grew up in Peterborough and enjoys spending summers here with her family. Beth is passionate about innovations in social media, music performance and marketing, and community service opportunities.
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Just when you thought driving over the Hunter Street bridge had returned to normal, construction has started back up again. The asphalt has been torn up and the speed reduced to 30km/h so expect slower travel.
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]
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"Find a Penny, pick it up and all day long you'll have good luck"... but good luck picking up the pennies embedded into Water Street.
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]
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[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]
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Catching raindrops on his tongue
The ducks didn't seem to mind the rain one bit
Peeking out from the safety of the shelter
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]
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