Peterborough Raised Filmmaker Has Comedy Web Series That Is Being Featured At NYC Web Fest

There is this entire generation of millennials and beyond consuming, creating and distributing content on the web and social media—laptops and mobile devices are the new TV—and a Peterborough raised filmmaker named Danielle Lapointe has embraced this empowering digital era full on.

Danielle, a Kenner grad who currently resides in Montreal after studying film production at Concordia, produces and stars in the comedy web series Shooting the Moon that was just released this summer and is quickly gaining in popularity, as great content and video do on the web and digital platforms.

Danielle Lapointe and Jeremy Sandor, co-directors of Shooting the Moon

Shooting the Moon is an autobiographical comedy following Danielle's journey as an Ontario girl adjusting to life in Montreal's film industry—and Episode 6, "Homesick", was filmed in Peterborough. In the episode (watch it at end of post), Danielle goes home to Peterborough to visit her Mom, Dad and Nana, but finds that the relaxing vacation she'd hoped for is anything but.

"The role that Peterborough plays in Shooting the Moon is that my character (also named Danielle) is closely tied to her small town Ontario roots," Danielle tells PTBOCanada. "Anyone who moved from a smaller town to a city—especially with an added language barrier—can tell you that there are adjustments to make. For me, I wanted to play up the naiveté of my character. In Episode #6, my character ends up going home to visit her family for a respite from her constant filmmaking failures."

Danielle in Episode 6 at family brunch

Since its online launch, the web series has been gaining lots of great critical praise. In its biggest honour yet, it has now been chosen as one of the "Official Selections" at the 3rd Annual NYC Web Fest—which has become one of the world's largest and most influential festivals for new media creators. NYC Web is a celebration of the best web series that have been released online in the past year.

Danielle got her early video training at Kenner in Peterborough. "It was at Kenner that I started making video projects and experimenting with various artistic mediums after years of painting and drawing being my medium of choice," she tells PTBOCanada, adding that she returns home to Peterborough several times a year for "the fresh air, swimming, canoeing, campfires, downtown Hunter Street life, and her friends and family."

Danielle in Episode 6

Danielle says that her web series was born out of frustration. "I was working at a movie theatre, trying to figure out how to fund my filmmaking or get a job that suited me in the film industry, and my daily encounters started to feel like I was living inside of a sitcom. Whether it be the former classmates I would run into at parties who were all doing 'exciting things' or the endless search for paying jobs, I started writing down all of these anecdotes and then realized I had enough to start making either a feature film or web series."

The web series format seemed most fitting for Danielle to tell her quick stories, so she decided to focus on that medium. "There's something really liberating that creating for the web provides," she tells PTBOCanada. "The traditional filmmaking trajectory is to finish your film, then spend tons of money to enter it into festivals, and if it isn't selected, you either release it online a few years later for the hell of it or the film just kind of disappears into non existence. With the web, you are your own distributor, your own publisher, and although it's up to you to market it, you aren't waiting for a festival's permission to show people your work."

Danielle in Episode 6

Danielle's talent and passion for her craft—and innovative choice of platform to distribute it—has translated into success for her with this screening at NYC Web Fest, which runs from November 10th to 12th (Danielle's web series screens on Saturday the 12th). Danielle and the series co-director Jeremy Sandor—a talented Montreal-based filmmaker from Toronto—will be travelling to New York to attend, and represent Canada as one of the few Canadian Series featured in the festival.

Danielle and Jeremy have filmed this series on a shoestring budget, proving once again that great content and video can get noticed on the social web. One can imagine this show not only building more momentum online in future seasons—and more views as people re-watch or discover Season 1—but being picked up by traditional cable TV somewhere down the road (or Netflix).

Danielle in Episode 6

You can watch Season One of Shooting the Moon here, and watch the "Homesick" episode filmed in Peterborough below...

In Episode 6 of Shooting the Moon, Danielle goes home to Peterborough, Ontario to visit her mom, dad, and nana, but finds that the relaxing vacation she'd hoped for is anything but. WEBSITE - https://www.shootingthemoon.ca FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/shootingthemoontv/ TWITTER - https://twitter.com/shootingmoontv INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/shootingthemoontv/

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PRHC Has A Volunteer Staff Band Called The Misfits That Brings Joy To Patients

PRHC has a volunteer staff band that plays for patients once a month—and includes staff members from across all areas of the hospital.

The Misfits—made up of people from departments such as Building Services, Physiotherapy, Social Work, Laboratory, Mental Health and Finance—practice twice a week at lunch hour to prepare for the patients.

The Misfits rehearsing on lunch hour

Patients respond to music even when other memories are gone and it eases their anxiety and relaxes them when The Misfits play.

PRHC says it regularly receives positive feedback from patients and family members about this great band giving their time in such a meaningful way.

Watch the video below to learn more about The Misfits and a beautiful letter they received...

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Peterborough Police Offer A Vulnerable Person Registry

The Peterborough Police Service offer a Vulnerable Person Registry for families and caregivers of vulnerable persons that they want the public to spread the word about. The information provided to police is entered into a secure database that will be used by police and other emergency services during a crisis situation.

In the event of an emergency, responding officers will have immediate access to this information, improving police understanding and response.

A Vulnerable Person is defined as a person who due to a medical, mental health or physical condition may exhibit patterns of behaviour that may pose a danger to themselves. This may include:

-> A tendency to wander

-> The inability to communicate

-> Fascinations or attractions (water, construction sites etc.)

-> Social responses (fear of strangers, aggression)

Examples include (but are not limited to) individuals with Alzheimer’s, Autism Spectrum Disorder or an acquired brain injury.

To use the registry, the vulnerable person must live in the jurisdiction of the Peterborough Police. (The family or caregiver who registers the person need not reside within the jurisdiction.)

You can register a vulnerable person either by using their online form or by attending the Peterborough Police station in person.

For more information or to fill out the online form, click here.

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Louis Tiboruhanga's Story Is One Of Tragedy, Loss, Desperation & Now Hope Thanks To Peterborough

There were a lot of firsts for Louis Tiboruhanga Thursday morning (October 27th) as he stood atop a heaping mound of freshly picked Peterborough County pumpkins in the back of a pickup truck looking to the sky and the first snowflakes of the season.

“My first Canadian snow,” the Rwandan father-of-two says.

Louis with his daughters Genevieve & Gloria

Two pickup trucks sat in front of Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School, suspensions lowered by the weight of the orange load—200-plus pumpkins.

And then the lineup started. Students snaked out of the school where they were greeted by Louis’s beaming smile.

“Thank you, here you go,” Louis says, as he places a large pumpkin into the hands of a Grade 3 student. Every student in the school was to receive their own pumpkin, including Louis’s own daughters Gloria (Grade 3) and Genevieve (Grade 1).

Louis distributes pumpkins to happy students at Immaculate Conception

How Louis ended up distributing free pumpkins to Catholic elementary students in Peterborough’s East City is a story of harrowing tragedy, loss, desperation and finally hope.

Louis fled his life in Rwanda in January 1997 and ended up in Kenya’s Kakuma (UNHCR) refugee camp. Both his daughters were born and raised in the camp, where he spent more than 19 years.

In 2008, Sister Ruth Hennessy of Casa Maria Refugee Homes in Peterborough sponsored the Tiboruhanga family. But it took another eight years before their resettlement to Canada was approved. Louis’s wife passed away in the camp in 2011.

The camp provided the necessities, including schooling, but Louis says he didn’t see a lot of hope for his children, who were schooled in crowded, under-resourced classrooms.

“The future in the camp was desperate," he says. "You can’t see your children excelling with 150 children in the classroom and expect to have a better future for them."

Desperation turned to hope on July 19th, 2016 when Louis, Gloria and Genevieve landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, greeted by Sister Ruth and brought to Peterborough to start a new life.

“It was a very fantastic day—an unforgettable day for me,” he says.

The children have settled at Immaculate Conception and Louis has been finding part-time work.

Peter Leahy owns Merrylynd farm in Douro where Louis has been picking pumpkins.

“Picking gives us time to chat a little," Peter says. "Louis has many interesting and humbling stories. He realizes that for him to adjust to Canada will be hard, but he's doing it for his kids to have a better life. His faith is very strong and his spirit is astonishing. We hope to help him find a job right away. He's willing to do anything and his English is very good.”

Peter Leahy and Louis giving out pumpkins to the kids

One day while working in the field, Louis expressed to Peter that he wanted to give back to the Immaculate Conception school community, which has been so warm and welcoming to his daughters.

Peter offered the pumpkins and pickup trucks, and on Thursday Louis had a chance to make a small gesture of thanks to the school and staff at Immaculate Conception. And his daughters were able to celebrate their first Canadian Halloween with schoolmates in style.

Hope is something Louis and his daughters now have thanks to Peterborough, Canada

“It is something very extraordinary to me," Louis says. "It’s extraordinary in a sense that I see it as the hope for my children—they have the future in their hands."

“I was extremely happy that the school children would come to me, accepting this small gift I had planned for them. I think it is really very wonderful.”

—guest post by Galen Eagle

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Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre Launches Free Business Start-Up Program For Aboriginal Community Members

The Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre—a Peterborough-based non-profit culture and community organization providing programs and services to urban Aboriginal people—has announced a new business start-up training program geared at supporting and growing entrepreneurship within the city's urban Aboriginal community.

The objective of the program is to increase the participation of urban Aboriginal people in the economy. Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre is offering the program in partnership with Peterborough Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre, who will be providing the training in order to support program participants in creating a viable business plan.

“In our recent community assessment, a high percentage of our urban Aboriginal community members responded favourably to becoming an entrepreneur,” says Lori Flynn, Executive Director of the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre. “Owning your own business can be challenging, but a rewarding way to participate in the economy.”

“We are pleased to partner with the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre on this new business start-up training program geared at supporting our local Aboriginal community,” adds Sandy Greenberg, Peterborough Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre Lead. “The programming that we are delivering will support participants in navigating the path to a successful business start."

The team at Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre

The business start-up training program will consist of six training workshops starting in late November. Participants will receive one-on-one support from local business leaders and explore practical solutions to get their business ideas off the ground. Workshops will offer topics such as sales, marketing, operations and budgeting.

Each participant will work towards putting together a professional business plan to connect with potential funding sources. The deadline to apply is November 18th, 2016. Child care and transportation may be provided to successful applicants based on need. Interested applicants can visit nogofc.ca for more information or contact the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre at 705.775.0387.

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First Ever Hackathon Taking Place At Trent University

Trent University is proud to host its first hackathon in Peterborough. Electric City Hacks (ECHacks) will include about 350 student tech leaders from across Canada and beyond who will design, build, demo and make their dreams a reality.

RIM and the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster are major sponsors for the Hackathon, which takes place November 4th to 6th. Electric City Hacks—comprised of a group of computer science students at Trent—partnered with Major League Hacking to do this 36 hour event taking place November 4th to 6th at Gzowski College on Trent’s Symons campus. This Hackathon will challenge student innovators to design, build and demonstrate their developments.

Electric City hack members (computer science students at Trent): Yashar Morabbi Heravi, Waun Broderick, Laura Mann, Matthew Barnes & Dexter Fichuk

ECHacks has invited all post secondary and high school students interested in the development, innovation and progression of technology to apply for this collaborative event, which will demonstrate the best of computer and engineering tech skills.

Creating an environment for students to learn, create and excel, Electric City Hacks will also be a fantastic chance to vie for future employment as many of their sponsors will be sending representative scouts to find student talent in the tech industry. Other sponsors include TD Financial, Fresh Books Cloud Accounting and TribalScale.
 
“We are extremely excited to support the first ever Electric City Hacks at Trent University," says Michael Skinner, President & CEO of the Innovation Cluster. "Hackathons are a fantastic way to expose talent, grow, recruit and bring new innovative companies to Peterborough.”

Over a dozen workshops will be taking place over the course of the weekend, targeting both university students as well as high school students to highlight the possibility of tech. Coding, robotics and a hackathon bootcamp for high school students are just a few examples of the amazing workshops that will be held throughout the 36 hour event.
 
“We decided to hold Electric City Hacks because we saw how many opportunities it brought to the schools that hosted them, and how it completely revolutionized tech industries in each community,” says Dexter Fichuk of ECHacks.
 
The entire event—breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks—will be provided to participants free of charge. The Innovation Cluster will also be hosting the "Chill Zone" with beanbag chairs for the hackers to think creatively and relax.
 
For more info and to apply, click here.

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Peterborough Downtown Farmers' Market Closes For Season This Wednesday

It's been another amazing season for the Downtown Farmers' Market, which ends for the year this Wednesday (October 26th).

Head on down to the Louis St. Parking lot and stock up on and enjoy all seasonal produce and all your other favourite local products. Market-goers can get recipe ideas and enjoy samples of Chili, hors d'oeuvre and other treats made with all market ingredients.

Despite soaring temperatures and extreme drought, the Farmers' Market says in a media release that their farmers’ and vendors had a great season, and that they are proud to continue bringing Downtown Peterborough the freshest seasonal and locally made produce and products available in the region.

Visit the final market of the season to enjoy a lunch with friends, thank the vendors and farmers for their hard work this season, and stock up on local groceries.

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Peterborough Couple's Rescue Dog Plays Key Role In Surprise Engagement Proposal At Jackson's Park

Niki Allday and Jesse Guerin have a real love for animals—particularly rescue dogs. "We are both very passionate about animals, and both owners of rescues," Allday says. "Jesse adopted his dog (Tulo, named after Toronto Blue Jay shortstop Troy Tulowitzki) from St Martin through Cavan Hills Vet and mine (Zoey) was rescued north of Bancroft."

Niki and Jesse with their rescue dogs Zoey and Tulo

Given that their first date was at an animal shelter and they have these rescue dogs Tulo and Zoey, it seemed doggone fitting that Jesse would use one of them as a key prop for a surprise wedding proposal he gave Niki on Saturday (October 22nd) at Jackson's Park.

Niki posted about the sweet moment on her Facebook page...

"He definitely took me by surprise and swept me off my feet," Niki tells PTBOCanada of the romantic proposal. "I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. The way he proposed, the ring, shows how he knows me inside and out."

Engagement photo of Jesse and Niki with their rescue dogs taken by Kathy Jones Traynor

Congrats to this awesome couple!

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