Local Spotlight

🔦 Several amazing local spotlight articles are coming up soon !

Kingston & Area Local News

🧠 KHSC Neurosurgeons See Brain Tumour Cells in Real Time, a Canadian First
🔭 A Renowned Astronomer’s 25-Inch Telescope Finds a Home at the L&A Dark Sky Viewing Area

Community Champions

🥇 Two Kingston Athletes Sweep Gold in Spain, Now Aiming for Worlds
📱 BGC South East Launches TruePhonics, a Made-in-Kingston Reading Platform

New Events In and Around Kingston

🎉 Dadapalooza | Cataraqui Centre Parking Lot | June 20
♻️ Giveaway Day | Citywide, Kingston | June 20
⛳ Daddy & Me Father’s Day Tourney | Norm’s Golf & Social | June 21
🎭 Come Play by the Lake One-Act Play Festival | Domino Theatre | July 3 and 4

Events Calendar

It’s gotten too long to include here in the summary! Click Events Calendar to see so many great events!

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Surgeons at Kingston Health Sciences Centre have achieved something no Canadian surgical team had done before: using a handheld ZEISS Convivo confocal device to see brain tumour cells in real time, right on the operating table. Dr. James (Jamie) Purzner and Dr. Teresa Purzner used the device’s fluorescence and optical imaging to distinguish cancerous tissue that looks completely normal to the eye. Their patient, Rick Savoie, 66, was on his fourth surgery for glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, and the tumour had grown in a speech-critical area where a traditional awake craniotomy wasn’t an option. They removed it entirely while preserving his speech, a result Dr. Teresa Purzner called exactly the outcome they aim for.

Savoie put it plainly: “Without this option, it would have been the end of the road. This surgery has given me more time with my family.” The technology is part of the broader work being done through the Integrative Brain Tumour Program, a partnership between KHSC and Queen’s University. Beyond individual surgeries, the imaging data could eventually help train AI models to identify cancerous tissue in real time across future cases.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

Attilla Danko spent decades hauling enormous telescopes to star parties across the country. The Kingston-area astronomer, best known for creating the award-winning Clear Sky Charts used by amateur astronomers everywhere, died in November 2024. His estate has now donated his prized 25-inch f/4 Obsession Dobsonian telescope to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Kingston Centre, and it has found a permanent home at the L&A Dark Sky Viewing Area in Erinsville, about 37 km north of Napanee. The estate also funded a new on-site storage building called the Attilla Danko Deep Space Port to house the scope during prime stargazing season. The eyepiece sits about eight feet off the ground, so bring a tall ladder and a sense of wonder.

The telescope makes its debut at Laser-Guided Stargazing Tour evenings on Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11 (weather permitting). Admission to the site at 7980 County Road 41 is free year-round, and the observation platform is the Terence Dickinson Observation Deck, named for the late SkyNews founder who was also an L&A resident.

Read the full story at: Kingstonist

Margo Zimak and Diana Printsev, both instructors at Pole Fitness Kingston on Ontario Street, travelled to the Spanish National Pole & Aerial Sport & Art Championship in Salamanca this past May and came home with four gold medals between them. Zimak (22) won first in aerial silks elite and first in pole arts amateur, earning the second-highest score of the entire competition across about 160 athletes. Printsev (30) took first in pole arts elite and first in aerial silks amateur. They were the only two athletes representing Canada at the event, which is run by the Pole Sports & Arts World Federation.

Both have now qualified for the Pole Art World Championship in Seoul, South Korea, this November, though securing funding and sponsorship is the next challenge. Printsev, who took up the sport partly to manage fibromyalgia and says her joint pain is now gone, is also working toward getting pole sport officially recognized in Canada. Read the full story at: Kingstonist

BGC South East has launched TruePhonics, a digital structured-literacy platform for children ages 4 to 8. Built on the Orton-Gillingham approach, it features sound-level phonics activities, word-building games, and 42 original interactive storybooks, all developed in partnership with Kingston-based Orange Neurosciences and supported by the Smith-Homestead Foundation. The platform is a milestone for BGC’s Reg Shadbolt Learning Centre and its Reading Clinic, which has been serving the region since 2016. MPP Ted Hsu and Deputy Mayor Wendy Stephen attended the June 11 launch. TruePhonics is now being integrated into after-school and summer camp programming across Kingston, Loyalist, Napanee, and Leeds & Grenville. Read the full story at: Kingstonist

The Mom Market is running its first-ever Dadapalooza on Saturday, June 20, an outdoor vendor market with a full day of dad-themed activities, trophies for “winning dads,” family fun, and local vendors. It’s set up in the Cataraqui Centre parking lot near the old Hudson Bay entrance at 1940 Princess St. Whether Dad is the competitive type or just likes good deals, this one’s a solid Saturday plan. Full details and updates at The Mom Market’s Facebook post.

Saturday, June 20 is the City of Kingston’s second Giveaway Day of the year. The idea is simple: set preloved household items out at the curb marked FREE, and let neighbours take what they can use. It keeps good stuff out of the landfill and out of your basement. Check the City of Kingston’s Giveaway Days page for guidelines on what qualifies. Read the full story at: Kingstonist

Looking for a Father’s Day plan that involves a golf simulator, cornhole, and a hot dog? Norm’s Golf & Social (3B-616 Gardiners Rd) is hosting the Daddy & Me Father’s Day Tourney on Sunday, June 21. Pairs get 1.5 hours of simulator time, a 10-hole scramble, team cornhole, and lunch, with prizes from Beachside BBQ and a silent auction and 50/50 in the mix. $75 per pair (taxes in), with $20 of every registration going to Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre. Register via the form on their page and e-transfer to [email protected] with “Daddy & Me” in the notes. Full details at Kingston Daily.

Domino Theatre, one of Eastern Ontario’s longest-running community theatres (founded 1952), brings back its annual one-act festival at 52 Church St on Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4. Six plays total, three each night, covering comedy, sci-fi, mystery, and drama. Friday night features works from Gord Love, B.C. Gorrie and collaborators, and a Maurice Leblanc adaptation. Saturday brings Jonathan Rand’s “Check Please,” Norm Foster’s “The Death of Me,” and Penny Barker’s “Loser Lunch.” Audiences who attend both nights vote for the People’s Preference Award. Tickets through the Kingston Grand Theatre box office or call 613-530-2050.

🌶️ Grens Chili Cook-Off  |  Miklas-McCarney Field  |  June 18

⛳ Sandra Davison Memorial Golf Classic  |  Loyalist Golf & Country Club, Bath  |  June 19

🚤 Rideau Canal Free Lockage Begins  |  Rideau Canal  |  June 19 (through Sept 7)

🎸 Skeleton Park Arts Festival  |  McBurney Park  |  June 19–21

🏞️ South Frontenac Lakes & Trails Festival  |  McMullen Park Beach, Verona  |  June 20

🛍️ Princess Street Promenade  |  Princess Street, Downtown Kingston  |  June 20

🎉 Dadapalooza  |  Cataraqui Centre Parking Lot  |  June 20

♻️ Giveaway Day  |  Citywide, Kingston  |  June 20

🧠 Kingston Brain Tumour Walk  |  Newlands Pavilion, Breakwater Park  |  June 21

🏈 Dale Sands Memorial Game (Grens Tackle Tumours)  |  Richardson Stadium  |  June 21

🛠️ Makers at the Mill (Father’s Day)  |  Babcock Mill, Odessa  |  June 21

⛳ Daddy & Me Father’s Day Tourney  |  Norm’s Golf & Social  |  June 21

⚽ FIFA World Cup Fan Zone  |  Springer Market Square, Kingston  |  June 27

🎸 Line Spike Frontenac  |  Natural amphitheatre, Harrowsmith  |  June 27–28

🐾 Puppies + Jazz  |  The Caesar Company  |  June 28

🎭 Come Play by the Lake One-Act Play Festival  |  Domino Theatre, 52 Church St  |  July 3–4

🔭 Laser-Guided Stargazing Tour (Attilla Danko Telescope Debut)  |  L&A Dark Sky Viewing Area, Erinsville  |  July 10–11

🥩 Schnitzel Fundraiser Dinner  |  Golden Links Hall, Harrowsmith  |  July 18

🛍️ Princess Street Promenade  |  Princess Street, Downtown Kingston  |  August 1

🛶 Rideau Canal Lock & Paddle  |  Rideau Canal  |  August 15

⚔️ Ironwood Fantasy Fair  |  The Spire, Kingston  |  August 15

Ongoing Events

🎭 Very Heaven  |  Domino Theatre, 52 Church St  |  through June 20

🚢 S.S. Keewatin Tours  |  Great Lakes Museum  |  Season open

Ongoing Markets

🥕 Kingston Public Market  |  Springer Market Square, downtown  |  Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays

🥬 Memorial Centre Farmers’ Market  |  303 York St  |  Sundays

🎪 Gananoque Farmers’ Market  |  Town Hall Square, 30 King St E  |  Thursdays

🛠️ Makers at the Mill  |  Babcock Mill, Odessa  |  Sundays (through Oct 18)

🪶 Katarokwi Indigenous Market  |  Springer Market Square  |  Monthly Sundays (June–Sept)

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